Shawn Heinrichs lives in the USA, but he was born in Durban, South Africa. During his childhood, he travelled with his father to remote villages of Southern Africa, explored the Drakensberg Mountains, and spent hours on pristine beaches. His passion for the ocean led him to become a scuba diver, an underwater videographer, and a marine ecology specialist. Today, he is an independent director and the founder of Blue Sphere Media and Wildsphere Productions, two companies specializing in underwater, adventure and conservation films. His award-winning work was broadcasted all over the world, and he has been featured in the press and many online publications.
 
For instance, he worked with Anderson Cooper of CNN, Yann Arthus Bertrand, National Geographic and top marine conservation organizations such as WildAid, Shark Savers, Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy and Pew Environmental Group.

While working as an investigative conservation journalist, Shawn has gone undercover to get footage of remotes places in Papua, Indonesia, Equator, Costa Rica, Mexico, Fiji, Africa and Japan, seeking for evidence about endangered species trade. His images were used in many documentaries and communication campaigns to raise awareness to hundreds of thousands of people.

Key areas of Shawn’s conservation focus include ending the barbaric slaughter of sharks for their fins and establishing marine protected areas. Shawn is one of the key members who created the first protected areas of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. He is also a member of the international board of WildAid, an organization which goal is to eradicate the trade of protected species, and the board of Shark Savers, a charity aiming to save sharks through awareness and education. Shawn is regularly speaking about these issues at conferences all over the world.

© Blue Sphere Media / Wildsphere Productions