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Scuba Instructor by Certification. Scuba Evangelist by Nature.
I grew up on the West Coast, close enough to the ocean that it was always there, but cold enough that it never really invited me in. I remember being a kid and stupidly swimming in 60 degree water before I even knew wetsuits existed. The ocean was not a playground back then. It was something you respected.
Years later, I found myself living in the high desert of Southern California, a couple of hours from the Pacific, and the ocean had drifted pretty far down my priority list. Then, on a complete whim in the spring of 2010, I walked into a local sporting goods store and asked about the PADI Discover Scuba Diving class they were offering.
From the day I took my first breath underwater, I knew I wanted to be a scuba diver for the rest of my life. I earned my Open Water certification that summer and was hungry, or more accurately thirsty, for as much time underwater as possible.
I found a dive buddy who was just as obsessed as I was, and the real adventure started. I explored the kelp forests off the coast of Southern California. When lobster season rolled around, I earned my Night Diver certification and learned that hunting lobster at night is a great way to bring home dinner and humility, but more often humility.
I came out to the East Coast a few years later, and the first thing I did when my feet hit the ground was find a local dive shop. Not long after that, I learned my local volunteer fire department had a dive team and needed help.
I started training to become a Public Safety Diver only a few months after arriving. As a PSD, I got to use my Rescue Diver skills, Search and Recovery, Dry Suit, Full Face Mask, and Underwater Navigation skills to help my community. It was one of the most meaningful ways I have ever been able to combine service and diving.
In the middle of all that training, I earned my PADI Enriched Air Nitrox certification
and started spending serious time doing Megalodon shark tooth diving. Between Nitrox and big steel tanks, I get to spend long, quiet stretches on the ocean floor off Wilmington, North Carolina, looking for fossilized Megalodon shark teeth that have been waiting millions of years to be found.
Winters on the East Coast are a little tougher than in California, but diving never stopped. As an Ice Diver, I get to see water so clear it feels unreal, framed by a cathedral of ice in the dead of winter. It turns out the cold never scared me off. I just needed the right gear and a reason to be there.
With a few hundred dives across a wide range of environments under my belt, going pro felt inevitable.
As a PADI IDC Staff Instructor, I get to share my love of diving with my family and with anyone curious enough to give it a try. My favorite part of teaching is introducing new divers to the sensation of breathing underwater during the Discover Scuba Diving program.
I still remember the mix of wonder and confusion the first time I saw a scuba kit put together. I get to share that moment with my students, demystify the equipment, and teach people how to dive safely, confidently, and with respect for the underwater world. My goal is not just to create divers, but to help create divers who care enough to protect what they are diving in.
The most wonderful words I have ever heard during an Open Water class were, “I just saw a fish!”
A short profile about my life underwater
If you want an instructor who is guaranteed to be as excited about scuba diving as you are, take a look at my class list and let me introduce you to, or help expand, your underwater world.
