I posted this in a Facebook group where few folks would get butt hurt. This was part of an E-mail exchange I had with an instructor from another agency. We've both taught for multiple agencies and the topic of culture came up. Some names had to be removed and language toned down. I rewrote the discussion for public entertainment purposes. WARNING: POLITICALLY INCORRECT! Bring a sense of humor and beware of truth.
PADI Culture
As a behemoth brand, you wouldn't think that PADI would create a culture. Just like the United States had an industrial North and the antebullum South, PADI has two distinct cultures based upon whether they are an island resort (doesn't matter what sea) or a mainland shop (doesn't matter what continent). The young resort instructors/DM's are motivated by the enthusiasm of youth, adventure, sex, living the dream, etc. They remind me a lot of the young lifeguards I supervised. They are the best of PADI because they can dive well and are fit enough to handle an ocean rescue. The resort courses, DSD's, and open water classes they teach are a nice escape from the constant worries of rent increases, need for more roommates, fear of a visa not being renewed, and who is Fiona dating this week. You cannot really join their culture without being young, fit, sexy, and searching. At work, they are the cowboys and the students and divers are the cattle - even other PADI pros from the mainland. They think PADI instructors from the mainland are like kooks and barnys. They are impressed by good divers, but only a small few are motivated or can afford to venture into tech or cave. When I lived in the Keys only 1 instructor from Key Largo wanted to be UTD, 1 wanted to be GUE and the rest didn't care. In the Bahamas, there were only 3 of us who were cave divers. The mainland PADI culture, on the other hand, usually provides the cattle for those seeking an endless summer. At the heart of the mainland life is a shop like a McDonald's where course directors and shop owners make sure to keep the customers branded and happy. I was on a flight to Boston from Philly and ended up being seated next to a PADI scuba instructor from Bonaire on his way home to visit his family. He didn't even know there was another training agency. I dated a female PADI instructor from Washington, D.C. who refused to ever learn anything from me while we were diving. "I don't need to know that. I'm a 'PADI Baby'." Anything beyond PADI is just unnecessarily hard and bad for the industry.
PADI resort instructor: "Dude, I just don't want to get thrown off the island."
PADI mainland instructor: "PADI says that's too hard."
SSI Culture
SSI is like the "lost culture." It doesn't really have its own identity. It's not sure what it wants to be on a national or global scale. Its identity is entirely dependent on the local dive shop. It's everything from progressive and exciting to Ma & Pa Kettle's 1959 dive training package. Is SSI growing? Is SSI going away? No one really knows. It's a weird agency in that no one really hates it, but no one really loves it. It's like the middle kid in a large family that gets overlooked. When something bad happens like a big accident everyone is shocked. When they do something good like the middle kid getting into Harvard, they get a "That's nice, Dear," from the industry and everyone goes back to PADI bashing. Even SSI instructors aren't big at bragging about being instructors. I dove with a GUE guy for a decade before I learned he was an instructor - with SSI. SSI has a great website, sexy C-cards, they treat other instructors with respect like with the SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Award (PADI would never recognize my dive count), they can be innovative, and the instructors can be everything from a 300 pound podunk shop owner to a pro Ironman from Hawaii. It's like SSI instructors are so not interested in belonging to the agency since they must affiliate with a shop. SSI is accused of being a PADI chaser but they are usually ahead of PADI when it comes to valid innovative courses. Just ... no one cares. "SSI has a freediving program? That's nice. Did you hear PADI has one too? Why would anyone take a PADI freediving course? Why not just take a Performance Freediving course with Kirk Krack?"
SSI Instructor: "I'm too exhausted to talk diving after having to explain what a 'Dive Con' is."
NAUI Culture
NAUI never really left Sea Hunt. Their culture is, "We are better than PADI." In fact, NAUI thinks they are better at everything, but does nothing relevant. It's like a giant committee culture that never shares their information. According to NAUI everyone stole their ideas. Example, JJ supposedly stole their tech curriculum to create GUE. AG joined NAUI only long enough for NAUI to want him to pay NAUI to look at the cutting-edge materials he could create for them. Materials that could take them from a post WW II mindset to the 21st Century. What does NAUI do? Ditch & dons. Want to join NAUI and be a tech or cave instructor? Well, you gotta jump through some hoops. What hoops you ask? They'll get back to you. All they know is they can cross you over and you can join a committee.
NAUI Instructor: "'God,' you say? We invented Him."
PADI Culture
As a behemoth brand, you wouldn't think that PADI would create a culture. Just like the United States had an industrial North and the antebullum South, PADI has two distinct cultures based upon whether they are an island resort (doesn't matter what sea) or a mainland shop (doesn't matter what continent). The young resort instructors/DM's are motivated by the enthusiasm of youth, adventure, sex, living the dream, etc. They remind me a lot of the young lifeguards I supervised. They are the best of PADI because they can dive well and are fit enough to handle an ocean rescue. The resort courses, DSD's, and open water classes they teach are a nice escape from the constant worries of rent increases, need for more roommates, fear of a visa not being renewed, and who is Fiona dating this week. You cannot really join their culture without being young, fit, sexy, and searching. At work, they are the cowboys and the students and divers are the cattle - even other PADI pros from the mainland. They think PADI instructors from the mainland are like kooks and barnys. They are impressed by good divers, but only a small few are motivated or can afford to venture into tech or cave. When I lived in the Keys only 1 instructor from Key Largo wanted to be UTD, 1 wanted to be GUE and the rest didn't care. In the Bahamas, there were only 3 of us who were cave divers. The mainland PADI culture, on the other hand, usually provides the cattle for those seeking an endless summer. At the heart of the mainland life is a shop like a McDonald's where course directors and shop owners make sure to keep the customers branded and happy. I was on a flight to Boston from Philly and ended up being seated next to a PADI scuba instructor from Bonaire on his way home to visit his family. He didn't even know there was another training agency. I dated a female PADI instructor from Washington, D.C. who refused to ever learn anything from me while we were diving. "I don't need to know that. I'm a 'PADI Baby'." Anything beyond PADI is just unnecessarily hard and bad for the industry.
PADI resort instructor: "Dude, I just don't want to get thrown off the island."
PADI mainland instructor: "PADI says that's too hard."
SSI Culture
SSI is like the "lost culture." It doesn't really have its own identity. It's not sure what it wants to be on a national or global scale. Its identity is entirely dependent on the local dive shop. It's everything from progressive and exciting to Ma & Pa Kettle's 1959 dive training package. Is SSI growing? Is SSI going away? No one really knows. It's a weird agency in that no one really hates it, but no one really loves it. It's like the middle kid in a large family that gets overlooked. When something bad happens like a big accident everyone is shocked. When they do something good like the middle kid getting into Harvard, they get a "That's nice, Dear," from the industry and everyone goes back to PADI bashing. Even SSI instructors aren't big at bragging about being instructors. I dove with a GUE guy for a decade before I learned he was an instructor - with SSI. SSI has a great website, sexy C-cards, they treat other instructors with respect like with the SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Award (PADI would never recognize my dive count), they can be innovative, and the instructors can be everything from a 300 pound podunk shop owner to a pro Ironman from Hawaii. It's like SSI instructors are so not interested in belonging to the agency since they must affiliate with a shop. SSI is accused of being a PADI chaser but they are usually ahead of PADI when it comes to valid innovative courses. Just ... no one cares. "SSI has a freediving program? That's nice. Did you hear PADI has one too? Why would anyone take a PADI freediving course? Why not just take a Performance Freediving course with Kirk Krack?"
SSI Instructor: "I'm too exhausted to talk diving after having to explain what a 'Dive Con' is."
NAUI Culture
NAUI never really left Sea Hunt. Their culture is, "We are better than PADI." In fact, NAUI thinks they are better at everything, but does nothing relevant. It's like a giant committee culture that never shares their information. According to NAUI everyone stole their ideas. Example, JJ supposedly stole their tech curriculum to create GUE. AG joined NAUI only long enough for NAUI to want him to pay NAUI to look at the cutting-edge materials he could create for them. Materials that could take them from a post WW II mindset to the 21st Century. What does NAUI do? Ditch & dons. Want to join NAUI and be a tech or cave instructor? Well, you gotta jump through some hoops. What hoops you ask? They'll get back to you. All they know is they can cross you over and you can join a committee.
NAUI Instructor: "'God,' you say? We invented Him."
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