Land Ho: Cast Members From Below Deck TV Series Spotted in Colorado
We all have our reality television guilty pleasures. Mine happens to be Below Deck and all of its spin-offs on Bravo TV. From the original Below Deck to Below Deck Mediterranean and Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Bravo keeps its number one franchise on the air almost year round these days.
If you're not familiar, it's a reality show that follows the crew of a super yacht during a charter season at various locations around the world. From the Caribbean to Croatia, Thailand to Tahiti, there's always a gorgeous backdrop for these dream charter vacations and the gorgeous people that take them.
You may not know that quite a few Below Deck alumni have ties to Colorado. Whether living here now or at some point in their lives, attending college here or just visiting, the crews of the boats of Below Deck have spent considerable time in the Centennial State.
For starters, let's flash back to that one time I met Captain Lee from the original Below Deck.
My wife, daughter and I took a trip to Fort Lauderdale back in November 2018. My oldest daughter was then only five months old, and fun fact, had an insanely loaded diaper when this picture was taken. Because of our emergency status -- parents can relate -- we couldn't wait around for the planned meet and greet with Captain Lee, so he came out to meet us specifically and even gave us his book. He's much, much nicer in real life than he appears at times on the TV show.
When she's not at sea, Below Deck Mediterranean's Captain Sandy Yawn lives in Colorado.
Captain Sandy and her partner Leah Shafer can be found all over the state, from Denver to most recently in Aspen over the holidays. She met Shafer three years ago in Los Angeles and moved here to be closer to her, that is when she's not driving and docking super yacht charters all around the Mediterranean.
Below Deck Mediterranean seasons three and four stewardess Aesha Jean Scott has been spending most of her time living in the Rocky Mountains.
The very likable Kiwi -- that'd be someone from New Zealand -- fully embraces the Colorado nomad life as she and her boyfriend Scotty have been tooling around various Rocky Mountain towns in a converted ambulance for the better part of 2021.
They even have a YouTube channel where they documented some of their travels across the western US. They eventually landed in Colorado, fell in love with it, and have spent most of their time here ever since.
Below Deck Med Seasons 2, 6 and 7 Deckhand turned Bosun, Malia White, graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
If you Google "where did Malia White go to college" you'll find results that say she didn't attend college. But straight from Malia herself, on a recent episode of the Hollywood Raw Podcast, she says she graduated from CU Boulder. Her and a friend were trying to figure out what to do with themselves while living here after school and decided to apply to some reality shows in the short term. She got the call from Below Deck Mediterranean and got her first yachtie job in the process, which has led to advancement in the industry. She's now on the fast track to becoming a captain.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht season one stewardess Madison Stalker quarantined at the beginning of COVID in Fort Collins.
Legend has it she was visiting friends in Fort Collins when COVID swept through the world, initially leaving everyone stuck where they were. She stayed here for a while before heading back to her travels, which have since taken her all over the world, on and off boats.
Below Deck Med and Below Deck Sailing Yacht chef Adam Glick has spent considerable time in Colorado.
Chef Adam travels the country with his dog in a pretty sweet converted van as the "Adventure Chef," cooking in the woods, by lakes or wherever he parks for the night or a few days at a time. He now has his own line of chef's supplies, including some really nice knife sets.
He also puts out some pretty awesome recipe and cooking tip videos on YouTube, like this fireside cooking demonstration for Chicken Fried Steak in Rocky Mountain National Park.
I'm sure there are more Colorado ties to Below Deck. Know of any? Hit me up anytime with your tips or cast spottings!