Colin Macy-O’Toole of the “Below Deck” series on Bravo chatted about his latest endeavors.
Presently, Macy-O’Toole works as a Fire Island Ferry Captain.
‘Below Deck’ franchise
On his experience in the “Below Deck” series, he said, “My ‘Below Deck’ experience I’m assuming was much different than the majority of other cast members in the sense that I never worked on yachts before.”
“Being a Fire Island Ferry Captain, I went into the experience wanting to learn from a different area in the maritime industry. I tried to take it all in while also trying to do my job as best as I could where as most of the cast have had years in the yachting industry.
Lessons learned from his ‘Below Deck’ experience
On the biggest lessons that he learned from “Below Deck,” he reflected, “My biggest lesson that I learned was how to adapt in certain situations.”
“Far different than what I’m used to working on the Fire Island Ferry (where we have a schedule as to when to depart to and from the beach), yachting you have to roll with the punches,” he acknowledged.
“If charter guests want something on the whim or weather cancels a trip, you have to adapt to the situation and come up with a new plan. Thinking of a new plan to please the charter guests as well as keeping the yacht (and everyone on it) safe, are all ‘in the moment’ responsibilities we all had to encounter,” he explained.
Future plans
Regarding his future plans, he revealed, “My plans for the future hopefully includes a few projects I’ve been working on as well as still running a boat to Fire Island from time to time.”
New Year’s resolutions for 2024
When asked about his New Year’s resolutions for 2024, he said, “I have a few goals in 2024 which include a few shows I have been pitching. It’s not an easy industry but I love it and want it to be a part of my life.”
Career-defining moments
On his career-defining moments, he remarked, “I don’t know if there are any specific ‘moments,’ but it’s the people I have been lucky to be surrounded by. All my friends and family have been supportive of me and my endeavors since day one, and without them I definitely wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Best advice that he has ever been given
On the best advice that he was ever given, he shared, “Honestly, the best advice I ever got was from two ‘Below Deck’ cast members I worked with who told me ‘if you want to do something, then get out there and do it.’ This totally changed my mindset on what I would like to be doing going forward and I’ve been on the grind since.”
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent, he said, “Honestly I love it. I’m sure some people would think different, but I enjoy interacting with people from all over the world on social media or just hearing someone’s opinion on things that happened during one of our seasons.”
“With a click of a button anyone can watch anything from all over the world, and I think that’s amazing,” he acknowledged.
Success
On his definition of the word success, Macy-O’Toole said, “Success to me means happiness.”
“If you’re doing something that you love to do, I consider you to be successful. A lot of people don’t have that in their life and I think the people that do are successful in my book,” he explained.
Closing thoughts for his Bravo fans and supporters
For his Bravo fans and supporters, Macy-O’Toole said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s very overwhelming of the kind words and support I have received over the years.”
“I feel like sometimes the world can be a negative place, but the amount of positivity that has been thrown my way has been incredible. Thank you every single one of you,” he said, effusively.
To learn more about Colin Macy-O’Toole, follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
