The blondEST Podcast: "Bahama Trauma"

Host: Savanna Boda ("The Dallas Aesthetician")
Guest: Candace Marino (The LA Facialist)
Date: March 2, 2026

Episode Overview

In "Bahama Trauma," Savanna Boda welcomes fellow renowned esthetician and industry superstar Candace Marino for a vibrant, unfiltered conversation about their recent shark diving adventure in the Bahamas. Blending professional camaraderie, deep friendship, and a mutual appetite for adrenaline, the episode dives into both skincare industry insights and wild travel tales, including raw reflections on overcoming fears, supporting women in aesthetics, and the hilariously traumatic realities of a no-frills diving trip.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Women Supporting Women in the Aesthetics Industry

• Savanna and Candace’s Friendship:
  • Both highlight the rarity of genuine, supportive relationships in an often competitive, "catty" industry.
  • Quote:
    • Candace: “I want everybody to win...I want every single person that has their esthetician’s license do what I’ve done and maybe even more.” (03:37)
  • The importance of lifting others up and embracing an abundance mindset over gatekeeping.
    • Savanna: “The more you give, even when you have nothing, you get so much more in the long run...” (05:34)

2. Serendipity and Kindred Spirits

• The hosts recount synchronistic moments, illustrating a profound bond:
  • Both ended major relationships on the same day, in different countries.
  • Shared extremely niche interests—like diving—and even packed the exact same sunglasses for a trip.
    • Savanna: “There’s just so many, like, weird alignment things...where have you been my whole life?” (04:33)

3. The Reality of Dive Travel: Not All Glitz and Glam

• Honest rundown of the Bahamas trip’s bare-bones accommodations vs. their usual taste for luxury.
  • Quote:
    • Candace: “Trust me when I say I love a five star resort, but I also know how to rough it. And so we sacrifice the luxury and like the vacation for the diving.” (09:13)
  • The lack of people, threadbare beds, no towels, almost nonexistent food, and zero amenities.
  • Savanna: “It was literally like a deserted island.” (09:52)

4. Shark Diving: Confronting Fear & Ecstasy

• Both hosts share prior irrational fears of sharks—and describe the transformative power of close encounters.
  • Candace recounts the technical and emotional difficulties of her first dive (painful ear, foggy mask) and working through fear.
    • Quote:
      • Candace: “All I see are these giant shadows passing me, and I cannot see a thing...I can see...and then I see how huge they are. That’s wild.” (14:39)
  • Savanna compares the rush to “the best drug you could ever take.” (16:02)
  • They discuss shark behaviors, safety protocols (eye contact, showing confidence), and how the experience altered their perceptions.
    • Candace: “Whether you’re afraid of them or not...it’s intimidating at the end of the day...they’re still unpredictable.” (17:59)

5. Near-Miss: Savanna's Shark "Nibble"

• On day two, Savanna gets "mouthed" by a 16-foot tiger shark—a “curiosity bite,” not an attack.
  • Savanna: “I turned my head expecting to see a human on my arm and it’s just a fucking 16-foot tiger shark with its mouth on me.” (20:58)
  • Candace misses the incident in the chaos and later expresses envy and admiration.
    • Candace: “I’m actually jealous. I want a nibble. Street cred in the diving community.” (22:03)

6. Offbeat Adventure Highlights & Comic Relief

• Naming a dive site “Pistachio's Landing.”
  • Candace: “This trip was so iconic in so many ways.” (22:44)
• The struggle to find good food and nourishment, leading to desperate snacking and humorous mishaps (eating Cheez-Its, comparing local grocery stores to Erewhon).
  • Candace: “My typical diet doesn’t consume...I don’t do processed foods...all I wanted was a real meal of food.” (24:11)
• The traumatic experience of bad coffee, lack of caffeine, and even drinking hand soap by mistake before a spa treatment.
  • Savanna: “You ate hand soap. It’s actually really clean and hygienic of you.” (28:38)
  • Candace: “The soap was probably the best thing I ate on the whole trip.” (28:42)
• Pool and spa closures, bedbugs, and chilly weather—yet the two maintain humor and camaraderie.
• Strip club escapades in Miami: Candace “makes it rain” for underpaid dancers, calling out stingy male patrons.
  • Candace: “I’m daddy...these girls are on a stage...and [the guys] are not paying. So I go get the money.” (31:31)
• Performing for strangers at a deserted tiki bar and sustaining minor injuries (Savanna’s bar fall).

7. A Call for Community

• Express desire to arrange group esthetician dive trips and create a unique community experience.
  • “Any other estheticians that want to scuba dive? We want to plan a big scuba esthetician trip.” (34:04)
  • Both discuss adventure plans and the prospect of visiting Korea (and realizing, with some comic confusion, that Korea is a peninsula, not an island). (36:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On industry friendship:

  • Candace: "I want everybody to win...it just doesn't make sense [to compete]." (03:37)
  • Savanna: “The more you give, even when you have nothing, you get so much more in the long run.” (05:34)

• On their psychic synchronization:

  • Savanna: “The same day that I decided [to get divorced], you decided? And we weren’t like...that’s crazy, honestly.” (04:33)

• On adventure and confidence:

  • Candace: “If it brings me to a point where I could maybe potentially die, I always say yes.” (13:17)

• Shark encounter:

  • Savanna: “It’s just a fucking 16 foot tiger shark with its mouth on me.” (20:58)

• On scarcity and abundance in life:

  • Savanna: “If you have a lack mindset and you’re trying to gatekeep and you’re just, like, scared of, like, helping other people...you’re really just hurting yourself.” (06:08)

• Comic moments:

  • Candace: “The soap was probably the best thing I ate on the whole trip.” (28:42)
  • Candace: “Chunkerloo is my term of endearment. That’s what I call my little baby girls.” (29:56)
  • On Korean geography:
    • Savanna: “Isn’t a peninsula a skinny island?” (36:43)
    • Candace: “A peninsula is, like, Florida. It’s, like, attached to land, but it’s, like, hanging on by the tippy tip tip of it.” (36:46)

Important Timestamps for Segments

• [00:05] – [03:37]: Introductions, career backgrounds, and philosophy on industry support
• [04:33] – [06:08]: Serendipitous friendship moments and giving mindset
• [09:13] – [11:37]: The reality of dive travel and Bahamas trip challenges
• [13:17] – [18:58]: Shark diving experience, facing fears, and mutual encouragement
• [20:58] – [22:29]: Savanna’s tiger shark “nibble” story and Candace’s reaction
• [23:26] – [28:48]: Trip struggles (food, coffee, spa/bedbug mishaps), humorous anecdotes
• [29:56] – [31:31]: Miami adventures, supporting female entertainers, strip club antics
• [33:00] – [33:18]: Bar performance & tiki bar stories
• [34:04] – [36:12]: Plans for group esthetician dive trips, travel ambitions, and geography mix-up

Summary & Takeaways

"Bahama Trauma" is a raucous, real, and inspiring travelogue and friendship chronicle, blending deep professional respect with irreverent humor and raw honesty. The episode is as much about the importance of abundance and allyship in the aesthetics world as it is about embracing discomfort, conquering irrational fears, and finding joy (and hilarity) in things going wildly off-plan. For those in skincare, travel, or simply looking for unapologetically honest women supporting each other, this episode delivers both laughter and wisdom.