John started diving with the notion that he’d do an occasional dive or two while he and his family were on vacation.  That idea quickly vanished on his first dive adventure when he became so thoroughly enthralled with the underwater realm that he could not possibly leave it as an occasional experience.  Since then, John has traveled to more than 20 dive locations around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef, Thailand, Truk Lagoon, Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Curaçao, Belize, and the Galapagos Islands.

John is now a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and the Director of Ocean First Divers’ Marine Science Instructional Series.  John continues to teach scuba classes because he loves sharing his enthusiasm for the oceans with new divers and snorkelers.

Joe was born and raised just a block from the ocean in Portland, Maine. He has been residing in Colorado for over twenty years and currently lives in the mountains to the west of Jamestown. Joe was first introduced to scuba diving in high school in the late 70’s, but ironically it wasn’t until he moved to Colorado that he decided to embrace diving and maintain an active presence in the sport.

Once he became passionate about diving, Joe quickly expanded his training from Master Scuba Diver straight through to Assistant Instructor, where he served in this capacity for over two years. Joe is now certified as a PADI Open Water Instructor and is continuing his dive education, working towards both the PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and TDI technical ratings. He has dove in the Florida Keys, Borneo, Curacao, Hawaii, Malaysia, Micronesia, Thailand and Australia.

When not diving, Joe spends his free time mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering.

Growing up on a ranch in the middle of Montana doesn’t afford many opportunities to spend time in the water, but as a teenager Mark would get out to Flathead Lake in northern Montana for a couple weeks every day.  One day, while at a Value-Mart, he noticed a snorkel kit- the typical cheep pair of fins, a mask and a snorkel.  The following week Mark spent hours underwater until his mother would literally drag him out of the lake.  In 1985, Mark moved to Boulder and worked as the IT Director for the Geological Society of America.  Later that year, while at a GSA meeting, a group of managers decided they would go diving in the Caribbean.  Unable to resist the lure of the tropics, Mark followed suit and never looked back.  Since then, he has been diving in the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, Roatan, Mexico and all around the Caribbean.

In 2007, Mark decided to become a PADI instructor for Ocean First Divers and now works a service technician as well.

As a kid, Tony was always around water. He lived on a lake in central Florida for several years then spent some time on the south coast of France where his summer days were filled with snorkeling in the Mediterranean. Years later, Tony moved to a suburban neighborhood, far from any large bodies of water, but he was able to maintain his sanity by snorkeling in the backyard swimming pool.

Tony was first certified in 1970 and he was able to dive in Bermuda, California,
Florida and the Persian Gulf during his thirty-year aviation career. Tony is now a retired pilot and is making up for lost time with recent dive trips to Indonesia, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Cozumel, Bonaire, Curacao, Tortola and St. Lucia.

Tony became an instructor in 2007 and particularly enjoys introducing students to the underwater world while helping to ensure they become safe divers. Tony is an avid underwater photographer and often shares his beautiful photographs with students during class. 

Bruce's love for the water started with snorkeling in lakes in New Jersey.  Thirty years later he became certified for scuba diving and was hooked.  He was a school teacher for thirty years and has been retired since 2006.  Because of his love for teaching, it seemed a natural progression to teach scuba diving.  He has been helping or teaching professionally since 1995 and is a Master Scuba Diver Trainer.  Bruce also works a few days a week at Ocean First Divers as a service technician servicing dive equipment. 

Bruce enjoys taking underwater video and sharing it with fellow divers on trips.  One of the most satisfying aspects of diving is sharing his love of the underwater world with new students and seeing the excitement in their faces. 

Bruce enjoys diving just about anywhere and frequently dives Carter Lake and Chattfield Reservoir.

Andrew is originally from England and learned to dive in the chilly waters surrounding the UK.  He soon decided that he preferred the temperate waters of the tropics and embarked on dive expeditions to the Red Sea, Southeast Asia, Caribbean and Australia.  Andrew received his open water certification over 15 years ago and continues today looking for new and exciting dive destinations all around the world. Andrew moved to Colorado in 2001 and began exploring the expansive diving opportunities closer to his new home. His favorites include Belize, California, Florida and even inland reservoirs in the Southern US.

After many years of recreational diving, Andrew completed his professional training with Ocean First Divers in 2007 and recently joined the team as an Assistant Instructor.

Chad grew up in Colorado and as the son of outdoor-loving parents, he was taught variety of ways to fall down a mountain. At a tender young age, while on a family vacation to the Caribbean, Chad grew envious of the scuba divers exploring the Rhone down below while he swam anxiously on the surface.  He gained his Open Water certification after high school and joined the Navy to increase his diving opportunities. Working as a diver on submarines afforded him the chance to dive all around the world and he earned his Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certifications during that time.

Upon completion of his military service in 2009, Chad promptly ran away to Australia, intending to see the entire continent. Instead, he completed his Divemaster and Open Water Scuba Instructor certifications and spent two months diving almost daily on the Great Barrier Reef. Returning to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado, Chad discovered Ocean First Divers and jumped at the chance to share his passion for diving and the oceans with their students, while still having the free time to fall down those mountains.

Paul has been an avid diver since 1993 and has had the distinct privilege of diving all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Belize, Bonaire, Roatan, Egypt, Thailand and most recently Indonesia. Paul became a PADI Assistant Instructor in 2006 and made the leap to Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2008.

"Big animals are terrific, but I particularly enjoy the smallest of creatures and the beauty Mother Nature put into all the intricacies of her creations.  Next time you are diving, take some time to check out the details of something quite common.... you'll be amazed at what you discover."

Paul is also an Emergency First Responder Instructor. And in his free time enjoys flying and motorcycling.

George began diving in 1974 in Monterey, CA at the age of 14. He was certified that year by NASDS, now part of SSI. Two years later, as part of a college physical education course, he was certified by NAUI. George dove as often as his meager budget could support. In 1982, he began a very active and intense rock climbing and mountaineering career, which left little time for diving. He managed to author 60+ first ascents from the mid-80's to the mid-90's, however a series of injuries left George unable to train and climb at previous levels and he turned back to diving.

Since then, George has earned numerous recreational and technical 'badges' including NACD full cave, TDI Advanced Trimix and GUE's Fundamentals. He has also risen through the ranks at PADI to become an Open Water Scuba Instructor. George is also certified to teach several of TDI's technical courses, including Introduction to Technical Diving, Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures, Nitrox Gas Blending and Advanced (Trimix) Gas Blending.

Roger first became interested in scuba diving while watching the 50's television program "Sea Hunt," however growing up on a small farm in Oklahoma didn't provide many opportunities to experience the sport. He never lost interest, though, and in 1985 while on vacation in the Caribbean he had the opportunity to take a resort course. From that  point on he knew diving was the passion of his life.

Roger moved to Colorado in 2001 and soon after became certified as a PADI Assistant Instructor. While he enjoys all aspects of diving, he has a special interest in helping others learn this exciting sport. In addition to teaching scuba, Roger is also a certified Alpine Ski Instructor and avid high altitude mountaineer.