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Locate an Instructor
Our JJ-CCR instructor list continues to grow here in the US. Please feel free to contact any of them directly or if you need additional help, you can contact us.
Wayne Fisch
Wayne Fisch heads up Rebreathers USA.
Wayne is an Instructor Trainer (USA & Canada) for the JJCCR. He started diving in 1997 since that time he has become Full Cave Certified, Tec Instructor through Trimix and now is exclusively teaching on the JJ-CCR. Past rebreather experience Drager Dolphin, KISS, rEvo and Hollis Prism 2. Lives in New Jersey and does training on request.
Contact Info:
DiveJunkie@Comcast.net
Phone 908.303.3201
Dan Dawson
Dan Dawson is an Instructor Trainer (USA & Canada) for the JJCCR. Besides teaching instructors, Dan is qualified to teach all levels (Mod 1, Mod 2 & Mod 3) on the JJCCR.
Dan has been the go to technical instructor in the Florida Keys for 15 years. He is the owner of the best dive center in the Key’s, Horizon Divers.
After spending his early scuba years captaining a sail boat in the Virgin Islands he relocated to Key Largo where he began exploring the more technical parts of diving. In 2005 he became the owner of Horizon Divers, and in 2006 he became the shop’s first tech instructor.
As the owner of the premier technical dive center in the Florida Keys Dan loves to teach CCR & OC divers the ins and outs of advanced wreck penetration. Over the past ten years he has certified hundreds of tech divers, and tech diving instructors.
If you catch him on a fun dive he will be in his JJ, just off the wreck of the Queen of Nassau, drifting on deco, trying to snap pictures of schooling hammerheads.
Contact Info:
dan@horizondivers.com
Phone 305.453.3535
Chris Ball
Chris first got certified as a Junior Open Water Diver in 1992. He has been diving ever since, he has safely completed over 5000 logged dives! Chris became a dive professional in 2010 and has certified hundreds of divers. Chris is also a technical diving instructor! In 2021, after 5 years of rebreather diving, Chris earned his JJCCR Instructor rating. Besides working a dive shop and teaching classes, Chris volunteers for several Search and Rescue organizations and enjoys serving his community.
Contact Info:
performancescuba@yahoo.com
Phone Phone: 334.699.2851
Jon Bernot
Jon Bernot started diving in the lakes in Oklahoma as a teenager and became an instructor while attending the University of Oklahoma in 2005. Having served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps he purchased his first dive operation in Coastal North Carolina and eventually moved to North Florida Cave Country. With a heavy background in wreck diving and cave diving he is currently the owner and training director of Cave Country Dive Shop in High Springs, Florida. A prior Service and Product Manager for Dive Rite, this has allowed him to see the industry from various sides as an instructor, owner of a retail facility, and as part of a major manufacturer. He has certified nearly 1000 students from the Open Water through technical instructor levels and is an IT with IANTD. In addition to a B.A. in Political Science he holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management. He currently teaches on the O2ptima, KISS, and JJ CCR. With 10 years as an instructor he still not only enjoys teaching but is also an avid explorer and his favorite type of dive is a deep cave dive.
Contact Info:
ccrcaveinstructor@gmail.com
Phone 386.454.4444
Jason Layne
Jason is the owner of Las Vegas Scuba Academy and Army veteran, with over a decade of
diving expertise. After completing his military service, Jason discovered his passion for diving
and became certified as an Open Water Diver in 2011. He has since progressed through the
ranks, becoming a recreational instructor trainer, technical diving instructor, and earning his
JJCCR Instructor rating.
Jason has made a name for himself as the go-to instructor for deep dives in Lake Mead, where he
regularly explores submerged wrecks and unique historic environments. His military background
instilled in him a disciplined approach to safety and precision, which he brings to every course
he teaches. Jason has certified hundreds of divers, from beginners to advanced technical divers,
and has a deep knowledge of both open-circuit and closed-circuit rebreather diving.
In addition to his work at local dive centers, Jason enjoys giving back to the community through
his involvement with veteran support programs. When he’s not teaching or volunteering, you’ll
find him on deep dives, exploring the lesser-known depths of Lake Mead.
Contact Info:
Chad Conner
Chad Connor is a TDI/SDI Instructor Trainer and Level 1 Instructor on the JJCCR.
Chad has been the top producing recreational and technical instructor in Arizona for over a
decade.
As an active TDI/SDI Instructor Trainer he loves to teach Open Circuit and CCR technical
diving. Over the past decade he has certified hundreds of recreational and technical divers in
addition to dozens of recreational and technical diving Instructors.
As a USCG licensed Captain, he is currently the owner of the best dive charter in Arizona, Epic
Dive Charters.
When he’s not out running dive charters or teaching classes you can find him out diving his JJ
and exploring just about anywhere in the world.
Contact Info:
Chad@EpicDiveCharters.com
Phone 602.741.6694
Robin Jacoway
Robin Jacoway is the principal owner of Ocean Research Group, a California-based dive company specializing in equipment and training for technical divers. In 2009 Robin began running Technical Diving Expeditions to San Clemente Island in Southern California to dive US Naval Destroyers that had been sunk during missile testing in the 70’s. Currently Robin instructs students on the JJ-CCR, MK-15, rEvo, KISS and Inspiration rebreathers. Though Robin has spent much of his diving career on the product development side, most of his days are now spent either teaching, or exploring the coastal waters of the US for shipwrecks and lost airplanes.
Contact Info:
rjacoway@oceanresearchgroup.com
Phone 760.443.6316
Mel Clark
Mel is an active technical/rebreather diving instructor trainer; and avid underwater photographer. In 2003 she taught for Divers Institute of Technology (DIT) helping to develop future commercial divers. Mel currently instructs students and future instructors on most of the major rebreathers on the market. She is also passionate about cave diving and teaches CCR Cave. Mel is a member of the Women Diver’s Hall of Fame.
Aside from teaching Mel is passionate about underwater photography and writing. She has also written many manuals and agency training programs including the TDI KISS CCR manual, TDI Semi-Closed Circuit rebreather manual, and IANTD’s rEvo course. Mel has independently published CCR Trimix Simplified, CCR Cave Almost Simplified and a universal easy to read rebreather guide on buying and diving the closed circuit rebreather, called “Rebreathers Simplified.”
Contact Info:
scubagrunt@gmail.com
Phone 425.418.7426
Hao Chen
Since his first dive in 2015, Hao’s passion for the depths has driven him to explore the most challenging
and captivating environments. In 2018, he started tech diving in Canada’s cold water, and almost
immediately started rebreather diving after that.
Hao currently dives 5 different rebreathers and owns 4 of them. However, the JJ-CCR holds a special
place in his heart, being both his first unit and his all-time favorite eCCR on the market.
His JJ-CCR has accompanied him on countless journeys to harsh and demanding environments like deep
caves and wrecks.
As a JJ-CCR Instructor, Hao is committed to sharing his knowledge and passion for diving. Based in
Toronto, Ontario Canada, he offers a wide range of courses covering both open-circuit and closed-circuit
technical diving.
In addition, Hao is fluent in both English and Mandarin, making him a versatile instructor able to teach
courses in multiple languages.
Contact Info:
Christian Poirier
Being an engineer and holding a Master of Science, he started diving in 1990.
In the mid 90s, he developed his interest in technical diving. Shipwrecks then became a must.
In 2000, he made his debut as a technical diving instructor.
With now more than a decade in the field of technical diving, he offers courses that deal with technical equipment and procedures to reach depths up to 100 m (330 feet) with the use gas mixtures (Nitrox and Trimix).
In 2004, his passion for exploring shipwrecks allowed him to gain the skills to teach his extreme passion. Since the arrival of the configuration “sidemount”, the equipment allows even further.
In order to open new horizons and go further, Christian starts diving with CCR in 2007. He now performs and teaches rebreather diving. Type “extreme expedition”, recyclers Hammer Head, Optima and JJ-CCR achieve considerable depths, where use of open circuits is not an optimal solution.
In recent years, his new craze is cave diving. Approximately two months of the year are devoted to this activity. This enabled him to dive with the biggest names, acquiring him the various techniques and knowledge tailored to the environment. With these techniques, the diving in cave formations is now available to his program.
Contact Info:
cpoirier@plongeetech.com
Phone 418.952.8324
Rob McGann
Rob learned to dive at just 12 years of age, and in 2001 started
technical and cave diving. Shortly after that he began working at a
dive shop in cave country, Florida and started to guide divers through
the Florida cave systems. After becoming an instructor in 2006 Rob
worked in the Bahamas, Southern Caribbean, Maldives and finally in
Truk Lagoon where he spent over 5 years guiding and teaching tech
divers on their world class wrecks. Now based full time back in cave
country Florida, Rob teaches classes and guides. In his spare time he
can be found enjoying one the many caves in North Florida.
Contact Info:
Bob Sherwood – G.U.E. & TDI
Bob has more than 30 years of experience as an exploration diver, educator, and instructor trainer and is considered by his peers to be one of the top dive professionals in the World.
Bob worked closely with Jarrod Jablonski during the formation of GUE and is a member of the GUE advisory board and the only GUE Instructor Trainer/Instructor Evaluator in the Northeast United States and Canada. He is the founder of the GUE affiliate Northeast Underwater Explorers. Besides G.U.E. Bob also teaches a regular JJCCR rebreather configuration under TDI.
As a member of the Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP), Bob was a support diver for Jarrod Jablonski and George Irvine on their world record cave dive of 18,000 feet at a depth of 300 feet. In 1999 Bob was a member of an elite team of divers on the prestigious GUE expedition to the wreck of the HMHS Britannic (sister ship of the Titanic) located in approximately 400 feet of water off the coast of Greece. This project included the first extensive penetration into the wreck.
In 2011, Bob initiated and led a project to document the condition of the wreck of the A. E. Vickery, a popular dive site in the St. Lawrence River. This NEUE project is also supporting the efforts of Project Baseline.
Bob continues to share his passion for exploration, teaching, and community-building with divers from all walks of life, from professional athletes to open water divers, in the United States and abroad. Bob’s reputation as an accomplished dive instructor has resulted in invitations to train divers in Egypt, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, Japan, the Philippines, and Mexico. Students trained by Bob have gone on to become exploration divers, scientific divers, and GUE instructors.
Contact Info:
Phone Phone: 607.765.3942
Steve Millington – G.U.E. & TDI
Steve Millington is a full-time Tech and CCR Instructor from Global Underwater Explorers and has been actively teaching for over 20 years.
As the general manager of L.A. SCUBA DIVING, Steve is passionate about diving and has been instrumental in building the Los Angeles and Southern California GUE communities. Over the past two decades, Steve has certified hundreds of divers at various levels and has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean & Mexico.
Steve’s CCR experience includes JJ-CCR, Megalodon, SF2, CmOptima, Horizon and KISS Sidewinder rebreathers. Besides G.U.E. Steve also teaches a regular JJCCR rebreather configuration under TDI.
Steve is also a professional musician and Drum Workshop Artist. When not on his JJ-CCR, you can also find Steve behind his drum kit playing with various bands around LA.
Contact Info:
steven@gue.com
Phone 818.749.3483
Heison Chak – G.U.E.
Heison Chak is a Fundamentals, Technical, and CCR instructor with Global
Underwater Explorers (GUE), actively teaching and mentoring divers for
over 10 years. His unwavering commitment to dive safety is reflected in
his significant contributions to the Ontario Underwater Council (OUC),
where he served as Director of Sport Safety before becoming President.
As the Standards Trustee for GUE HQ, Heison exemplifies a dedication to
advancing excellence, safety, and leadership in the global diving community.
Contact Info:
Guy Shockey – G.U.E.
Guy Shockey learned to dive in a cold mountain lake in Alberta 40 years ago. He is a full-time instructor Evaluator for Global Underwater Explorers and regularly travels the world teaching everything from introductory to advanced technical diving including closed circuit rebreather diving. He is particularly active with instructor training. He has an undergraduate and graduate degree in political science and was a military officer on two occasions in another life. He has several business startups to his credit including companies in the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail sectors. He played competitive rugby for many years and is an active skydiving instructor and coach. He was the editor for an outdoors magazine for 13 years and regularly writes for various diving publications. His passions include exploration and underwater archaeology and helping grow diving communities. He is the founder and president of Thermocline Diving (www.thermoclinediving.com) which is dedicated to promoting exploration diving in the Pacific Northwest. He was one of the first GUE instructors trained on the JJ and uses it exclusively in his exploration diving.
Contact Info:
guyshockey@me.com
Phone Phone: 250.732.5055