Musician and Beach Lover, Phil Aitcheson, Aims to Make a Difference with the Marine Life Preservation Fund of NC

“I am passionate about saving dolphins,” says Phil Aitcheson, founder of the Marine Life Preservation Fund of North Carolina. “It was that show seaQuest in the early 90s with Darwin the robotic dolphin that got me—when Darwin looked at the captain and told him he loved him, that did it for me.”

The Marine Life Preservation Fund of NC, administered by the Outer Banks Community Foundation, was recently established to provide grants to organizations involved in the preservation of dolphins, whales, and sea turtles, and to students studying marine biology with a focus on any one of these animals.

“Ocean life is at the heart of the Outer Banks’ natural beauty. Preserving our marine ecosystems is essential for the well-being of our community,” said Chris Sawin, President and CEO of Outer Banks Community Foundation. “We are deeply grateful to Phil for establishing this new charitable fund, which will help ensure that our marine environments are protected for generations to come.”

In addition to being passionate about saving marine life, Phil, who prefers to go by the name Flip Damon, is a prolific recording artist, record producer, and singer/songwriter. He’s recorded 18 albums to date with another two scheduled for release in 2025.

His music is heavily influenced by the Beach Boys, with whom he’s had a personal connection for the past 50 years. He met brothers Brian and Carl Wilson backstage at various concerts during the 1970s and eventually became a frequent guest of the band at their concerts.

Flip counts the brothers, and most notably Brian, among his greatest musical influences. “I studied Brian’s methodology for producing—he inspired me not only for songwriting, but also singing and production.” He pauses and adds, “Music is my religion. God and I have a special relationship when it comes to music. As long as I can walk and breathe, I will write music.”

Flip’s songs are often about romantic relationships replete with beach and sea motifs as the backdrop. Sometimes his fondness for the beach is the subject itself, as in the lyric: “Just couldn’t stay away from the ocean and sand.”
“I’m in love with the beach and the ocean,” Flip professes, and the Outer Banks embodies this for him. “It’s the beach culture – the way people live here. The salt air. The OBX is one of the most welcoming communities in the world.”

Flip, now 72, started coming to the Outer Banks when he was 9 years old, when he stayed in a small cottage in Nags Head with his family. He returned almost every year, and the place started to occupy his thoughts even when he was away.

He finally bought a house a year ago in Nags Head, about three blocks from the beach, where he has a recording studio and recently planted several palm trees.

Although Flip currently splits his time between Nags Head and Culpeper, VA, where he lives with his wife, Beth, of 35 years, he intends to make this his full-time residence in the near future. “I hate leaving here to go back to Virginia. We recently went on vacation to Turks and Caicos and all I could think of was Nags Head.”

Flip hopes his new fund will help enhance and raise the profile of education, conservation and protection of dolphins, whales and sea turtles here on the Outer Banks. “Dolphins are the most intelligent animals on the planet,” says Flip. “They use 10% more brain power than humans. They are mankind’s future.”

He recently adopted an 11-year old bottlenose dolphin named Windley, who lives at the Dolphin Research Center sanctuary in Grassy Key, Florida, where she loves to play basketball and ham it up for the camera. He wants to see similar standards set for dolphin conservation here on the Outer Banks.

Flip would like to see the Marine Life Preservation Fund grow and make a lasting positive impact on the Outer Banks. “I want it to help more people and organizations in their quest to study marine animals” says Flip. “The more specialists who come out of college to do their life’s work to protect the animals, the better.”

It has never been easier for you to make a real impact in our community! At the Outer Banks Community Foundation, there are countless ways to get involved in philanthropy, and one of the simplest and most effective is by creating a donor-advised fund. Start your journey today and make a lasting difference in the lives of those around us.

For more information about creating a fund, please visit OBCF.org.

About the Outer Banks Community Foundation: The Outer Banks Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to fostering philanthropy and supporting local causes. Through its charitable funds and grant programs, the Foundation strives to enrich the quality of life for residents of the Outer Banks.