Dr. Brian Tissot is a marine ecologist, surfer, filmmaker, and science fiction writer living on the wild edge of the Pacific NW. With one foot in the world of hard science and the other in the tides of imagination, he writes visionary stories that blend marine biology, indigenous wisdom, and speculative futures. A lifelong explorer of waves and oceans, Brian has led pioneering research on coral reefs, kelp forests, and the deep sea, publishing widely in scientific journals and appearing in films and popular media.
His blog, science fiction writings and films reflect a deep reverence for the ocean and a poetic sensibility shaped by years of diving, surfing, and listening to the rhythms of the natural world. Brian’s stories often unfold in richly imagined worlds — part crumbling utopia, part sacred dreamscape — where ecology is destiny and memory is terrain. Whether charting alien oceans, haunted ruins, or spiral stairways rising from submerged cities, he writes with the heart of a surfer, the eye of a filmmaker, and the soul of a poet.
SCIENCE FICTION
The Songs of the Universe Trilogy is an epic science fiction saga about that follows a journey from the depths of a living ocean world to the far reaches of a conscious cosmos, where humanity’s fate becomes entwined with a greater web of life. What begins as a personal quest for discovery evolves into a profound awakening: ancient oceanic intelligences, carried through whales and sentient seas, are part of a vast, interconnected network that sustains balance across the universe. As human ambition and exploitation threaten to silence these ancient songs, a new generation must choose between domination and stewardship, confronting grief, identity, and purpose along the way. At its heart, the trilogy is a story of connection—between science and spirit, humanity and nature, and the fragile harmony that binds all living worlds.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
My interest in photography began when I was twelve years old. What started as curiosity quickly became a lifelong passion. I built my own darkroom, developing film and made prints through college. When I began surfing in 1970, my lens naturally turned toward the ocean—waves, light on water, and the culture surrounding the sea. In the early 1970s, while living in San Diego, I started borrowing my dad’s 8mm Minolta film camera and making surf movies.
As my skills evolved, so did my equipment. I purchased a Sony Super 8 camera in 1978 and later an underwater housing in 1980, allowing me to film from within the waves themselves. My travels took me from the West Coast to the East Coast, and eventually to Hawaii, Bali, and Tahiti. In the 1980s, during graduate school, my focus expanded from surfing to marine life—filming coral reefs, kelp forests, and deep-sea explorations—deepening my relationship with the ocean through both science and art.
In 2009, I began digitizing and sharing these early films on YouTube. And in 2024, I began experimenting with AI-driven filmmaking, opening an entirely new creative chapter. Many of these projects also serve to visualize and promote the worlds and themes of my science fiction books, allowing me to bring imagined futures, ecological challenges, and ocean-centered narratives to life in ways that were once impossible.
MARINE RESEARCH
Dr. Brian Tissot is a marine ecologist working on invertebrates and fishes across intertidal zone, kelp forest, coral reef, and deep reef ecosystems. He received his PhD. in Zoology from Oregon State University and held academic positions at the University of Hawaii, Washington State University, and Humboldt State University. His research is focused on marine conservation ecology and the interface between biology, management, and policy. Through collaboration with state, federal, and international agencies, he conducted a range of activities including basic research, research on resource management, and policy development.
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