The ISLA Experience: Sebastian Deustua
In this spotlight interview, we dive into the life and times of Sebastian Deustua, a passionate young gun who is getting more and more involved in the world of water safety. Already a veteran traveller by his 19th birthday, Sebastian has had lifeguarding experiences in three continents. Today, he tells all: his life’s story, the lessons he’s learned, and his life-changing experiences volunteering with ISLA.
Sebastian Deustua! Good to have you here today! Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sure! So my name is Sebastian Deustua, and I have been a volunteer with ISLA since 2024. I have participated in operations in Peru, Nicaragua and India, and I have also been lifeguarding at the professional level with California State Parks since 2023. I am studying Human Biology with a pre-med emphasis at Santa Monica College. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, surfing, bodysurfing, reading, swimming, traveling, diving, and looking at weather charts.
Awesome! What motivated you to become a lifeguard, and how has it shaped your personal journey?
I grew up in Mexico City until I was 9 years old, then I moved to San Diego, California, where I started surfing and doing junior lifeguards at my local state beach, so it always seemed like lifeguarding was the next natural step. I wasn’t old enough to go to the State Lifeguard Academy as a sophomore in high school, so I started lifeguarding at my local pool at 15 years old. During my junior year, I applied for State as soon as I was old enough to go, and the rest is history! Lifeguarding shaped who I am as a person in ways that I never expected, and that really came primarily through ISLA. I learned how to travel solo, switched my major to pursue a career in healthcare, and made lifesaving-minded friends all over the world, but most importantly I found out that I can really make an impact on drowning prevention at a global level.
Who has been your biggest inspiration or mentor in lifeguarding?
My biggest mentor in lifeguarding has been Jonathan Robinson, not just in lifeguarding but in my personal and professional life as well. He has helped me navigate relationships and find direction and clarity during a turbulent period in my life . He’s also opened my eyes to the world of public healthcare and disaster relief, and all of the intricacies of being a global lifeguard. From delicate meetings with potential hosts to precarious barters for beverages to adrenaline-fueled cultural interactions, he’s really shown me that there’s more to it than just the buoy and fins.
Sebastian Deustua, how has your perspective on lifesaving or water safety evolved over time?
I’ve definitely realized that the greatest impact on water safety is done in the classroom. Sure, I can go perform a rescue and save one life, but if I teach 10 people how to save a life (or better yet, teach 10 lifeguards how to teach lifeguarding to others), my efforts will prevent many more drownings than my buoy and fins ever will.
How do your hobbies and interests outside of lifeguarding complement your passion for water safety?
I am a competitive bodysurfer, most recently placing 3rd for my age division at the World Bodysurfing Championships in summer 2025. This really complements my passion for water safety as it doubles as training for when I have to go swim and perform a rescue. I also enjoy looking at meteorology charts, which helps my lifesaving abilities by keeping me alert as far as what’s happening on my beach.
What’s a fun fact about you that people might not know?
I really like dancing salsa, bachata and cumbia. And I love karaoke!
Sebastian Deustua, talk to us about where you work as a lifeguard.
I’ve worked for California State Parks’ San Diego North Coast Sector, spending my summers on our three beaches: Carlsbad, Cardiff, and Torrey Pines.
How did you get into lifeguarding?
I grew up surfing and Junior lifeguarding at my state beaches, so lifeguarding was always in the background of my life. Then I started playing water polo when I was 12, and a few of my older friends became lifeguards. From there, I fell victim to the best kind of peer pressure: seeing my friends in reds made me want to earn a pair for myself.
Why are you a lifeguard, and what do you love most about the role?
I am a lifeguard because I thoroughly enjoy connecting with and helping people in an active environment. The ocean is my playground and happy place, and I’m at my happiest when I’m aquatic. I am beyond lucky to be able to combine both so seamlessly. I know that lifeguarding will be the best job I’ll ever have.
So what’s your favorite piece of rescue equipment and why?
MY FINS!!!!! They’re so versatile for whatever I happen to be doing. Great for bodysurfing (both for kicking and for use as a handplane), diving, spearfishing, surf instructing, music making (they make a really great loud clapping sound) and of course, lifeguarding. I take them everywhere I go, have backup pairs (plural) in my truck, draw artwork on them, they really are a part of my essentials. My fins have travelled with me through Europe, Africa, Asia, North, Central and South America, and they will continue to travel with me until I can no longer swim.
What drew you to volunteer with ISLA, and how did you feel when you were selected?
When I went traveling during my gap year after high school; MSP Emilio Cavazos recommended that I apply for Operation India 2024. I was in Africa when I got the news that India was green-lit, and I was really stoked and a little nervous. As the operation was approaching, I got more confident and was ready to go by the time we got there. I also went to Nicaragua 2025 with Cavazos as well, and when I got selected for that one I was fully excited to go.
What was your ISLA experience like?
My ISLA experience has been marked with a ton of learning. Because ISLA brings such a diverse group of people together, each operation becomes a fountain of information, knowledge, and expertise. I’ve met some lifeguards through ISLA with incredibly decorated careers in fire, medicine, police, and lifeguarding; which is a goldmine for me as a young guard just starting my career in the world of helping others.
Sebastian Deustua, share a standout moment from your recent ISLA operation. How did it impact you?
Since we were running a train-the-trainer model on this operation, the second half of the operation is assisting our newly certified local instructors in running a 3-day Basic Open Water Lifeguard academy. So the idea is that we are doing most of the work at the beginning of the operation, and gradually transition into the local instructors doing the heavy lifting. The moment that stood out to me was just how little work we had to do as volunteers as the sun set on the last day of instruction, because the local instructors were handling everything so smoothly. I had a good 45 minutes to sit on the sand, reflect on what was going on in front of me, and soak in all the pride of what we had accomplished. A really poignant and beautiful sunset indeed.
What was the most surprising thing you learned during this ISLA operation?
Tying into my standout moment, the most surprising thing I learned was that sometimes, less is more. I really enjoy getting in the mud and being someone who does it all, but letting others take the reins and shine feels pretty damn good too.
What was the most rewarding part of working with local lifeguards and communities during the operation?
So I grew up in Mexico and speak Spanish as a first language, but I live and work as a lifeguard in the United States, and practice my profession in English. So for me the most rewarding part was being able to lifeguard in Spanish, and work with Spanish-speaking lifeguards. I didn’t realize how much I was missing out on, and it was an incredibly special experience being able to combine these two parts of my life that hadn’t been mixed before.
So how did this experience differ from your usual lifeguarding duties?
The jump from being a “foot soldier” working towers and the occasional unit shift to instructing others on how to instruct lifeguarding was a tremendous change, one that was honestly quite challenging at first, but it was also really rewarding and a huge opportunity for personal and professional growth.
And what challenges did you face during your ISLA operation, and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge for sure was energy management. I have a tendency to want to go full-steam ahead at all times, which is untenable across 6 ten-hour days. So I had a bit of a mandatory break on one of the days, which wound up being absolutely crucial. Other than that, the aforementioned transition to instructor from plain old lifeguard was challenging for sure, and taking a step back was also harder than I expected it to be. Being the unofficial translator was also exhausting, my head was hurting by the end of the operation!! But it was all super worth it.
What was it like working with lifeguards and community members from a different culture?
Amazing. It’s really cool to see how different regions and different resource levels manage to work towards the same goal, oftentimes against large surf and other uncooperative elements that make a lifeguard’s job that much more difficult. It really makes me that much more appreciative of how things work here at home, and fires me up to do more good work across the globe.
What do you think is ISLA’s most significant contribution to global water safety?
1000% it’s a combination of effective education and our ability to create a catalyst moment for a community-wide mindset shift when it comes to water safety. Our train the trainer model, where we empower local lifeguards to take that perpetuation of lifeguard knowledge into their own hands, has so much potential to start a permanent ripple effect. If we have even as few as 6 lifeguards that we can certify as instructors, they then have the ability to train as many lifeguards as they can in the future. This then lets the water safety movement grow organically in-country.
How do you think ISLA’s work is making a difference in the locations it serves?
Like I said, the difference that we make comes in the mindset and passion that we bring on every operation. If our aquatic safety ethos is a seed that we bring to the table; we then plant it into a community throughout a given operation, water it with the passion that burns within each of us, and watch as it grows into a tree with seeds of its own. In this way, the forest of lifeguarding grows, tree by tree, sapling by sapling, until the world becomes a safer place, one seed at a time.
How has this experience influenced your goals as a lifeguard or volunteer?
It’s definitely switched my goals around. Instead of pursuing a career in astrophysics, I now want to gain as much knowledge as I can about lifesaving and medicine and generally helping others as I possibly can in order to help more, share more wherever I can.
In what ways do you feel you’ve grown personally or professionally through this experience?
Through ISLA, I feel like I’ve really honed in to what I want to pursue as a career. Sure, from the moment I became a lifeguard at 15 I felt drawn to helping others, but going on these ISLA trips has been so key for me to really start making progress in that direction. For that I will be eternally thankful.
Sebastian Deustua, if you could share one message with someone considering becoming an ISLA volunteer, what would it be?
I can truthfully say that I have never been more proud to wear a pair of reds than when I was on my first operation. Although these trips are extreme and might not be for everybody, there is something for everyone who does go, if that makes sense.
Describe the operation in three words.
Fun. Challenging. Rewarding.
If you could travel anywhere for a future ISLA operation, where would it be and why?
The Swahili Coast. It’s such an awesome coastline, with such a rich and deep history, and going there would be such an awesome cultural experience. Being able to integrate lifeguarding into that would just be the cherry on top. Either there or West Africa. Or Venezuela hahaha.
Wrapping up here, Sebastian Deustua, what’s next for you as a volunteer or in your lifeguarding career?
What’s next for me is school. I’m studying Human-Biology with a pre-med emphasis, and hoping to go to medical school from there. I continue to lifeguard in California over the summers, and every penny I earn from there will go back into school and a cheeky ISLA trip every now and then.
That’s all we have time for, but thank you so much for your time! We really appreciate the work you’ve done and we look forward to seeing where your career takes you.
Thank YOU guys for the kind words hahaha! I’m inked up now so I’m here for the long run. I’ll be around for sure, and I’m so excited for the operations that we’re planning for the future.