About Us
Meet the Dive The World Thailand Staff
We know that websites can sometimes create a barrier between the customer and the dive centre. So we'd like to introduce ourselves and give you opportunity to see who you'll be meeting on your next visit to Phuket - our sales staff, instructors and other office staff.
Like you, we are all enthusiastic about diving, From managers to accounts assistant, all out staff are qualified divers. We trust that our attentive, knowledgeable service and love for the underwater world is infectious and will ensure you book a Thailand diving trip that's right for you.
Dive Staff (in alphabetical order):
Miss Somjai Tadrabeab (Barbie)
Nationality: Thai
Dive The World position: Accountant, Sri's assistant. She is the youngest one in the Dive The World team but she proves herself at her job which makes the older staff members at ease, especially Sri since she can be worry free during her vacation time.
Bio data: Barbie completed her PADI Open Water Diver Course earlier this year (2008). Since then she's in love with diving and can't wait to get out of office to do her Advanced course.
Language skills: Thai and a little English.
You can contact Barbie at barbie@dive-the-world.com
Detlef Sarrazin (Beef) (ex-PADI Instructor)
Nationality: Holding on to German traveling documents
Dive The World position: Beef handles all our German sales and enquiries and makes all your dreams come true. He has been with us since March 2007.
Bio data: Being an avionics engineer by trade, Beef has been lying in front of mantis shrimp holes across the Andaman Sea since 1996. Teaching and guiding people for more than 10 years, his extensive knowledge encompasses the area of the world from Hin Daeng / Hin Muang to Phi Phi Islands, around Phuket, the Similan Islands and into Burma.
Language skills: German and Queen's English.
You can contact Beef at Beef@Dive-The-World.com
Diego Bianchi (PADI OWSI 466037)
Nationality: Italian
Dive The World position: Key person responsible for our accounts and managing our PADI Centre in Phuket. Regularly complains that he spends most of his time answering internal email but his Italian temperament means he always has a cheerful face.
Bio data: An accountant that made his way underwater and became an instructor. Diego has worked since 2000 in the diving industry in Phuket and is a popular and respected member of the local community. Diego has logged over 1,500 dives guiding and leading liveaboard vacation trips to the Similan Islands and other destinations. When he escapes from the office you will find Diego on a liveaboard enjoying the diving.
Language skills: Italian, French, English, Thai and Spanish (conversational).
You can contact Diego at diego@dive-the-world.com
John Murray (PADI IDC Staff 629811)
Nationality: British
Dive The World position: Over recent times, John has become one of key instructors. He is highly qualified, experienced, thorough and dependable. When John teaches you to dive, we just know that you'll be in safe hands and you've got every chance of becoming a decent diver.
Bio data: Before deciding to live under the tropical sun of Phuket, John owned a business repairing trucks in Birmingham in the UK. He started diving in the cold waters of England. He endured training in the UK from his Open Water course right through to Dive Master, before indulging himself in warmer and clearer waters (Thailand, Egypt, etc.). He is now a happy PADI IDC Staff Instructor living and working in Phuket since 2004.
Language skills: English only.
You can contact John at shop@dive-the-world.com
Isabelle Dechamps (PADI MSDT 486798)
Nationality: Belgian
Dive The World position: Isabelle is one of our dive centre's most popular instructors. She's an MSDT and teaches many PADI courses at Dive The World.
Bio data: Isabelle's background is a little eclectic: she was born in Korea but lived all her life in Belgium. She's trained in law but worked in marketing. She started diving on holiday in sunny Phuket in 2003 and loved it so much that basically she never stopped. As a result, she decided to become a PADI Instructor in 2005.
Language skills: French, Flemish (Dutch) and English.
You can contact Isabelle at shop@dive-the-world.com
Noon Ruethaiwan (PADI OWSI 469425)
Nationality: Thai
Dive The World position: Noon is chief of sales, both in our Phuket shop and through internet bookings. She has loads of experience in diving as she's worked as a tour leader on a liveaboard for 5 high seasons, then in the low seasons she would teach from Open Water to Divemaster. with her experience Noon is ideal to have around the shop as she can give valuable answers to your questions, whether it's for courses, Phuket daytrips or Similan liveaboards.
Bio data: Noon was born in Phetchaburi and has always lived by the sea. She fell head-over-heels in love with diving since her Open Water course, and once she become diving a professional and moved to Phuket, she found her natural home in the Similans marine world.
Language skills: English and Thai.
You can contact Noon at noon@dive-the-world.com
Sheldon Hey (PADI MSDT 614758)
Nationality: Born UK but South Africa is now home
Dive The World position: Managing Director and Web development. The founder of Dive The World Thailand, Sheldon used to be seen slaving away in the shop every day over the past few years, making sure all the finer booking details were correct to ensure your dive trips all went as planned. Nowadays, after finally having enough of the Phuket work permit, tax department and immigration practices, he only visits the Phuket dive centre to stick his nose in periodically.
Bio data: Sheldon is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, which means he's wasted more money than most on PADI qualifications. Diving in northern and southern Africa, South East Asia and the South Pacific, his passions are for adventure, animal and conservation issues. He can be a man of extremes, enjoying both the remote reefs of the Surin Islands as well as night diving in Pattaya.
Language skills: English and all the Thai he would ever want to speak. Also html and java script (written, not spoken).
You can contact Sheldon at sheldon@dive-the-world.com
Somporn Songserm
Nationality: Thai
Dive The World position: Equipment technician and driver, Somporn is the most important guy in the Dive The World Phuket Dive Centre as he's the first person we think of when something is not working.
Bio data: Somporn is always keen to dive and he has so much patience for it (as he had to wait for his instructor, Noon, to get pregnant and give birth before he could get in the water). The patience finally paid off as he's now an Open Water Diver and whenever he has free time he goes diving.
Language skills: Thai and English ("little bit").
You can contact Somporn at shop@dive-the-world.com
Miss Pornsri Wichitsopha (Sri)
Nationality: Thai
Dive The World position: A vital link between east and west - Sri has been working on the administration and accounts function for a number of years. Sri manages to maintain a smile even when the rest of us are frowning - an occasional event, even here in paradise.
Bio data: Sri completed her PADI Open Water Diver course a few years ago. She's visited most of Phuket's top dive sites and the Similan Islands several times, though we do still think she'd rather go shopping.
Language skills: Thai and English
You can contact Sri at sri@dive-the-world.com
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