In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we hear from Drew Richardson and Kristin Valette-Wirth of PADI Wordwide about the latest happenings in PADI.

Welcome to the dive locker podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest and diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management, and dive business.

I’m your host Tec Clark, and it is good to be with you today. Everyone in this episode, we have the opportunity to hear from both Drew Richardson, President and CEO, and Kristin Valette -Wirth Chief Marketing Officer of PADI Worldwide. Now, in this episode, you’re going to hear some pretty cool things. I love how they have pointed their members, worldwide membership of divemasters and instructors and course directors to focus on the awe of the underwater world. You’re going to hear about that and what that means to connect awe with customers. I thought that that was a really good one.

Also, if you know the PADI logo, you see that diver and the diver is carrying a torch, right? Well, they have a really, really cool vision and that is to create 1 billion torchbearers to explore and protect the ocean. That was B billion with a B. That’s a lot. What a big goal. You’re going to hear about that. I think that that’s really neat. They also have a new motto of seek adventure, save the ocean. That motto they’re championing and you’re going to learn about that as well.

Also, the new training, the new IDC that they’ve got rolling out. So this is the PADI check in and you’re going to hear all about it from Drew Richardson and Kristin Valette -Wirth both President and CEO and Chief Marketing Officer of PADI Worldwide. So let’s get to it. Let’s dive into my interview with Drew Richardson and Kristin Valette -Wirth

Tec Clark:              Hi, Drew and Kristin, welcome to The Dive Locker. This is the PADI check-in and it is your time to shine and tell us what’s going on with PADI. We’re here at the DEMA show in Orlando 2019.  Your booth is absolutely a buzz. The social the other night was absolutely fantastic and powerful and moving. There was so much energy and there’s energy all over. And I think that you guys are contributing to that energy here at this show. Tell us about PADI.

Drew Richardson:             Well, thanks Tec. It’s a pleasure to be here with you and sharing our message.  PADI is basically an organization of people around the planet who, believe in not only training divers to be confident and comfortable, but see a responsibility to be stewards of something bigger than themselves. As you might remember, a couple of years ago we came up with a force for good and the four pillars of change, those still existing, but what we really focused on is ocean health. I think, the planet now that’s not controversial. People are becoming more accepting and trying to figure out what they can do. And we see ourselves, with our influence after 50 some years of creating millions of divers, over 28 million PADI certifications and each year a million and a half, if you count Try Dives. So that sort of stuff, a lot of souls being introduced into the space and once they’re comfortable and confident, we’re trying to enable their adventure and we’re trying to get them to pay it forward. And ocean stewardship and health is a big part of that. And we think divers under a concept, we’ll speak about it a little bit more on this torchbearer.  I’d like to kind of expound on that in a minute.  is something that people, hearts and minds can,  embrace throughout the diving community. And dare I say well beyond it and join hands with like minded people of influence to actually put a dent in ocean health in a constructive way.

Tec Clark:              Absolutely. That’s fantastic. And that resonated really well with the people that heard the message. You came out and talked about [beep, beep] come on.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    I’m sorry, should I not have brought my clown horn with me?,

Drew Richardson:             I wasn’t using any explicit language. Why did you censor me?

Tec Clark:              Watch your mouth. We did not use any vulgar language. It’s not an explicit episode. I think we need to leave that all in. That’s perfect. That’s all perfect. So as we were saying, the message the other night was about awe and I absolutely love that. So when you talk about that, have we all experienced this? We’re all dive professionals and you were addressing all of the dive professionals in the room and you were talking about the all that we feel, every single one of us feels that, felt that, that’s what carried us into the professional side of this before ever thinking money. And, and still that drives more than money sometimes. The law is really what it’s about. And I love how you then took that to the, we are those ambassadors that we’ve heard that term before, but you took it to the next level of Torchbearers.  

Drew Richardson:             Thanks Tec. Yeah, I’m glad that resonated. I’m not surprised for a bit. All of this powerful emotion. And I think,  we see that on every dive we have to remind ourselves sometimes of those moments of awe. And that could be a quiet little moment with a neutral buoyancy or it could be a creature on this planet. So it’s about respect and admiration.  As I said that night, diving is sensory and it wraps around us and embraces us and the awe being almost a sacred feeling underwater. So I don’t overstate that, but it’s a, it’s a very emotional, heartfelt connection. And I think the diving experience and becoming a diver and dedicating part of your life, if not your entire life to that lifestyle, is an emotional connection. And so awe is something that I look forward to every time I dive in.

Drew Richardson:             And it could be just finding an old wrench, but oftentimes it’s a life changing event. Could be a giant Marine mammal, could be a tiny little macro flora or fauna. And isn’t that a wonderful thing?

Tec Clark:              Absolutely.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    And for a brand new diver, it could even be the first time someone’s breathing air, you know, underneath the surface of the water, right. As instructor sometimes I think we forget that awe could be the real small things to us, which could be huge to the new diver.

Tec Clark:              That’s so right. I mean, how many times have we been guilty of that? It’s like, okay, we’ve got another dive, everything like that. And then, yeah, and then we popped to the surface and we talked. “How was that? How was that?” “I was weightless for the first time in my life.” It’s still, “I was weightless.” And you cock your head to the side and go, “yeah, this is pretty darn cool.”

Drew Richardson:             That’s why people love to share the gift of diving and diving travel or tourism or training. Yeah.  but as powerful, if you experience awe in life that you don’t forget that goes into your heart, mind, and soul. So you think about what do you want to do with that? And you can channel that emotion into some really cool stuff. And that’s what we’re on a journey to do. And, that’s what we’re doing with this stewardship aspect of the torch bearing part. On the torch bearing part, since we’ve mentioned it a couple times, it’s, there’s almost a, a prophecy here. If you look at our logo, we take that as a deep seated responsibility. Time and place is clear now. Our logo, it’s a blue planet.  And there’s a human figure on that that has a torch, a diving figure in the hand extended, which suggested illuminations, suggest exploration, suggest enlightenment, suggests responsibility.

Drew Richardson:             And so when we try to, factor that into what we’re doing with our diving professionals and divers around the world,  we’ve, we started to think about what could we do, how would we connect the dots there and how do we go beyond ourselves instead of just thinking about torchbearer as individuals? What about Torchbearers as communities? What about Torchbearers and other entities that maybe aren’t even divers but care about ocean conservation issues? And we start to join hands under that very powerful symbol, which interestingly enough that our logo comes baked out of,  the 1950s Silent World and Jacques Cousteau divers, if some of your listeners have looked back in time and they’ll see those divers descending with the torches, that’s exactly where it came from. That’s inspired. So you talk about legacy,  Jacques Cousteau happened to be PADI number four. He was on the board, so, so kind of goes deep then.

Drew Richardson:             Now we look at this thing and I couldn’t be a better symbol for what we’re trying to do metaphorically, what we’re trying to do about connecting hearts, minds, bodies, souls and deeds to do something cool under this brand and holding hands with other like-minded brands. So we’re pretty excited about that.

Tec Clark:              That’s awesome. And you have a big goal too.

Drew Richardson:             Oh yes. Well I mean why, why aim low? It’s better to aim high and miss then to just be average. So we’re going for a billion. That’s a lot of millions. 1 billion. Torchbearers on this planet. And what’s the art of the possible there? So I don’t know if you do simple math, you think about our social followings and I think sort of 4 million or so. Okay. So let’s say all those 4 million souls decided to connect with 250 friends, families, business associates, and inspire them to be Torchbearers.

Drew Richardson:             There’s your billion right there. And I’m not saying it’s a layup or that easy, but it seems so lofty. That’s about one in 10 people on the planet here pretty soon. But why not? And we look at it as if not us, then who? And if not now, then when, because the issues of mother ocean are are serious issues, but, and you can get depressed about them and you can get outraged about them. You can become hopeful that something would correct. But if you don’t take action in the absence of action, nothing happens in the absence of hope, then you stay depressed or outraged. So we’re trying to figure out how to connect those dots and, and really move the needle in a, in a meaningful way. So why not a billion? So that’s what I’m shooting for.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    And you know, Drew, I think it’s interesting because as divers and as dive professionals, we get to introduce people to the underwater world in a way that they’ve never seen before, right? So you know, they, they put a mask on, they descend beneath the waves and they get to explore the other two thirds of the planet that most people don’t. And in doing so when Drew talks about legacy and responsibility that is baked into our logo as a torchbearer? That’s, that’s powerful in the sense that it’s the moment you discover something, the moment, the moment you see something that you love and it’s going to transform your life because of course it transformed all of ours. Then you want to protect it. You want to, you know, you want to love and protect it and conserve it. So that’s where when we connect the creating a billion Torchbearers to explore and protect the ocean. It’s because we know that they can, we know that they want to. And  and we just want to introduce more people to that concept because the ocean needs it.

Drew Richardson:             Now we do think that’ll be quite an attractive thing for  millennial generation, the generation behind them who are quite thoughtful and, and choosing and they, they don’t, they want to try to do something. Sometimes they don’t know how. So we think the diving space from the surface to the abyss is, it is a place where maybe they can engage, participate and make a difference and, and have hope through their own actions, whether that’s citizen science or maybe even maybe at home with the choices they make. And what they are consuming and what they’re using, consuming both in terms of foods and single use plastics and all the other things that are, are real issues and the issues are, are weighty. But there you start, you know, the, the old adage of the best time to plant a forest was 20 years ago and the second best time is today.

Drew Richardson:             It’s that sort of a thing and the world needs it more than ever. And I think, it’s probably more ready than ever. So we feel an obligation. So how does that translate? So we’re really proud of our mission and our vision to try to create a better balance for humanity and the interaction with the ocean. And we’re looking at, saving the ocean in or a more healthy ocean. We can talk more about literally the literal interpretation of those ethos, but you think about how does that impact PADI divers or what’s in it for PADI retail resort or PADI pro, right? And they have to feel it and believe it and, and think about how to adapt it and express it on their local level. So we’re basically in, in the process of lead generation, trying to capture the hearts and minds of people external to dive industry and drive them towards our PADI core members for fulfillment.

Drew Richardson:             That could be travel, that could be a affinity in terms of community, club that could be, engagement in training or exploration. And you see here the show a lot of PADI experiences. I’m sure Kristin wants to speak more about what’s PADI experiences mean, but it’s all about that, that net, but baked into all of that, having fun, exploring and feeling comfortable and calm and confident is this billion Torchbearers. So look after mother ocean from a stewardship. So it’s a real feel good message that has substance and it’s actually good for the health and welfare of the diving industry and stakeholders who are engaging there because it’s going to bring a heart and new public to us.

Tec Clark:              I like that. I like that a lot. What are you showcasing here at the show?

Drew Richardson:             I have a brand new pair of shoes. I think they look great, but they really hurt Kristin, anything else? 

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    Well, back to key messages. Good thing we don’t have any fun at all. When, when we look at going into the show, we always think about, you know, what theme do we want to put out there? Or, you know, what are the key messages that we want our members to listen to understand, you know, and then take back home with them, right? So this year it’s really all about, of course, the new mission, the new vision, and obviously the tagline, which is seek adventure, save the ocean, simply put five simple words that means so much.  and to really execute on that, we have come up with this concept of the PADI experience. The PADI experience is, is really a way for divers to engage deeply in a diver lifecycle, both above and below the surface. And we thought about, you know, in the 53 years that PADI has existed, we have clearly become the way the world learns to dive.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    And there’s, there’s just no question about it.  but we’re so much more than that. You know, we’re more than just a training organization. We really believe that we can provide a holistic journey to the customer and help the PADI professionals, the 137,000 individual members and the 6,800 stores and resorts out there that are so proudly carrying that PADI brand. We want to help them offer that complete PADI experience to their customers. So that complete PADI experience means things like travel. How do we, you know, increase divers ability and enable them to go discover beautiful parts of the world. So we’ve got an entire PADI travel group now that is doing just that and enabling those, you know, fantastic experiences all over the world at our leading liveaboards dive shops and resorts. And, we also have brand new, a PADI club, which is really the world’s largest ocean community,  to really empower a deeper connection to the ocean environment.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    And we do that through pure and vivid content through a brand new magazine that we’ve just acquired into the group.  that used to be a, the Bonnier dive group and now as part of the PADI team. And, that’s a cool way to keep divers excited, engaged, inspired through wonderful colorful content.  in addition to that, of course there’s, you know, lots of privileges that club members get. There’s a wonderful savings that they get because we want them to do, you know, all that they can to protect the ocean. And the only way they’ll do that is if we get them more and more into scuba diving, you know, and enable those adventures and then, yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And then finally we, we also launched at the show a PADI gear and a PADI gear is really a focus on an ocean first marketplace. We know that divers need certain diver essentials. And we looked at that and said, how can we create more sustainably sourced essentials for, so things like towels or rash guards or even lip balm and sunscreen, how can we provide these alternatives for divers that are sustainably sourced and good for the reefs? And it’s good for our oceans.

Drew Richardson:             We recycle plastic, recycle, driftnets, things like that. Things that if you have that ethos and stewardship, you’d be proud to wear. So, and we have standards for that. So, and the people that are helping us with that journey are really switched on. People who have branded other entities on the planet of substantial nature and they just love our mission. So they want to help us. And we’re doing cool stuff for our pros. We have a co branded Patagonia apparel. Yeah. And so, and that’s a great brand. Everybody knows that means earth health. So it’s this sort of thing. And at the end of the day, I think for sometimes we move quickly and people wonder what’s, what is that and what’s in it for me? If I’m at a trade show speaking like that, and not divers divers actually love it. But when you’re a stakeholder or you’re, you know, trying to make your payroll, you wonder what, what are PADI you’re onto.

Drew Richardson:             All these things blended in are about lead generation and acquisition of new customers and retaining them, not in PADIs buildings around the planet, but in as a community for a retailer, a community for resort or a liveaboard or an instructor who’s offering training. And ultimately that all experience, and that’s the part maybe that we’d like to communicate a little more broadly about lead generation recruiting and pushing it right by giving back to the good people that subscribe to the PADI ideal. And in that way it’s a aspirational consumer brand and that’s a differentiator.  it took a long time, but we want to get better at that too. And that passion, that all that baked in affinity, is powerful and it’s an atractor and we just want to make it easier for our good members when they get supported and they join us every year to do what they like to do best.

Drew Richardson:             And it’s not always easy. It’s tuff in some places. So we get that. And this whole thing is not PADI for PADI sake. This is PADI for the ocean sake. And this is PADI for the dive community sake. And it’s all about that end user feeling, the heart and mind and soulful connection to this brand that’s offered up within our network, if you will. So we like to think that’s, we’re not, we’re humble about it cause that’s a lot and that, but we feel a stewarding responsibility to get this right.  both within the industry and with the partners that we have around the planet who, can help leverage and catapult that message and ultimately pay it back through our membership and our divers.

Tec Clark:              That’s great. You know, you did the pillars before, but now what you can see is that the filter by which you guys are making decisions of growth and what to do into next is coming through in that, that slogan that you just said here, ocean first marketplace, you’re putting that as your filter. You’re putting that in front of the decision making as you guys are going forward. This is very, it’s very palpable. We see that and feel that.

Drew Richardson:             We filter meaning implies we don’t grab everything around us where we’re making choices, we’re placing bets,  placing bets that we feel are a more noble place. And we were, we are fortunate to be in a position to do that because this force for good. This base of divers through the hard work of our members, quite frankly for 53 years, it started with zero and they’re out there everyday working hard to recruit and train and retain.  and it builds up this, this group of individuals. But we’re fortunate to have that because word of mouth and friends and family, there’s a exponential scale to that. If you say, are you a diver? Yes. And where were you trained while I was trained, I was trained by PADI. Get your PADI where? At this dive shop. At this dive resort. That’s a force multiplier. And but now it’s like, why did you choose PADI?

Drew Richardson:             Well, because not only the force were good because I, I liked the way they source gear or petty is going to save the ocean and I want to help or, and it’s not just lip service, it’s not a campaign. Right? This is a, this is a filter about everything that we invest in, pay for, how we look at being responsible, how we broker our, our lives. Look, we only have so much living breathe and heartbeats on this planet. None of us are going to be around forever. So how lucky we are to try to do something good and no crazy world that’s full of negative media and all the rest and the dive space. I think when people get frustrated or trying to connect the dots, sometimes we’ll lean towards easier to complain than to, to do it. But I think in everybody’s hearts and minds because of that awe you started off with, it doesn’t matter who they are, listening to this or whatever brand new with that awe needs to get reawakened and turned into, “okay, that could work for me or I want to lean in, become a torchbearer,” whatever it is.

Drew Richardson:             And, and, and PADI’s tried to do the right thing. So that’s what we’re doing right now, which we like to think it’s time and it’s place. And I think, I think we have a responsibility to do it.

Tec Clark:              Yeah. Amen. Yeah. Like I said, it’s palpable. You know, you can feel that, you can feel it with a passion and everybody listening can hear that passion. It’s genuine. This is what you guys want. And I think that’s awesome. How can people follow you? Connect. Be a part of PADI?

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    Well, first of all, always go to PADI.com there’s lots of ways to activate their interests there. And then all the social channels, you know, obviously we’re on all of the major social channels. We’ve got wonderful followings.  Drew just talked about 4 million in our social channels and they are the most engaged divers I think I’ve ever seen. You know, you start benchmarking engagement against other brands and things and it’s just, it’s, it’s so rewarding to see how active divers are and how much they care. So, gosh, whether you’re even thinking about diving or an avid diver or teach diving, engage on those social channels because it’s gonna, it’s gonna feed your interest and keep you excited. And you know, one thing I would just say too, that, since we’re talking about being here at the show, the one thing that we didn’t really talk about yet is just really the whole Renaissance of our training programs as well.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    And that’s a big thing that we’ve been talking about and debuting at the show. Our brand new instructor development course is right out of the gate at launch the day before the show at the course director updates so that that’s a big deal. And also setting the tone for what’s to come in early 2020. Because we have done a complete revamp on all of our systems and platforms to really make sure that we are facilitating a best in class educational experience that encourage, you know, the, the, the awe and  and so we’re very excited about the revolutionary technology that we’re bringing to the dive industry as well.

Tec Clark:              Yeah, you should be. I heard really good things coming from course directors about the changes that some of them are very healthy and some of them were very forward looking and progressive and, and whatnot. And it appeared that it was almost a, correct me if I’m wrong, but it appeared that it was about a record attendance of course, right?

Drew Richardson:             Yeah. Actually it wasn’t okay. It was a 300 people in that room, which is fantastic. And they had to get up and salute at 7:30 in the morning. It was kind of tough DEMA for a lot of people, it’s a social industry. The other thing is just in terms of, if you want to know what the crawls on inside of my head in terms of on some of our media, I put a blog out every now and then. If you look at how, what’s been trailing there,  you can kind of see telegraphing of what we’re talking about today and it’ll, and that reflects pretty much the PADI ethos of how we’re all placing our bets, if you will.  and it’s not about me, it sounds vainglorious to say my blog whenever I’m not gonna tweet to you or whatever. But you’re going to see on that, that how, what’s in it as a PADI member, as a PADI diver, and where are we going?

Drew Richardson:             And it’s full of how you can actually do some stuff like how you can take actions and also analogs of people that are doing good things. I try to elevate our members are doing so many amazing things across the planet. So I try to get those stories out to inspire others because that’s where we can help. We’re a lightening rod. So yeah. So there’s a, there’s a thought leadership aspect to those blogs that maybe people can click and contact some of the people I’m elevating or think more deeply about, Oh, that’s why PADI are doing that. Or I’m proud of PADI doing that because I have been doing it and, and my organization is, backing my place. So yeah.  it’s just a different way to look at it then. You know, we’re not here, we’re here to grow the pie, if you will.

Drew Richardson:             It sounds like cliche, but we really well and truly are trying to bring more end users into the dive space cause we just love it. And you know, it’s not about the it’s boring to think about this one take up Peter  to Paul thing. We’re really trying to grow the space and the ocean. Just if we ignore it then se la vie, then we’re just not, we’re just not going to sit still for that. We’re going to go for it.

And we think of, we think diverse amongst all humans on the planet. That resonates because that emotional connection that awe does, we’re going to connect it and we’re going to go for it and we’re going for a billion and I think we’re going to get it. And I think we’re going to get it in my lifetime. And I have no idea how much more lifetime I have, that’s not my call, but I’m kind of hoping but it’s, the torch will be past that anyway, you look at.

Kristin Valette-Wirth:    That’s right.

Tec Clark:              Well thank you both so much. This has been wonderful to get the PADI check in from you and to hear what you are passionate about and hear where you’re going. It’s really, really a neat thing. So all the best to you. Best of luck at the show. Wish you tremendous success in everything from the show forward. So thanks for being here.

Drew Richardson:             Well Tec, thank you. And thank you for just being the lightning rod that bring all of us together because it’s an important role that you’re playing to get the voices out there and, and cross pollinate and inspire. So you’re a good man for doing it and we appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.

Tec Clark:              Thank you very much. Thanks. Take care.

Okay. As you can hear after that conversation with Drew and Kristin. PADI really is more than a training organization. I think they have even redefined their original mission of training divers from 53 years ago because when I hear a vision like that, boy that is really awe inspiring. Well done. Hey, if you’re not a PADI pro, you can follow Drew’s blog. I’ll put that link on our show notes page so that you can see that. They also have a really awesome YouTube video promoting their new seek adventure. Save the ocean motto. For those of you who are PADI pros already, you’re already hopefully connecting with this mission through the different training bulletins that come out and through the undersea journal.

Thanks again, Drew and Kristin, that was awesome to hear from you for the PADI check-in. Well, that will do it for today, my friends. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher. That way. You’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live, and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes page at scubaguru.com there. You can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care, my friends.

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