Sean's Bio

Southeastern Divers, Inc.

2720 Governors Drive SW, Huntsville Alabama 35805 - Phone: 256-536-8404

"Training the best divers in North Alabama since 1980."

Sean Davis - PADI IDC Staff & Master Instructor

20 Second Life Choice… Who am I ???

It’s funny how life is full of many small choices. Sometimes in as quick as 20 seconds, a path is chosen and a life is forever is changed for the better. My name is Sean Davis. I am a US Marine “Desert Storm” veteran. I was born and raised right here in good ole Huntsville, Alabama where I graduated from Lee High School, and married my high school sweetheart. Nikki and I have been married for almost 21 years, and in that time we have raised two wonderful children (Sean Jr- age 20 and Seante’-age 17).

Nine years ago I was a young quality executive for a very fast-paced, innovative, contract manufacturer of electronic sub-assemblies for the automotive industry. I was having a blast! Programming, manufacturing systems development, process flowcharts, quality systems, calibration and testing were all things that I loved to do and did very well. I was traveling, solving real problems, and watching projects grow from sketches on napkins to huge manufacturing systems which were capable of producing millions of widgets. I would eat, sleep and breathe manufacturing product assurance.

One day a customer dropped by for a visit. At the end of the visit he asked several people (including me) if we wanted to try scuba diving. Being that I grew up in a large family with a mother that did not swim and consequently had warned us to stay away from deep water, my immediate response was “NO THANKS”. With a little prodding from the other folks who wanted to try it, I finally said ok. When the day came to “Discover Scuba” the other guys conveniently had a “meeting” to attend at the same time. This is when my 20 second decision started. By the time my decision timer got to 15 seconds, I had flip-flopped between going and not going several times. When the 20^th second rolled around, I picked up the phone, called the customer who had invited me to go and told him that I would give it a try. Needless to say, all the other turkeys had chickened out.

I showed up at the dive shop, and that’s when I met a friendly guy named Greg Ogle. Greg was giving a Discover Scuba briefing, and was so enthused and knowledgeable about diving that all my hesitations and reservations were eased. I listened intently to his briefing and soon found myself standing in a pool with all this strange gear on about to do something my mom had told me not to do as a child… go into deep water! I took the first breath and I was hooked! My only complaint was that it was a shame that I hadn’t tried this sooner. After another session, I signed up for the class. From the moment I picked up the Open Water manual, I didn’t put it down until I had completed all the chapters and knowledge reviews. The videos soon became part of my regular collection and I reviewed them several times in anticipation of the upcoming class.

During the class I had a lot of fun; although, I must admit I couldn’t figure out why we had to keep doing that “dog gone” mask clearing exercise! Of all the skills, it was the one that tormented me the most. The following weekend when we were about to complete our last Open Water training dive (dive #4 of thousands to come), I kept saying in my mind “No…please not the mask again”. After completing the mask skill, I was amazed at how simple it was. Once I received my Open Water certification card, my only question was “what’s next?”

From that point forward, all I wanted to do was dive, dive and dive some more. I signed up for the Advanced Open Water program, followed by a couple of Specialty courses and then Rescue Diver course. I thought that was as far as I wanted to go. What I didn’t realize is that Greg and a few others saw some “professional potential” in me that I didn’t originally see nor think about. Several months later I found myself exploring the professional side of scuba through the Divemaster program.

As a Divemaster, I felt as though I was a guardian, chosen to hover in open water with a class for moral support, and to anticipate the needs of our Master Instructor (Greg) as he taught the class. My watchful eyes constantly scanned the diving environment, ready to react to the first sign of student diver trouble. Occasionally, I would entertain the student divers with neutral buoyancy flips or a barrel roll or two as we waited for the next skill. I felt at home with this duty. I loved this duty. I did my best to help the class flow smoothly and for a year or so we had a “Scuba Machine”. Every one of the professionals knew exactly what came next in the course, who needed to be where, and when. It was a site to see. The Assistant Instructor (AI) program soon brought additional challenges with classroom presentations, pool and open water presentations. Because I had one of the best instructors as well as other AI candidates in the class with much more diving experience than I had, I quickly absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I soon found myself certified as an Assistant Instructor and face to face with the “World’s Greatest Course Director” – Anna Schmitz. I was applying to take the Open Water Scuba Instructor course because by now scuba had become a true passion. I wanted to share scuba with the world. The things I learned while completing Anna’s Instructor Development Course (IDC), helped me cruise through the Instructor Examination without a problem. It was then that I received my long awaited Instructor Certification.

My first class was already setup for the following month and during this class of 12 student divers, I realized the importance of the job I had done so many times as a certified assistant. Assistants serve a critical function to the Instructor. Without them, classes are a little more challenging than they need to be. I certified the entire class and I must have done a decent job because I still see several of them diving from time to time.

The PADI adventure chart has been and continues to be a source of great excitement to my diving career. I hold many Instructor level certifications including a dozen Specialties, Emergency First Response, Master Scuba Diver Trainer, IDC Staff Instructor and Master Instructor. I have certified over 500 divers in a wide range of diving over the last 7 years with well over 2000 open water dives, and countless hours spent in pools during hundreds of Discover Scuba adventures. I have shared my love for our aquatic world to thousands I am sure. I have taught high school and college scuba courses for credit. I am actively involved in dive travel to many wonderful places locally and around the world.

As I always say in my classes “The name of my class is FUN!! If you are not here to have fun, you may be in the wrong place!” I hope to take this approach to the next level by becoming a PADI Course Director by 2010. This would allow me to share my love of diving and the aquatic world even more through the enthusiastic instructors I train. I plan to spend this year getting all the requirements in place for applying to the Course Director Training Course. This course is offered by PADI headquarters once per year. If I remain vigilant, and things really start to come together, it may happen as early as this year (2009).

It’s funny how a 20 second decision can lead to a lifelong adventure. Although, it happened many years ago, it seems like it was only yesterday when I picked up the phone and said yes to Discover Scuba. The best thing about it is the fact that my adventure isn’t close to being over yet!!! Even though I still live and breathe quality and manufacturing, I eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep and dive as much as I can.

I am truly a SCUBA-HOLIC!! Come fly with me… Learn to Scuba Dive and Soar the Depths.

Sean J

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