PADI Course Director Matt is one of the few Asian based Course Directors to have been selected to attend the prestigious Course Director Training Course at PADI HQ in California.

IDC Schedules…

Matt originally joined Crystal Dive in 1999 and quickly became Head Instructor at the resort.

Teaching all levels of PADI courses and building up an extensive knowledge of the local dive scene, Matt became Operations Manager in 2003, quickly developing the Resort into a 5 Star Instructor Development Center.

During this period he worked alongside some of the region’s leading Course Directors giving him a unique insight into various teaching styles within PADI IDC’s.

Boasting a wealth of teaching experience throughout the PADI System, Matt has conducted over 60 PADI IDCs and countless more MSDT Prep & Internship programs, certifying over 1,000 PADI Professionals. He has also certified over 1,500 PADI diver level students.

As well as boasting over 6 years management experience with one of Thailand’s premier scuba diving operations, Matt has 18 Instructor Trainer Specialty ratings as well as being an EFR Primary, Secondary and Care for Children Instructor Trainer.

Matt is also the only Koh Tao Course Director to attend the 3 Day 2005 PADI Business of Diving Seminar’s, an exclusive PADI Developmental program aimed at the industry’s business leaders.

As Crystal grew in popularity, Matt employed an Operations Manager and moved into a new position, concentrating more on the business side, answering e-mails, devising new marketing strategies as well as new educational initiatives such as the introduction of the Environmental & Conservation curriculum and Technical diving at Crystal.

He continues to spearhead the Instructor Development Programs at the school working alongside fellow PADI Course Directors Kenji Takahashi & Justin Mayers.

In 2008, after 5 years of hard work both Matt and Crystal began to receive recognition from within the industry. Invited to the Asia Dive Expo in Singapore as a guest speaker at the “Business Solutions for the Future” conference hosted by PADI Asia Pacific Matt was also on hand to receive the prestigious “Diver Training” award on behalf of Crystal Dive Resort who became the first, and to this point only Koh Tao based dive operation ever to win an award at the PADI Members Awards.

Crystal were also finalists in the “Marine Environmental” award & the “Instructor Development” award becoming the first Dive center ever to receive three nominations at one ceremony.

2009 has continued along the same lines as 2008. In January Crystal Dive won the Project AWARE Worldwide Environmental Achievement Award, presented annually by Project AWARE a nonprofit environmental & conservation organization.

Then in May PADI CEO Drew Richardson visited Koh Tao for the first time to present Matt with the 2009 PADI Asia Pacific Members Diver Retention award. This award recognizes a dive centers success and popularity in retaining student divers due to high levels of training standards & service.

Crystal also received several finalist nominations becoming not just Koh Tao’s most awarded Dive Center but also Thailand’s.

Matt has also been recognised at Instructor Development level this year receiving the Platinum Course Director rating for the third time in succession. He now belongs to an elite group worldwide that have received this accolade three years in succession and currently the only Platinum PADI Course Director on Koh Tao.

For more info, Please visit www.crystaldive.com

Mark originally learned to dive on the Great Barrier Reef whilst backpacking around Australia. That was it. He was hooked on diving. So following completion of his university studies worked his way up to PADI Instructor, diving in many countries including Australia, Kenya, Spain, Malaysia, Croatia and Thailand.

After this Mark worked in Thailand, teaching dving courses and working his way up the PADI ladder towards the rating of PADI Course Director which he earned in 2008 at the age of 25 becoming one of the youngest Course Directors in the world. He followed this with a stint as a Course Director in the Red Sea working in the resort of Hurghada, Egypt before returning to Thailand in 2009 to work in Phuket. In the past few years Mark has worked with hundreds of students on IDC’s to help them in their goal of becoming PADI Instructors.

“The bonus of what we do is the fact that we get to train people to become professionals in something they love. I remember the great feeling when I became a PADI Instructor and it is great to be able to enable more people to have that experience and give them that ability to pass on diving to more people”

Mark also has set another landmark. On land at least Mark is confined to a wheelchair following an accident (Non-diving related) in 2005 when Mark was working in Thailand. He is the first and only wheelchair user to achieve the rating of PADI Course Director putting him into the top 1% of PADI Instructors.

“The great thing about scuba diving,’ says Mark, ‘is that it offers someone like myself a chance to throw off those constraints that I have on land in to an environment where I am the same as everyone else in the water. The only difference is that I swim with my arms rather than my legs.”

As goes Mark’s own personal interests in diving any time he is in the water then he is happy, but he loves wreck diving, underwater photography and especially diving with the bigger marine life. He is always on the look out for more courses to do and has started his Semi-Closed Rebreather training to add another part of diving to his dive cv. Outside of diving Mark’s loves to travel and experience new places and cultures as well as chilling out reading and following sports.

Mark’s philosophy on IDC’s is not to prepare you just to pass the exam but to come out as a good Instructor. A relaxed atmosphere is also crucial to getting you through the process of an IDC and he can also tell you that you should have great fun on your program. IDCs are about learning so don’t be afraid to make mistakes. We can sort them out!

Mark also can include on the IDC package a chance to do International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD) Instructor training thus giving you the knowledge about teaching the handicapped to dive and adding another item to your instructor repertoire. It is an extremely rewarding course which being taught by someone who is actually a wheelchair user will give you a really hands on experience.

For Pro-level courses Mark offers PADI IDC’s, Assistant Instructor Courses, PADI Specialty Instructor, EFR Instructor, IDC Staff Instructor and IAHD Instructor. Or you can combine these in an internship option.

Certification Levels

* PADI Course Director
* EFR Instructor Trainer
* EFR Care for Children Instructor Trainer
* IAHD (Handicapped Divers) Instructor Trainer
* PADI Specialty Instructor Trainer
* DAN Oxygen Provision Instructor
* TDI Advanced Nitrox Diver

For more info, Please visit www.phuketschoolofscuba.com

Desi completed his CDTC in March 2008 and has already met the PADI Instructor certification level criteria for his Platinum Course Director rating for 2008. As a full time member of staff at Mermaids 5* Career Development Center Desi has been involved in over 25 IDC’s and is able to teach the following Specialty Instructor Ratings.

Deep Diver

Aware Fish ID

Enriched Air Diver

Underwater Navigator

Search and Recovery Diver

Wreck Diver

Night Diver

Drift Diver

Digital Underwater Photography

Multilevel Diver

Boat Diver

Diver Propulsion Vehicle

Dry Suit Diver

Underwater Naturalist

Underwater Videographer

PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider (one of the 1st CD’s in the world to achieve this rating)

Desi also has also completed the DSAT Tec Deep and Trimix Instructor Trainer Course and is an Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer with Care for Children.

Desi is originally from Ireland and has been living in Thailand for 4 years and has dived in many South East Asia locations such as Similans, Philippines, Bali, Malaysia and also in Ireland.

To know more info, Feel free to visit www.learn-in-asia.com

Bent teaches all his professional level courses including assistant instructor (AI), open water scuba instructor (OWSI), the instructor development course (IDC), staff instructor (SI) and master scuba diver trainer prep (MSDTP) at Sea Fun Divers, a PADI 5-Star CDC Center (S-2802) located at Le Meridien Beach Resort, Phuket. This is the highest Dive Center rating in PADI, and there are only a handful CDC centers in Asia. Le Meridien and Sea Fun Divers offer probably the best facilities in the country for teaching as we have the largest swimming pool in Phuket, several classrooms, and direct beach access for scuba diving. Accommodation is usually arranged at a guest house away from the hotel but we provide daily free transportation and free accommodation for you during your IDC.

Bent’s knowledge (that’s him above) of the PADI system of diving education is second to none. Bent has been diving Phuket since 1989. He was awarded with Platinum Course Director status from PADI in early 2007. He uses the latest techniques, tools, presentations and materials developed by PADI, and then polishes it for the best teaching experience for his students. His presentation and counseling techniques make you feel comfortable, confident, and relaxed. This builds a positive learning environment conducive to remembering the information you’ve been taught. He’s been a PADI Course Director since 1994 (trained almost 1,000 Instructors) and that makes him one of the most experienced PADI Course Directors in Asia. We can promise you a great IDC and a great time with lots of fun, so come on over to PHuket, Thailand and “Get Bent”.

If you’re thinking of doing PADI instructor training in Thailand and taking the plunge into a new career , please use this web site as a source to help the decision making process. Whether you want to become a PADI divemaster, assistant instructor, or open water scuba instructor (OWSI), we’re here to help. If you are interested in enjoying some of the world class liveaboard diving the Andaman Sea is famous for, Bent can help with that as well. He’ll answer your email promptly and thoroughly.

To know more info, Feel free to visit www.seafundivers.com