Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives. Sign up for the free Marlin email newsletter.
If you’ve ever walked down the dock or attended an industry event with Michelle Gaylord (previously Makmann), you know what it’s like to stroll beside a celebrity. Everyone seems to know her. The difference is that Gaylord has never chased attention; she earned it through years of exceptional work, consistency, and showing up whenever and wherever the sport demanded. As Marlin’s newly appointed Atlantic tournament director—a role readers will learn more about later in this issue—she remains what she’s always been: the quiet, powerful fixture that’s never far from the action. Cheers, Michelle!
Q: What first drew you to the water?
A: I was always a water kid. I grew up [going] between California and Florida, so it was beach days, snorkeling, fishing off bridges—anything ocean-related grabbed me. Even when my family moved around, the coast kept pulling me back. By the time I was a teenager, all I wanted to be was an underwater photographer. That was the dream long before I understood how unrealistic it sounded.
Q: So, it was photography from the beginning?
A: Actually, it was art—painting, drawing, making jewelry, tinkering with anything creative. I took a photography class in high school, and that flipped the switch. Looking back, almost everything I made revolved around the ocean anyway. I didn’t see it at the time, but the path was already there.
Q: How did your education choices set you up for your career?
A: I started college on a more traditional track at the University of South Florida, but I realized I wanted something hands-on. I left and enrolled at Full Sail University, focusing on graphic design and digital media—web, film, motion graphics, photography, layout. It was intense and fast-paced, which actually fit the industry perfectly. They’d have us shooting at sunrise, editing overnight—real-world stuff.
My first jobs were in publishing and television for watersports. I was hired as a web designer, but I made sure people knew I could shoot and edit video. I kept volunteering for projects until I was producing Sport Fishing TV and covering tournaments. I wanted to be on the water.
Q: When did big-game tournaments really grab you?
A: The Offshore World Championship in Cabo in 2012. That was my first full immersion into the billfish tournament world. I loved the international flavor, the dock energy, the way people from everywhere converge for one week with the same obsession. It reminded me of diving—you never know what’s coming next.
Q: You launched Out Your Front Door Media in 2015. What pushed you to go solo?
A: Timing and preparation. I didn’t jump without a plan. I had relationships with tournaments, dive brands and marine companies, and I wanted to stay in that world. I sold my house, packed up and went for it. It was terrifying and freeing at the same time.
Q: How hectic is your schedule now?
A: Last year was around 16 tournaments, plus boat shoots, tourism campaigns, dive work, TV production—and the occasional curveball, like photographing cardboard boxes in a studio. You take the weird jobs sometimes. They pay surprisingly well.
Q: What’s the most valuable piece of camera gear you own?
A: My underwater housing rig—camera, dome port, strobes, batteries. It’s probably close to 40 grand all-in. It’s basically a small car that goes underwater.
Q: Any horror stories traveling with that stuff?
A: A strobe exploding during a shark dive. A housing starting to flood. One drone went straight into the ocean when fighter jets flew past. I’m still convinced that wasn’t my fault. Travel is the scariest part, honestly. I carry-on whatever I absolutely need to work.
Q: Diving is still central to your life. Any favorite animals or destinations?
A: Octopus is my favorite—so smart, always messing with your camera. Shark dives in the Bahamas were intense, Bonaire is stunning, Papua New Guinea blew my mind. Antarctica is the dream. I hate cold water, but I want to dive with penguins.
Q: Fishing-wise, what’s still on the bucket list?
A: Mag Bay—baitballs everywhere, fish exploding underneath them. I also still haven’t caught a tarpon, which feels ridiculous at this point.
Q: You met your husband through tournaments. How did that unfold?
A: We met the day his team won the Blue Marlin World Cup in Bermuda. We didn’t date at first, just kept crossing paths for years at events. Eventually, we became best friends, then it turned into something more. Now he’s stuck with me.
Q: After all these years documenting the sport, what still excites you?
A: Being there when people live their biggest moments—granders, championships, once-in-a-lifetime fish. Hearing someone say, “That photo’s hanging in my office.” That’s fuel.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I want to produce a documentary someday. Still water-based, obviously. But it’s something I’ve always dreamed of.
Q: Final thought: What gets you out of bed before dawn?
A: Knowing I built a life around the ocean… and that I get to tell other people’s stories when they’re having the best days of their lives.
