Troy Smith
YEAR STARTED IN SCUBA: 2003
CERTIFICATIONS: Open Water Scuba Instructor, EFR/FRT Instructor, Underwater Navigation, Search and Recovery, Night/Limited Visibility, Enriched Air/Computer Nitrox, Underwater Photography, Peak Performance Buoyancy/Advanced Buoyancy Control, Deep, Dry Suit, Boat, Drift, Project AWARE/Marine EcoSystems Awareness, and Shore and Beach Specialty Instructor.
WHERE IN THE WORLD HAVE YOU GONE DIVING? I have dove the Caribbean from end to end including USVI, BVI, Roatan, Belize, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, Barbados, St. Kitts/Nevis, and Bonaire; Mexico including Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, and Los Coronados; and the California Channel Islands, the Florida Keys, the Texas Flower Gardens, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. My most unique dive experience was a black water river dive in Georgia searching for prehistoric megalodon shark teeth.
FAVORITE LOCATION? Bonaire is my favorite place to dive because of the freedom to dive when, where, and however long you want in one of the most beautiful underwater environments in the Caribbean.
BIO: In my real life I am an IT Infrastructure technology leader, and scuba is my break from reality. I got certified in 2003 in preparation for a trip to Grand Cayman, and my only regret has been that I waited so long to start diving. In my early years, I was fortunate to be working for a company based in Southern California, so frequent trips gave me opportunities to dive the kelp forests along the Channel Islands which pushed me to continue to learn.
I became a dive professional in 2015 working with International Scuba and have continued to enhance my knowledge through personal and professional dive certifications. The International Scuba family has been supportive by always encouraging me to take the next step and sharing knowledge whenever possible. I enjoy passing that knowledge along to others. I have been responsible for getting many friends and family members hooked on the diving life, and I enjoy being the leader when they lean on me during trips. I really enjoy teaching someone to do something for the first time, helping them overcome a personal fear or succeed at conquering a problem, or simply sharing in the excitement when they fulfill a dream.
