Deep Dive: Brook and Zane Silvester

Episode Notes

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Eyes for Lives: Building the Next Generation of First Nations Lifeguards

What if one of the most effective ways to prevent drowning is not a new rescue technique, but helping people reconnect with culture, community, and the ocean?

In this episode of Deep Dive Into Water Safety, Bundjalung Saltwater People Brook Silvester and his son Zane join the program to discuss the work they are doing to create new pathways into water safety for Indigenous youth on Australia's Gold Coast.

Among many coastal First Nations communities in Australia, Saltwater People are those whose identity, culture, stories, food sources, travel routes, and responsibilities are closely tied to the sea and waterways. Knowledge of currents, tides, weather, fishing grounds, and safe movement through the water has traditionally been passed from one generation to the next.

Brook is the founder of First Nations Lifeguards and Bombora Surf School. He brings more than four decades of experience in and around the ocean as a surfer, water cinematographer, surf coach, and lifeguard.

Many people will also recognize Brook's work behind the camera on Bondi Rescue, where he spent more than 11 years filming rescues and working alongside some of Australia's most experienced lifeguards, including Bruce "Hoppo" Hopkins. Brook credits those experiences, and Hoppo's mentorship, with helping shape his approach to water safety one that focuses not only on rescue, but on prevention, education, trust, and community connection.

Zane is a professional sponsored surfer, surf coach, lifeguard, and proud Bundjalung man who is helping carry that work forward. He understands the importance of being visible to young Indigenous people who may never have seen someone from their community working in those roles.

The conversation centers on the First Nations Lifeguards Academy, the Eyes for Lives pathway, and Bombora Surf School. While these programs teach swimming, surfing, ocean awareness, hazard recognition, and lifesaving skills, they are really about something much bigger. They are about confidence, identity, leadership, and connection.

For Saltwater People, the ocean is not simply a place for recreation. It is connected to culture, family, story, responsibility, and knowledge that has been passed from one generation to the next for thousands of years. Brook and Zane explain how reconnecting young people to that knowledge can also help create safer relationships with the water.

At the center of that work is Eyes for Lives, a pathway that helps young people develop water confidence, environmental awareness, leadership skills, and a sense of belonging before moving toward lifeguard qualifications and employment opportunities. The goal is not simply to create lifeguards. It is to create future leaders.