My course into the blue
My story is a course charted deep into the blue.
It was back in 1992 when I returned from a wild and primordial Sharm el Sheikh. That experience pushed me to enroll in a FIPS course, and just the very first breath underwater, in a pool, was enough to spark the flame. I knew right then that there would be no turning back.
Having gathered experience and certifications between the lakes and the waters of Hurghada, in 1993 I made the decision that changed everything: I abandoned city life to become a PADI Divemaster at the Tiran Diving Center in Sharm el Sheikh. The sea was no longer just a passion; it was my home.
After my debut at Tiran, my true training ground became Divers Den, the historic dive center at Hotel Sanafir in the pulsating heart of Naama Bay.
It is here that, at the relentless rhythm of three dives a day, I forged my experience, first as a guide and then as an instructor.
The turning point arrived at the end of 1995. The explosion of tourism in the Red Sea opened the doors to a bigger challenge: becoming an Instructor Trainer for SSI (Scuba Schools International). I did not limit myself to training hundreds of new instructors, but actively participated in the foundation of the SSI Egypt headquarters, shaping the teaching methods of a new generation.
Between 1995 and 1998, in the capacity of SSI Regional Training Director, I managed the expansion of the network and oversaw the quality of affiliated centers. A vertical path that led me to reach the absolute peak: the rank of Instructor Evaluator, an elite certification that very few professionals in the world can boast.
The call of Italy came in 1999, in the form of an irresistible professional challenge: assuming the role of European Director for NASE (National Academy of Scuba Educators), an emerging agency with headquarters in Milan.
It was the beginning of an extraordinary decade, lasting until 2009. Beyond managing relationships with the commercial network and handling marketing and major events like the EUDI Show, I had the honor of shaping the agency’s education system itself.
I was the author and manager of the entire editorial line: I signed dozens of manuals, for both students and instructors. Knowing that thousands of divers have studied and obtained their certifications on my pages is, still today, one of my greatest satisfactions.
Hurghada 1993, my first liveaboard.
Sharm el Sheikh 1995, with Skipper Salama.
Sharm el Sheikh 1997, at the SSI Egypt.
Lake Gardanella, Milan 2025, during an SSI course.
In parallel, at the dawn of the new millennium, I brought a new entrepreneurial dream to life. Together with Andrea and Carlo, I co-founded Seawarlocks, a charter company dedicated to liveaboard diving cruises in the Maldives. Our flagship, the Island Warlock—a 33-meter motor yacht capable of hosting 20 divers—soon became a primary reference point for the main Tour Operators, led by Scubatour.
Those were intense years, during which my bond with the Maldivian archipelago became truly visceral. I learned that the Indian Ocean knows how to gift infinite emotions, but demands absolute respect in return.
When I think back to those Maldives of twenty-five years ago, a veil of melancholy always accompanies me. It was elite tourism, discreet and silent: approaching by sea, the structures were barely distinguishable, immersed in the vegetation. A scenario very different from today’s intensive construction, made of buildings and guest houses that have altered the profile of the islands forever. My generation guards the memory of a lost paradise, images of an uncontaminated purity that, unfortunately, new divers will never be able to see with their own eyes.
Today my professional life has taken a new direction: I manage and teach actively in my CrossFit Box. But I have certainly never hung up my fins. The passion for the sea still flows powerfully, and I continue to train divers at Jolly Roger WSE in Peschiera Borromeo, led by my long-time friend Flavio; a center of excellence, among the largest and most structured SSI schools in Italy.
Furthermore, in collaboration with Mastro Sommerso, I handle the organization of special diving trips, particularly liveaboards in the Maldives and the Red Sea.
Here, my experience blends with the desire to discover. I do not settle for classic schemes: I use my knowledge and a pinch of imagination to design original itineraries, far away from the crowds, exactly where it is more probable to live the emotion of great encounters in the deep blue.
For a few years now, using the GoPro, I have combined my passion for diving with my passion for video filming. Experience has allowed me to refine my technique, a journey that was rewarded with second place at the “Smart&Action” Video Contest of the EUDI Show 2025 edition. An award that now drives me to share and divulge, through this website, the strategies and skills I have developed.
Lake Gardanella, Milan 2025, for an SSI course.