JOSH RICHARDS / AUSTRALIA

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Josh is an Adelaide-based exploration cave diver and founder of the “Soggy Wombats”. After 20 years toggling between military and civilian SCUBA diving he finally realised the ocean is full of big bitey things, and he decided squeezing into underwater caves was a much safer way to spend his spare time. Just a month after his cave diving course, Josh discovered the “Englebrecht’s East Extension” running under the city of Mount Gambier, and spent the next two years surveying and mapping it with the support of the Soggy Wombats team. Josh’s scientific approach to cave exploration – alongside a relentless dedication to look into literally every single hole “just to be sure” – has led to several more cave discoveries, including doubling the length of Iddlebiddy Cave in 2023. When he’s not diving, you’ll generally find Josh behind a keyboard and try to (legally) break into (then help secure) computers for critical infrastructure.