Leadership at Sea: Larkin Bohn’s Story of Adventure and Empowerment Transcript

Explore the incredible story of Larkin Bohn, a fearless adventurer who turned her passion for the sea into a mission of empowerment. From life on cruise ships to mentoring future leaders, discover how Larkin’s journey inspires others to chase their dreams.

Transcript

Craig Weaver: Welcome to Response Leadership brought to you by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, a leader in response training. We are a podcast bringing you leadership expertise from the top minds in emergency response. I’m your host, Craig Weaver. I work in marketing and communications here at TEEX.

Today our guest is Larkin Bohn, and I was trying to figure out a title for you and I have no idea what to say. You’re like the most adventurous free-spirited person ever. So, what do you call yourself?

Larkin Bohn: I think I would call myself maybe… like jobwise? I mean I know I just made business cards, and I put on my business card: host, speaker, videographer. And those titles have morphed and evolved so much over the last 12 years, but especially in the last like two years. It’s… you know we’re gaining momentum here so it’s exciting times.

Craig Weaver: I first heard about you, came in communication with you through another employee here of TEEX, Elizabeth Earle who did a story with you a while back, and she came around to all of us and said y’all have to pay attention to this woman she’s amazing. So, I started following you on Instagram.

Larkin Bohn: That’s amazing.

Craig Weaver: And she’s right. You have the craziest adventures of a life. Start from when before you got on a ship full-time and we’ll go from there.

Larkin Bohn: okay sounds good! It’s kind of like a little origin story. It all began um I was I’m from Louisville, Kentucky but I was living in Chicago, Illinois at the time. I had been there for six years. At 32 I was just kind of like man I’ve been bartending, like odd jobs here and there and I really enjoyed the city, but I was ready for something different. During that time, I was also trying to plan like for my mother and I to go to Hawaii because she’s never been, and I had the opportunity to go a couple times so I was looking at cruise ships. When I was looking at Norwegian Cruise Lines it this little star was flashing in the corner “now hiring” and I was like “ooo let me check that out”.

I never thought about working on a boat before but you know and the only Cruise I’d ever been on I didn’t like actually so I was like, I’m all about always exploring right and like just checking just check it out you don’t have to commit to anything but just check it out so I clicked on the star and it turned out that in two weeks from that day there was an open house in Chicago. So I thought and my heart kind of jumped a beat you know like I think there’s moments in our lives where a major change is about to happen and we can feel it if we’re you know if we pay attention we can we can feel those moments and that was a definite moment I was like I know I’ve got to get my resume together this is something so I went down to the open house, I got the job, and the next thing I know I’m in Hawaii.  I’m in this way new like environment you know I went from like Chicago to now I’m living on a ship with 1,000 crew members right big ship 1,000 crew members and 2500 guests so 3500 people on this big moving city, right. I’m going to be honest it was so big and so like complex like the behind the scenes. I got lost for the first two weeks, it took me a while to figure out how to even get outside on certain decks and you know make phone calls home I was like “how do I get to where huh” because yeah it was just it was confusing. I fell in love with life at sea right away, I loved waking up in a different port every day I loved meeting these people from all over the world hearing their stories and um and just being on the ocean, right. Just that in itself was just so beautiful every day if I was stressed out about something I could go to the top deck and just look at that water and it just went forever. So, I fell in love with it but I didn’t really like my job on board the ship I was a jewelry salesperson and I’m very like Hands-On. I like to get my hands in it and the jewelry store was very reserved and conservative, but I saw what the deck hands were doing. I saw the deck hands you know painting and with their power tools and driving the tender boats and up in the bridge with the captain and I was like that is it. Can I do that? Can I do that at 32? Can I do that? Sure, enough yes you can, it just takes a little bit of networking and a little leg work. It’s a lot easier if you start like out of high school right and you go to say an Academy that’s one way to do it. It’s also pretty easy to work your way up the house pipe. That’s what called what I did, right. The house pipe is where the anchor chain comes out so it’s kind of like working your way up the chain. So, I did. That’s how I got started and I found a company that hired unlicensed deck hands. UnCruise, they were fantastic, they’re a wonderful company. Very progressive company to work for and I worked with them for about five years. With them I was working in Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, like all sorts of places. I got a really good foundation as a sailor at that place and then it moved on from there to go to research vessels. Then of course the research vessels, I discovered videography where I started like filming the scientist on board. That has led me, that’s opened up so many doors. I mean really, it’s just like all these doors keep on opening and I just I’m just dancing right through them.

Craig Weaver: Wow! Well, you told me a story about, you were on the cruise ship and before you made a move off the cruise ship you just happened to look out and see another… what was that story?

Larkin Bohn: I’m getting little Goose pimples right now. Yes okay! It was probably like in the first few months or like six months I was on board the Norwegian Cruise Lines part of America and Hawaii. Its itinerary is a wonderful itinerary, it goes throughout the islands. I was, we were, out on deck one day and I see this boat it looks like a Catamaran, right. Okay, but it’s huge right and it’s very industrial, it’s like it’s got the Catamaran silhouette but it’s way more industrial. It’s not a luxury liner at all and I asked you I was like “What is that thing? What is that over there?” They said, “oh that’s the Kilo Moana that’s a research vessel” and I was like that’s it. I want that. and at that point I was not a deck hand. I was just working in the jewelry store for the last six months on this ship.

Craig Weaver: Wow.

Larkin Bohn: I knew I wanted that. So, honestly before I even before I even left Norwegian Cruise Lines to get my first unlicensed deckhand job while I was still working the jewelry store. I took like a little day trip to the port Captain over at the University of Hawaii because that’s where the Kilo Moana ported out of. It was the University of Hawaii’s boat. Navy owned but the University of Hawaii took care of it. So, I went to the port captain, and I said “Hi I’m Larkin Bohn, I really love your, I want to work on this ship, I love science, I love you know the ocean. I want to be a part of this and I’m a hard worker.” He was like wow I really like your enthusiasm. How long have you been a deck hand?” and I said, “a what no, no, no, no, no I’m coming here to be a deck hand” and he was like, “what kind of sea experience do you have?” I was like, “oh I’m on the pride of America”. He was like, “Look I really I like your enthusiasm a lot. I think you would be a really great worker but you need to go get a lot of credentials before this actually happens, but I’ll tell you what, you go get those credentials and you come back here and I’ll give you the job.”

Years later, I mean it took me about 5 years to get, you have to get all this sea time and credentials and all these things. But, I got it and then I became an AB unlimited and I got on those on those ships.

Craig Weaver: Well, TEEX comes into play somewhere in that time of your life. What did you experience with TEEX? How did you come across TEEX at all?

Larkin Bohn: Love TEEX. Okay so I was on the Kilo Moana at the time, and they needed we had a fast rescue boat. So, like there’s rescue boats but then there’s fast rescue boats and certain ships have those and with those come certain rules when you have one of those ships. One of the rules is that you have to have so many people that are qualified to drive that fast rescue boat, and I think at the time there was somebody that was about to leave. I think there was only like a couple people who could do it and so they needed two more people to do it. So, they sent my Chief mate and me out to go qualify and so we did. It was such a great experience. I mean the teachers first off let me say this, it was during covid times. So, there was just my mate and me in the classroom right with our little mask on and teacher with the mask on. Even though it was like that, we had the best experience you know, I mean it was very interactive. The teacher was the instructor, it was wonderful we still we got out on the ship we did all these practices. During that time, I actually I had so much fun I made a video about it and uh posted on my YouTube. I think that’s probably how the interview happened because that video got posted. That was my connection to TEEX. I just, I love TEEX.

Craig Weaver: Did you always have that kind of “I see something that looks interesting, I’m going to go do this” kind of spirit? Have you grown up like with an adventurous kind of…

Larkin Bohn: Yeah, so not my family so much. My mom is not a big traveler. Dad was like you know hippie in 1969 he was out in Haight-Ashbury. How did he get there? That man hitchhiked across the United States. He was you know a nomad for a while and very adventurous, very connected to Nature and stuff. So, I think that’s where I get that from that just kind of like and yeah I don’t know. I’ve always been really in curious. I’m very curious.

Craig Weaver: you follow it, yeah.

Larkin Bohn: Yeah, I’m curious and I follow it. I think maybe sometimes when I’m like in it, I’m at a crossroads. I’m like I could go that way, or I could not. I think what gets me more than curiosity is the fear of regretting not knowing what it would have been like. I don’t know why; I don’t know where I got that from or why that happened um kind of, I think it got amped up even more honestly. So, my father passed away around the same time that I started working on ships and I think that happening at early 30s is pretty early for you to lose a parent. I think that really kind of made me think life. It made me think about life and how short it is, you know. How precious time is like the biggest commodity. I mean there’s nothing more valuable than time. So, when I come to those decisions, should I do that thing, it’s like if you don’t, you’ll never know what it would have been like. It’s been a combination of a few things uh but that would be a big one.

Craig Weaver: Well, it seemed like I guess when I found out about who you were I started following you on social media. What kind of birth the interest in documenting videos and posting? You have a lot of presence on social on Instagram. You do a lot of stuff, I mean did you start, what made you get interested in doing that?

Larkin Bohn: I didn’t see other people like me, like it was women representation. Now at first, I will say I started playing with videos while I was working at UnCruise with my friend Patience. She taught me the art of editing a video on your phone like using iMovie and things like that. That’s how I got introduced like the possibility of me even editing anything or shooting anything but then when I got to the research vessels that’s when like it amped up. Now when I was at UnCruise they were like I said a very progressive company and there were times where there would be you know women from Captain all the way down to like the deck hands. So, there was women, so it was really good for me to grow up I guess like as a sailor in that environment because I was learning without having the handicap of thinking and are they doing this because I’m a girl you know. There’s just not a lot of women out there and so I just I didn’t have to deal with any of that, it was just kind of like “oh you’re just a person we’re learning” but when I got on Research vessels, I noticed how different I was. I noticed that there weren’t a lot of me, and it was just it was more of a working ship and um and I just…but I loved it, you know. I mean I also have a military background I was in the Army and so like I’m a very creative person but I also flourish in kind of militant situations. I don’t know why but I loved it. So, I thought to myself “you know like this would have been so good, I could have done this out of high school.” I want to show my cousin that has a little girl named Juniper. I think it was not seeing other women on the ships and then my cousin having this little girl, and me thinking about her future, right. Me thinking I want her to walk on a ship and not be like this weird thing you know, and it not be her worry about being second guess or anything that because she’s a woman. You know like just her just being another sailor so I think that really has been because she’s six years old right so like that has been a big force. That’s when it really all it all kind of came together at real time. I didn’t realize what was happening but all of these thing’s kind of happened at the same time.

Craig Weaver: Well, I mean a big theme that I’m you know speaking with you and seeing what you’ve posted you’re very much about empowering, lifting up, celebrating women.

Larkin Bohn: Yes.

Craig Weaver: Do you feel like a leader?

Larkin Bohn: That makes me want to tear up. I don’t see myself that way, but I would like to be. One thing that I’ve realized is I used to think of myself, I used to see myself differently. Now I’m getting more recognition and more like responsibility in these jobs. I’m thinking about myself in that in that power position and I used to kind of shy away from it like, “no, no, no that’s for somebody who’s more qualified” but I’m starting to realize I’m really qualified. I think having that self-realization is like “no, no, no” like I’m starting to see people like saying things that are completely incorrect. I’m like just give me the microphone, hold on let me say something. You know, because the confidence I’ve gained in the past few years has been is showing I think and I do want to see myself in a leadership position. I want to be a public speaker you know like this TEDx that I’m about to do I thought that the biggest way I could get inspiration out there and women recognition would be through like Instagram or YouTube and that is one Avenue for sure. But to have like a TEDx talk then I could maybe go to conferences around the world and spread my message you know and that’s kind of what I’m hoping happens next, is some sort of something comes out of the TEDx that involves more of a “less Instagram” and more like I want to go bigger, you know. Not saying that Instagram’s not big, like if I had a million followers that’d be great, but I still don’t have like those you know thousands and thousands of followers. However, the followers that I do have are wonderful and I’m getting great opportunities with the people that I’m reaching through Instagram, but the speaking position and being leader is something that it’s just happening. What is, what do they say that “Great leaders don’t ask for it, it’s just put upon them” or something.

Craig Weaver: A lot of times you know when I interview people for this podcast or for wherever most of the people that come across as influential important leader types, they’re the first people to say, “Oh I don’t know.” You know, they do shy away from it. There’s a humility about it but everyone in their life goes, “oh no, he or she is a …they’re a leader, they’re a mentor to me” and I’m going to get back to that. But you just said something about “my message”, what do you want to say to people? What do you want to get out?

Larkin Bohn: You can really do anything. You can do anything you set your mind to. Dreams are possible and attainable. Sometimes it can take a little bit more time than you think, you know. One thing that I was actually thinking about this morning was… while I’m going through the steps it feels like it’s taking forever like is anybody seeing these videos? Is anything happening? Then when I look back on it it’s like oh my gosh, it’s all the stuff that’s happened in the past couple of years. Things have happened pretty fast. I would say like my message is whatever your dream is, it’s possible on some level and to start working towards that because if you just do 1% towards that goal every day that’s going to add up it doesn’t happen overnight. I used to get so frustrated and think it’s not happening right now and just throw it out and now I think no it’s just don’t scratch it. You got to keep on with that thing but just a little bit, don’t burn yourself out on it just do a little bit. You’ll get there. You’ll definitely get there.

Craig Weaver: I mean that that’s a great message because most people don’t follow through. It’s a tough thing to do time money all the things in life that make you go, “ I want to do it I just for these reasons I don’t think I can or should.” So it’s understandable but that’s great. Have you had a lot of mentors in your life?

Larkin Bohn: I would say most of the mentors I’ve had have come through like sailing like different captains that I’ve worked with and mates that I’ve worked with. More recently I’ve been getting involved with online groups. Not like Facebook groups but like these on online groups where you pay to be a part of the group and we do like three month, what they call like three-month container. During that container you meet up on a zoom twice a week for like three hours and you go over whatever your goals are kind of thing and it is through those groups that I am meeting. They say there’s the saying, “I can show you your future if you show me your five closest friends right .”

Craig Weaver: Oh, wow that’s scary.

Larkin Bohn: It’s true because whoever we hang out with, you are you just… if you’re hanging out with somebody who’s like a personal trainer right, you’re probably going to work out a little bit more because they love to do that. If you hang out with a finance person you’re going to get tips on the stocks. If you hang out with somebody who hangs out on the couch all day, you’re going to hang out on the couch all day. I’m learning… in these containers it’s been mostly women and so like and a lot of these women, are women that like, “you want to talk to me.” They see something of me too so I would say through those groups and advice to people that are starting something look for like groups of people because we have this internet that you know in these social media communities there’s so many possibilities for you. Just go into a search bar and like you know group for this and then you can start networking with people about whatever it is you’re interested in. Through those groups though I definitely have some mentors now and always try to look back to again like women of the past. I love reading about women that that were Innovative. I love reading innovative women in the past like their stories and it really inspires me.

Craig Weaver: Wow do you feel like you’re a mentor?

Larkin Bohn: No, okay so it’s funny. If you would ask me that last year I would have said no. This year before I would have even said yes somebody offered me a job to be a mentor. The year started off for me um I was working on the JOIDES Resolution, and it was a 60-day at sea mission where it was International scientists from all over the world and my job on board was not a sailor. It was my first time going on board as the science communicator which I was um taking what the scientists were doing and making fun videos to show on social media. You know explain their science but so after that for 60 days I get home I put my bags down and then I get a phone call saying, “Hey, you know we really liked what you did on the JODIES can you come be a mentor on the Nautilus the EVNautilus. Which is a ship funny enough that I was waiting I wanted to get on for over a decade. I wanted the Nautilus for a decade. Never got it as a sailor, but as a mentor. So, I did a two- week mission as a mentor and what we did was through a wonderful group called STEAMSEAS they’re fantastic. What they did was they took; I believe it was eight students and then three mentors on board the Nautilus and we all met up in Hawaii and we set sale in Hawaii and went up to Canada and during that Transit we did workshops. Helped them out with the projects, each one each one of the students had their own science communication kind of project to do that they could show and that could be videos working with Legos. They had really great ideas like one of them was like a brochure, one of them was a children’s book, so like all these ideas to. So, we helped them during that that two week, and I got to tell you it is one thing to make these videos and to get you know the comments. Believe me, I cry all the time with the comments. But when you’re standing in front of the people, you know these students, and you’re connecting with them. Eye to eye and you see things clicking you know and then afterwards you see them go over and take what you told them and incorporate that into what they’re doing. I don’t know if there’s anything more gratifying than that. That just makes my heart explode. I’m like, “Oh my gosh look at this” like to hear what they’re up to now. Just to see the progress, it’s just it’s amazing. It’s really amazing.

Craig Weaver: I definitely want to know… I’ll ask you about Ted Talk. How did that come about?

Larkin Bohn: I was really lucky. I started thinking about become like getting into speaking like probably like six months ago it was kind of something that I don’t know if I maybe said something out loud and my phone picked it up. I started getting ads, but I was I was toying with the idea and I was a theater major and I don’t so I don’t mind public speaking. Ted is something that I’ve always I mean gosh, who doesn’t love Ted right? It was kind of like, it was on my radar but just out of nowhere this woman who I worked with on cruise she contacted me. She was one of the wellness instructors on board, so she was in charge of like yoga, massages, and stuff like that on this small cruise ship. She does a bunch of other things, she’s like she’s also like a jack of all trades and she was organizing this all women event for TEDx in Seattle and she contacted me and asked me if I would like to be a part of it. So, I didn’t do, I’m telling you, that’s what I’m saying, it’s like these doors open and I just danced on through. Just keep, oh, advice for people always say yes. Just say yes.

Craig Weaver: What are you speaking about? What are you going to talk about?

Larkin Bohn: I’m going to be talking about identity and how um how we one of the biggest struggles that I had when I was leaving being a sailor to becoming a science videographer to becoming a videographer. Just stepping out of that sailor role full time really scared me. It really scared me and I had to really sit with myself and figure out what is it? Why am I holding on to this so much? On the other side of that there were wonderful opportunities and things and projects that I wanted to work on that were just as you know as important as what I was doing over here with the sailing. For some reason I couldn’t let go of that so the talk goes over how I got over that so that I could live my dream life. I think it’s a big problem we don’t realize it’s not really what other people think about us that is so debilitating it’s how we see ourselves. If you don’t believe that you can do that thing nobody else is going to believe you either. You know, but for me it’s about letting go of that part of myself but realizing that I didn’t really let go of anything I still got everything I had. So, it’s like that it’s not how you think it really is. It’s a little bit everything, a little backwards so it’s just kind of breaking that down for people and giving them advice on how to, if they’re trying to make a big change in their life or any changes in their life, a couple of questions that they can ask themselves that might help that process.

Craig Weaver: Interesting, well this it’s four days away? Is that right?

Larkin Bohn: Yes, today is Tuesday, Saturday morning I will be stepping on the TEDx stage in Seattle and delivering my first ever Ted Talk.

Craig Weaver: That’s amazing.

Larkin Bohn: First of many, I hope.

Craig Weaver: How are you feeling about it right now?

Larkin Bohn: Right now. It’s the advice they give you. They say to memorize it word for word and it’s funny. The other day, well, I’ve done it. I’ve got a counter, let’s see hold on I’m going to show you. Well, I turned my phone off because we’re doing this, and it’s connected but I trust me I’m up to 170 counting. So, I’ve done it 170 times and I plan on doing it at least 200 by the time that I get to the stage. I’ve got it memorized. I can say it you know I can say it with myself no problem but tonight I’m going to an open mic. I’m tonight, tomorrow, and Thursday. There’s three open mics the next three days. So, every night I’m going to go because I know what happens when you A look at a camera or B look at people. It’s like your brain goes blank. So, I have been practicing with the camera getting better at that and tonight we will introduce strangers.

It’s a very different world from no one’s listening to people are standing there staring at you. I always tell people when I’m interviewing them, it’s easy for me. I’m on the other side but when Lights and Camera, you feel interrogated first of all but, it’s like the only no one practices that. You don’t ever in life, you’re never standing there like that until you’re standing there like. It’s overwhelming.

Larkin Bohn: That’s why the closest thing I could get to it was like okay I’m going to do the open mic. The other thing about it is, they say to memorize your Ted Talk. Ted Talk is unlike any other public speaking; this is what my coach told me. He was like it’s like unlike any other public speaking you’re going to do because the idea is you really the audience is there yes. But you really want to connect with the YouTube people at home. So normally when you’re doing public speaking, you’re interacting with the audience and your blah blah blah blah getting to raise their hands and laugh with you and all this stuff. He’s like you don’t do any of that at TED you’re talking to the camera because you’re talking to somebody at home. I’m okay and he says you have got to memorize everything and with public speaking normally you wouldn’t have to you’d have like your slides and you go over and look at your little notes and stuff. So, I realized I to myself, I was like oh my gosh this is the hardest talk I’m ever going to give. This is the hardest one. Once I do this, all the other public speaking engagements that I get after this because yes it’s gonna happen. They’re all going to be easier because I’ll have my PowerPoint, and I’ll have my notes and everything. This is the only one, it’s like a monologue almost you have one word for word.

Craig Weaver: So, this will come out after you’ve done your Ted Talk. How do people go to find this?

Larkin Bohn:  Well, it should be it, so the Ted Talk is going to be on the 7th of December. They say it takes a month to like two months for it to even like air. So I’m not sure and then they say like there’s a chance it won’t. Which I know it must. I will definitely what I’m going to do is on my Instagram which @LarkinBohn you’ll be able to follow along where in the countdown we are for the for the Ted Talk. I’m sure they’re going to give me information on that and then I’ll be able to through Instagram you know tell people about it.

Craig Weaver: I would encourage anyone to follow you on Instagram. It’s fantastic.

Larkin Bohn: Thank you so much.

Craig Weaver: Well, you have a lot coming up and you have a lot you hope to be part of. What in all of this, what is fulfilling to you? What makes you the happiest?

Larkin Bohn: Oh I’m going to cry again. It’s really the little girls. I don’t know why uh I mean I guess kids right to always talk at the heartstrings. I have parents contacting me and saying like, “Oh I just sent this to my daughter”, “Oh my daughter’s watching this.” It’s really, it’s about the future. That’s what pumps me up. It’s bringing like all the hard work from the women behind me, who have all like who have worked so hard to get me where I am. This last Women’s International day was such a huge one for me because I was on the ship and really it really made me take a step back and look at my entire life. It would not be possible maybe like 30 years ago like I was in the military, sailor that just happened in the 70s. You know these things are pretty recent and it just blew my mind. I’m like, “Oh my God.” I think one of the things I cherish the most is my freedom. I really cherish being able to go and do as I please and have that taken away you know things, we’ve come a long way, you know. We still got a ways to go but we you know we’ve come a long way and so I think about like all of those women and then I’m like in the middle. I’m part of it, you know. I’m pushing the future generation and so I think about I think about Juniper, I think about my you know my cousin’s little girl. I think about the um the women that you know hit me up on Instagram and Facebook and dads too that are like, “oh my daughter this” or “my daughter that.” Even like their sons too, it’s not just the girls like friends are digging it too and they’re getting the message like of equality and empowerment too. I do it for the kids.

Craig Weaver: That’s awesome. Thank you so much for being on here it was so great to talk to you and finally get to hear your story. I appreciate you.

Larkin Bohn: Thank you so much.

Craig Weaver: Best of luck. It’s going to be awesome.

Larkin Bohn: Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

Craig Weaver: Thank you for listening to Response Leadership brought to you by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please leave a review and follow us on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts or visit us at TEEX.org podcasts new episodes are released on the fourth Tuesday of every month.