Joe Gaydeski-Instructor Certifier/Rebreather/Photographer

His inspiration came from watching Jacques Cousteau specials, and James Bond Movies. Joe was fascinated by "Innerspace"! Joe's interest lead him to getting certified after college in 1990, then started working in the dive industry just two months after receiving certification in the Charlotte area. He opened his own full service dive shop Open Water Adventures in 1996. Joe is our in-house Instructor Certifier, making OWA Charlotte's Platinum SSI Facility.

Some of his past dive destinations include Palm Beach, the Carribean, Hawaii, Belize, Cancun, Cayman Brac Bimini, Palau, Cozumel, Galapagos, Wrecks off the Carolina Coast, and South and Central Florida. Joe is very enthusiastic about teaching and sharing his love for the sport.

He is also an avid Nature Photographer, and loves sharing with others his passion for shooting pictures. Joe teaches an underwater photography class that he has designed himself. Respect for the environment and good buoyancy control are as important as technical skill and composition. Photography is like hunting. You are always looking for the next subject to shoot, but your subject gets to live another day! Conservation and preservation of the Ocean Realm and all its creatures is every divers responsibility.

Enjoy your Adventure!!

Heather Gaydeski 

Heather began her dive career in February of 1999. She is an Open Water Instructor and Scuba Ranger Instructor. Heather’s special interests include underwater photography and working with anxious or uncertain students. She especially loves the flow and movement of videography. Some of the beautiful places she has traveled to include: Palau, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Palm Beach, The Bahamas, and the Carolina Coast.

              Jeff Donaldson - Instructor/Store Manager

                                   Jeff joined Open Water Adventures as an Open Water Diver and arrived with a goal to become an Instructor and work at the store full time. Well, it did not take Jeff long to accomplish his goal. He is enthusiastic and driven with his personal diving goals, and shares that with every student he teaches and every customer he assists.

He has done a lot of diving and spent long hours immersed in the sport of scuba. Jeff has pursued technical dive training and discovered a love of photography. He loves adventure and has raced motor cross, been an avid Sky Diver, and a wilderness EMT. He also worked in the Coporate world in the financial industry, however he has found a home in the World of Scuba. He is dedicated to the sport and helping other divers. Jeff is looking forward to new friendships and many Adventures around the world.

Ken Neuman

Ken has been with Open Water Adventures almost since the beginning. He is currently in charge of our service department, however he is a talented individual who has over the years functioned as a computer consultant, electrician, and general fix it man. You could say he is definitely a 'Jack of all trades' and an asset to our team.
Together, he and Damian keep all of your life support equipment working to factory standards. They also keep our entire training and rental fleet serviced and working reliably.
Ken also enjoys photography and has recently gone digital. So when he isn't repairing and servicing your equipment, you will find him underwater or topside with his camera in hand.

Melissa Shearer-Aquatics Director (Swim and Childrens Programs)

Melissa has been involved in aquatics for more than a decade. It seems that it is in her blood. She has been in charge of the OWA swim school at Open Water Adventures for more than 5 years and has taken the program to a new level. The program has grown steadily since she became the aquatics director, and most of our new customers come from referal. She enjoys teaching children of all ages and also has a passion for teaching adults in a private setting.

In addition to the Swim School, Melissa has also been the coordinator for our "Way Cool Kids Club" called Scuba Rangers. She schedules class times and functions and keeps the Scuba Ranger Instructors organized. She really enjoys the water and her enthusiasm shows.

Russell Leader

Russell works in the real world as a business professional. He has been a highly active diver with OWA for the last 2 and half years. The first thing you will notice when he speaks is that 'he is not from these parts'. He is from England but has live in the US for a number of years.  He loves to dive and loves to share his diving knowledge with others. He is an Open Water Instructor with experience in several specialties. Russell has been to many warm water destinations, however he is not afraid to dive in cold water, and you will find him frequently taking fellow divers to local waters to get wet and practice skills to improve their comfort and diving ability

Tom Fredenberg

Tom began diving after a resort dive in the Maldives back in December 2000 and has been 'hooked' ever since.  His 'real' job is teaching so becoming an instructor seemed like a natural step in his diving career.  He still remembers taking that first breath underwater and loves watching others take the plunge.  Favorite places to dive include; the Philippines, Galapagos, Indonesia, Tahiti, and every place else that there is to dive.

 Robert 'Skip' Skipper 

Skip, an instructor since 2001, has been diving since '97. So excited with the sport, he went directly from the Basic Open Water program into the Advanced, Dive-Con and finally Instructor program. With the desire to SCUBA dive from childhood watching episodes of  Sea Hunt, Skip waited until his son Michael was old enough to be his dive buddy before taking up the sport. 
Favorite dive locations to date include; the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, Costa Rica, the Bahamas and the Caymans abroad. Local favorites include; West Palm and the North and South Carolina Coastline 

He hopes to retire some day and possibly move to one of those wonderful places and dive as much as possible. When the day comes

 Jeff Morrison 

Jeff is a Vetinarian by trade from Burnsville, NC. He is a dedicated Instructor who is passionate about diving and teaching. Why else would he drive 2.5 hours just about every weekend to teach classes at Open Water Adventures?! We are proud to have him on our teaching staff. His love for diving is contagious and it rubs off on everyone who takes one of his classes or has the pleasure of traveling with him. Jeff has traveled to some great places in the last few years: Thailand, Galapagos, Hawaii, Palau, Yap, Palm Beach, The Bahamas, and 'The Flower Gardens' off the coast of Texas.

 Everett Tolbird 

Everett is a numbers man by trade, working in the Banking Industry. Diving is his favorite escape, and he has gotten his wife and son hooked as well. He is very enthusiastic about diving and he really cares about his students. One of the perks that a student can almost count on when Everett is teaching is that his wife Angie will probably bake something really good. The rest of our Instructors will make a special visit to the store on those days to pick up a couple of treats.
Everett and his family moved to New Orleans for a couple of years, and barely got of town before Katrina paid a visit. They returned to Charlotte, and we are glad to have them back on our team, and still waiting for a better picture.

Dick Handshaw 

Dick has always loved the water, being an avid whitewater kayaker and sailor for years, but when he finally got certified as an open water diver in 2000, he was hooked. Like many of his dive buddies, he was inspired at an early age by watching Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau. His only regret is that he waited so long to get started.
Dick likes to dive just about anywhere. He has never made a dive he didn't like. He has been diving in Hawaii, Tobago, Bahamas, Martinique, BVI, West Palm and the Keys. He is just as happy in a Florida spring, a lake, quarry or especially wreck diving the Carolinas coast.
The best thing about diving for Dick, is watching new divers pick up the fascination for the underwater world. And for him, Open Water Adventures is the best place for that.

Clay Johnson 

Clay is the definition of 'The Nice Guy', A Concord native, he has been a diver for over twenty years and rediscovered his love for the sport in 2003. Since then he has been on many trips including his first to the South Pacific at Palau. Clay is a DiveCon Professional and enjoys his role as the divers primary assistant.

 Garrett Van Dreel

Garrett grew up in Wisconsin near the Great Lakes, and as a result has a passion for history and wrecks.  He is currently our Technical Instructor, although he still enjoys teaching open water students.
He holds numerous technical ratings including: Rebreather, advanced nitrox, decompression procedures, trimix, and cave and cavern. He also is qualified to work with Physically Disabled divers. Garrett is very passionate about diving as a whole, but he is especially fond of Wreck Diving. He would love to take you on an adventure to the Great Lakes, Carolina Coast, or Truk Lagoon.

David Garceau

Dive Con/Scuba Rangers -David began diving in 1997 while living in California, just two hours from Monterey. Diving was as accessible as "Saturday morning golf", which gave David the opportunity to dive every weekend!

A Business transfer landed David in Charlotte and he thought that frequent diving would be a thing of the past... That couldn't have been further from the truth. David has found his niche in teaching the Scuba Rangers program, he is heading up our New Venture Scouting program and has lead trips to Lake Rawling, the Florida Springs and the Bahamas on the Juliet.

David can't quite describe what he loves most about being on Scuba. Some days it is the peacefulness, and other times it is the sheer beauty of the fish and corals. David also enjoys the moment in time frozen in the form of a wreck on the Ocean Floor.

He has enjoyed all of his diving adventures, but is still on a Quest to find his favorite. That is what diving is all about... a lifelong quest.

Rocky Drye

Dive Con - Profile to Come

Chuck Beam

Dive Con - Profile and Picture to Come

Ross Shotts

Dive Con - Profile and Picture to Come

Steve Stuhan

Working on his Dive Con - Profile and Picture to Come