Steph Gabriel
Tell us a bit about yourself, and how you came to start your brand, OceanZen.
I started OceanZen in my early 20’s with no fashion design experience, no business experience and no real idea what I was doing. All I had was a deep love and passion for the ocean that I wanted to share with the world. I wanted to inspire change, to inspire action to help protect marine life and conserve the ocean in which I dived and surfed. I learned all the ropes along the way, but essentially OceanZen was born for my love for the ocean. I had travelled to over 50 countries by the time I was 25, and that opened me up to a world of possibilities and believing that you can do anything you desire. Travelling made me stronger, more confident, and gave me more of a just go with it attitude. If there is anything you want to do with your life, just go for it. Learn along the way and don’t let anything hold you back.
What made you want to study Environmental Science? Was it always something you dreamed of doing, or was there a particular turning point?
To be honest, when I left high school I never intended on going to University. I couldn’t wait to finish school and feel free from rules and rigidness. I did go to Event Management college for a year after school but that was just because I was told I had to do something… So I did that. I then did the corporate thing for a few years and hated every minute of it. I ended up booking a one way ticket overseas and going travelling and I had never planned to be away for long, but I didn’t come home for almost 3 years.
It was my chapter working on a little island in the Caribbean where I fully discovered my love and passion for the ocean. I managed to get a job on a luxury sailing boat (with no previous professional sailing experience) and worked with wild stingrays for tourism purposes. That was the chapter that changed my life and set me on the course of sustainability, conservation and marine/environmental science. When I came home a couple of years later I enrolled into University and the idea for OceanZen was born!
OceanZen was one of the first sustainable swimwear lines in Australia. What are some of your favourite tips to be more sustainable?
I feel so proud that OceanZen really did create a movement for sustainability and sustainable fashion within Australia. When I launched, there were no other sustainable brands here and none of the big international brands had any ethical or sustainable business models. Over the last few years a lot of the larger brands have released sustainability statements on what they do, and it really is amazing to see that sustainable fashion is now holding the fashion industry accountable for better practices. The consumers have learned the right questions to ask when shopping, and it’s forcing the industry to do better.
Sustainable shopping tips: Buy less, buy high quality so it lasts longer and do not support fast fashion brands as they tend to be very unethical.
What inspired you to start OceanZen Travel?
OceanZen Travel happened so naturally. Over the years with OceanZen Bikini we would go to Tonga to swim with wild humpback whales, and we would share it on the OceanZen insta.
One year there were so many girls messaging asking how they could swim with whales, so the following year we brought a small group over with us, and it became an annual retreat. We had always planned on doing more destinations around the world, following the marine life seasons and bucket list experiences but the swimwear brand was all consuming. In 2019 we had planned 2020 would be the year of the Komodos Islands in Indonesia and Tonga with the Humpbacks, but when the world shut down, we couldn’t leave the country and had to cancel the tours. We are based in QLD and at one point the government shut down each state and Australian’s couldn’t travel across the borders within Australia so we started to run tours for Queenslanders in our backyard... On the stunning Great Barrier Reef. With everyone locked inside Australia, unable to leave the country and the state, our local tours took off! And now OceanZen Travel is the main focus with goals to launch into some more bucket list destinations overseas, including the remote 7 th continent on earth, Antarctica!
What has been your favourite trip destination and why?
That is too hard to decide! So many amazing destinations for so many different reasons! We witness the turtle hatchlings, the whales, manta season, each of them are truly incredible experiences.
Describe your favourite or most memorable experience in the ocean.
It’s not the most pleasant because I cried, but it’s the most memorable because it’s not the usual occurrence… I was bitten by a juvenile sea lion when I was living in the Galapagos Islands.
What can we expect from OceanZen in the future?
The future of OceanZen… I am not really sure to be honest! OceanZen has changed so much, we have gone from a swimwear brand to a travel brand and I don’t know how long I will continue hosting bucket list tours. As I grow, my interests are ever evolving.
And lastly, what is your favourite Saltwaterheart piece?
That is too hard! They are all SO BEAUTIFUL! I would have to say the Cowrie X Aquamarine as that’s my birth stone!
Thank you so much Steph for all the inspiration and tips you’ve given us!
If you’d like to find out more about Steph’s brand OceanZen, be sure to follow her on Instagram at @OceanZen and @OceanZentravel . You can check out her website www.oceanzenbikini.com for beautiful sustainable swimwear and for more information on her retreats!
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