Photographer, filmmaker, adventure and action enthusiast dedicated to growth, quality of life, protecting the oceans and telling amazing stories from the French Caribbean Islands
1. Tell us your name, where you were born, and your first memory you have from where you began!
My name is Ryan Borne. I am a 21-year-old photographer and filmmaker passionate about adventure and action. I thrive to inspire others by trying to show the beauty even where it is not always obvious to see. I was born in the French Caribbean Islands. I focus most of my work on the ocean, its wonders, and its people. I wish to use my skill to give back to this special place and hopefully be a part of the solutions to protect our planet…
As far as I can remember, the ocean has always been a part of my life, but my relationship towards the ocean wasn’t easy in the beginning. I was scared of big waves, and although sharks were already my favourite animals, I was terrified by the idea that a big one would come out of the deep blue to eat me every time I couldn’t see the bottom…
3. What did you like least about where you grew up? What did you like most?
What i like least about where i grew up is the way it has evolved these last couple of years , it has lost its authenticity in my opinion. What i like most about it is the fact that i was blessed to have easy access to the ocean, and that I grew up in it.
5. Who influenced your taste in expression as a child? How so?
I don't know actually, I started expressing myself only very recently.
I would say that its the artists who inspired me such as: Ben Bohmer, Martin Garrix, Lane 8, Ben Thouard, Sam Kolder, etc
6. What was the first full album you purchased/found and couldn’t get enough of?
'Memories Do Not Open' by the Chainsmokers, which has probably my all time favorite song “Paris”
What did it make you feel?
Love
7. What hobbies, sports, events, arts, were you drawn to before the age of 10? Do you feel like you’re still interacting with these same genres in your current time in life? Do you miss any of them?
Honestly I cant think of anything particular before the age of 10, but I remember always being outside alone and exploring nature around my house. This was my favorite thing to do, I was addicted to the feeling of exploring and not knowing what I was going to see, find, and experience.
9. Where do you go to find your peace?
Good question! Finding inner peace is one of the hardest thing to achieve in my opinion, yet it is crucial and people should start working on it as young as possible. It is also one of the keys to living a good life, when you have zero regrets and you are in peace with yourself and very confident in who you are life gets pretty good.
Stopping caring about what others think of you and following what you really enjoy and makes you feel alive despite what everybody else think is the first step i think, for the longest time i used to turn to the outside to try to find peace and be fulfilled but without success. I had to hit the wall hard a couple of times before realizing that paradise is found inside and everything thing I needed was already inside of me.
Growing up I really struggled to love and accept myself, it wasn't until last year 2019 that I started to get better. I really needed to prove some things to myself and it wasn't until I manage to achieve those goals that I would develop self-confidence and self-esteem.
Now every time I want to find peace, I don't look outside for something external to bring me peace, I focus on myself and I remove myself from the noise and spend some time alone, which I think is something very powerful and that every body should do more often.
“In a world where people are constantly craving for attention it can be hard to appreciate and see the value of spending time alone. Communicating has never been so easy, Yet we've never been so lonely.
Our society is valuing consuming over meaning, quantity over quality (in every aspect of life: possessions, friends, love ) thus making it so much harder for people to appreciate and be grateful for what they have...
I feel like most people are afraid to sit down with themselves therefore they crave attention hurting people along their way.
I feel like most people are hurt and "hurt people hurt people "
That's why you have to subtract yourself from the noise in order to be able to hear what you're inner-self is telling you. Take some time alone to work on yourself.
Beautiful things dont ask for attention they are beautiful on their own.
Looking back on my journey, I'm now grateful for the people who made fun of me and put me on the side. No matter how hard it was, it allowed me to spend a incredible amount of time alone at such a young age.
And what almost killed me are now the main reasons I grew into the person i am today...
People don't want to suffer (which I can understand), They're always looking for shortcuts in everything things they do.
But let me tell you something, the hardest roads leads to the most beautiful destinations. But it's not only about the destination, its also about the journey so you better start learning how to embrace pain and turn it into fuel for growth.
All the best things in life are on the other side of fears/effort.
(Ryan's original post with accompanying media can be found at https://www.instagram.com/p/CFDSblHAU1b/ )
Also Being 100% honest is key to achieve peace, and it dramatically helps to stop caring what other people think of you.
“an honest mans pillow is it's peace of mind"
Having Zero regret is also a huge one, we always regret the thing we haven't done or we never went for rather than the things we did even if they didn’t turned out very well. We never regret them, we always learn and grow from them if we take ownership for the consequences of our actions instead of blaming others for our mistakes.
10. What is a lifelong goal you can’t wait to start? What is it about it that brings you to life?
Im gonna be 100% honest on this one.
I've spent the last years creating the life of my dreams for myself, and now every day I'm grateful to live my dreams and enjoying this life I live but I truly believe that as humans we are social beings and life is meant to be shared.
One of the things that I'm looking forward to the most is to be able to share my life with someone who is like minded with a creative/Growth mindset who enjoys the journey rather than the destination and won’t be afraid to choose the path of growth instead of the path of least resistance, Someone who can teach me a lot and make me grow into the best version of
myself as I will do the same for her.
11. Where do you wish to travel to that you have never been? Why?
There are a lot of places that I dream of visiting but if I had to pick one I think Antartica is the one.
Growing up in a tropical environment, I'm not familiar with the cold. There’s something about this place that really attracts me, I think this is a place that pushes you to grow and can blow you away by its beauty even if it is not the easiest destination to reach or explore.
12. How do you connect best with other people?
I connect best with others when I'm only with one or two people. When it comes to people around me I'm all about Quality > Quantity and Less is more.
Im very conscious about who I surround myself with because I think overtime it really makes you who you are, so I try to spend as much time as I can with people who inspire me
13. Favorite song of the moment?
Ahhh Music is such an important part of my life it is so hard to pick one I rather make a playlist!
<--- But this is a good one!
14. What are you most proud of at this exact moment in time?
I'm never very proud of myself, I often devalue myself which I really try to stop. My number one value is Humility, so its always a fight to find the balance between being proud of what I do and devaluing myself. 15. What is the thing you are most shy about? What is the worst that could happen if you did it?
I dont know actually, I use to be a very very very shy person because I lacked self-confidence and self-esteem growing up I was so anxious and shy. I would often be so shy and stressed that I would throw up, and I would always put myself on the side and never talk, but since I've gained confidence and I'm 100% Honest basically I have nothing to hide and I stopped caring about what others think of me. So now I'm not specially scared or shy to talk about anything!
16. What are the qualities that you value most in a friend today?
Integrity, humility, respect
17. How do you find your calm in tumultuous times?
Spending time alone and reminding me of where I'm from, the things I've done, went through, and why I do what I do.
18. What is your current greatest fear?
IDK, I cant think of one currently but fear is a very interesting topic and key to growth
I use fear as compass
If it is scary do it
In the beginning its hard but facing fear is a skill with practice it becomes easier.
I believe we should always face our fears, aim high, and choose the path of growth. I believe that all the best things in life are on the other side of fear.
19. What is your current greatest strength?
Kindness
20. What brings you the most joy?
Love
If I look back the most joyful moment of my life where when I do something that I truly love like shooting waves or diving with tiger sharks it is when love is the most important thing happening in the present moment it is doing something I love to a point that you become love
But to be honest what brings me even more joy is when im in love
21. How does your current line of work support your core values?
Im so grateful for my job as I get to do what I love all day everyday and serving a greater purpose at the same time, showing the beauty of the ocean to make people want to protect it.
Being able to inspire others by trying to show the beauty even where it is not always obvious to see is very important to me! 22. What advice would you give your 10 year old self?
Keep going, be yourself and never give up NO MATTER what
-What advice would your 10 year old self give you?
I have no idea lol
23. What projects are you working on now that you are most excited about? Why are they so valuable to you ?
Haha there's so many amazing projects going on at the same time which I'm very excited for, unfortunately I can't give too much detail on them but to be short, I have a surf video coming out this month as well as a project with Coral Gardeners, our ambassador Guillaume Nery and RedBull. I can't wait to release them!
These projects are so valuable to me because they literally are dreams coming true being asked to do a surf video at Teahupoo and working with people such as Guillaume are things I was dreaming about.
24. Who would you have coffee with dead or alive? Why?
I don't drink coffee but ..
25. Who do you find most inspiring at this current time in your life?
I don't have a particular name but here’s five of my top inspirations at this time:
26. Do you have a morning or night routine? If so, why are they important to you?
Yes, I use to not have one and it was horrible. Now, I don't have the most complex routine but it works very well for me.
During the week I go to bed before 9:30pm and wake up at 6am to do a bodyweight workout on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday I wake up at 7 and don't workout.
During the weekend I wake up when I want to. I try to stay away from my phone and social media for at least the first hour after I wake up.
I cook as often as I can, mainly vegetables, vegetable proteins, sometimes I eat some local fresh fish.
27. How do you best honor yourself?
With discipline. I read this on instagram and it really stuck with me:
"Discipline is the strongest form of self love. It is ignoring current pleasures for bigger rewards to come, it is loving yourself enough to give you everything you’ve ever wanted."
28. What is the craziest thing you want to do?
Idk I really love dangerous stuff, it might be weird but as far as I can remember I've always been amazed by storm and I would love to go storm chasing some day! I've also always dreamt of experiencing a big storm in a big ship like a research vessel or an icebreaker.
29. What is your favorite meal to cook when you need something fast, and when you are ready to invest in the kitchen?
Some rice with some Carrots, courgettes, Aubergines and I crack two eggs in the pan with the vegetables.
Ahi Poke bowl with avocado is my favorite meal
30. What is your favorite question to ask others?
I don't really like to ask questions I'm still a bit shy to new people
31. What are your favorite travel tips?
Travel light, and avoid doing the tourist stuff. Hang out with local people,
they know and love where they live.
32. And of course, what is your go-to travel snack?
I love cliff bars
A Final Note from Ryan: "I believe we should always face our fears, aim high, and choose the path of growth. I believe that all the best things in life are on the other side of fear. Changing the world starts by changing yourself." Ryan currently resides in the French Caribbean Islands. He can be found at @ryan_borne as well as doing an incredible program called Coral Gardeners, which is working to repair and regrow our oceans's reefs at @coralgardeners
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