In the season 5 premier of ‘Yes, We Are Open’, Al heads east to Conception Bay South, Newfoundland to visit the folks at Ocean Quest Adventures. Since 1997, Rick and Debbie Stanley have been treating visitors to Newfoundland with thrilling adventures like snorkeling, Zodiac boat tours, kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing, diving, and so much more! Hear about how they started and turned Ocean Quest into one of Newfoundland’s largest adventure businesses!
You can learn more about Ocean Quest Adventures at oceanquestadventures.com.
Al Grego:
September, 2023. I'm on a flight to Eastern Canada to record stories for this season of the podcast. First stop, Newfoundland. Up until last summer, I'd never been. But then when things began opening up after the lockdowns last year, there was a rush of people who wanted, no, needed, to travel. Many of those same people were still uneasy about leaving the country, so there seemed to be a lot of domestic tourism happening. My family and I were no different. We decided that for our first family vacation in two years, we'd head to Newfoundland. It was on our bucket list and summer of 2022 seemed as good a time as any. It turns out we weren't the only ones. Newfoundland was pretty busy that summer.
It was a great vacation. It's a beautiful province with equally beautiful people. I knew I needed to return, so here I am. Only this time, I'm not only visiting Newfoundland, but I'm also stopping in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It's a short trip and I'll not only be busy recording stories, as it turns out, I'll also be racing Hurricane Lee to my final destination in Charlottetown, but more on that later this season. For now, I'm headed to the Rock, as it's referred to by many of its residents, the first of three stops on my journey to tell the stories of Canadian businesses, their origins, struggles and perseverance.
Hello, everyone. I'm Al Grego, and this is season five of Yes, We Are Open podcast. My first stop is Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, commonly referred to as CBS by the locals. CBS is located 20 kilometers southwest of St. John's on the Avalon Peninsula, forming the southern shore of Conception Bay, hence its name. Formed in 1973 through the amalgamation of eight communities, CBS is the third largest municipality in the province with a population of just over 27,000. It's one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada. CBS is known as a nature lover's paradise, surrounded by coastline with spectacular views and many walking trails. It's the start of the world renowned East Coast Trail, a 300 plus kilometer destination hiking trail. It's also a world-class geology and archeology destination. The main industries that make up CBS's economy are oil and gas, mining, tourism and fish harvesting. I'm currently walking along the boardwalk at Sunset Key Marina in Conception Bay South to meet with the subject of this week's story, Ocean Quest Adventures.
Permission to come aboard.
John Olivero:
You have permission granted, as long as you grab my coffee.
Al Grego:
That's John. He works at Ocean Quest Adventure. And as you'll hear, John is quick to laugh, which makes him perfect for his job. I'll let him explain why.
John Olivero:
Hi, I'm John Olivero and I'm the Chief Happiness Officer of Ocean Quest Adventures.
Al Grego:
Is that your actual title?
John Olivero:
That's my actual title.
Al Grego:
Chief Happiness Officer.
John Olivero:
It is, yeah. I earned it too.
Al Grego:
Do you know what? I love it.
John Olivero:
I used to go by Professional Adventurer before but then Rick came up with... Because everyone calls me Johnny O, so he started calling me Johnny CHO, the Chief Happiness Officer.
Al Grego:
That's great. The Rick that John is referring to is Rick Stanley. He and his wife Debbie are the owners of Ocean Quest Adventures. Unfortunately, neither of them were available for my visit, but I caught up with Rick later on the phone.
Rick Stanley:
Hi, I'm Rick Stanley. I'm the owner of Ocean Quest Adventures in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland.
Al Grego:
Rick, when did Ocean Quest Adventures start?
Rick Stanley:
It started 1997. I started with a boat, a boat and a dream I guess you could call it, and we just built it in baby steps from there. And now we have combinations. We have a number of different boats and we've got a full on training center where we teach scuba and kayaking.
Al Grego:
So when you started, was it just you and Debbie?
Rick Stanley:
That's it. Yeah, me and Debbie. She worked full time besides, she has another job. And at that time I also had another company, a home renovation company. So [inaudible 00:04:34]
Al Grego:
So you already had a home reno company, but you decided you wanted to start a... What would you even call this? A tourism company, an adventure company?
Rick Stanley:
Yeah, adventure tourism company, taking divers diving and training them. And taking them diving in the Bell Island shipwrecks.
Al Grego:
Bell Island is the largest island in Conception Bay. From the late 1800s to the mid 1960s, large scale iron ore mining took place on the island making it a strategic target during the world wars. In fact, in 1942, 2 separate U-boat attacks sank four ships off the coast of Bell Island. So between the closed flooded mines and the shipwrecks, Bell Island has become a prime destination for divers worldwide, and Rick Stanley was the perfect tour guide.
John Olivero:
Rick and Debbie went diving on the Bell Island shipwrecks, and Rick immediately saw that as an opportunity for something to become a national historic site, and he understood the relevance of it right away.
Al Grego:
So it wasn't yet a national site?
John Olivero:
It still isn't. We've been working on that for years and years. And we are kind of considered, I guess we are considered, the stewards of the Bell Island shipwrecks and we like to say that we're raising Bell Island a little bit higher out of the water every day. And we work in close with the museum on Bell Island, and we actually scuba dive in the mines in Bell Island. We scuba dive on the shipwrecks in there and we like to say we have a 360 degree story, tell that story from every direction.
Al Grego:
Wow.
John Olivero:
Yeah.
Rick Stanley:
1992, I started diving, so I had a few years under my belt. But primarily was a scattered shipwreck dive, but mostly it would be for seafood, whether it be scallops or mussels or whatever. But when I started diving on shipwrecks, I got a real passion for the history, the wrecks, and then I just started learning more about it and then we start bringing those shipwrecks on world stages for divers to come and visit.
Al Grego:
You learned to dive in '92 and then five years later you decided to do this?Well, first of all, was it your idea?
Rick Stanley:
Yes.
Al Grego:
And what did Debbie say when you said, "I think I want to start this adventure company?"
Rick Stanley:
She liked the idea because we had a boat and so we figured, "Do you know what? It could be a way that we can write off our toys, I guess," for lack of a better word. We started doing that, and of course the people start coming and then we needed a bigger boat.
Al Grego:
Right. So when you first started, how was your reception? Was it a success right away or did it take some time?
Rick Stanley:
Well, no, it took time, but it was successful to the ones that came. But then getting that message out there to the world took a bit of time. But like I said, we didn't overspend. And any money we made, because we had a source of income, we didn't rely on it wholeheartedly at the time, so we just rolled it back into the company, any money we made. And eventually we had all the pieces that it took to market it to the world and for people to come and enjoy diving in Newfoundland in comfort, and we delivered on our promise every time. And word got out and there you have it, right?
Al Grego:
Yeah.
Rick Stanley:
Success.
John Olivero:
So scuba diving, we have the resort. We teach scuba diving from every level, from beginner... We even have taught instructors. We have a pool up at the location up there, so that's where we do our teaching. We have retail sales, we have scuba commercial service. We service other industries, like the offshore industry, for compressors, breathing air compressors, and all the gear that goes along with that. In the shop, we also do dry suit repairs and everything like that. We have a tourism side of the business that does kayaking, whale watching. And I put quote air quotes, you can't see my air quotes, but we do whale watching, but we call it ocean safari because it's so much more than whale watching, the scenery and the things that we can get with our Zodiac style boats we get to see is unreal. We also have the marine wildlife snorkeling, which was a Canadian signature experience where we get in the water and the humpback whales can come and swim with us.
Al Grego:
Oh, wow.
John Olivero:
That was one of the few places in the world where that occurs.
Al Grego:
So what about fishing? Do you offer any of that?
John Olivero:
We do, yeah. I forgot to mention, we offer cod fishing trips. We do scallop diving. In Newfoundland, I'd say 90% of the people who learn to scuba dive only learn to scuba dive so they can go get scallops.
Al Grego:
Really?
John Olivero:
Yeah. And the scallops here are the biggest ones you've ever seen. The meat part that opens and closes the scallop that we eat is the size of the top of a Coke can or a hockey puck.
Al Grego:
Wow.
John Olivero:
Yeah, they're huge. Yeah, absolutely.
Being really the only dive place in Newfoundland for a long time, having boats and having everything all in one spot, we would get calls from people who worked at National Geographic or the BBC or whatever, someone making a television show. And they'd come along and say, "We want to film whales." So we'd go and do that.
Al Grego:
I was just going to ask you, do any work with the film industry?
John Olivero:
I'll get into that because that's a whole other branch of business. And then we did that for years and years and years, and we created all these tours based on these things that we learned from all these scientists to television personalities and whatever. And once we got it under our belt, then we could offer it to the public. You ask about the television and movie business. Actually, yeah, we are, in my opinion, maybe not everyone else agrees, but the premier water safety team for pretty much every television show and movie that happens here in Newfoundland. I had 30, 40 shows that we've worked on over the last 17 years, and Rick is even more. Right now, we have three or four shows on television that we've worked on. There's a show called Departure on Global. We have Hudson & Rex, which is on right now. There's Son of a Critch, which is very popular right now.
Al Grego:
Yes. Any movies of note?
John Olivero:
Oh, yes. We helped with Aquaman.
Al Grego:
I was about to say, yeah.
John Olivero:
We were helped with Aquaman, we also helped with Peter Pan and Wendy.
Al Grego:
Wow.
John Olivero:
Those are probably the two biggest, and then a handful of independent type films. Yeah.
Al Grego:
Yeah, that's so cool.
Now, at what point would you say did you look at the business and think, "Okay, we can make a go of this. We don't have to have other jobs. This is our job?"
Rick Stanley:
Yeah, that would've happened probably five years or so after we started, it was sustainable. By that time we had some good staff people working for us and so on. And the backbone of the company is the people you've got working for you. And then, of course, you had to abide by all the rules and regulations that set out by Transport Canada or your community or your province. And so we did all that. And by being involved with our Department of Tourism, with Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador and so on, it just opened many doors. And we had a non-for-profit going at the same time. It was environmental that my father and I started to instill the ocean conservation, I think, into school groups and community groups. And so we give back in whatever ways we can. There's a lot of different adventure companies in Newfoundland, but we're the most diversified. By being so diversified, we're probably the biggest by default.
Al Grego:
Up next, Rick and Debbie Stanley have grown their small business into one of the largest adventure tour companies on Canada's east coast. But what happens when the tourists stop coming? Stay tuned to find out.
You are listening to Yes, We Are Open. Rick and Debbie Stanley took their love of diving and everything to do with the ocean and turned it into one of the largest adventure tourism companies in Eastern Canada. They had no way of knowing about the perfect storm that was about to hit in the form of a pandemic. Would they be able to keep their company afloat through the turbulent waters of the past couple of years, or will their business join the shipwrecks they so love to explore at the bottom of Conception Bay? Let's find out. What would you say has been Ocean Quest's largest struggle so far?
Rick Stanley:
Oh, well, world events. We're relying on tourism so everything from after going through SARS and world wars and all kinds of pandemics.
John Olivero:
Well, the biggest struggle in Newfoundland in general, as far as I'm concerned, maybe even all Canada, is that there's so few people. If you look at a place like New York, New York, if you drew a circle a hundred miles around New York, there's more people in that circle than there is in all of Canada, and a quarter of that is the ocean. And Newfoundland only has 500,000 people in an area bigger than New York State. So that's the biggest struggle. So people come to us and they look at us and they say, "Oh, well, why don't you have this or why don't you do this? How come your X numbers aren't the same as us in Ontario?" Well, it's because we only have 500,000 people to draw on, and that's the biggest struggle. If you divide that-
Al Grego:
And you're an island.
John Olivero:
Yeah, exactly. Sure.
Al Grego:
So supply chain is a-
John Olivero:
Supply chain, yeah. Sure. We almost ran out of gas there not too long ago or whatever it was.
Rick Stanley:
It all takes its toll and it knocks it back a bit, people unable to move around the world, and we're relying on those people to be coming in. And of course, we've even still got struggles with the access to get to Newfoundland. It's either so expensive or it's not there. And the cost of getting here is astronomical, along with what they've got to pay and what we've got to charge for a short season. We've got to make our money while the sun shines, so to speak. And then we've still got the winter to pull us through. So very short season is another struggle.
Al Grego:
I imagine the last couple of years especially were pretty taxing.
Rick Stanley:
They were, yeah. We had to switch gears up a bit. But do you know what? We decided to open, do what we can, and we're so lucky that we did. Our employees appreciated it, our community appreciated it. And now, of course, it's shining through that we're busier than ever we were.
Al Grego:
In terms of when lockdown started happening, I'm assuming you were able to stay open because you're outdoors, you're able to basically socially distance and-
John Olivero:
Exactly, yeah.
Al Grego:
... be careful anyway, right?
John Olivero:
Yeah. Well, here in Newfoundland, and I didn't realize how bad it was other places until I went to Toronto after the pandemic was over and I went to my friend's house and he was like, "I was stuck in this little apartment for two years." I couldn't believe it. Here, I was able to go out around. We had certain restrictions, but then once they closed down the island, and that's up for debate whether people liked it or not, but I thought it was a good thing, we had a set of guidelines. We worked within those guidelines, took every precaution that was required, and we were the first ones out with a plan. First tourism business to say, "Okay, this is what we're doing. Boom. We're open for business, let's do it." And then we lost a lot of money.
Al Grego:
It doesn't matter how ready you are. If people aren't coming into the island, then what do you do? Yeah.
John Olivero:
Yeah, absolutely. The sales numbers weren't great, but we were doing something and kept the doors open and kept the people coming. And then again, like I said, when all is said and done, the reputation that we got from it we all believe is evident in how busy we are now.
Al Grego:
Can you quantify what the hit was you took during those two years roughly? Business went down by what?
John Olivero:
Oh, in 2020, it went by down probably by a half, yeah. 2021, it wasn't that significant. 2022, in some aspects... Because we're in a unique business. We're in scuba diving and adventure tours, and then we're so diversified. So we got really lucky during 2022, I guess it was, or maybe it was 2021. Anyway, the show that's on now, Departure, they came to our town and paid us for two weeks to work on that show. It was literally from our dock. And that's the way it's always been here. So when we talk about struggles, yes, we have struggles. But what happens is because we are diversified as a company, it's always been this way that when one thing is down, something else is pulling us back up. So we've always been able to keep a balance that way. Yeah, it's been really... We have struggles, of course, sure. And through the pandemic, yeah.
Al Grego:
And in 2022, the impression I've gotten, my family was no different, was people wanted to travel again but not necessarily leave the country.
John Olivero:
Yeah.
Al Grego:
So I came here with my family. First time ever Newfoundland.
John Olivero:
Yeah, right on.
Al Grego:
Why not, right? And what I found, or what I heard from a lot of people was it was the busiest they'd ever been.
John Olivero:
Yeah.
Al Grego:
So do you think that was the case in 2023?
John Olivero:
I think so, yeah, a hundred percent. Newfoundland is on everybody's bucket list, right?
Al Grego:
Yeah.
John Olivero:
And our goal is to take it off the bucket list and have people come back on a regular basis. But people were doing exactly that, "I'm not ready to go to the United States again, not going to Florida this year for the winter. Let's go to Newfoundland and try it out." Now what we're finding this year that there's a lot of Americans coming. And the way the dollar is, it's been really advantageous to us and people are booking in not just one trip with us, they're trying two or three different trips with us and stuff.
Al Grego:
Yes. This is your busiest year yet?
Rick Stanley:
Yes, this one and last year. Even last year was a really busy year for us, so this one is not over yet, so we're hoping it's going to outdo last year. But it's looking that way.
Al Grego:
So now you're not only back to normal, you're saying now you're busier than you've ever been?
John Olivero:
Yeah, I would say, absolutely. Yeah, we're busier than we've ever been in every area that we want to be. Yeah, that's the best way to put it.
Al Grego:
Well done.
Coming up after the break, we find out what the future holds for Ocean Quest Adventures.
Automated Voice Recording:
Success in business doesn't come without moments of struggle, moments when you had to face your challenges head on. As the proud partner of Canadian business, Moneris plays a critical role in empowering businesses with the payment processing tools they need to succeed. Together, we are building stronger businesses where business owners everywhere can stand up to their challenges without slowing down. Moneris, proud partner of Canadian business.
Al Grego:
Welcome back to Yes, We Are Open. According to both Rick Stanley and his Chief Happiness Officer, John Olivero, business is better than it has ever been, even pre pandemic. So what does that mean for the future of Ocean Quest Adventures? Let's find out. What does the future outlook look like for Ocean Quest?
Rick Stanley:
It's looking good. We've got, for next year, there's like 12 weeks booked already. Even today, we're quoting another group. So we've got our trade show circuit, so we're expecting to be booked out next year. We also offer new product and new experiences all the time, and that's keeping us sexy. We're rotating our equipment to have it new or newish all the time.
Al Grego:
Good, yeah.
Rick Stanley:
So that's key to it. Our staff are continually to be trained so that everything is qualified and certified for when the people do come, we're delivering on a great professional experience. Safety is one of the pillars of our adventure success.
Al Grego:
That's great.
Rick Stanley:
We're doing it all right. It all costs money, but you've got to keep rolling money back into your company if you're going to be successful and be ready for what's to come.
John Olivero:
If I had anything to say about it, I'd love to see multiple Ocean Quests all across Canada, something like that. But on our local, we're going to keep doing the same thing we always do. We're going to keep turning the wheel and getting better and better every day and treating people good. That's what we do.
Al Grego:
Any plans for future expansion, like other locations maybe?
Rick Stanley:
Well, we've got our eye on a marina right now, but this is real early stages. But we're always growing, little by little. We see an opportunity and we take it and we've got a good foundation to do all that with. And we've got the support from our provincial government, our federal government and our bank. So with that kind of support, there's only one way to go and that's up [inaudible 00:22:40]
John Olivero:
I've lived all over the world. Newfoundland is a phenomenal place and it deserves all the accolades that it gets. It's very forward thinking and still holds onto its traditional roots, which is fantastic. I can't tell you, every day I'm so lucky I get to go out on these tours. And I thank my customers every trip, "Thank you for taking me out." Because every time... The other day we had eagles following us. We saw a shark, which is unusual, believe it or not. I had birds sitting on my boat, the terns. And then the whales. Because the biggest things here is whales and icebergs, but there's so much more. The puffins, if you go down that Puffin Island.
Al Grego:
Oh, yeah, I did that to tour last time.
John Olivero:
Oh man, it's off the charts.
Al Grego:
Yeah, it's really cool.
John Olivero:
I'm blessed. I'm blessed to do all the things that I do. I'm blessed to work with the people I work with. Rick and Debbie are like family to me, and I'm like part of their family. I couldn't think of a better job that all the skills of my life have brought me to this point so that I can do the best job I can possibly do. And what does it mean to me? It means the world to me. It is something that I put a lot of effort into, and the success of it is really high on my list. And I get the opportunity every day to help people enjoy their lives. It's fantastic.
Rick Stanley:
Gee, we're really proud of it, the accolades that we've gotten over the years. And there's always some more coming, it makes us really proud. Our children are very proud of what we did. And they sacrificed lots, I guess, in their younger years, but they were part of it. And an adventure company is a whole lot of fun. So they didn't miss out on much. If anything, they gained more and they're well-rounded kids. And so the future, I'm hoping, is going to be in that, that these younger folks that are working for us, or even my own children, will take an interest in this and carry it on into the next decade, so to speak.
Al Grego:
It sounds like you've got your future well in hand then.
Rick Stanley:
Yes, sir.
Al Grego:
Rick, thank you so much for your time today.
Rick Stanley:
No problem. Take her easy.
John Olivero:
My number one goal in life is to help people enjoy their lives and help them be happier in their lives. So if I get to do that every day for the rest of my life, then that's great.
Al Grego:
Well, you are the Chief Happiness Officer.
John Olivero:
I am the Chief Happiness Officer, yeah.
Al Grego:
Johnny O, is Ocean Quest Adventures open?
John Olivero:
Yes, we're open.
Al Grego:
Excellent. Thank you so much.
That's the story of Ocean Quest Adventures. According to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, before the pandemic, Canada's tourism industry was worth $105 billion and 1.8 million jobs. Now, those numbers obviously took a huge hit the following two years thanks to the pandemic. You might recall how dire things got in our story about down under travel back in season three. But the good news for this industry is that after two years of lockdowns and uncertainty, the bounce back has been significant. Case in point, according to a Destination Canada quarterly tourism snapshot, Q1 of 2023 tourism spend actually surpassed pre pandemic levels for the first time, hitting $21.2 billion. That's 106% compared to Q1 in 2019. So it should be no surprise that we hear Ocean Quest Adventures are having their second straight banner year.
Folks have been starved for travel and adventure after the past couple of years, and Ocean Quest Adventures have a unique offering that will appeal to many adventure seekers and diving enthusiasts. But what I like about this business has less to do with the numbers and everything to do with the people. Sure, it's important to turn a profit to keep your doors open, but it's also important to protect your assets like the environment and wildlife that feeds the business. Rick and Debbie's respect for their environment and history are what will continually set them apart from other similar businesses. And John's focus and aptitude for making customers happy will go a long way to help ensure Ocean Quest Adventures' continued success.
Yes, We Are Open is a Moneris Podcast production. I'd like to thank John and Rick for taking time to share their story. You can learn more about Ocean Quest Adventures at oceanquestadventures.com. Follow them on Facebook and YouTube at Ocean Quest Adventures. And on Instagram and X, they're @oceanquestnl. Please support this podcast by writing us a review on Apple Podcasts, or rate us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're a Canadian small business owner or know of one with an interesting story of perseverance to tell, I'd love to help tell it. You can contact me at podcastatmoneris.com. Tune in next week for another story of small business struggle and survival on the Yes, We Are Open podcast. I'm Al Grego. Thank you for listening.