How to hook clients underwater in the most beautiful places on Earth

Romanian Dragos Dumitrescu, a former graphic designer of a small advertising agency, teaches now scuba diving and how to discover the wonders of the underwater all around the world, currently being located in Apo Island, a small satellite of the much bigger Negros Island, the Philippines.

How did you discover the passion for diving?

I must confess I have always been in love with water. It didn’t cross my mind to dive until I heard a friend that you could do it at the Black Sea. After that, I signed up for the course and after the first breath underwater I was hooked. From that moment my life changed completely. I started to really be alive.

What kind of diving do you personally enjoy?

First of all, for me it’s important to be underwater. Doesn’t really matter where and how but, just like when you love eating a coconut, before tasting the great flavor you need to do an effort to crack the nut. So following this with less effort I would say I prefer warm waters, dives in the coral gardens usually not deeper than 20 meters. I stay where the colors and life stays.

Where is the most amazing place you have dived?

Hard to place one on top, but I can make some suggestions: Similan Islands (Thailand), Red Sea (Egyptian waters), Apo Island (Philippines), Lembongan Island (Indonesia).

Was it easy to find a job as a scuba diving instructor?

I started as professional in Phuket (Thailand) where one of the most developed industries in scuba diving is. That means it was extremely hard to find a job especially as a Romanian and no experience. But hard work always pays back.

What is the worst part of the job? But the best?

The best part of the job is the impossibility to describe the feeling when you see a ten years old child naturally being a fish underwater. Or when a 60 years old person jumps in your arms with tears of joy saying you changed his life. It became the reason to live for. These are people who live in a perfect balance with the nature and feel all the vibes. Opposite, the worst part of the job are the other kind of people: those who go there to break this natural balance like breaking corals which will die eventually, killing fish for sport and similar stuff.

What advice would you like to share with people who are considering getting certified?

The most valuable advice is to choose a professional instructor. The fun for the rest of your life as a diver starts with a good training. If you want to be a car driver and you have a bad instructor, all your life you will be a bad one and probably stop doing it. If he is good you might even become a racing pilot. The same with diving.

In Romania, where you can learn to scuba dive?

There are few locations at the Black Sea or in Bucharest but the course can be done only in the summer time.