The world of Instagram has taken us by storm, especially in the world of yachting. From superyacht fanatics to sportfish aficionados and boat safety pages, there is no shortage of content for yacht fans. YATCO interviewed the top 5 influencers of the yachting world so you can learn more about what influences them. Read more below on the top 5 influencers on Instagram to follow now.
Learn More From These Five American Yachting Influencers – What Influences Them and How They Engage With Their Followership
Aaron Stasiak | @thequalifiedcaptain | 768K followers
What propelled your interest in yachting?
I have always had an interest in yachting, and being on the water since I could remember. I was raised off the coast of Pensacola, FL and Long Beach Island, NJ and boats are something that always caught my eye. I remember being a little kid at the docks off Pensacola watching the sportfishers come in, and would tell myself, maybe one day!
How and why did you decide to become an influencer?
It kind of just happened. We started this page sort of as a joke, and now it’s become a huge comical page in the maritime industry, but also a very VERY important reminder in raising awareness about safety. That’s our goal. We can all laugh, but also this keeps you focused on the water so you don’t end up doing something stupid.
What are the challenges you face in remaining relevant to your audience?
I always worry about this, but the content never stops. I think the only challenge is going through the DM’s and finding the video that fits our narrative. It’s always something new, or something that absolutely blows my mind. I think that’s why we have become so popular. Anything that can happen on the water, will happen. As a captain, it’s a good way to look at it honestly. You always have that reminder in the back of your head about the worst-case scenario. So, that’s the content we provide for our audience.
Diego Luca | @diegoluca | 144K followers
What propelled your interest in yachting?
My career in the luxury industry started in San Diego, California, where I worked with a Private Membership Club. At first, I focused on exotic cars, but as the membership grew, clients started to request helicopters, jets and yachts. That’s how I built my expertise.
One day one of the members invited me and my girlfriend at the time to Cabo San Lucas to spend ten days on a yacht in the Sea of Cortez. That trip changed my life. I realized that the cars, helicopters, and jets were only used to get to the real fun – yachts! When I returned from that trip, I started working at a local yacht sales office in San Diego, where I decided to concentrate only on yacht sales and charter.
How and why did you decide to become an influencer?
I never decided to be an influencer. It happened naturally. As time went by, people started hearing my name and following my page based on my work. I didn’t know precisely how Instagram worked. I was simply sharing the different experiences I did with my clients and information that gets people, especially those who have never owned or chartered a vessel before, excited about yachting.
What are the challenges you face in remaining relevant to your audience?
The yearly yachting calendar keeps me relevant in front of my followers/target market. Each year there are new events, new yachts, new destinations, restaurants, hotels, and places you can visit by superyacht. Posting about that keeps me relevant to my audience – those who care and can afford to buy, charter, build a superyacht, or visit a new remote destination.
Sometimes “influencers” or people with an above-average number of followers pay too much attention to the total number of followers they have. If all I was thinking were my audience, likes and comments, and followers, I would be depressed every day, haha. I tend not to pay attention to who gives me likes and who doesn’t. I post what I like and what feels good for any of my clients, prospect clients, or kids that can get motivated to one day get into this industry or own a yacht. I am also in a very niche market, and my focus is not social media. My focus is providing the best, white-glove service to the very select group of clients I work with, who are very demanding. If I had 50 followers and all of those 50 bought, chartered, or built yachts, I would have more work than I could handle.
With that being said, I have met people who have been following me for years and who thank me for keeping them motivated about the industry, and often they say, “It took a while, but I am ready to be your client.” They see the industry, my service, and overall yachting experience as a reward for all their hard work. I sell their dream, and I love what I do.
Vincent Finetti | @vincentfinetti | 69K followers
What propelled your interest in yachting?
I’ve always had a passion for boating. When I was 15 years old I found an old 4hp outboard engine in my garage. I called my best friend and told him that we should go boating. We each put $50 in and bought an old 9-foot fiberglass boat. This is how I started my journey flipping boats. From the age of 15 to 24, I had flipped 12 boats from 10′ to 40′. After my master’s degree, I did an internship for an international boat charter company and had a chance to travel to the Caribbean to visit some charter bases. After the internship, I sailed across the Atlantic on a 43′ sailboat and went backpacking around the world for 18 months with the money left from my boat flipping days. I finally immigrated to Canada at the end of my world tour journey and instead of looking for a job in my field with my master’s degree, I decided to work in the boating industry.
How and why did you decide to become an influencer?
Well, if I had to respond very blatantly, it would be to make more money… 🙂 I knew that if I wanted to grow my business, I needed to grow my audience so I put myself in my target audience’ shoes and decided to provide as much value as possible to grow my followers. I did this in the form of entertainment (travel, boat & yacht tours, and boating news) and later with Yacht Sales Academy with sales & marketing education.
What are the challenges you face in remaining relevant to your audience?
Social media is an amazing way to communicate and do business, but sometimes it can be a bit addictive or even toxic. During these periods, I find it difficult to share messages and keep being consistent. Another challenge might be that while I’m generally a very positive person, sometimes I go through phases where I’m not as motivated or positive, and I find it challenging to keep this “social media happy mask” on all the time… but luckily, it’s never for too long and then I’m back to normal.
Paul Triporo | @capt.paultriporo I.G. 9,500 followers; @captainpaultriporo on I.G. 110,000 followers
What propelled your interest in yachting?
I started off in yachting from Houston Texas, I was at the time a Civil Engineer for Maxim Crane works and noticed boats being unloaded / “craned” from another BIG BIG boat… later in life found out it was Dockwise Yacht Transport. I was intrigued how big these boats were so I did some simple research and found out some yachts have engineers – my life would never be the same after that. I started off on Pegasus V, a 258ft Superyacht as 5th engineer and slowly through the years have worked my way up to a 500 USCG yacht captain; I’ve been to 92 countries and have 1000’s of hours at sea.
How and why did you decide to become an influencer?
My company that I co-found, @nautical.network or www.nautical.network should get all the credit – they / we are the biggest influencers in the marine industry and considered to most of our partners the fastest growing one. They do all the influencing and while doing so we help companies achieve their digital goals with exposure and beautiful content.
What are the challenges you face in remaining relevant to your audience?
Lucky I am asked to view or run (as a captain) all the new products and boats that hit the market but the biggest challenge is making engaging content, which our creative team at Nautical Network helps a lot.
Aleks Taldykin @captaleks and @eliteyachtmgmt | 35K followers
What propelled your interest in yachting?
Plain and simple, my love for the sea! Started as a commercial fisherman in my early teens, which then progressed into high-speed ferries, then up the ladder onto yachts in 2005. Fell in love with the job, different locations, adventures, giving the clients memorable experiences on the water. I then pushed my career to the next step in yacht sales, charter, management.
How and why did you decide to become an influencer?
I use social media as a platform to educate, show people around the world the ins and outs of all parts of boating. From glamorous boat shows, tropical scenery, to cleaning up a dirty bilge, current plastic pollution, or being chased by a sea lion.
What are the challenges you face in remaining relevant to your followers?
Privacy – a lot of our clients want to remain private, which I fully support and respect!
