If your company is looking for a leadership keynote speaker, a women’s leadership speaker for your next conference, or a celebrity brand spokesperson people actually trust, Captain Sandy Yawn belongs at the top of your list, and Renegade Talent MGMT is the team that books her. Millions of viewers know her as the steady, no-nonsense captain of Bravo’s Below Deck Mediterranean, the hit spinoff of the Below Deck franchise. Event planners, HR leaders and brand marketers know her as something rarer: a celebrity who shows up prepared, speaks from real experience, and delivers results.
Captain Sandy is a superyacht captain with more than 30 years of international maritime experience. She rose to the top of a male-dominated industry, became one of the first female superyacht captains on television, and turned her story of grit, recovery and leadership into one of the most requested speaking and brand partnership profiles in reality TV.
This guide covers why Captain Sandy is the ideal motivational speaker on leadership, why women’s groups and organizations love her, why brands trust her as a spokesperson, and every way your company can work with her.
Her book, Be the Calm or Be the Storm: Leadership Lessons from a Woman at the Helm, turned those lessons into a practical playbook, and it’s the foundation of the keynotes she delivers today.
A Leadership Keynote Speaker Who Has Lived It
Most leadership speakers teach theory. Captain Sandy teaches what she has done at sea, under pressure, with the cameras rolling. As a superyacht captain, she runs a crew that changes constantly, serves demanding guests, and makes split-second safety calls where mistakes cost real money and real lives. Over her career she has dealt with storms, fires at sea and even pirates. Those stories make her keynotes impossible to tune out.
At the heart of her message is servant leadership: the captain serves the crew, and the crew serves the mission. Audiences hear how she:
- Builds trust fast with a new team and sets clear expectations from day one
- Holds people accountable while still giving them a second chance to grow
- Stays calm in a crisis, and knows when a moment calls for the storm instead
- Owns her mistakes publicly and treats failure as data, not defeat
- Gets a diverse, high-pressure team pulling “in the same boat” toward one goal
Her signature mantra, “Wake up, show up, kick ass, repeat,” has become a rallying cry for sales kickoffs, leadership retreats and all-hands meetings.
Captain Sandy has spoken for major corporations including JP Morgan, chambers of commerce, colleges and industry conferences. Her popular keynote topics include Navigating Troubled Waters in Changing Times: Servant Leadership Lessons and Charting Your Own Course, Despite the Obstacles. For teams comparing corporate keynote speakers, she offers range: a full keynote, a leadership workshop, a fireside chat or a virtual session, each tailored to your audience and your goals.
A Women’s Leadership Speaker for Groups and Organizations
For women’s leadership conferences, women’s networking groups, employee resource groups and International Women’s Day events, few female keynote speakers connect like Captain Sandy. She didn’t just crack a glass ceiling; she sailed through one. Born and raised in Bradenton, Florida, she started at the bottom of the yachting world and worked her way to the helm of some of the most prestigious superyachts on the water. She became the first woman to captain the Sirocco megayacht and earned the International Superyacht Society’s Distinguished Crew Award.
Her story goes deeper than career wins. Captain Sandy speaks openly about overcoming addiction, and she has now been sober for more than three decades. She has beaten cancer and survived a life-threatening accident. She talks honestly about being a woman, and a gay woman, in an industry that wasn’t built for her. Women in the audience see themselves in that story.
Women’s organizations book Captain Sandy because she delivers:
- Real-world strategies for women stepping into leadership in male-dominated fields
- Confidence and self-belief, including how she manifested opportunities others told her weren’t possible
- Resilience lessons on recovery, health challenges and starting over
- Mentorship that lifts the next generation of women leaders
- Authenticity, so attendees leave feeling seen, not lectured
The result is a keynote that is as moving as it is entertaining, with the warmth and humor Below Deck Mediterranean fans love.
A Believable, Trustworthy and Honest Celebrity Spokesperson
Consumers can spot a paid endorsement from a mile away. What they respond to is a celebrity brand ambassador who genuinely believes in the product. That’s where Captain Sandy stands apart, and it’s why a celebrity endorsement from her carries real weight.
On Below Deck Mediterranean, viewers have watched her make tough, fair decisions for more than a decade. She says what she means and does what she says. That reputation for honesty and integrity carries straight into her brand partnerships. When Captain Sandy recommends something, her audience listens, because she has never traded her credibility for a quick paycheck.
She is also selective. Captain Sandy and her team look for partnerships that connect to her life and values, not just the size of the check. A strong example is her partnership with Azuna, the all-natural air purifier brand. As a cancer survivor and wellness advocate, she wanted a signature partnership that was about the product as much as the payment. The deal included monthly digital ads featuring her image and campaigns across her social channels, and she brought Azuna with her while filming around the world.
That’s the formula brands are looking for in a celebrity spokesperson:
- Believable: she only aligns with products that fit her real life
- Trustworthy: a decade-plus on screen built loyalty you can’t buy
- Honest: her audience knows she tells it like it is
- Relatable: from yacht life to wellness, travel and home, her fans span every demographic
- Global reach: a devoted fan base across the U.S., the U.K. and beyond
Categories that fit naturally include travel and hospitality, boating and marine, wellness and recovery, health, beauty and skincare, home, financial services, food and beverage, and LGBTQ+ inclusive brands.
Renegade Talent MGMT: Captain Sandy’s Exclusive Management Agency
Captain Sandy is exclusively represented by Renegade Talent MGMT, the talent management and influencer marketing agency led by CEO and founder Evan Morgenstein. The agency has represented Captain Sandy for years, and that long partnership is a big reason her brand deals feel so natural and perform so well.
Renegade Talent MGMT has brought Captain Sandy some of her most relatable and engaging partnerships, built around programs that drive both brand awareness and sales. The agency’s approach is simple: match the right talent with the right brand, then build a campaign that feels authentic to the audience. The relationship runs so deep that when Captain Sandy’s wife, Leah Rae Yawn, sought representation for her own wellness and skincare brand, she chose the same team, citing what she had seen them do for Sandy.
Evan Morgenstein, Captain Sandy’s Day-to-Day Manager
Evan Morgenstein is Captain Sandy’s day-to-day manager, and he works hand in hand with her on choosing which brands and programs to take on and how to execute them. Morgenstein began his career as a top sports agent for Olympic athletes and has since built multiple successful companies, including PMG Sports and CelebExperts. Over three decades he has worked with celebrities and athletes such as Michael Phelps, Magic Johnson and Steve Wozniak, and run programs for business clients including Costco, Microsoft and Jersey Mike’s.
Morgenstein describes himself as a Below Deck superfan, and he and Captain Sandy bonded quickly over shared life experiences. That trust shows in the work. Together they vet every opportunity for fit, so partners get a spokesperson who is fully invested, and Captain Sandy’s audience gets recommendations they can believe in.
For brands, that means one clear point of contact, fast answers, and a team that knows exactly how to turn Captain Sandy’s credibility into measurable results.
Every Way Your Brand or Organization Can Work With Captain Sandy
Captain Sandy is far more than a one-time keynote. Companies hire her across the full marketing mix:
| Opportunity | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Motivational speaking | Corporate keynotes, leadership retreats, sales kickoffs, women’s conferences, college and association events, in person or virtual |
| Brand spokesperson | Long-term ambassador roles, product launches and signature partnerships |
| Social media campaigns | Sponsored Instagram, TikTok and Facebook content, reels, takeovers and live Q&As with her loyal fan base |
| Media tours | Satellite and radio media tours, podcast appearances, TV segments and press interviews |
| PR programs | Earned-media campaigns, cause marketing, awareness months and newsworthy announcements |
| In-store and live appearances | Retail events, trade shows, fan meet-and-greets, boat shows and VIP hospitality |
| Creative and content | TV and digital commercials, branded video, photo shoots and custom content series |
| Hosting and emcee | Award shows, galas, charity events and corporate gatherings |
| Licensing and product collaborations | Co-branded products, limited editions and collections |
She has proven pull as a live draw, too. Her Captain Sandy Live stage show played London’s Duchess Theatre, returning due to fan demand. Brands can mix and match these channels into one integrated program, such as a keynote at your national sales meeting paired with a social campaign and an in-store appearance at launch.
Professional, Prepared, and Delivers Every Time
Ask anyone who has worked with Captain Sandy and you’ll hear the same thing: she is a pleasure to work with. The discipline that keeps a superyacht running on schedule shows up in every engagement. She arrives on time, does her homework on your company and audience, and treats your event or campaign with the same care she gives her crew.
Event planners appreciate that she is easy to work with from the first call to the final bow. She joins prep calls, customizes her message, stays for photos and meet-and-greets, and engages genuinely with attendees. Brand partners appreciate that she shows up fully for content shoots, hits deadlines, and promotes partnerships with real enthusiasm, not a scripted read.
Most of all, she delivers. Audiences leave her keynotes energized and ready to act. Brands get content that feels authentic and resonates with a loyal, highly engaged fan base. In Captain Sandy’s own words, it’s about showing up and getting the job done, again and again.
How to Book Captain Sandy Yawn
If you’re searching for a women’s empowerment speaker, one of the most memorable celebrity motivational speakers working today, or a celebrity brand spokesperson who is believable, trustworthy and honest, Captain Sandy Yawn is ready to take the helm.
To book Captain Sandy as your leadership keynote speaker, or for a brand partnership, social media campaign, PR program, media tour, in-store appearance or creative project, contact her exclusive management agency, Renegade Talent MGMT. Reach Evan Morgenstein, Captain Sandy’s manager, at evan@celebexperts.com to check her availability for your dates.
All hands on deck. Your audience, and your brand, are in good hands with Captain Sandy.
