Colin Zylka

I first became interested in diving when visiting a friend in Florida back in 1992. After I got home from that trip I started shopping around for scuba lessons and I had the good fortune to find The Underwater Connection, and as we like to say, I'm "home grown". I got certified as an Open Water Diver and then went right into my Advanced Open Water course the next weekend. I was hooked! Since then, I have traveled to many locations throughout the world, including Bonaire, Curacao, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bahamas, Cozumel, Indonesia, Roatan, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Saba, St. Eustatius, Truk Lagoon, Palau, Fiji, Belize, Catalina Island, Florida Keys. Since 1994 when I became an Instructor I have had the pleasure of certifying over 1000 people to varying levels, and now as the only active PADI Course Director in the state, I can conduct the PADI Instructor Development Course, which prepares candidates for becoming a PADI Instructor. I am also a Field Research Coordinator for Diver's Alert Network's Project Dive Exploration. During this ongoing project I collect dive data from recreational divers to assist DAN in better understanding how and when divers get injured.

# Years Diving: 15+ (first certified in 1992)
Highest Certification Level: PADI Course Director/DAN Instructor Trainer
Instructor Since: 1994

Instructor/Instructor Trainer Specialties:
__X__ Altitude
__X__ Boat
__X__ Deep
__X__ Drysuit
__X__ Enriched Air Nitrox
__X__ Ice
__X__ Drift
__X__ Wreck
__X__ Night
__X__ U/W Navigation
__X__ U/W Photographer
__X__ U/W Digital Photographer
__X__ U/W Videographer
__X__ U/W Naturalist
__X__ Search & Recovery
_____ Cavern
_____ DPV
__X__ Multi-level
__X__ Emergency First Response
__X__ Underwater Digital Photography
__X__ Equipment Specialist
__X__ Others: EFR for Children and Infants, Master Scuba Diver Trainer, Project AWARE, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Assistant Instructor
__X__ DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Injuries
__X__ DAN Onsite Neurological Assessment for Divers
__X__ DAN First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries
__X__ DAN Basic Life Support for Dive Professionals
__X__ DAN AEDs for Scuba Diving Injuries

Equipment repair certifications that I have:
PSI/PCI Visual Cylinder Inspector, Aqualung, Scubapro, Dacor, Atomic, Oceanic, Sherwood, Zeagle, Poseidon, Interspiro (AGA Mask)

Favorite types of diving: Anywhere I can take photos
Favorite diving location: Palau, Indonesia, Curacao
Full-time Employer: Underwater Connection
E-mail address: colin@uwconnection.com