This year carved itself into memory. The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped our daily lives into a surreal new normal, where hand sanitizer reigns, hugs are suspicious, and working from home has become either a blessing or a distant memory. In my case, due to economic shifts, my job was no longer deemed essential. It stung—at first.But here’s the twist I didn’t expect: I found a quiet joy in the stillness. (Yes, I confess, with a pinch of guilt.) I suddenly had the one luxury we never seem to afford—time. Time to read without glancing at the clock. Time to dive into online courses I’d long bookmarked but never touched. Time to finally follow through on all those wild, creative ideas that normally get pushed aside for deadlines and commutes.

So while the world shifted on its axis, I found my own inner pivot. And maybe, this pause was exactly the push I needed.

Between two books and a few new ideas, I’ve also been job hunting and hopping between interviews. Somewhere along the way, I stumbled upon something that genuinely lit a spark: a position at The Ocean Cleanup. Now, this post isn’t really about the job itself, but about the visionary behind it. Before I apply for any role, I like to dig into the company’s story. It’s part curiosity, part preparation (yes, I’m that person who reads the “About” section like it’s a thriller). That’s how I came across Boyan Slat.

And wow. What a discovery.

I’ve never met Boyan, but I can tell he’s someone who thrives on impossible problems—the kind of guy who doesn’t just dream big, but actually builds the dream. His story doesn’t just inspire, it activates something in you. A reminder that vision, paired with relentless action, can reshape the world. He’s the kind of person who makes you stop scrolling and start thinking.

If you haven’t looked him up yet, do. Especially if you need a dose of real-world ambition wrapped in a big heart for the planet. I promise, he’ll stretch the way you think about what one person can do.

Boyan Slat, a brilliant Dutch-Croatian inventor and entrepreneur, is on a mission to free our oceans from the grip of plastic pollution. His journey began in the most unexpected way—while scuba diving in Greece, he was stunned to find more plastic floating around him than fish. That moment sparked an idea that would grow into a global movement.

Instead of chasing the plastic waste across vast oceans, Boyan asked a revolutionary question: What if the plastic could come to us? At just 18 years old, he envisioned a passive cleanup system powered by the ocean’s own currents—harnessing nature to fix what we’ve broken. His concept flipped conventional thinking on its head and offered a radical promise: reduce ocean plastic cleanup from millennia to just a few years.

Boyan Slat didn’t just imagine a cleaner ocean—he’s building it. And if he can dream that big, so can we.

In 2012, fresh out of high school, a young Dutch visionary named Boyan Slat stood on the TEDx stage and shared an idea that, at first, didn’t make much of a splash. The video barely caught any attention. But then, one year later, everything changed. His concept went viral, and the ripple became a wave.

Driven by relentless passion and a fierce determination to turn the tide on ocean plastic pollution, Boyan made a bold move. Just six months into his Aerospace Engineering studies at TU Delft, he dropped out. Yes, dropped out—with only 300 euros in his pocket—to found what we now know as The Ocean Cleanup.

This wasn’t a naive leap. Backed by nearly 100 volunteer scientists and engineers, Boyan and his team conducted a year-long feasibility study—an intense, 528-page deep dive into whether the idea could actually work. The findings were solid, but now came the next big hurdle: funding.

The Ocean Cleanup needed resources for the engineering phase and a series of vital expeditions. So, they turned to the world, and the world responded. In just 100 days, more than 38,000 people across 160 countries rallied behind Boyan’s mission, donating over 2.1 million USD. That campaign didn’t just break records—it became the most successful non-profit crowdfunding campaign in history (at the time).

Incredible, right?

Boyan’s story is proof that passion, persistence, and a powerful idea can capture global hearts—and change the course of our future.

Since 2015, The Ocean Cleanup has been on a bold mission: to understand and fight the plastic crisis plaguing our oceans. Through groundbreaking expeditions—like the one that sailed between Hawaii and California—they’ve gathered more data on ocean plastic pollution than the world managed to collect in the previous 40 years combined.

The findings, published in Scientific Reports in 2018, are as eye-opening as they are urgent: around 80 million kilograms of plastic waste—from bottle caps to ghost nets—are floating in an area three times the size of continental France. Most of this debris is made of Polyethylene and Polypropylene, the same materials used in everyday items like bags and packaging.

In 2017, The Ocean Cleanup launched its first Interceptor™ prototype in Zuidland, South Holland, followed soon after by System 001, the world’s first large-scale ocean cleanup system tested directly in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Want to see how it works? Learn more about the revolutionary technology behind the Ocean Cleanup system here and discover the five major ocean garbage patches, with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California, as the largest and most infamous of them all.

Because the ocean can’t clean itself. But we can.

When it comes to innovation, impact, and vision, Boyan Slat is in a league of his own. In 2015, he was honored by HM King Harald of Norway with the maritime industry’s Young Entrepreneur Award. A year later, Forbes named him to their coveted “30 Under 30” list. And the momentum only grew: in 2017, Elsevier crowned him Dutchman of the Year, Reader’s Digest celebrated him as European of the Year, and he received the prestigious Thor Heyerdahl Award for maritime innovation. By 2018, Euronews had dubbed him European Entrepreneur of the Year, and WIRED magazine featured him in their “25 People Who Will Shape the Next 25 Years.” Not to be outdone, TIME Magazine included The Ocean Cleanup among the Best Inventions of 2015. And in 2019, the European Commission handpicked Boyan to advise on its multi-billion-euro innovation strategy.

Impressive? That’s an understatement. This is what visionary leadership looks like.

In October 2020, The Ocean Cleanup launched something truly remarkable — the very first product crafted from plastic pulled directly from the ocean: The Ocean Cleanup sunglasses. Made using the plastic collected during their 2019 System 001/B campaign, these sunglasses are more than just a stylish accessory — they’re a bold statement. By turning waste into something people carry with them every day, the goal is to spark conversations, raise awareness, and keep the mission alive wherever we go.

And to think, this entire global movement began with one young guy scuba diving off the coast of Greece — just a dreamer who dared to imagine cleaner oceans. His vision reminds us that no action is too small when it comes to protecting the only home we’ve got: Planet Earth.

Let this be your sign: follow your dreams, no matter how impossible they seem. Because change starts with one idea, one person, one step.