Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly Gordon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

My biggest failure in life was not chasing my lifelong dream, rather, actually giving up on it after I had achieved it. I had long wanted to be a veterinarian, since I was 6 years old, in fact. And, I got into veterinary school after I applied the first time, something that is unheard of. But, I quit 6 weeks in. I was not in a good place emotionally, didn’t feel worthy, smart enough, and didn’t have the money to get myself thru, despite having taken out maximum loans. After feeling like a complete disappointment to friends and family, which I wasn’t as I was a good person and had just graduated with my B.S. in Chemistry, I ran. I moved to the east coast of NC with the first man that paid attention to me as I had also just gone thru a terrible break up. I thought a man would define me. I got married and divorced, twice, attempted suicide, and then was set onto a path of healing. All of this set me onto the path of where I am today-the happiest I have ever been. I worked hard, exceptionally hard at healing my heart and soul and met a very special human. I didn’t know at the time that this human would become so instrumental in my life and all she did was ask to show me around the amazing little town I had moved to. She invited me to an outing on a yacht. This simple gesture and invitation would set me on one of the greatest paths of success in my entire life-where I am now-one of the most respected and successful superyacht captains in the world with a social media platform that has grown to inspire people to live their best lives. That is true success-touching the lives of others.

Kelly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Authentic and genuine, there is no other way to be. Being authentic and genuine is what has allowed me to be so successful as a captain and as a brand. I am most proud of the difference that I have been able to make in the lives of others. I am proud that I have become one of the most respected individuals in a male dominated career.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My current social media presence was born out off an accident. I really never liked social media as I thought that it created more disconnect than connectedness. But, since I am at sea and gone a lot, creating a Facebook and Instagram account made sense so that I could see what my siblings were up to when I couldn’t directly talk to them. And as I traveled to more and more unique and beautiful corners of the world I thought I should share them. So, I started ‘dabbling’ in social media, but quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing. So, I hired a social media manager to do it for me and it grew! Folks were sending me messages such as, ‘I can see the sea thru your eyes’ or ‘you have inspired me to travel, or ‘you have inspired me to live again.’ It was at that moment that I knew I had something and knew that I had to keep going even if all I ever did was change just one life. It has now grown to so much more than that. So, my advice on doing what I have done, in any capacity, is simple, yet so difficult. Be your most authentic self. So easy, yet so hard.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

The yacht that I was in command of at the time caught on fire while at sea. And as most things such as these go, it went from bad to worse. The morning started with me thoroughly and obsessively checking the weather as a prudent captain would do. It was forecasted to be a beautiful day, no wind, not a cloud in the sky, and flat seas. Then! A microburst, unforecasted storm, popped up and kicked the seas up, water entered the vessel, shorted the battery charger, and started an electrical fire. I smelled smoke, but was sure that I was making this up. It just couldn’t be. I was on the fly bridge (top) of the vessel so I couldn’t hear the alarms and especially so with the winds. But, I smelled it again. My mate and I made eye contact and he went to do his normal hourly engine room checks, but didn’t come back in the amount of time that is normal. So, I left the helm, went downstairs and was immediately hit with a wall of smoke and blaring fire alarms. I just knew he was passed out in the engine room and my mind immediately went into rescue mode. How was I going to get a grown man up a narrow companionway? Fortunately, our training had paid off and he know just what to do. He had put the fire mostly out and had to go back in momentarily to put the remaining smolder out. I returned to the helm to begin recording my position to make potential emergency calls. However, we came out unscathed and made it safely to safe harbor. Our training had paid off.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://captainkellyjgordon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/captain_kellyjgordon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.gordon.1217
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/captainkellyjgordon/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@captain_kellyjgordon

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