My diving journey began in July 2025, when I took the PADI Open Water Certification course at Dean's Dive Center in Ft. Myers, Florida. I chose Dean's Dive Center for my class by researching online and reading reviews. Afterward, I visited the shop and spoke with the instructors who would be teaching me. This step is crucial: meet your instructors and ask questions. Like many new to diving, I had numerous questions and felt a bit nervous. While there's plenty of useful infor

What is the PADI Enriched Air Diver Course? The PADI Enriched Air Diver course teaches you how to safely use air that contains more oxygen and less nitrogen than regular air. This means you absorb less nitrogen, which gives you longer no-decompression limits, shorter surface intervals, and — for many divers — less post-dive fatigue. It’s especially helpful if you’re doing multiple dives in a day or planning a dive trip where you’ll be diving several days in a row. There are n

My Experience with the OTS Guardian Full Face Mask While taking my PADI Open Water course, I met a diver named Teo who was using an OTS Guardian full-face mask. He was already certified and diving with his daughter, who was completing her Open Water class. Teo shared all the benefits of the mask — no fogging, the ability to breathe through your nose, and overall comfort. It sounded fantastic to me! Around the dive shop, several people also had the Guardian and spoke highly of

Discovering New Depths with PADI This past weekend (9/28), I completed my PADI Advanced Open Water course with Dean’s Dive Center in Ft. Myers, Florida—the same shop where I earned my Open Water certification. The class was eye-opening. It highlighted areas where my skills were strong, but more importantly, it showed me where I still had work to do. That’s exactly why I’d recommend the Advanced course to any new diver who wants to grow. Before taking it, I watched tons of Y