What's a "badass" diver?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I get the intention but to me badass has this connotation of ego ascribed to it, which I rarely link to diving. Like a guy walking into a bar and trying to look badass or people whispering "don't mess with that guy, he's badass". That would make me laugh to associate with a diver. I do see people doing awesome dives, or who are amazing divers, and I appreciate highly skilled, talented or very committed.

This guy however, seems to me to be badassish, even in his tighty whiteys. He is probably going down to pry out a live torpedo from a ships hull or dislodge an armed limpet mine.

ac774ed6-c602-4691-8417-02a71790be35_zpsf52f9f58.jpg
 
To me, badass divers are the people doing the dives I wouldn't contemplate doing, because they are deep, long, difficult, and risky. And doing them well, and safely. Edd definitely qualifies! But my gentle friend Ben Martinez is definitely a badass diver, as is my friend Josh Smith, who has seen much of the rusty metal in the bottom of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Natalie Gibb, my 4'11" friend who teaches cave diving, can stand up from the ground in double 80's that outweigh her -- that's definitely badass. Jarrod Jablonski, who can do 7 kilometers underground in the 300 foot range, and also tango underwater, is definitely badass.

Badass doesn't mean posturing or swagger. Badass quietly gets the job done, and the job is amazing :)

I guess from this thread that everyone has their own definitions.

For me describing someone as badass in a recreational context would neither be about skills or long experience, nor machismo or gear. It would reflect the willingness to overcome hardship pursuing their art. So anyone who gets up at 4am to drive five hours to site for a questionable dive in shallow green water has earned the label. Anyone who is not deterred by snow on the ground and whipping wind in the air. Anyone who is willing to carry their doubles and weights across two fields full of cows and the evidence of cow habitation on the ground. Anyone who will travel half the globe (with their gear) just to do that dive. In short, the people who will do the things which I would not. We do what we do for fun, but there are those who are just that bit more committed.

We have other labels for people with perfect skills, long experience, or for people who do the really deep, dark and dangerous stuff.
 
Last edited:
Rx7Diver, thanks and just finished the last one. So sad that the one diver took his own life after breaking the record.

After watching these recreated videos it really makes me feel small in what we are doing these days.
 
Rx7Diver, thanks and just finished the last one. So sad that the one diver took his own life after breaking the record.

After watching these recreated videos it really makes me feel small in what we are doing these days.

Yes, no question that explorers like these are/were the real deal. Imagine: adopting/adapting/inventing/developing gear and procedures so that you can attempt to push a bit farther and a bit deeper to get to the next formidable obstacle beyond which leads to who knows where! Explorers like these have always intrigued me.

I'm not wired like this. I suspect few are. I'm content being a tourist.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver
 
I guess from this thread that everyone has their own definitions.

For me describing someone as badass in a recreational context would neither be about skills or long experience, nor machismo or gear. It would reflect the willingness to overcome hardship pursuing their art. So anyone who gets up at 4am to drive five hours to site for a questionable dive in shallow green water has earned the label. Anyone who is not deterred by snow on the ground and whipping wind in the air. Anyone who is willing to carry their doubles and weights across two fields full of cows and the evidence of cow habitation on the ground. Anyone who will travel half the globe (with their gear) just to do that dive. In short, the people who will do the things which I would not. We do what we do for fun, but there are those who are just that bit more committed.

We have other labels for people with perfect skills, long experience, or for people who do the really deep, dark and dangerous stuff.

I agree. It's hard to consider anything recreational "Badass." I'm amazed at those that are so committed to consistently brave conditions regularly to dive sites that they've been to numerous times. For them it would seem that the thrill is in the journey... :)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom