Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 854 is a conversation with elite freediver and underwater filmmaker Danny Lomas, known as Danny Mako, who descends 60 to 70 feet on a single breath to film bull sharks, tiger sharks, and humpback whales. Danny explains how a university professor turned a casual scuba hobby into a full-time obsession, what separates one shark species from another, and what it felt like to freedive into a bait ball under attack by whales and marlin in Mag Bay, Mexico.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Stream the full episode in the player above.
Danny Mako, whose real name is Danny Lomas, is a professional shark diver, underwater filmmaker, and freediver based in Oahu, Hawaii. Originally from England, he started as a PADI scuba diver at age 15 and developed his obsession with sharks around age 20 through a university professor who specialized in shark research. He now documents close encounters with bull sharks, tiger sharks, reef sharks, and humpback whales without cages or scuba gear.
Danny can hold his breath for roughly four and a half to five minutes and regularly freedives to depths of 60 to 70 feet. He built that capacity over time through consistent diving rather than formal freediving certification, which lets him stay down long enough to film sharks and large predators in their own environment.
Danny describes bull sharks as aggressive and unpredictable, often found in murky water around places like Jupiter, Florida. Tiger sharks are curious and powerful, with serrated teeth built to eat almost anything that moves. Reef sharks tend to be smaller and more timid, hammerheads more aloof, and great whites the apex presence that intimidates by sheer size. Each species changes how he approaches a dive.
A bait ball is a defensive formation where small fish such as sardines or anchovies cluster tightly together when threatened. Larger predators like humpback whales, marlin, and dolphins attack the formation to feed. Danny says these feeding events in Mag Bay last only 10 to 15 minutes but are constant chaos, with multiple apex predators hitting the bait ball at the same time.
Danny uses GoPro cameras, DJI underwater drones, and broadcast-quality RED cameras to capture his footage. His goal is to document raw encounters with sharks and marine predators and share them to raise awareness about ocean conservation and marine life protection.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 854 with Danny Mako is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. You can stream the full conversation in the player at the top of this page.
I have always been drawn to people who put themselves into an animal's world on the animal's terms, and Danny does that about as completely as anyone I have talked to. He is dropping 60 and 70 feet on a single breath, no cage, no tank, just a camera and a held breath, sitting in the middle of bull sharks and tiger sharks and whales.
What I wanted on tape was not the danger for its own sake. It was how a guy gets from a teenage scuba certification in England to a full-time career filming the most intense marine encounters on the planet, and what he has learned about these predators along the way. Stream the full conversation in the player above to hear it in his own words.
Danny's path was not a straight line. He got his PADI certification at 15 in England and dove whenever he could travel, but everything shifted around 20 when he met a university professor who specialized in shark research. That connection led to dives in Florida, and then a friend in Hawaii told him about the ecotourism shark diving scene. Danny flew to Oahu, spent a few months, and knew immediately this was what he wanted to do. The way he describes that certainty is worth hearing. Listen to that part of the episode.
Not all sharks behave the same, and Danny has learned the differences through hundreds of encounters rather than a textbook. He walks through which species keep him on high alert, which are merely curious, and which he treats with the most caution. The distinctions are not academic for him; they are survival information that changes his awareness level the moment he hits the water. He breaks each one down in detail in the conversation. Stream that section in the player above.
Even with years of experience, Danny had a recent encounter that reset his respect for these animals. Freediving down to about 50 feet to film Caribbean reef sharks, one shark turned on him and moved fast, and he had to ascend quickly. What he took from it was how much more speed and power these animals have in the water than we do. He tells the full story better than I can summarize it. Listen to how that one unfolded.
Danny had just returned from Magdalena Bay in Baja, where he and friends witnessed what he calls some of the most raw and intense nature they had ever seen. They freedove right alongside humpback whales as multiple predators hit a bait ball at once. He describes one moment, a whale passing right beside him, where he felt his life flash before his eyes from the sheer size of the animal. The whole event is on the episode. Stream it in the player above.
It would be easy to assume fear drives a person away from this. For Danny it is the opposite. He talks about the adrenaline and about experiencing what he calls the truest definition of raw nature, brief windows where you are fully in their world with no protection and no air. If you have ever wondered what pulls someone back to something most people would run from, this is the section to hear.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or stream it in the player at the top of this page.
What I keep coming back to from this conversation is how much genuine respect Danny has for these animals. These are not thrill-seeking stunts. They are calculated encounters built on science, preparation, and a deep read of marine behavior, and you can hear the awe in his voice when he talks about them.
The footage he captures is beautiful, but it is also conservation work. The more people see these predators up close, the more they understand and want to protect them, and that is a big part of why he does it.
If you are interested in the ocean, in marine life, or you just want to know what it feels like to be face to face with a tiger shark while holding your breath at 60 feet, this one is worth your time.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 854 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Danny Lomas (Danny Mako) · Jupiter, Florida · Oahu, Hawaii · Magdalena Bay (Mag Bay), Baja California, Mexico · PADI · GoPro · DJI · RED cameras
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Danny Lomas, known on Instagram as Danny Mako, is an elite freediver and underwater filmmaker based in Oahu, Hawaii. Originally from England, he started as a PADI scuba diver at age 15 and developed his obsession with sharks around age 20 through a university professor who specialized in shark research. He can hold his breath for four and a half to five minutes and regularly freedives to depths of 60 to 70 feet to document close encounters with bull sharks, tiger sharks, reef sharks, and humpback whales. He uses GoPro cameras, DJI underwater drones, and broadcast-quality RED equipment to capture footage that raises awareness about ocean conservation and marine life protection, all without the protection of cages or scuba gear.
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