Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 66 is my conversation with Elliot Sudal, the land-based shark angler known online as @acksharks. Elliot grew up fishing a pond in Connecticut, bought a one-way ticket to Alaska at 18, studied biology, and then landed a giant sandbar shark while surfcasting off Nantucket. Someone filmed it, the video went viral, and that single clip rerouted his entire life into television, ocean-survival TV, and full-time shark research, tagging, and conservation.
Listen now: press play in the player above to watch the full conversation, or stream Episode 66 on your favorite podcast app.
Elliot Sudal is a land-based shark angler and researcher known on Instagram as @acksharks. He grew up fishing in Connecticut, studied biology, and worked for fish and wildlife in Long Island Sound before a viral shark-fishing video on Nantucket launched him into television and full-time shark work. He now travels Florida sampling sharks, taking blood samples, and tagging and tracking them for research and conservation.
While surfcasting for bluefish and stripers three weeks into living on Nantucket, Elliot hooked a roughly eight- to nine-foot sandbar shark that had been biting his catch in half. A crowd gathered, someone filmed him landing it by the tail on the beach, and the clip exploded across social media and then conventional TV. At the time he had about 300 Instagram followers and had never landed a shark that size.
The Raft was a National Geographic ocean-survival show. Elliot spent eight days on a four-person life raft with another participant about 30 miles off Puerto Rico for what was effectively the pilot episode. He lost around 15 pounds and could barely see by the end because participants were not allowed sunglasses. He explains in the episode that producers deliberately paired people who clashed to create drama.
Rather than chase pure notoriety, Elliot pivoted the attention toward research. He now tags and tracks sharks, collects blood samples, and partners on tagging programs, using his Instagram platform to teach people about the animals instead of just showcasing big catches. He frames the whole arc as trying to do some good with the spotlight the viral video gave him.
He started as a kid catching largemouth bass in a backyard pond in Connecticut, then chased trout, permit, and bigger fish over time. After a one-way ticket to Alaska at 18 and a biology path through UConn and Central Connecticut State, his parents moved to South Florida, he visited, and a move to Nantucket put him on the beach where the sandbar shark and the viral video found him.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 66 with Elliot Sudal is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I had been following Elliot on Instagram for a while before I ever connected the dots that the @acksharks guy in my feed was the same person behind a shark video I had seen years earlier on places like Good Morning America. When I realized one clip had carried him onto more than 80 TV shows and then into real research, I knew there was a story there worth getting on tape. We sat down in Key West to walk through the whole strange path.
Press play in the player above to hear it in his own words.
Three weeks into living on Nantucket, broke and sleeping in his car, Elliot was throwing baits for blues and stripers when a big sandbar shark started biting his hooked fish in half. He rigged a wire leader, hooked the shark, and fought it for the better part of an hour while a crowd gathered. Someone filmed him dragging it up the beach by the tail. He tells the part about the days that followed better than I can. Worth hearing in his own words.
Long before the shark fame settled, Elliot ended up on a Nat Geo survival concept called The Raft, drifting 30 miles off Puerto Rico for eight days with a stranger he was deliberately paired to clash with. He lost about 15 pounds and could barely see by the end. The way he describes what eight days with no shade and no sunglasses does to a person is the kind of detail you do not forget. Listen to that section of the episode.
Elliot did not grow up around sharks. He grew up catching bass in a pond in Connecticut, rode his bike to fish streams, then bought a one-way ticket to Alaska at 18 to chase salmon and figure out he could go anywhere and make it work. He studied biology, worked fish and wildlife in Long Island Sound, and only landed on Nantucket because Florida in May was too hot and buggy. Scroll up and watch the YouTube player for the full arc.
The most interesting thing about Elliot is not the fame, it is what he did with it. He talks through the tagging program, the blood sampling, and how he uses a platform built on one beach video to teach people about the animals he is studying. He gets specific about the tags themselves and how the research actually works from the sand. Press play in the player above.
Listen to the full conversation: press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
What stays with me about Elliot is how little of this he planned. A kid from a Connecticut pond followed fishing wherever it led, said yes to a survival show, hooked one shark in front of a crowd, and a single video did the rest.
The part I want listeners to hear is the turn he made afterward, choosing to point all that attention at research and conservation instead of just more views. That decision is the whole story.
Press play in the player above to hear how it all fits together.
Elliot Sudal (@acksharks) · Nantucket · Homer, Alaska · Long Island Sound · National Geographic · The Raft · Puerto Rico · UConn · Central Connecticut State University · Key West
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.
Elliot Sudal is a land-based shark angler and shark researcher known on Instagram as @acksharks. After studying biology and working in fisheries in Long Island Sound, he became known for a viral Nantucket shark-fishing video that led to appearances on more than 80 television programs and a stint on National Geographic's ocean-survival show The Raft. He now works full time across Florida sampling, tagging, and tracking sharks, using his platform to advance shark research and conservation.
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