Were you looking to Contact Frank instead?
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.
The first time I took a 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. That’s when 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.
Along the way, I picked up an underwater camera and discovered a second passion: sharing the underwater world with people who may never get the chance to see it for themselves. What began as a simple point-and-shoot eventually grew into a love of underwater photography, storytelling, and helping others see why divers become so captivated by life beneath the surface.
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.
Writing & Content Creation
Over the years, I’ve discovered that I enjoy writing about diving almost as much as I enjoy diving itself.
What started as trip reports and class updates gradually grew into articles about underwater photography, marine life, travel, training, dive safety, and the strange corners of diving history and science that most people never hear about.
My writing has been featured by The Scuba News, where I contribute articles exploring diving, underwater photography, travel, marine life, training, and the science and history behind our underwater adventures.
By day, I’m a software and systems engineer who has spent more than twenty-five years building software and solving technical problems. I also hold master’s degrees in Computer Science and Systems Architecture & Engineering from the University of Southern California. By night, you’ll usually find me underwater, teaching, taking photographs, exploring a new dive site, or working on the next Dive With Frank article.
That background influences how I approach writing.
I enjoy taking complicated topics and making them approachable without oversimplifying them. Whether I’m explaining buoyancy, underwater photography, marine conservation, or a distinctive specialty course idea, my goal is always the same: make the topic accurate, approachable, and enjoyable to read.
Above all, I try to write the same way I teach. No corporate buzzwords. No manufactured hype. No pretending every dive is the greatest dive ever conducted in human history. Just honest stories, useful information, and a genuine enthusiasm for the underwater world.
Recently, I’ve begun sharing my writing with a wider audience beyond Dive With Frank. If you’re interested in discussing an article, collaboration, guest post, or other writing opportunity, feel free to reach out.
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.
