Who is Jay Clue?

“Long ago in the age of darkness before the Great Awakening (also known as dial-up internet) it is said that a ninja was born. The old ones say that his arrival was heralded by thunder and the night sky was set ablaze with lighting. Of course it’s equally possible there was just a rainstorm that night… ok, moving on.”

“The child’s parents had migrated with one of that era’s great motorcycle caravans to the settlement of New Jersey, known for it’s peculiar natural inhabitants who would cover their faces in an orange pigment and style their hair straight up towards the heavens in order to attract a mate. Many of the settlers began to adopt these trends themselves, but the young ninja was fated for a different life…” —Julian Black

Jay Clue is an award winning underwater photographer, educator, and conservationist based in Baja California Sur, Mexico. His projects primarily focus on utilizing tourism as a vessel to further marine conservation, research, and environmental awareness through creating unique ecotourism platforms with his team at Dive Ninja Expeditions. Jay’s love of oceanic predators & marine megafauna has led to him creating courses on whale conservation, apex predators, devil rays and sustainable tourism; as well as authoring numerous articles for magazines such as Oceanographic, Saving Earth, Dive Travel Adventures and more.

It has been just under 2 years since Jay began working as a professional underwater photographer, but during his short time in the industry his photos have appeared in a multitude of both print and digital platforms including National Geographic Traveller, Hemispheres, Scuba Diving Magazine, and many more. As a diver he holds both PADI Master Instructor and Full Tec Trimix Instructor ratings as well as over 40 other instructor level certifications with PADI, SDI and TDI. His recent instructional focuses have been on creating the conservation & sustainable tourism focused Ninja Divemaster and Instructor Development programs for Dive Ninja Expeditions in Cabo San Lucas. Scroll down to learn more about Jay Clue’s ambassadorships, accreditations, and accolades. If you’re interested in reading Julian Black’s full, and slightly less serious, ‘The Legend of Jay Clue‘, click here.

Conservationist, Jay Clue. Photo by Shawn Heinrichs

Partners &
Ambassadorships

Ambassdorships:
PADI, Torchbearer
Ocean Culture Life, Storyteller
Mares Mexicanos, Associate Photographer
Nakawe Project, Closed Hook Ambassador
Apeks Mexico, Ambassador
22 Degrees, Ambassador

Ongoing Projects with:
Project AWARE
Sea Legacy
Sharks 4 Kids
Visit Los Cabos
Mobula Conservation Project
CONANP (Mexican National Parks)
Girls That Scuba

Accreditations

PADI Master Instructor
PADI Tec Trimix Instructor
TDI Tec Instructor
SDI Instructor
TDI Full Cave Diver
MPhil/PhD Public Arts & Community Development (In Progress)
MA Design Research 
w/ Honors & Distinction
…and about 50+ other certifications, accreditations & diplomas. 

Awards &
Accolades

Finalist – 2021 OG Pic of the Year – Animal Behavior
Honorable Mention – 2021 Scuba Diving Mag Through Your Lens Contest
Winner – 2020 Scubaverse Photo of the Year
Honorable Mention – 2020 OG PICOTY: Emerging Photographer of the Year
Honorable Mention – 2019 Ocean Art: Marine Life Behavior
Webby Award
Davia Award
W3 Silver Award