Cherish chats with stars of Reef Wranglers

Did you know the Weather Channel’s newest reality show was filmed right here in our area? The show is called “Reef Wranglers”, and it’s about the adventures of the crew at ‘Reefmaker’, an artificial reef business based at Walter Marine in Orange Beach. The company deployed its first artificial reef in 1986, and today, it’s the largest reef building company in the United States. The Reefmaker has deployed more than 35,000 artificial reefs and owns four patents.

Reef Wranglers follows the experienced divers and demolition experts who work to reduce erosion and pollution in order to restore the area’s once thriving ecosystem by creating artificial reefs. The Reefmaker crew sinks hundreds of giant objects to the bottom of the Gulf every year in order to make the reefs, from boats to planes and helicopters, and even trains. A number of elements make the process very challenging including dealing with explosives, potentially harmful marine life, like sharks, and weather conditions.

The cast includes David Walter, Stewart Walter, Roger Strick, and Justin Stoufflet. David is the founder and head of Walter Marine, and has more than 30 years’ experience constructing and deploying artificial reefs. He spends most of his effort developing new clients and contracts, but he’s known to keep the crew in line and even rolls up his sleeves if he needs to.

Stewart is David’s eldest son. He handles the day-to-day operations of Walter Marine and takes his role as second in command very seriously. He is often found manning the many pieces of heavy machinery that form the backbone of Walter Marine.

Justin is David’s stepson. Justin is known for doing most of the required manual labor. Whether he’s on land, at sea or underwater, Justin is always ready to get dirty.

Roger is the newest member of Walter Marine. He handles the hard work alongside Justin, but also provides much needed comic relief. Other crew members say Roger’s a total character who might upset the rest of the team more often if he wasn't so likable.

Reef Wranglers premieres at 8:00pm on Tuesday, February 12 on The Weather Channel. Everyone is invited to the viewing party which will take place at LuLu’s in Gulf Shores starting at 7:00pm. You can get more information about the show online at http://www.reefmaker.com/ .

LuLu's
200 E 25th Ave
Gulf Shores, AL 36542
(251) 967-5858