Charleston's Best Dive Shop!
13 Years Running!
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Want to get Certified?
Our staff at Charleston Scuba are the best in the business! Everyone who works with us is focused primarily on customer service and satisfaction. We appreciate the loyalty of our clients and realize that they come to us because of our professionalism and dedication to the dive industry.
Click on the picture of any of our staff for more Information!
Tom Robinson
Tom has been serving the local dive community as a dive retail manager, Divemaster and licensed captain since 1981 and has been teaching SCUBA since 1987. He is a licensed Ocean Master Captain, Master Scuba Diver Trainer and runs great trips on our boats, the TRINITY and MR. JON. Tom is a talented videographer, creating store videos of offshore Charleston and travel footage. His footage has been used by various entities including: the South Carolina Aquarium, local area news channels and our own store DVD, "Charleston's Underwater World".
A Master Technician for Scubapro and Aqualung, Tom also oversees our repair department. Tom's favorite dives off the coast are the Anchor Wreck and the Indigo Ledges.
Position: Store Owner, Captain, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Sally Robinson
Diving since 1986 and managing the business since 1990, Sally schedules our trips, manages the store and charter service, crews charters and teaches classes. With her background in Marine Biology, she keeps the community focused on the underwater environment by organizing Beach Sweeps, talking with school groups and leading field trips in environmental awareness.
Sally holds a PADI Staff Instructor rating, is an EFR Instructor Trainer and has been teaching SCUBA since 1993. Her favorite classes to teach are Wreck Diver, Rescue Diver and Assistant Instructor. Her favorite dive destination is right here off the South Carolina coast, preferably on the ledge sites
Position: Store Owner, PADI Staff Instructor, EFR Instructor
Susie Elliott
Susie is a PADI Assistant Instructor and a volunteer diver at the South Carolina Aquarium. If you've ever been to the aquarium you may have seen her in the tank giving presentations, feeding the inhabitants or dressed as Santa. She enjoys leading dive adventures with her good friend Randy Gross.
Susie and her husband love sharing with Charleston Scuba customers their favorite exotic island locations. Susie's other interests include hunting, flying, any water activity and highly competitive tennis. Susie is the fearless Assistant Manager of our store.
Position: PADI Assistant Instructor
Michelle Taliercio
Michelle comes to us all the way from Oregon. Originally a Jersey girl, her love of the Atlantic Ocean has brought her back to the East Coast. Michelle gained her scuba certification in 1992 and used it while obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from ECU. She received her Instructor certification in May 2010 while also working in our dive store and is now focused on completing her next Instructor rating.
With a passion for sharks, she is excited to tackle the local dive sites and meet the friendly wildlife. Michelle’s other interests include belly dancing, homebrewing, Frisbee-golf, cooking, and gardening. For those Spanish speaking customers, she can also provide translation.
Position: PADI Instructor
Gary McCullough
Gary is currently a student at the College of Charleston and is pursuing a degree in Communications . His favorite sites are wrecks and he has dived the famous Speigle Grove and the Duane and BIB in the Florida Keys and the Y/73, the Researcher, the Steel Deckhouse and the T&A #9 locally. He also enjoys river diving and fossil hunting in the Cooper/ Edisto Rivers.
Gary completed his Divemaster Certification in the summer of 2008 and is currently going through our Assistant Instructor program. Gary is our resident Repair Technician for ScubaPro with a Pro Tec rating, and is a gas blender through the TEC/REC certification.
Position: PADI Divemaster, Service Technician
Greg Carr
Gregg Lambton Carr comes to us from South Africa with a substantial number of qualifications - Naui Course Director, PADI Instructor, DAN Instructor Trainer and as a certified technician for Scubapro, Aqualung, Oceanic and Mares. Gregg also has an excellent background as a charter boat operator and dive retailer. With his talent as a photographer, he has quickly become our underwater photography Guru.
Position: PADI Instructor, Service Technician, DAN Instructor Trainer, NAUI Course Director
David Aguiar
David was certified as an open water diver March of 2004 in Okinawa, Japan while stationed in the Marines. He enjoyed diving so much that he became an Open Water scuba instructor in 2006. Some of his most memorable dives were diving the USS Emmons and diving with whale sharks. David is now stationed in Beaufort, S.C. and works as Staff Instructor for us. David's favorite dives offshore are the big wrecks.
Position: PADI Staff Instructor
Tim Schmitz
When Tim loves something, he thinks everyone will love it! So, he became a scuba instructor to teach everyone to dive! He began his mentor-ship to become a dive professional with Charleston Scuba in April 2007 and achieved Dive Master in May, 2008. His instructor rating was next in May 2009 and Master Scuba Trainer in October 2009.
Tim has always loved to explore the natural world...he loves to hike, bird watch, mountain bike and kayak. He began scuba diving in April 2005 so he could begin exploring the seas. Besides teaching, Tim focuses on underwater photography and studying sea life. He loves dive travel and intends to dive in as many exotic locations as possible. And... he wants to train you all to be a Master Scuba Diver!
Position: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Al Hammons
Al Hammons is a Master Scuba Diver Trainer and volunteer diver at the South Carolina Aquarium who also often doubles as a Divemaster on our offshore charters. He is a favorite of clients and crew, is extremely competent and handles every situation with good humor. When not with students, Al works as a referee for local schools and is a professional real estate appraiser.
Position: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Randi Gross
Randi Gross is an experienced Staff Instructor, Registered Nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina, volunteer diver at the South Carolina Aquarium and can conduct all levels of dive training. She has had her PADI Instructor rating since 1993.
Randi has dived exotic locations such as Truk Lagoon, Palau, The Caymans, Fiji, and our own local waters. Her favorite local offshore location is the Y-73, one of our wreck specialty completion sites.
Position: PADI Staff Instructor
Jason Bryan
Jason Bryan, our California import, has been instructing with us since 1993. He is a Staff Instructor and trains students from Open Water Diver through Assistant Instructor. Jason has also led our Seal Team Kid's Camp since its inception and helped create the Shark Awareness Specialty Program. An avid photographer, Jason loves photographing our local marine life on the big offshore wrecks.
Position: PADI Staff Instructor
Art Moore
Art Moore is a Staff Instructor who has been working with us for over nine years. He enjoys teaching new students about the wonders of marine life and has a passion for sharks and photography. Art is also one of our repair technicians, specializing in Aqualung products.
Position: PADI Staff Instructor
Rick Kimball
Rick is a former police officer and one of our PADI Divemasters. He, his wife and daughter are all avid river divers and fossil hunters who have made their love of the sport a family affair. Rick is wonderful at assisting with weekend classes and Seal Team camp.
Position: PADI Divemaster
Stephen Burns
Stephen Burns has been working as a captain for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) for the past eight years and has excellent knowledge of the local waters. He joined us for the first time as a co-captain in 2008 and looks forward to leading local charters over the next few dive seasons. Stephen loves diving off of Charleston, however when he is not working for the SCDNR or on the TRINITY, he is catching the waves off of Folly Beach. Stephen is currently working on his Divemaster rating.
Position: Captain
Jeff Jacobs
A former shrimp boat operator and a current boat captain for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), Jeff has years and years of boating experience. He has worked with us at Charleston Scuba since 2001 as a captain and he always makes our diving experiences safe and enjoyable. Jeff's favorite dives sites are in the Cooper River and he is an accomplished black water diver and fossil hunter.
Position: Captain
Conrad Rucker
Conrad Rucker has a true passion and love for diving. He began his diving career in 1978 after watching the show "Sea Hunt" and now has made a commitment to help other "discover the magic of teaching". Conrad exemplifies the high standards that PADI has set and thrives on seeing others reach their potential as divers and instructors. His dive resume is varied, with a number of Instructor Trainer Specialties under his belt, such as Deep, Enriched Air, Rebreather, Emergency First Responder Instructor Trainer and Divers Alert Network Instructor Trainer. as well as being a Handicapped Scuba Association Instructor.
Outside of diving, Conrad has a BA from Southern University, Baton Rouge in Speech Communications, was a Captian - UCMC Ch-46 Pilot and spent 4 years in the NFL for the Houston Oilers and the Denver Broncos. Currently, Conrad is married with 3 children and works for Delta Airlines. His favorite dive destination is Cozumel.
Position: PADI Course Director
Gary Finka
Position: PADI Divemaster
Katie Rowe
Position: PADI Instructor