Meet tia clark
born and raised in charleston. This city is a part of her.
But surprisingly growing up she didn't spend a lot of time on
these majestic waterways curving throughout the lowcountry.
I just got into this new water crap life as I call it within
the last few years.
Crabbing is very new to me it. Feels like it's old to me
because it's been in my family. You know like we used to have
a fisherman in the family but it's not something i've been
doing my whole life at all.
A veteran worker in the food and beverage industry and one
of the most popular culinary cities in the world.
Why now at this stage in her life does the water and
the little crustaceans appeal to her.
I quit smoking cigarettes. They really, that's
how it all started. I quit smoking cigarettes and then my
body flipped out. I went through some serious help things. And
then my doctor the woman who was helping me suggested that I get
active. And then my cousin brought me crabbing.
And then I can pretty much replace smoking with
crabbing everyday. It was like something.
I had no idea what was going on. He brought me out to a dock
right around the corner here. We stayed out for about
five, six, seven hours one day. And then I went every single
day after that because I was hooked.
It was like something in my mind flipped
and I had to be near the water. I didn't know why. Some days
i'd just drive myself here, catch some stuff, dump it back
in the water and then go on about my day.
But I find myself next to the water so that's how I got
here crabbing.
Guide you pinko out. Okay?
Arm up. Opening facing away piece of the rope.
Creating my opening. And down
both hands in your mouth, same time. Ah
crabbing and being on the water helped her get healthy.
But her journey all started by accident
with one shared picture to social media.
Sometimes I come out and I share to social media when all
that stuff started happening me like I had to be near water.
I would come out
and I would take a picture of sometimes just
the cloud.
Sometimes just the dock with like some water on it, it didn't
really have to be anything. And then I would share something
about that day or something that happened out here with me.
And that's really kind of how this all started.
One of my fishing buddies took a picture that I shared on that
social media and he started the page, casual crabbing with tia.
I didn't even start it. I never came up with this.
I was i've almost
done this most amazing thing in my life kicking and screaming.
The whole way I said no repeatedly
until somebody convinced me to say yes
and by the power of social media
casual crabbing with tia was born.
She was told about airbnb launching a new product called
the airbnb experience and the rest is history.
The airbnb experience is something unique and fun to do
somewhere that you're traveling. Airbnbs are all over the world
when you stay in an airbnb now you'll
find out and they'll send you some links for experiences. So
what it is is a local some maybe not even a local someone
that lives where you're visiting
that is doing something really cool really unique
in that town that they want to share
with with other people because they signed up for the platform.
Within five months of launching casual crabbing with tia as an
airbnb experience her life had changed dramatically.
Airbnb flew her to san francisco. She was trending on
google. She had a few million hits from a facebook ad.
And eventually her crabbing hobby was named a top four
experience in the world. What makes it so unique?
First of all you're gonna come out here on this dock. I'm gonna
greet you and welcome you to my wonderful beautiful home town,
and show you my office now.
And then
I'm going to do a little intro with crabs and the show
my favorite crustaceans, tell you some weird stuff that I know
about them, because they are beautiful and weird. And
then we're gonna crab multiple different ways.
After that I teach my other favorite thing which is
throwing the cast net, which is very freeing therapeutic
physically active.
We'll do that and then hopefully catch some live
bait. Put that on some fishing rods. You can hold your rod
or put it in the holder. Go back check your crab tracks. It's a
pretty much a salt water adventure.
It's like a salt water playground.
Tia along with her friend and assistant art
make you feel like you've been on these waters
fishing, crabbing and
throwing a cast like a professional for years.
But most of all you feel like you're enjoying a beautiful low
country day with friends.
For me there's still something in the back of
my head that thinks that the tia's just crabbing you know.
Because I'm not having... I'm having my own experience
not experience my guests are having but
when I get the feedback from them and what
I hear is that
people don't want to go and buy things and take it home anymore.
They want to go and they really want to experience things and
I think what the experience that I have really kinda how is
evolved now is that i've gotten my confidence is really built
is that I'm really bringing you in to charleston and showing you
charleston. And within two and a half hours you feel
immersed in this culture,
a part of my family,
and you feel like you can do this stuff on your own. Like
you're learning skills but you're really gathering a sense
of where you are and the people that live around here do.
I find that in this world that i've set up about here.
It's hard for people not to fall in love with it.