Aqua Man, a Palos Verdes Original by Author, Lecturer, Christopher Lynch
A love for the ocean — coupled with a series of fortunate events, formed Mike Neipris life into what he describes as ‘the best job anyone could ever have.’
Like most of his high school contemporaries, Mike Neipris had a summertime job. Unlike many of them though, Mike really enjoyed getting to work, and would often show up hours before his assigned shift. He didn’t arrive early to curry favor with his superiors, or because he was bucking for a raise or a promotion, he was there to enjoy the hidden benefits of his workplace. After all, he was fortunate enough to be employed by Marineland of the Pacific.
“It was great being behind the scenes there,” Neipris recalls fondly of his time wandering around the park before starting his shift as a food vendor. “You got to play catch with the dolphins, throw fish to the sea lions, or have a one-on-one interaction with a whale.”
The Palos Verdes native and alumni of Palos Verdes High School had coveted the job so much, he lied about his age to begin working there. After high school and Marineland he moved on to Long Beach State to pursue a business degree. He had barely started on his major when opportunity knocked and he began his own successful music company along with some friends. They did mobile DJ’ing, video production, and recording studio work.
Besides learning the ins and outs of business Neipris also brought a special love for music, and had been playing the drums since the age of twelve. Together they capitalized on a movement that was sweeping the country.
“We were at the beginning of the MTV generation,” Neipris explains. “And were essentially at the right place and the right time.”
Mike Neipris continued with the music company for about four years and states that, “Although we were proud of what we accomplished at such a young age, life grows up around you and so it was time to move on.”
He served the business world in various capacities for the next several years and once actually worked for a beer distributer owned by Frank Sinatra, a man whom Neipris describes as, “Someone I knew of, but didn’t really know at my age.”
It was after his stint working for “Old Blue Eyes,” that the opportunity that would lay the groundwork for the rest of his life arrived. He was offered an internship at the Port of Long Beach, and quickly became versed in the maritime industry. He became heavily involved in sailing, and before long, became a consultant for historic sailing ships. This was followed by work with The Nautical Heritage Society, which sought to introduce children to the joys of sailing on tall ships.
Then, the call from Steven Spielberg came.
“We were asked to be marine consultants on a movie he was producing called, Amistad, which was about a revolt on a slave ship. They used one of our tall ships in the movie.”
Although it was a painful topic, Mike Neipris really enjoyed the project, and was proud to contribute to the movie’s success.
A year after that, Warner Brothers called about another project, and then another call came after that, and then another. Before long, Neipris realized that he had really hit upon something.
He formed a company, Nautical Film Service, and has been going at it ever since. He’s sunk boats, had cars drive off docks into the water, and done hundreds of commercials, photo shoots, and TV shows such as Modern Family, Dexter, and Terminal List. As far as the big screen, his credits include movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, and most recently, Top Gun: Maverick.
As Mike Neipris likes to quip, “If it’s on, under, or near the water, we’re your guys.”
You can check out his full credits and a gallery of stills and videos of his many projects at www.nauticalfilmservice.com
Mike Neipris credits his early days working and playing at Marineland for forming the basis for his love of the ocean and all things aquatic. In his spare time, he still enjoys jamming and performing with his blues band.
Christopher Lynch is a Southern California native and freelance writer. His debut novel, One Eyed Jack, a hard-boiled crime thriller about a professional blackmailer, was a 2013 Shamus Award finalist, and a 2014 Writers Digest Honorable Mention for Genre Fiction. Eddie: The Life and Times of America's Preeminent Bad Boy, the memoir of Ken Osmond, the actor who played Eddie Haskell on Leave it to Beaver, is one of the highest rated celebrity biographies on Amazon.
He is also an avid cyclist and a mountain climber with successful summits of Mount Whitney, Mount Shasta, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Kalapatar in Nepal, and has recently completed a trek to Mount Everest Base Camp.
He counts as one of his greatest accomplishments the successful training and leading of nine blind hikers to the summit of 10,000 foot Mount Baldy, the highest point in Los Angeles County, and the third highest peak in Southern California. A documentary film is being made of the adventure and you can view a trailer at: http://www.baldyfortheblind.com
He enjoys giving back to the writing community by offering free Self-Publishing seminars. He also taught creative writing at a maximum security prison north of Los Angeles. You can see more of Christopher J. Lynch’s writing at his website: http://www.christopherjlynch.com
