Today we have a mentor of mine, Dr. Alex Brylske. Now what makes him so special is his absolute passion for the health of underwater environments. Most recently he was Professor of Marine Science & Technology at Florida Keys Community College. While teaching he was also Senior Editor of Dive Training Magazine a position he held for 24 years, where he wrote outstanding articles on all topics in diving.
Before all that was his time at PADI headquarters where he was their Educational Program Development Manager. Alex implemented the instructor training model currently in use today at PADI. He also was primary editor for both the PADI Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving and the PADI Divemaster Manual. In 2012 Alex won the prestigious DAN Rolex Diver of the Year Award, and in that same year he published one of my favorite books in the diving industry, The Complete Diver: The History, Science and Practice of Scuba Diving.
Now, Alex is promoting his new company Ocean Education International where he is focusing on environmental education and professional development services for the marine tourism industry, specializing in the recreational scuba sector. Their mission is to assist the marine tourism industry maximize profitability through increased environmental awareness and social responsibility. In pursuing this mission they hope to realize their ultimate vision – to make marine tourism an important and positive force in ocean conservation.
Items In This Episode
- Growing up in Chesapeake Bay, taught himself how to dive
- Joined a dive rescue unit at 16 years of age
- Diving Sombrero Reef in 1968 defined his life
- Became a commercial diver after college
- Became a YMCA Scuba Instructor in 1972 and a PADI Instructor in 1973
- Shipwrecked on a Spanish presidential retreat
- Best diving South Caicos
- Moved to San Diego, Al Hornsby offered him a job as PADI’s Training Facilities Projects Coordinator
- Moved to Florida and developed Underwater Careers International with Divers Unlimited
- Went back to PADI as Educational Program Development Manager and restructured instructor training
- Developed the Instructor Development Program at Pro Dive
- Became Senior Editor of Dive Training Magazine
- Professor at Florida Keys Community College
- Creating Ocean Education International teaching Sustainable Marine Tourism
- The Compleat Goggler
- Understanding shifting baselines of environmental observations
- Sustainability of ocean resources and sustainable tourism
- What are Citizen Scientists?
Resources
ECO Pro Environment Instructor Development Course
Sponsor
Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures
Thanks For Listening
Thank you for joining me again. Do you want to give a shout out to our guest on this podcast? Leave a note in the comments section below!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.
Also, please leave an honest review for The League of Extraordinary Divers podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! And, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
