From stonemason to co-founder of Ocean Culture Life - Matt Porteous on the hard yards, the long game, and why the destination is always moving.
Great At Business
Thursday, 22 October 2026 - 1 hour 10 minutes
Matt Porteous left school at 16, became a stonemason because he heard it was good for money and travel, turned out it was bad for both. He saved £7,000 during his apprenticeship, went around the world for a year and a half with a camera and a surfboard, came home, set up his own stonemasonry company the next day, ran it for eight years, and somewhere in the middle of all that became one of the world's most respected ocean photographers.
He has spoken at the United Nations. He runs Ocean Culture Life, a global community of ocean storytellers, photographers, and filmmakers. And he funds it almost entirely through his commercial studio.
Luke Smith chats with Matt Porteous in this episode of #GreatAtBusiness, one of the most philosophical conversations we have had on the podcast - discussing business and the business of charities, from a different perspective.
