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Steve Axtell

Course Director: 30544

Steve Began diving in 1976 in South Wales as a young and adventurous potholer and caver.

The lure of the caves beyond the flooded sumps became too much and so he embarked on a DIY dive course with his two best friends Ray and Keith Williams. Soon the diving became more fascinating than the caving and the open sea was the next challenge.

Spending several years diving the coastline of Wales and England in the late seventies and early eighties Steve and his dive buddies explored the Wrecks and sites that have become popular with divers today. (With stories only to be told in the pub).

In 1983 he joined the South Wales diving Society but quickly realised that a qualification was needed to dive anywhere else in the world so embarked on a PADI experienced diver course with Aquasub in Newport South Wales.

Shortly after that course he was hooked by the qualification bug and embarked on a quest to become a PADI instructor achieving his goal in 1988 with Diving Leisure Limited in Poole, Soon after that he was offered the post of managing Diving leisure and started full time there in 1989.

After a busy few years as the dive centre manager, Steve attained his Course Director qualification in 1992 at PADI HQ in California where he became one of the few people to score maximum points in the pool skills demonstration circuit. In 1994 Steve took on the much more challenging role as the owner of Diving Leisure after the previous owners decided to concentrate on their family life.

Steve is qualified as a HSE part 4 Media diver and has worked on a few TV and film projects including a James Bond film. He is also a Government approved NVQ assessor and holds a C&G diploma in Training and Education. Since 1996 he has been an active crew-member of the RNLI Poole Lifeboat and has been the stations Training Co-ordinator.

Steve regularly runs IDC’s at home and abroad for other PADI five star IDC centres as well as the full range of PADI specialty courses, As a course director for 12 years he is considered one of the most experienced in the industry and is sought after worldwide for his relaxed but thorough attitude to training, Several of his early PADI open water students progressed through the PADI system with Steve as their mentor and have now become Course Directors themselves and are now successful dive centre owners.

For information on IDC courses or Course Director fees for Dive Centres please contact him on info@divingleisure.co.uk or 01202 718522

For a list of Instructor programs he can teach please read on……….

Speciality courses: IT= Trainer