Q&A With Underwater Lights’ Zack Savage

Denison took a few moments recently to sit down with Underwater Lights’ Zack Savage, creator of the infamous Between Two Yeti’s series:

What is Underwater Lights?

Underwater Lights Limited is the original underwater light coming, now in its 27th year in business and maintaining its position as the number one choice by the majority of superyacht owners, designers and shipyards all around the world. We have provided underwater lighting to many of the most prestigious superyachts in the world in the last quarter of a century. We also do smaller boats, like center consoles and so on, but sometimes the lights are too bright for them!

How long have you worked there, and what do you do there?

I have worked as the manufacturer’s sales representative for Underwater Lights Limited in the U.S. since 2014, and in that time we have seen our market share grow consistently year over year. Our core business has and always will be the large European superyacht yards, however our product range is so diverse and well priced, virtually every boat in the States can now have affordable, quality underwater lights.

What did you do before you worked there?

Since leaving college in the UK in 2004, I have always worked in the manufacturing and sales of lighting for the marine industry. Prior to 2014, I worked for another marine lighting manufacturer for 10 years, first in the warranty and then sales division.

What are some of your most popular products?

Our new QT-100 is fast becoming a must-have for larger OEM manufacturers and end users alike. This is because it is small, incredibly strong and the brightest that is on the market, and importantly at the right price. The price point on this light puts it into the mainstream category, i.e. boats ranging from 40-80 ft., and it is brighter than all of our competitors, some of whom make their units out of plastic. We only use marine grade bronze, borosilicate glass and anodized aluminum, which are the standard materials for the harsh marine environment to ensure longevity.

What trends are you seeing in underwater lighting right now?

The current “hot” trend in underwater lighting has to be the option for full-color control of your lights using your smart device. As LED technology is progressing at “light” speed, (pun intended) the upward trend in brightness will only increase. Ten years ago, a 1,000-lumen light was considered top of its class; now we are pushing out lights with 25,000 lumens, and they will only continue to get brighter!

What is Between Two Yeti’s?

Between Two Yeti’s is essentially an internet “chat show.” We grab a beer, sit on two Yeti coolers (the host and a guest) and we share our discussions on various social media platforms. Our founding theory was that people do not talk anymore, its normally just small talk “chit chat” or gossip at random social events and boat shows – so we wanted to really get to know the people behind the industry and hear their stories.

We want to hear a little about their product and place in the industry but mostly we want to get to know who they are as human beings and their lives beyond the marine industry. It has been quite a revelation to hear stories from people who have been in the industry all their lives, and sadly have simply only ever been a face of their company or what they represent. What aim to delve deeper, and it’s a lot fun.

How did you come up with the idea?

The idea was born at the Miami boat shows in February 2017. We were talking to people about their lives and happened to catch it on film. After watching back the footage, we started inviting anyone who walked past to be “interviewed” for the show, about their work and their lives … and so it began.

How many episodes have you done? Which one is your favorite?

To date we have published about 70 episodes, and we have another 70+ that are in the editing phase due for release over the next few months. We are now getting invitations to events every week, so we won’t be running dry for a while yet!

My favorite? I would have to say some of the ones we’re about to release. Now that we’ve gotten a little bit of “internet fame,” we have to work less hard on convincing people to be on the show, and a lot of the time people want to be on. This has enabled people to be more relaxed, and my interview technique has certainly been “honed” over the past 10 months.

We’ve got interviews with people like Pat Healey from the Viking Yacht company, Phil Purcell of MIASF, Toby Allies of Pendennis Ken Hickling of Awlgrip fame and of course Kit Denison at FLIBS all coming up. One that stands out though is Captain Ed from a charter fishing boat here in town called Hard Charger. In the space of one week he was attacked by a bear and a shark! We affectionally call him MAN-BEAR-SHARK, his story is so much fun to listen to!

What are your goals for the show in the future?

Future goals for the Yeti show will hopefully be to push the platform out to a much wider audience, not just in marine but into other industries such as automotive, the building industry and the art world as a couple of examples, of which we know very little about but will use the platform to educate and teach ourselves! 

We are also planning our first news/podcast/group discussion in the next month or so with weekly updates from within the marine industry being included and discussed with rotating guests. We are also looking to use the Yeti platform to expand the show into how-to videos, such as how to buy a used boat YETI style, along with how-to videos on owning your first boat and how and where to use it. We have more ideas than hours in the day, so that’s a good thing … I think!

For the lighting business, we are looking to continue expanding the brand into the U.S. and become the most trusted and quality brand on the market.