It took nearly two years of ongoing "annoying" by one of Darren Guard's mates, Oliver Steding, to get him to do a proper podcast and tell some industry stories.
"He just got me at the right time," Guard says. "I had a couple hours of quiet, and so I literally went, you know, 'Fudge. Okay, we'll just do something, and I'll just talk about the Guard family history.' And he goes, 'Yep, I'll go do it on the Gleam.' Well, it was low tide, and I didn't
want that to be on camera. So I literally sat on a Talley's fish bin. We drove around behind Talley's and I sat on a fish bin, and I told the Guard history. I think that's had something like 18,000 views and dozens and dozens of positive comments."
In the 10 months since Guard released that first podcast on The Gleam Fishing Channel on YouTube in March 2025, he's produced and shared - at the time of writing - 22 episodes, each featuring one of the many personalities in the commercial fishing industry. Wherever possible, guests are hosted live in the Gleam wheelhouse.
"I'm just a storyteller, and I want to share not just my family's history, but the really fascinating stories of the industry to promote its history, its present and careers. And I'll throw in a safety message where I can as well. So all of the things I'm passionate about come out in The Gleam Fishing Channel."
Fortunately, Nelson Tasman, where Guard is based, is a rich hunting ground for fishermen - simplifying some of the weekly logistics to get a new episode uploaded each Saturday.
"There's a fair bit of work to do it properly. People might think it all looks structured and planned, but it is very much seat of your pants stuff. I have to align the video guy, my schedule, high tide to get them on the Gleam safely plus the guest so, if the stars come together, boom, we do it," he says.
To date, he's picked the brains of everyone from the "king of fishing TV" himself, Graeme Sinclair, to skippers Roger Rawlinson and Steve Potter, Young Fish Aotearoa co-founder Ben Pierce and award-winning mussel farmer Zarn Reichardt of The Kutai Guy. Some episodes have racked up tens of thousands of views.
What they haven't racked up, somewhat surprisingly, is any controversy, despite Guard sharing each episode in well-populated online recreational fishing groups.
"I have had pictures of huge bags of pair-trawled snapper in Tasman Bay posted on recreational fishing platforms, and all I get is positive feedback," Guard says somewhat disappointedly. "I've not had one negative comment from a recreational fisher about the commercial fishing. I've had heaps of, 'Wow. I didn't understand. That's really good because it's in layman's terms.' Every time I push that share button, I'm going, 'This is the one.' Because that's what we expect, right? I got an email from the group the other day and I'm all, 'Here we go. Finally!' Because I want to get into them in a positive, constructive manner. I want to engage. But it was just, 'We love what you're doing, but if you just read the rules, could you please post on a Tuesday.'"
To Guard, the reaction just proves the podcast is a "hugely powerful communicator" for the industry. Comments and supportive phone calls have rolled in from Australia and Canada to Germany, drawn to the show's killer combination of boats, fishing and nostalgia-driven - and sometimes emotional - storytelling.
Organically, the channel has hit 2,000 subscribers in under a year, well ahead of the average 15 months it takes channels to hit just 1,000. It's one step on the path to making the channel self-sustainable, which is essential for Guard.
"We've worked out it takes two days, roughly, of our time to make each podcast, and that's a lot of commitment. It's a full-time job. My Saturday's gone, and you've got to reply to queries and comments and all of that stuff."
He adds that this should be considered his official call-out for volunteers and support to help with future episodes.
"One thing I've learned about YouTube: it's way harder than I thought. I'm very careful not to break my children's hearts, because every kid wants to be a YouTuber or a social media star. And to be fair, that's part of what drove me to investigate this stuff anyway, but it's pretty hard. They're actually quite embarrassed that I'm doing it. I remember the first one we did, they were watching YouTube and it popped up on TV. We just heard this blood-curdling scream: "Come and see. It's you. You've broken YouTube."
Quick-fire questions
- Dream interviewee? Any storyteller. More than being famous, they've got to be interesting. Actually, the gold standard of who I want to get is Peter Talley. I want to know his life from the day he was born to how he got to where he is now.
- Best interview tip? Listening. Ask the question and then shut up. If you looked at the first few podcasts, I talked too much. The funniest one was with Grant Orrr on scallops and oysters. His wife goes, "You know, it was 13 minutes before he got to say a word."
- Biggest learning? People's personal journeys are really quite cool. Posting the ones about my family have been intriguing - I have found stories about Jack and Betty Guard I didn't know, and I have found family members I didn't know.
- Any advice for new podcasters? Make sure you have the time, the commitment and the resources. Understand your audience, your niche, what tales you want to tell and what you want to promote. Go for it, but have a plan like it's any business and don't let it take your life over.
