Question

Have you influenced or encouraged someone else to become a diver?

Answer 1

A few. When i tell People about it. I get exited My self. And that is easy to see in their eyes..... They whant to try it too

Answer 2

I like to think that I have. I am an instructor. When teaching young people and their parents are watching, they see the fun they are having. They are pretty easy to talk into taking also. I try to convince them that it will be a lot of fun diving as a family. I also will do a Discover Scuba class for anyone that wants to try before they buy for free.

Answer 3

Diving is my passion and I talk to people about it all the time. I especially get questions on vacations, when folks see a dive shirt or see me coming back off the boat. They have generally tried snorkeling and like it, but aren't sure about diving...especially not sure about sharks. I love sharks and I think my excitement sets them at ease a bit about a possible encounter. I also share with them a bit of the peril that sharks face - after all, as divers, we also have a responsibility toward conservation and stewardship, and learning that sharks are threatened starts a transition from man-eater fear towards compassion.

I always recommend that people try a discover scuba diving intro. If doing it at a destination, they will be able to spend some time in the pool to get ready and then experience diving in the ocean. If they are inland (home for me), I still recommend trying the discover so that they understand what it's like to have on the gear and can experience weightlessness and three dimensional freedom for themselves.

I have had several people that tried the discover and loved it. Many have gone on become certified.

Answer 4

Sure. Probably many. A funny story during on of my lectures (I speak around the country about my time as a Cousteau diver aboard Calypso) was at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus in Groton, CT. The large audience was half students and half public. A fellow approached me afterward, when I was signing books, "FROGMEN", and he said he wanted to learn how to dive...but he didn't know how to swim! His friend sort of went crazy saying you've been sailing with me all these years and you don't know how to swim? I suggested that he did need to learn how to swim AND to be comfortable in the water, then he can learn how to dive.