“Take action. There is no perfect time to do anything. Whatever you want to do start today. Even the smallest action toward your goal is action. There is no time like the present.”

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing aviation and law enforcement executive, Anthony Marinello.

Anthony Marinello brings over 40 years of distinguished service and leadership in law enforcement, aviation operations, public safety, and security. With a career rooted in excellence, he has amassed more than 14,000 flight hours and held a wide range of high-responsibility roles across government, corporate, and private sectors. Currently, Marinello is president and owner of Tropic Air Charters Inc., a 30-year U.S. air carrier providing passenger and cargo services between Florida and The Bahamas. He is also the founder and CEO of Tropic Air Rescue, the only fully certified helicopter rescue membership program in the Bahamas. As part of this effort, he conducted multiple high-risk U.S. citizen extractions in Haiti and led humanitarian missions in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. His career has earned him numerous honors, including the New Jersey State Trooper of the Year Award, and recognition from Sikorsky and other industry leaders.

“Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?”

Since I was about 5 years old, I wanted to be a policeman. A blink of an eye later, at 19, I graduated from the NJ State Police Academy as a NJ State Trooper. After a few years I decided to pursue a specialty within the organization. I pursued a helicopter pilot license with my own funds and became a helicopter pilot. Shortly afterwards I was transferred to the Aviation Bureau where I had an amazing career as a law enforcement/medevac helicopter pilot.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

That’s a funny question. I’ve never considered myself a disruptor but as I look back, I see the many instances of this building in my life. In government service we always are taught to follow direction and as a good employee I did just that. As the years went by, I found myself in quite a few circumstances that questioned the status quo. Why do we do that? Why can’t we do it this way? “Because that is the way we have always done it,” was usually the answer. This never sat right with me, and I would push myself to change things even slightly to make the operations better. And not always to everyone’s liking. Most people don’t like change, and they have a way of making it known. As my career would come to an end at the State Police, I knew there was much more to accomplish before I retired permanently. After retirement from the State Police, I was sought out and hired as the first Chief Pilot of the City of Newark NJ police department. I started the first full time municipal police department aviation unit ever in the State of New Jersey. They let me do whatever I wanted to do to get it running and make it successful and we did. We flew over 1,000 hours in that first year capturing multiples of criminals and effectively lowering the violent crime rate by over 20% and in other categories close to 50%. A full success because they let me run it the way I wanted to run a police aviation unit for many years. As all good things go, city politics became an issue, and I moved on. The unit remains operational however at a much more limited basis.

I then created a private detective agency. I created a camera system that could watch people for months at a time with minimal input. It became another huge success, often securing jobs from other PI’s, that no one could handle. It was something no one else had ever done. I was elected to the board of directors of the state association. At the same time, I ran for election in my hometown becoming a township council member, then deputy mayor and eventually mayor. Many challenges throughout my tenure but if you serve with honesty and true intentions of making it a better place it is a worthwhile endeavor. Disruptions galore in that position.

At the same time, I was working as the Safety Director for a large helicopter company in the NYC area. A very challenging position but I did learn a lot about the behind the scenes of aircraft management. I used this position as a learning opportunity and learn, and I did just that. It was the basis of my purchase of my own company.

As for being a disrupter, I have basically turned the industry on its side. I have done everything opposite from the others in my field and many have told me behind the scenes they don’t understand what I’m doing. I just smile and say, “I know” and chuckle.

When I purchased the company, it was a small company whose owner wanted to retire. While running the company I saw an opportunity to do something that was never done before. I created Tropic Air Rescue, the first Helicopter Air Ambulance program for the Bahamas. I was told by many, “I wanted to do this for 30 years.” I did it as a private membership program rather than a government run or funded program. I was told it was impossible, never been done before. Glad to say it’s being well received. In our first year we carried out over 50 rescues, with one rescue operation in a foreign country that resulted in the rescue of 143 people and lead to the additional rescue of close to 700 people in total. None of which would have happened if I didn’t step forward and make the idea a reality. I bet those 750 people might have a better idea of how important our program is. That’s a positive disruption of an industry.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I am not sure I made any funny mistakes. I just made mistakes lol.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I used to fly the New Jersey attorney general around as part of my job as a State Police pilot. I would take him to events and wait in the helicopter for him to finish then we would leave. One day I went inside to listen to him speak. He told a story that stuck with me and resonated with me.

He told the story of a big storm that hit the state. After the storm, everyone went up to the ocean to see the damage. When they got there, there were millions of star fish washed up on the beach. As everyone looked on in amazement, they noticed one man walking along the waters edge. Every few steps he would bend down, pick up a star fish and throw it back into the water. One man on the shoreline said to the others “This guy is nuts. I’m going down there to see what he’s up to.” He marched down to the man stepping on all the star fish along the way and when he reached him, he said in a scoffing tone, “Excuse me. What are you doing? You can’t possibly hope to save all these star fish!”

The man bent down picked up a star fish and threw it back into the water and said “No, but I just saved that one.”

That story summed up my entire career and it’s how I understood what I am supposed to do. It’s how I have operated before he told the story, and I understood why I did it after the story. We can’t save everyone, but we can certainly try and save a few.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Positive disruption moves us forward. It takes us out of a rut. It lets us see new ways to accomplish a task or invent in new way of accomplishing the same thing we did yesterday with a better plan of action. Just because we always did it that way does not mean there can’t be a better way. Make it better.

Disruption for the sake of disrupting serves no purpose but to create chaos. Disruption of speech, disrupting a public gathering, disrupting a group is not productive. Some may say it’s a form of protest but it’s not. It’s a way to impose your will on others who probably don’t want to listen. You can disrupt in a peaceful and orderly way and get your point across, or you can throw bottles and insults. Which one do you think will get you what you want. And all we really want is to be heard. Do it peacefully and in a non-destructive way.

Can you please share 5 ideas one needs to shake up their industry? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.

1. Persistence. Never give up no matter what obstacles are placed in your path.

2. Ask Why. Don’t accept the status quo.

3. Eyes wide open. There are no fairy tales. Be realistic in your goals and expectations.

4. Take action. There is no perfect time to do anything. Whatever you want to do start today. Even the smallest action toward your goal is action. There is no time like the present.

5. Believe in yourself even when no one else does. People will put doubts in your mind. They will put their fears into your mind; it’s their insecurities they are expressing. Ignore them. Never take advice from someone who has never done what you want to do.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I am going to keep expanding our footprint to help as many people as I can.

Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?

“Think and Grow Rich,” by Napolean Hill. This book opened my eyes to my true potential. It’s within all of us and it’s that simple.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have two:

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are probably right” — Henry Ford

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” — T.E. Lawrence

I live by this one every day!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Help others. It’s been my calling since I first understood what good and evil was. Anyone no matter what their position in society can help anyone at any time. From being polite, to holding a door open to running into a burning building to save someone, goodness is in all of us. If you are honest with yourself, you will find good in every situation. Mindless belief in someone else’s words is not helpful. People can tell you about their thoughts on a subject but it’s up to you to make up your own mind, do your own research, come to your own conclusions and act on your own. Help everyone you can.