Owner / Course Director / EFR Instructor Trainer

My first experience of diving was in Mexico back in 2006 when I did a try dive—and wow, what an experience! Ask me about it sometime over a coffee; it’s quite the story. I came straight home and booked my PADI Open Water course and I’ve continued to build my training .

Scuba diving is at the heart of everything I do—it’s not just a sport or a hobby for me; it’s a true passion. I love introducing new divers to the incredible underwater world we’re so lucky to explore, and I'm just as passionate about protecting our oceans and marine life. As divers, we all share the responsibility of being good stewards of the environment.

One of the most rewarding parts of my journey has been watching divers grow—from nervous beginners to confident professionals. I’ve had the privilege of seeing many Open Water students go on to become pros and even lifelong friends.

Having achieved Course Director status, I have the honour of working alongside an amazing team of like-minded professionals. Together, we’re dedicated to providing the best possible experience—whether you're training with us or taking the next step in your professional diving journey.

Staff Instructor

Jo is awesome

Staff Instructor / EFR Instructor

Since taking a PADI Open Water course in 2010 at a local PADI centre I quickly became involved with their club and soon progressed to Advanced Open Water and then Rescue diver.

I then came to Scuba Dream to complete my Divemaster course and when the opportunity arose to become a PADI Instructor I jumped at it!

I like any kind of diving, either in the UK or in more tropical climates but I particularly like deeper dives and wreck dives.

Sometimes though it is just the novelty of being able to hover weightless, looking out into the big blue that is enough.

Being part of the Scuba Dream team makes diving even more enjoyable and gives me the opportunity to travel and visit places I wouldn't normally think of going.

Diving around the world is amazing but equally diving off the North East coast provides a fabulous experience whether it be accompanied by playful seals or checking out the abundant and diverse marine life that is right on our doorstep.

Staff Instructor / EFR Instructor

A confirmed diveaholic, my passion with the amazing underwater world began in 2016 when Kath and I decided we wanted to do a diving holiday to Malta. So we enrolled at Scuba Dream and achieved our Advanced Open Water in time for the holiday in September.

I was instantly hooked - that first dive in the lovely blue Mediterranean observing all the fantastic fish, corals and wrecks meant I just had to take my PADI diving journey further.

Back home and the career continued interspersed with multiple trips to the Red Sea and the North Sea!. I signed up for my Divemaster and then continuing on to achieve my Master Scuba Diver Trainer Instructor in 2021. I love helping new divers discover the underwater world but also love helping certified divers find their full potential so the next step to IDC Staff Instructor was a given!

During this time I developed a passion for recreational sidemount diving and am now a PADI Sidemount Instructor too.

I love helping people enjoy and experience what has to be the most rewarding sport in the world!

Master Scuba Diver Trainer / EFR Instructor

I’ve always been a water baby for as long as I can remember, swimming competitively, dabbling with scuba as a teenager, and I’ve always had a vast interest in the sea, especially sharks. I bought my first book on sharks from the school book club when I was 6 and my favourite dinosaur has always been the Megaladon!

My husband bought me my Open Water course for my birthday in 2017, and we learned and progressed together.

Diving, for me, is my happy tranquil place, the place where I can really clear my mind, and escape to one of the most beautiful aspects of our world. I have been really lucky to enjoy some amazing dive sites, from wrecks and reefs in the Red Sea, spectacular reefs and pelagic life in the Maldives, to diving with seals off the coast of Northumberland in the North Sea.

My ultimate destinations to dive would have to be French Polynesia, Guadalupe (one of the best Great White sites in the world), and Galapagos.

Diving is so much more than a hobby to me, it’s a way of life. It is breathtaking, it is life-changing and to be able to share it with my best friend, and meet some of the best people in the world, are some of the many benefits of diving.

But don’t take my word for it, come and find out for yourself at Scuba Dream.

Master Scuba Diver Trainer / EFR Instructor

Hi, I’m Nicky—though most people know me as Nemo—and I’m one of the Instructors here at Scuba Dream.

My curiosity about the natural world is what first drew me to the ocean. What started as fascination quickly became passion. The ocean, with its weird and wonderful creatures, became more than just a subject of interest—it became my sanctuary, my sweet spot in life.

As an Instructor, I feel a deep responsibility to connect divers with the reality of what our oceans are facing. Although divers only make up a small percentage of the global population, we’re in a unique position to make a difference—and inspire others to do the same.

At Scuba Dream, my mission is to engage new and experienced divers with the underwater world: to share its beauty, raise awareness of the challenges it faces, and show how we can be part of meaningful change. Our planet is mostly water, and it deserves our respect and protection.

I introduce divers to the conservation side of diving through various eco-focused courses, the PADI AWARE program, and the Torchbearer community. These powerful platforms teach divers how to take action to protect our oceans, and the planet as a whole.

I love diving, but for me, it’s more than just being underwater—it’s about helping others discover the true value and magic of the ocean.

Master Scuba Diver Trainer / EFR Instructor

I started my underwater life in 2004, ahead of a bucket-list trip to the Great Barrier Reef that summer. I took some introductory try dives whilst at Uni just to make sure I would be ok and could enjoy some of the spectacular sights that only the GBR can provide!

Fast forward 13 years and Gem and I found Scuba Dream. Keen to expand on our initial underwater adventures we popped over for a coffee and a chat with the friendly team and signed up there an then for our PADI Open Water course.

We quickly became totally hooked and progressed through the recreational courses before deciding the bite the bullet and go pro!

DIvemaster was swiftly followed by our Instructor course and the rest, as they say is history.

We have enjoyed many trips along the way, in the UK, Red Sea, and Maldives, diving with Seals, Sharks, Mantas and scary big Eels!

The welcoming family at Scuba Dream have been great and always there with support for the many questions I’ve had over the years!

Come over for a chat and coffee, you’ll be surprised where it can take you!

Open Water Scuba Instructor / EFR Instructor

As a native of “The Land of wood and water” Jamaica, I have always loved and cared for nature and I have been fascinated from an early age especially by the flora and fauna of water, be it sea ,river lake, pond even puddle according to my Mother. At university I initially did zoology hoping to become a marine zoologist. I eventually ended up in another career but still kept my love of water and nature in general. I started scuba diving in 2012 and even though my career “got in the way of diving “ I moved through the ranks and eventually became a Padi instructor in 2018. I enjoy being in the company of the diving community, and I love both the cool waters of the north as well as the warm clear waters of the Caribbean. Summing it all up, ”love and care for nature, love water, love diving, love the dive community, love sharing and passing on the experience of diving”.

Open Water Scuba Instructor/EFR Instructor

Water has always been a big part of my life. From school swim teams to competitive rowing, powerboating, and offshore sailing—if it involved water, I was there.

A trip to the Maldives with the Maldivian Whale Shark Research Programme became a turning point for me, igniting my passion to fully embrace the underwater world. I realised I didn’t just want to stay on the surface—I wanted to be completely immersed.

A quick search online led me to Scuba Dream at Eight Acre Lake. The friendly team there were incredibly supportive, and with their expert tutoring, I successfully completed my Open Water course in June 2023. I was hooked from the start—and I still am!

After earning my Advanced Open Water certification, I completed a range of specialty courses and achieved my PADI Master Scuba Diver rating. Still hungry for more, I decided to take the next leap and became a Divemaster and continued on to complete my PADI Instructor Development Course.

Today, I'm proud to be an Instructor, sharing my passion for diving with others, and helping run the Scuba Dream Club. And yes—I'm still heading back to the Maldives and other destinations whenever I can!

Open Water Scuba Instructor/EFR Instructor

My scuba journey began in 2017 on holiday in Turkey—and I was hooked from that very first dive. After some research into different training organisations, I eventually found myself at the lake, meeting the incredible Scuba Dream Team.

Once I completed my PADI Open Water certification, I knew I wanted more. I dove wholeheartedly into expanding my diving experience taking a variety of PADI specialty courses with the goal of becoming a PADI Master Scuba Diver.

With encouragement from PADI Course Director Steve and the support of the Scuba Dream team who had been with me from the beginning, I realised I wanted to push further—and decided I wanted to become an instructor .

I’m especially passionate about wrecks and deep dives, and I always aim to make every dive fun, relaxed, and above all, safe. A couple of years ago I got the chance to go to Iceland and dive the incredible gin clear waters of the Silfra fissure and the ability to put a hand on two continental tectonic plates at once - incredible!

Scuba diving has truly been the best decision I’ve ever made. I can’t wait to help others take the plunge and discover what lies beneath the surface. It truly is a life-changing experience.

Assistant Instructor

I was introduced to scuba diving by friends in 2008 when I qualified as an Open Water diver.

I knew immediately this was the hobby for me. I continued my training fairly quickly: Advanced Open Water, Deep and Nitrox specialities. I was very keen to dive some of the amazing, deeper wrecks off our coastline and abroad.

Although I love marine life, especially sharks, my main passion is definitely wreck diving. I just find the history of how It got there so interesting.

I became a PADI Divemaster in August 2012 after completing my internship and assisting on many courses during this time. From there, I have assisted on many courses, from Discover Scuba Diving right through to professional courses and it is very rewarding to see people that I once taught, now teaching others to enjoy this amazing activity.

I had the pleasure of introducing my partner Becky to diving and she loves it as much as I do!

Assistant Instructor

I started scuba diving in 2005 and successfully completed my PADI Open Water course in Ochos Rios in Jamaica.

Over the next 5 years I only did warm water diving when I was able on holidays. However the bug had definitely bitten me andI was keen to take my diving further when the opportunity arose.

I discovered Scuba Dream and Eight Acre Lake in 2011 and decided this was definitely the right place for me to pick up my diving. After working my way through many PADI courses delivered by the friendly and knowledgable Dream Team, I started my Divemaster internship and became a member of staff in 2015.

I continued to dive as much as I could and found that the North Sea had just as much to offer as some of the warmer and more tropical destinations I had dived.

I enjoy helping learner divers, and this spurred me on tocontinue my training and achieve Assistant instructor rating.

Divemaster/DSD Leader

I have been diving since 2008 after completing my PADI Open Water course, my favourite type of diving is recreational diving in cold water between 10-30metres, I enjoy diving at Eight Acre Lake with all levels of divers as well as diving off the coast of the UK.

Outside of diving my hobbies include, photography - which I also get to do while diving! I also enjoy wildlife, swimming and tai chi.

Divemaster

Kev is great as a divemaster and will help you along your way.

Divemaster in Training

I first started diving in 2000, completing both my Open Water and Advanced Open Water certifications in Malta. After that, I became a holiday diver, exploring the waters of Cuba, Venezuela, the Maldives, Egypt, Thailand, and Cyprus. Over the years, I had some big gaps in my diving and honestly thought I’d never dive again—especially not in the UK or anywhere cold!

Then in January 2024, Josh and I went to Sharm. He did a Discover Scuba Dive while I took a Reactivate dive. He loved it so much he went on to complete his Open Water course, while I joined the guides for a few fun dives. When he later decided to do his Advanced Open Water Diver course at Scuba Dream, I didn’t want to miss out—so I signed up for my Drysuit and Peak Performance Buoyancy courses.

Since then, we’ve spent many weekends at Eight Acre, eventually deciding to take the plunge and begin our Divemaster training.

I absolutely love supporting new divers—whether it's offering kit tips or providing a reassuring hand underwater. Helping people grow in confidence and seeing their progress is incredibly rewarding. Being part of the Scuba Dream Staff Team feels like having an extended family, and I couldn’t be happier to be part of it.

Divemaster in Training

I started diving in January 2024, trying a Discover Scuba Dive on a whim while on holiday in Egypt. I ended up loving it so much that I spent the rest of the week studying at night and completing my Open Water dives during the day—while Ali was off diving on the day boats.

We both had an incredible week, and that kick-started the idea of diving on our next trip too. When I found out there were some amazing wrecks below 18m, I decided to get my Advanced Open Water certification done beforehand—enter Scuba Dream! We managed to get everything organised just in time, and headed off on our next adventure with our brand-new drysuits.

By the time we got back, I was completely hooked. So, as you do, we booked a liveaboard in Egypt for my 30th birthday to visit some open ocean dive sites—which required at least 50 dives. Long story short: we squeezed in over 70 dives in the next six months and set off for an unforgettable experience.

We decided to take the next big step and complete our Rescue Diver and start our Divemaster certification so we could help support the amazing team—and now extended family—at Scuba Dream. I’ve helped out on a variety of courses, and I absolutely love watching new divers progress and grow in confidence with every dive.