So, just who is George Irvine III?????

[JT2]

His very first dive was at Walker's Cay and it was a friend of his fathers that got him into it. As for what agency he was originally certified with I do not know,sorry.

 

[Superlyte27]

This is an interesting read that I stumbled onto. We're a decade + passed the era of GI3 and Sheck. One seemed to be loved by all (and still is, even in his death) and the other seems to only be loved by the original DIR crowd. And even some of them admit that their existence is in jeopardy due to the animosity he fueled.

I was at Ginnie Springs yesterday and a girl who had been working there for a very long time mentioned how she knew and missed Sheck Exley. Isn't it interesting how one community, the cave community, could so love one pioneer and so hate another. I wonder if that is one reason why GI3, who was once cave diving's most vocal internet poster, has now all but faded into the shadows.

This line really stood out to me from 11'ish years ago "IMO, he will never contribute enough to make up for the damage some of his statements may cause."

At any rate, I know it's an old thread, and thank you SB for being around a decade ago. I think some real knowledge can be gleaned from this resource, even on stuff that happened a decade ago.

 

[chrpai]

I appreciate the innovations that have occurred over time but sadly this hobby has no shortage of blowhards who want to be worshipped celebrities in a tiny fishbowl that most of the world doesn't even know exists.

 

[divad]

sadly this hobby has no shortage of blowhards

Well...if the shoe fits.................................................................

 

[danvolker]

This is an interesting read that I stumbled onto. We're a decade + passed the era of GI3 and Sheck. One seemed to be loved by all (and still is, even in his death) and the other seems to only be loved by the original DIR crowd. And even some of them admit that their existence is in jeopardy due to the animosity he fueled.

I was at Ginnie Springs yesterday and a girl who had been working there for a very long time mentioned how she knew and missed Sheck Exley. Isn't it interesting how one community, the cave community, could so love one pioneer and so hate another. I wonder if that is one reason why GI3, who was once cave diving's most vocal internet poster, has now all but faded into the shadows.

This line really stood out to me from 11'ish years ago "IMO, he will never contribute enough to make up for the damage some of his statements may cause."

At any rate, I know it's an old thread, and thank you SB for being around a decade ago. I think some real knowledge can be gleaned from this resource, even on stuff that happened a decade ago.

You would be amazed at how different George was in person on Diveboats in the 90's, or, even how he was on the Internet when discussing things with friends....He did the WWF Wrestler personna ONLY in Cave or Tech circles, and only when it was related to someone that he thought was about to kill someone with their practices.....and unlike today--in the mid-90's, there were a great many tech and cave agencies and instructors that were actively promoting behaviors that WOULD kill divers. Pretty much only George and DIR stood up to this, and created such a fervor that things were looked at in a different light, and most of the bad behaviors were dropped....The instructors that were dangerous back in the 90's were deeply insulted. Many of these absolutely believed what they had been doing was right, and the George attacks completely unwarranted. Many other divers are alive today because of change George forced on the industry. And again, this was in tech or cave circles--George NEVER trashed or was mean to recreational divers or recreational instructors....he often held Recreational instructors in much higher regard than many tech divers or many tech or cave instructors. He would talk about how a good PADI or NAUI instructor would have just about finished "creating" a good diver, and then some 90 day wonder tech instructor would get their hands on them, and throw away all the good training the person had had, and create so many convolutions and horrific gear configurations---and that part of this was the need to make major changes in order to charge for the tech course. This has ZERO relation to tech courses today....If you went back to 1996, and saw the emerging tech classes in those days, it would be horrifying to 99% of the advanced divers on this board !


And today, the "History" you hear about in the last 2 decades of tech or cave diving, has been revised and reinvented by those dominant in the medias.
Very few people on this board could have any real insight into whether they would have liked or hated George had they met him back in the late 90's.

 

[cerich]

exceptionally well said Dan.

BTW, I suspect that some of what we see in art circles and value after death applies here as well.

You would be amazed at how different George was in person on Diveboats in the 90's, or, even how he was on the Internet when discussing things with friends....He did the WWF Wrestler personna ONLY in Cave or Tech circles, and only when it was related to someone that he thought was about to kill someone with their practices.....and unlike today--in the mid-90's, there were a great many tech and cave agencies and instructors that were actively promoting behaviors that WOULD kill divers. Pretty much only George and DIR stood up to this, and created such a fervor that things were looked at in a different light, and most of the bad behaviors were dropped....The instructors that were dangerous back in the 90's were deeply insulted. Many of these absolutely believed what they had been doing was right, and the George attacks completely unwarranted. Many other divers are alive today because of change George forced on the industry. And again, this was in tech or cave circles--George NEVER trashed or was mean to recreational divers or recreational instructors....he often held Recreational instructors in much higher regard than many tech divers or many tech or cave instructors. He would talk about how a good PADI or NAUI instructor would have just about finished "creating" a good diver, and then some 90 day wonder tech instructor would get their hands on them, and throw away all the good training the person had had, and create so many convolutions and horrific gear configurations---and that part of this was the need to make major changes in order to charge for the tech course. This has ZERO relation to tech courses today....If you went back to 1996, and saw the emerging tech classes in those days, it would be horrifying to 99% of the advanced divers on this board !


And today, the "History" you hear about in the last 2 decades of tech or cave diving, has been revised and reinvented by those dominant in the medias.
Very few people on this board could have any real insight into whether they would have liked or hated George had they met him back in the late 90's.

 

[ajduplessis]

I just love how people have opinions without ever having any interaction. Most of the stuff he wrote was for military use and this is where people get it all wrong. There are no grey areas in the military and "politeness does not get results".

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I just love how people have opinions without ever having any interaction. Most of the stuff he wrote was for military use and this is where people get it all wrong. There are no grey areas in the military and "politeness does not get results".

????????

 

[chrpai]

I just love how people have opinions without ever having any interaction.

Don't blame "people" for that. That's a public relations #fail on his part.

 

[traveler218]

And today, the "History" you hear about in the last 2 decades of tech or cave diving, has been revised and reinvented by those dominant in the medias.
Very few people on this board could have any real insight into whether they would have liked or hated George had they met him back in the late 90's.

That seems to be true about most history. "The winner/survivor gets to write the story"