Phil Short
Location: United Kingdom
Phil started diving in 1990 from a background of dry caving and climbing and at first only completed a PADI open water diver course in order to use SCUBA to pass short flooded sections of dry caves in Mendip and South Wales. He then continued his open water training through the PADI system with Course Director Steve Axtell and in 1991 he qualified as a PADI instructor and began teaching full time, working his way up to Master Instructor.During this period Phill began developing his Technical Diving skills through training with Kevin Gurr and in 1993 was involved in forming one of the first Trimixwreck diving teams in the UK. He is now one of the UK’s foremost IANTD Instructor Trainer Trainers and the Training director of IANTD UK in addition to being a member of the IANTD HQ Board of Advisors.
Having devoted all his free time to developing his Technical skills, Phil began to use them for cave diving, his true passion, on expeditions to Mallorca, France, Spain Russia and Greece. At the same time, he began teaching first open then closed circuit technical diving full time for Kevin Gurrs Company Phoenix Oceaneering.
Over the years, Phil has been involved in film projects for ITV, BBC and Channel 4 on the M1 submarine, the shipwrecks from the battle of Jutland and cave diving projects in Northern Spain ‘The Road to Certain Death’ and the UK ‘Secret Underground’ and the BBC series ‘Oceans’. He has also taken part as a closed circuit rebreather diver in several shipwreck search projects in the Western Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico.
As an educator Phil has trained diver from groups such as the HSE, BBC, Police Dive teams, DSTL, NOAA and the US National Parks Agency.In 2011 Phil was appointed as Training Director for IANTD UK by Tom Mount.Phil has been diving professionally for 19 years and has logged over 5000 dives in caves and open water using both open and closed circuit equipment.
Martyn Farr
Location: Crickhowell, South East Wales
Martyn is world renowned as a cave diver and he is responsible for the discovery of miles of caves passages in many countries and is internationally acclaimed for his prolific writing & stunning photography. Martyn is an exceptional divinginstructor and ambassador for sports of caving and cave diving. Martyn runs his cavern & diving training business FarrWorld. Martyn was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award to Advanced Diving at the Eurotek 2010 Advanced diving Conference.
Paul Toomer
Paul started diving in 1996 under the instruction of PADI Course Director Steve Axtell & then Master Instructor Phil Short. Having such extraordinary trainers and a passion for the underwater world it was not long till he decided that this was the career he had been looking for. He has dived caves and wrecks all over the world and also safely planned and executed many sub 100 metre ocean dives with a maximum depth of 150 metres last year.
Paul is a Platinum Level PADI Course director, an Emergency First Response (EFR) Instructor Trainer, a Divers Alert Network (DAN) Instructor Trainer and an International Association of Handicapped Divers (IAHD) Instructor. He holds PADI Instructor Trainer status in all PADI specialties including, Wreck, Cavern, Semi Closed Rebreather and Ice. He has written his own Distinctive Specialty Instructor Courses in Oxygen First Aid, Shark Diving and Azimuth Semi Closed Rebreather.
After ten years of running Diving Leisure he decided to concentrate purely on Technical Diver Training, Expeditions and Instructor Development Courses (technical and recreational) and Diving Matrix was born. Matrix is a London based company with partnerships worldwide including, England, Gozo, Malta, Mexico, Sardinia and South Africa.
Paul regularly contributes to various dive magazines including London Diver and has worked with Film and TV Companies as a diver, supplier and advisor. He has given many diving related presentations forthe British Scuba Industry Trade Association, PADI, DSAT and DEMA (Dive Equipment Manufacturers Association, USA).
Paul is currently working with a team of technical divers exploring new wrecks around the coast on Malta and Gozo.
Mark Evans
Mark Evans is an intrepid traveller and the well-known editor of Scuba Diver Magazine, within which he heads up the Test Team and reports on diving in the UK and across the globe.
An experienced diver with more than 25 years of scuba diving behind him, Mark is always looking for new and challenging experiences, and his natural enthusiasm for diving makes him a positive contributor to the many media formats and publications.
Steve Cowley
Location: Isle of Man
Steve has been a professional diver and instructor for many years, with sub- character in the diving industry.
Based at Discover Diving on the Isle of Man, Steve is an experienced and knowledgeable dive & instructor in both recreational & Technical Fields.
Matt Reed
Location: Malapascu, Philippines’
Matt is a professional instructor trainer, who is highly demanding of himself and his equipment in pursuit of the perfect dive. Since starting diving at an early age, he has been tutored by and been diving alongside, some of the pioneers of the technical diving genre.
Currently running the successful Evolution Dive Centre on the Island of Malapscua, in the Philippines, Matt focuses on exploration and high level training as well as CCR training to allow him to dive longer and deeper. www.evolution.com.ph