Interview With Juan

Where are you from?

I’m originally from Spain, born in Madrid.

Where do you live?

Nowadays, I live in Florida, on the Southeast coast. There are many wrecks, nice reefs, and lots of big and small marine life, and it is very close to the Florida Keys, a diver’s paradise!

Have you ever lived anywhere else?

Over the years, I have lived in different places. I have lived for longer periods in the US, Spain, and Europe and for shorter periods in Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Indonesia. For this reason, I prefer to think of myself as a citizen of this small world.

Do you have a family?

Yes, I do have a wonderful and supportive family. Without their support, all this wouldn’t have been possible.

Do they dive?

Yes, they do dive. My wife is an Advanced Open Water with a few specialties, my daughter is an Open Water Jr and the younger one is not 10 yet, the minimum age to get Open Water certified in the US, but that doesn’t keep him from taking a couple of breaths from a regulator at the pool every now and then as part of the PADI Seal Team Program.

When did you start diving? Where was your first dive? When did you first fall in love with diving?

My first underwater experience was in 1988. Yes, I know, it was a long time ago.

I was visiting my friend in Houston, Texas, when his sister invited us to go with her for her Open Water Diver training in a little lake near San Antonio. We were immediately drawn to diving. We learned how to set up the equipment, went under, and took our first breaths underwater. That was it for me. I had fallen in love with diving and never looked back.

How many dives do you think you have?

I’m not sure exactly, but it should be around 6,000 dives and counting up…

What is your highest rating in the diving industry?

I’m a PADI Course Director and an Instructor Trainer for many specialties.

Also a PADI Tec Instructor and PADI Tec Sidemount Instructor. I’m an Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer. DAN Instructor for Diving First Aid (DFA), Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid, and Emergency Oxygen for Scuba Diving Injuries.

On the recreational and technical side, I’m a GUE Cave Diver and Tech Diver.

I also became an ACUC Instructor before crossing over to PADI and took some courses with TDI, UTD, and GUE.

Was it hard to get here?

It certainly took some planning and a lot of preparation. I had to take many different courses, training, and classes, as well as instruct a multitude of different courses with a multitude of students over the years.

I’m not going to say that it was easy and quick, but it sure helped that I surrounded myself with the best mentors! And I’m grateful for each and every one of them! Each of them added their own ingredients that, combined over the years, have gotten me to where I am today.

Which organization are you affiliated with?

I’m PADI head to toe! I Instruct PADI courses and PADI Instructors.

I teach DAN Courses, but they don’t involve in-water training.

On the more recreational-technical side, I like cave diving under the GUE principles. These have kept me safe throughout all my cave dives.

What specialties do you teach?

I can teach a few courses and specialties:

• Adaptive Techniques Specialty Instructor.

• AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Instructor.

• AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Instructor.

• PADI AWARE Instructor.

• Boat Instructor.

• Deep Instructor.

• Delayed Surface Marker Buoy Instructor.

• Digital Underwater Photography Instructor.

• Dive Against Debris Instructor.

• Drift Instructor.

• Dry Suit Instructor.

• Emergency Oxygen Provider Instructor.

• Enriched Air Instructor.

• Fish Identification Instructor.

• Night Diver Instructor.

• Peak Performance Buoyancy Instructor.

• Underwater Naturalist Instructor.

• Underwater Navigator Instructor.

• Search & Recovery Instructor.

• Self-Reliant Instructor.

• Sidemount Instructor.

• Wreck Instructor.

 

• EFR Primary and Secondary Care Instructor.

• EFR Care for Children Instructor.

• EFR AED Instructor

 

On the Professional level, I can instruct:

• Divemaster.

• Assistant Instructor.

• Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI).

• Instructor Specialties for all the courses mentioned above.

• IDC Staff Instructor.

• EFR Instructor Trainer.

I’m also a Technical Instructor:

• PADI Tec Rec Deep Instructor.

• PADI Tec Sidemount Instructor.

I’m also an Instructor for DAN:

 

 

 

• Basic Life Support- CPR & First Aid (BLS).

• Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries (EO2).

• Diving First Aid for Professional Divers.

Which is your favorite specialty?

If I had to choose one from all of them, I think that would make me sad. I think that each one has something special that can make you enjoy and love your different diving experiences, making them richer and more fulfilling.

Where have you dived?

I’ve been fortunate to be able to visit a few places:

• Spain, the mainland as well as the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, and also Ceuta, a Spanish territory in the northern coast of Africa.

• Morocco.

• Gozo Island, in Malta.

• Red Sea.

• Thailand.

• Bali, in Indonesia.

• Malapascua, in the Philippines.

• Truuk Lagoon, in Micronesia.

• Palau.

• Oahu and Maui, in Hawaii.

• Florida, East and West Coast, and the Florida Keys, further South.

• Bahamas.

• Isla Mujeres, Cozumel and the Cenotes, in Mexico.

• Belize.

• Guatemala.

• Honduras.

• Grand Caiman Islands.

• Jamaica.

• Dominican Republic.

• Sal Island, in Cape Verde Islands.

 

Where’s your favorite dive site?

Oh, there are so many in the list that I’m afraid I’ll run out of space trying to mention all of them!

Every place has its own special spot that makes you feel lucky enough to be able to visit and dive there.

Spain, along all the Mediterranean coast and the North-West, the Balearic Islands, Ibiza and Formentera, Mallorca and Menorca, and the Canary Islands. I remember the color of the water in Menorca makes you feel like you are in a tropical island far away from there. In Tenerife, Canary Islands, there were big schools of “Roncadores” fish making their “snoring” like sound all together. In Denia, off the coast of Alicante, in the Mediterranean, there is this dive site that is a cavern, “La Cova de la Virgen”, the Cave of the Virgin, that has the entrance in a wall and an opening in the ceiling at the end, with an altar to The Virgin inside. The light entering through the ceiling makes striking contrasts and shadows inside the cavern.

I went to Ceuta, a Spanish territory across the Gibraltar Straight in Africa, bordered by Morocco. I remember many times we would drift into Moroccan waters, and when the dive ended, and we came back to the surface, a boat of the Moroccan Border Police was pointing its guns at us, telling us we were there illegally and asking us to leave their country.

The wrecks at Gozo Island, Malta, are most of the time accessible from the beach. All you need is a compass and a heading to get to them. There are some amazing wrecks there. It is an incredible experience diving from the beach and visiting such big wrecks.

Of course, there are many amazing places in the Red Sea, but I remember a few dives I did at the Thistlegorm wreck, especially one very early in the morning and another at night from a liveaboard. That is some big wreck, and being able to dive it and see all the cargo that it was transporting with very few people around was quite impressive. It was also very impressive to dive with whale sharks as well as other beautiful sharks.

In Koh Tao, Thailand, diving Sail Rock was quite an amazing experience. There is so much life around you that it’s hard to choose what you want to look at. I also was on a liveaboard, The Phinisi, off Phuket, visiting the Phi Phi Islands and Racha Islands. We had the fantastic experience of seeing a big Manta Ray approaching from the blue, circle us, and leave, only to return a few minutes later and do it again. What a fantastic creature!

While in Bali, Indonesia, diving with the Mola Molas was another amazing experience.

In Malapascua, Philippines, seeing the Thresher Sharks at sunrise was unforgettable.

While in Truuk Lagoon, Micronesia, you can dive so many wrecks that it’s hard to choose which one you want to dive first. Some of the penetrations into the wrecks were quite impressive!

Palau is a very impressive place to dive. There are so many amazing dive spots that it’s hard to choose just one.

Diving in Oahu and Maui, Hawaii, can be a very relaxing experience, but it can also be kind of wild when the seas grow higher and the swell rolls in. Diving at night is quite exhilarating; you never know what is around you, and it can be some big fish. Diving the lava tubes in Maui is like an out-of-this-world experience.

The southeastern coast of Florida, as well as the Florida Keys further South, offer a very nice coral reef to dive at. In fact, it’s called the third barrier reef for its size after the Australian and Mexican-Belize ones. There are also plenty of wrecks to explore and big and small marine life.

The Bahamas is home to very clear and crystalline waters that offer great visibility. I remember diving this wreck where a small grouper behaved like a pet and swam constantly around you.

Diving in Mexico, in Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, and the Cenotes, you find very different kinds of dives, from the shallow quiet reefs in Isla Mujeres to the heavy drift diving in Cozumel where you are visited by big marine life to the Cenotes and the show that the light puts through the openings in the ceiling of the caves and going down past the Hidrogen Sulfide layer, you can enjoy and make your diving experience a memorable one. It’s an amazing and an unforgettable experience to dive with a whale shark off the coast of Isla Mujeres.

Belize has world-renowned dive sites worth visiting, like the Blue Hole, which is impressive for jumping in the water, and Lighthouse Reef, a very nice dive site you won’t easily forget.

Guatemala doesn’t have an extensive Caribbean coastline. Still, the trip in the boat down Rio Dulce and entering the Caribbean Sea, where the river ends at the city of Livingston, is quite the adventure and something worth experiencing, especially at sunrise. You will not forget that.

Diving in Utila, Honduras, is somewhere where you will enjoy all the reefs it has to offer, as well as its marine life where you can never see enough turtles and, if you are lucky enough, a whale shark.

The Grand Caiman Islands have fantastic watercolors and excellent visibility. They also have big marine life to dive with. I remember this wall that had a dune of sand right at the top’s edge. You could see the current pushing the sand over the edge and getting lost in the depths—quite an impressive dive.

From Jamaica, it’s hard to forget the reefs full of life, the clarity of the water, and the diversity of marine life. Beautiful!

I remember a dive in Sal Island in the Cape Verde Islands. It was a technical dive down to 45 meters/145 feet. We were at the sand at the bottom of the dive site, a lovely wall straight to that depth with a little cavern at the bottom, and the water was so clear that you could easily see the people swimming around the boat at the surface. Fantastic visibility and a very memorable dive!

It’s been a few places, and I still have another few in the bucket list.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen?

Seeing a Whale Shark approach and circle you off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, or the Northern Red Sea, or a Bull Shark approach from the blue off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, has something majestic. Also, seeing the Thresher Sharks at sunrise off the coast of Malapascua Island, Philippines, and diving with dolphins in the Red Sea feels like magic.

But many other things can stay in your memories: a turtle slowly swimming in the water, a little shrimp trying to hide from you under a rock, a 7 cm/3 inch clown fish getting in front of your mask all angry as a warning to leave him and his family alone, a Mantis Shrimp hitting with all her power, a little grouper that liked to be pet off the coast of Great Exuma, Bahamas, watching a pregnant male seahorse taking care of the babies in the pouch in its stomach or a playful octopus getting all over you off the coast of Denia, Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Visiting an amazing wreck from the beach in Gozo, Malta, or mostly any of the wrecks at Truck Lagoon, Micronesia, can be quite an experience. You can even see submarines and planes. It’s like a playground for divers—it’s amazing!

Night diving adds a lot to the adventure. Jumping in the dark waters with a flashlight can be exhilarating!

Cave diving, like some Florida caves and the Cenotes in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, offers an environment very different from the one you are used to in open water. It can be both beautiful and challenging.

Is there anywhere you’ve not dived that you’d like to?

Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire, and further east, Los Roques, Venezuela.

Sardine Run, in South Africa, although I have heard it can also be seen off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. I’ll have to try it someday!

I have planned to do this a couple of times but have had to cancel. In the Canadian winter, the ice off of Kingston, Canada, by Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River freezes, and diving is done through a hole that you open in the ice. I’ve heard it is beautiful.

Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador.

Cocos Island, off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania.

Fuvahmulah, south in the Maldives.

Sri Lanka.

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

New Zealand.

Vanuatu.

Fiji.

I’m open to new places if you have some of your own…

Would you like your own dive school?

Owning my dive shop is not something I’m thinking of. I believe that the way the world is developing in terms of communication allows divers to travel and get together more easily than it used to be. I don’t think you need to own a dive shop anymore to bring divers together and allow them to learn.

If the question is about creating and developing my own diving certification agency, there are already many certification agencies and courses available to learn to dive or to keep developing your diving knowledge and abilities.

PADI is constantly updating and adapting its courses to make them safer and easier to learn, and you can do them from the comfort of your home through PADI eLearning.

Do you think diving is dangerous?

This is an excellent question. Like many other activities, diving can be dangerous. That is why limitations and standards are rigorous as you begin to learn, and as you develop your abilities and knowledge, they adapt to you and become more comprehensive.

You have to be focused on your dive. You have to plan your dive and dive your plan. If you do that, you will be safe. The ability to remain focused will come with experience and time in the water.

Have you had any frightening or near-death experiences?

No, I haven’t had any near-death experiences in my diving career.

I teach my students to be safe in the water and that the first objective of any dive plan is to come back safe. The rest of the tasks or practices you have planned for that specific dive don’t matter in comparison to that.

I wouldn’t be a safe and trustworthy instructor if I go, or had gone around, having near-death experiences, no? I choose safety above any other thing.

Do you like any other sports or hobbies?

Yes, I do like other sports. If it’s a water-related sport, I’ve probably practiced it and liked it.

I like sailing, windsurfing, and surfing. I’ve also done a little kitesurfing and freediving.

I like snowboarding, skiing, motorcycle riding, bicycle riding, archery, precision, and clay shooting.

I used to play tennis, padel, and squash.

I like training at home or the gym, rope jumping, running, or riding a bicycle. However, I don’t consider these sports; they are more like a way of life and trying to stay fit and healthy. I like staying on top of my health and fitness. Diving can be a demanding activity at times.

I love traveling and getting to know different cultures, understanding their ways of doing things, trying their food. It all has something magical to it!

What do you like most about diving?

When I dive for fun—well, that didn’t come out right—diving is always fun! I meant that when I’m fun diving and not teaching, I love the peace that diving brings me. It’s like everything around me slows down and gets in harmony. I love it! The muffled sounds underwater, hearing my own breathing, the slow movements—it’s very soothing. Sometimes, I think I could even fall asleep underwater!

When I’m with students, teaching it brings me two different kinds of feelings. On the one hand, when you are getting them in the water for the first time in their lives, you have the fantastic sensation of seeing someone breathing underwater for the first time. Their faces, that expression, is something that can lift you! It’s a pretty fantastic sensation! On the other hand, when you are teaching someone to get better at what they do while continuing their education and training and finally seeing the results we are looking for, I feel like a job well done. I like that feeling!

What is the most essential piece of diving equipment?

I like that question. I’ve been asked that question many times, mainly between discussions. Many people would say it’s the diving computer, which it’s indeed important, but what about the regulator, it gives you the air that you are breathing, important as well. When diving in cold water, what about a thick wet suit, or even a dry suit, important too. A comfortable BCD suited for the diving you are doing? Could be important…

I think the most essential piece of equipment is your head! Next time you go diving, don’t forget your head at home—put it to good use! You’ll experience the difference.

What would you say to someone nervous about trying diving?

I’d say it’s alright to be nervous about something we don’t know. I suggest they search for an instructor who knows what he or she is doing. Talk to him or her, not just about what makes you nervous or about the dive you are going to make, but also about anything nondiving-related.

Take note of how he or she makes you feel. Are you more comfortable and calmed down? Are you still feeling nervous after talking? Are you even more nervous than before? The way that instructor makes you feel out of the water is almost 100% how you are going to feel underwater. Go with your feelings and let them help you make your decision. I’m open to talking to you if you want to give it a try.