Here begins
your world
underwater.

Adam Švancar

SSI Instructor Trainer #82884

School management, divemaster and instructor training. Nitrox and Science of Diving.

Adam leads the Divers Direct diving school and, as an SSI Instructor Trainer, focuses on divemaster and instructor training. He looks after the quality of teaching and the development of Divers Direct. Adam began his professional career in 2009 in Czech waters as a PADI Divemaster and later an Instructor (Master Scuba Diver Trainer). From 2010 to 2011, he also worked at the Lighthouse dive centre in Dahab, Egypt.

In the Czech Republic, he focuses primarily on professional diving candidates and leads the Instructor Training Course including preparation for the Instructor Evaluation. He works with current instructors on their further education, speciality courses and professional updates. In addition, he enthusiastically teaches Enriched Air Nitrox and Science of Diving courses.

In addition to teaching, he enjoys wreck diving in his free time, and is interested in caves and ice diving.

You can read the full overview of the courses Adam teaches here: https://my.divessi.com/pro/82884

Radek Nosek

SSI Assistant Instructor Trainer #113671

From Zanzibar to teaching. He shares his passion for diving through courses and social events.

He first got into diving on holiday in Zanzibar, where he walked round the dive centre for so long that he eventually “accidentally” wandered inside. He was lucky enough to have a great local divemaster, who probably thought diving had to totally captivate him – and it did so without exception.Before his holiday even ended, he was already signed up for the OWD course, which marked the beginning of his diving journey.

Since then, he has completed dives in quarries and at sea, and discovered that he absolutely loves working with people and passing on his enthusiasm for diving. This was followed by the Divemaster and Open Water Instructor courses, thanks to which he can now meet other divers at courses and events.

P.S.: As the divemaster in Zanzibar would say: “Hakuna Matata”.

Pepíno Sladký

SSI Divemaster Instructor #103570

Cold water, wrecks and marine ecology. You will meet him at the pit and at Czech quarries.

He took up diving recreationally in 2014 and fell in love with the underwater world - the unique calm, weightlessness and incredible fauna and flora. Later he got a glimpse of a wreck and has wanted to keep peering into them ever since. In 2018 he realised that he wanted to make this world accessible to everyone and set off on a professional diving career.He is well versed in cold-water diving, low visibility and wreck diving.

He also enjoys studying aquatic ecosystems, which is why he teaches courses such as Marine Ecology.You can meet Pepína at the pit on Try scuba diving sessions or refresh lessons, and he never misses any diving events at quarries either. There he will be happy to help and advise you on land, guide you underwater, or assist with your course.

Tomáš Klaput

SSI Divemaster Instructor #108988

Quarries, lakes and wrecks. He will help you with your first course and with your further diving development.

Even at his first snorkelling session as a child, Tomáš realised that the world underwater fascinated him and that he could stare at it for hours and hours. After his first “try dive” in Egypt, the decision was made for good. He immediately signed up for the OWD course, then his first safari, and it all took off. He has been actively diving since 2013 and is constantly trying to improve, move forward and pursue his dreams - for example the aircraft wrecks around the island of Vis in Croatia.

He enjoys flooded quarries, wrecks, dives into the depths of Austrian lakes, as well as the warm waters of the Red Sea with its rich underwater life. He is one of the newcomers to the Divers team, but has been a professional instructor since 2018. He will certainly be happy to advise you on any question, request or your personal development in the form of another course. Do not hesitate to contact him.

“I could never enjoy diving so fully and freely without the great support of my family, especially my wife. My huge thanks go to her!”, Tomáš adds, and looks forward to diving with you.

Vašek Stejskal

SSI Divemaster Instructor #111275

Exploring sites, underwater life and depths. He feels at home beneath the surface.

Vašek is a passionate diver who has been discovering the secrets beneath the surface since 2022. Water fascinates and attracts him like a magnet, and when he dives, he feels at home. Vašek enjoys diving to the full and loves all aspects of it. However, his interest is focused mainly on unexplored sites, where he can set off on an adventurous journey of discovery.

He is also interested in animal species that he can spot in their natural environment, and he has also fallen under the spell of deep diving. For Vašek, diving is not only fun, but also a way to relieve stress. His love of water motivates him to keep improving and discovering new possibilities. If you feel tired of everyday life and are looking for a new challenge, diving can be the right way to gain new energy and inspiration.

And if you are lucky, you may even meet an enthusiast like Vašek, who will show you how beautiful the world hidden beneath the surface really is.

David Baťa

SSI Divemaster Instructor #110857

Czech quarries, trips abroad and underwater photography. He is happy to share his experience and the joy of diving.

David had his first taste of diving in Egypt in 2017. In spring 2020 he tried the basic course, tried it and never let go. As soon as he completed one specialisation, he immediately carried on with the next. Diving captivated him so much, and got under his skin so deeply, that he continued his training and gathering experience. As he enjoys mentoring and leading people, professional courses are the obvious choice for him so that he can pass on his knowledge and share with others the joy of diving and the experiences connected with it.

You can meet David not only at the Czech quarries all year round at weekends, but also on adventures abroad. Recently he has become fascinated by underwater photography, so on almost every dive you will find him with a camera and two antennae – photo lights. At quarries he enjoys attractions and hunting them down. Abroad, wrecks and rich flora (he is constantly looking for Nemo :-D)

In his own words: “Thanks to diving alone have I found balance in my working life. There is nothing more beautiful than going underwater to clear your head of work duties and the rush. I always surface as a new person, and as an added bonus I am with a bunch of great people, which is definitely the diving community around Divers. Diving is no longer just a hobby, but life”. “Up we go down”

Renda Hora

SSI Open Water Instructor #117687

Experience from seas, quarries and alpine lakes. He helps beginner divers with a smile.

Renda is an enthusiastic diver with extensive experience from seas, oceans and Czech quarries, as well as Austrian and Swiss lakes. These varied environments provide him with unique perspectives and skills that he enthusiastically shares with other divers. He is always happy to help beginners on their diving journey with a smile, sharing his knowledge and experience with them so that they too can immerse themselves in the fascinating world beneath the surface. His dedication to diving is linked to a desire to explore new marine territories and share his love of the ocean with others.

Renda’s connection with aquatic environments from around the world allows him to bring unique perspectives and insights to the diving community, whether in a local quarry or on an exotic coral reef. His endless desire to learn about new species of marine life and discover underwater sites continually drives him to travel all over the world. With his indomitable travel spirit, he often sets off to various corners of the world to discover new diving sites and explore their underwater kingdom. With every new experience, his repertoire of diving skills and techniques expands, and he willingly passes them on to other enthusiasts.

Renda always throws himself enthusiastically into new diving skills and techniques in order to continually improve and push his boundaries.

Marek Kušiak

SSI Open Water Instructor #117682

Sidemount enthusiast. He tailors training to the experience and needs of his students.

He started diving in 2006 with IANTD and over the years took courses in many diving systems with many instructors. Time and gradually gained experience have shown that courses across all organisations are very similar and that, overall, the instructor’s approach matters more than the name of the system. This is what he tries to follow during teaching and he adapts courses as much as possible to the students.

After a shoulder injury, he left technical diving for a while before deciding to try sidemount. Since then, he has fallen in love with sidemount diving. He currently mainly teaches this form of diving, which opens up new and interesting possibilities for beginners as well as experienced divers.

Tomáš Novák

SSI Open Water Instructor #103585

Pilot above the clouds, instructor beneath the surface. He focuses on Try scuba diving sessions and individual OWD courses.

Tomáš has been diving since 2008. He started with the OWD course in Croatia, more or less by chance, but the underwater world captivated him so much that he quickly followed it up with further certifications and in 2011 became a PADI divemaster.A period of diving for pleasure followed, and he grew fond of warm seas, fish and wrecks.

On the company catamaran Valhalla, together with friends, he explored the wrecks of the southern coast of France, the beauty of the Canary Islands, and also the Mediterranean climate of Malta.He became a member of the Divers professional team in 2022 by completing the SSI instructor course.

By profession a transport aircraft pilot, in his free time Tomáš dedicates himself to Try scuba diving sessions for the public at the pit in Čestlice and individual OWD courses.

Pavel Kopecký

SSI Divemaster #112506

From shop assistant to school. Equipment, equipment hire and shared dives in Czech waters and abroad.

Pavel started working for Divers Direct in 2020 as a shop assistant in our second shop in Čestlice, where he helped with sales at weekends. Over time, however, he began to realise that he could find a role at Divers Direct in other ways than in the small shop in Čestlice, so in 2022 he enrolled on the OWD course. The course took place in the Canary Islands in Spain, where he successfully completed it.He then returned to the Czech Republic, where an amazing new opportunity awaited him. They were looking for experienced shop assistants at the main shop in Dejvice. Pavel did not hesitate and went to ask whether he could work as a sales assistant in the large store. And Pavel managed to move from the small but cosy pond to the large lake full of diving equipment. During that time he visited Czech quarries and discovered that he also liked the beauty of Czech waters.

Time passed and our diving school grew, so one day Pavel (BAMBI) moved from selling diving equipment to the diving school. His main task was to run Equipment hire, but he also had to learn many new things, such as maintaining diving equipment. During his time there, Pavel completed many dives both in Czech quarries and in Egypt on a trip to the diving mecca Dahab, where he experienced his most amazing dive so far and also his deepest dive at the Blue Hole site. During these dives he also completed many specialisations and is now improving as a professional Dive Guide.

Niky Hlavatá

SSI Divemaster #111315

Cold waters, macro photography and ecology. She helps protect the world we discover on our dives.

Since childhood, on every holiday she spent 90% of her time underwater. All it took to make her happy was to dive on breath-hold and pick up a little shell for fun. Time went on and that was no longer enough for Niky. Her father introduced her to diving in 2016, and so her diving adventures began. In 2017 she expanded her specialisations with AOWD, and since then she has continued to move forward. To feel comfortable and safe underwater in any situation, her package was extended to include Diver Stress and Rescue with first aid, and in 2023 she successfully joined the diving professionals as a divemaster.

To extend her diving season, she also took the path of drysuit diving. She likes discovering all types of waters, and her current biggest attraction is the cold waters of the north. She has a great interest in taking macro photographs underwater and collecting rubbish that does not belong in seas and oceans. She enjoys talking to people about ecology and explaining why it is so important not to destroy the marine environment that nature has given us and which is so vital for our existence on this planet.“Diving is my passion, I love nothing more than being underwater and feeling completely free and merging with the aquatic ecosystem. Diving gives me daily meaning and the desire to want more”, she adds.

Věrka Nigrovičová

SSI Divemaster #119563

A lover of Czech quarries. She supports beginner divers as well as instructors on courses and trips.

Although she got into diving 11 years ago in exotic Saudi Arabia, Věrka is an enthusiastic lover of Czech quarries with their interesting fauna and flora and also enjoys Try scuba diving sessions with enthusiasts. Simply put, neutral buoyancy and weightlessness are the real relaxation, peace and reset for her, which she seeks between shifts in the hospital.

Perhaps it is her profession as a nurse that helps her empathise with beginner divers, and so she gladly helps and very much enjoys Divers Direct trips and events, where as a Divemaster she always tries to be of assistance to new divers and instructors who are currently teaching courses.

Tomáš Horčička

SSI Freediving Instructor #114148

From apparatus to breath-hold. Try scuba diving, Basic Freediving and technique training.

ABC winter special 87 entitled On the Treasures of the Oceans. It was there that a lifelong love of water and everything connected with it began. At the age of nine he built his first diving apparatus himself. It was only for three breaths – and today he knows it was dangerous to life – but back then? Three breaths underwater were simply brilliant for a little boy. Years and years of snorkelling and working as a lifeguard followed. Life, however, took a slightly different path and Tom did not get into real diving until 2015. A forgotten passion flared up again and since then he has devoted himself fully to diving – in the pool, at quarries and in the sea. Simply into the water whenever and wherever possible.

Over time, the desire to share the joy of diving with others grew in him, and so in 2021 he became a scuba diving instructor. One of Divers Direct's regular training sessions was attended by a freediving instructor so that, as scuba divers, we could try freediving on a single breath. And another door to the underwater world opened. This was followed by years combining scuba diving and freediving. On the first freediving dive below 20 metres, using free-fall technique, it was clear: this is the right path. Tom is a newcomer to our team in the role of freediving instructor. He focuses on Try scuba diving and Basic Freediving courses.

You can meet him at rescue technique workshops, equalisation training for those who have ear problems, other specialist lessons and free training sessions. His motto is: "More than 60% of the human body is water – so it is clear that we belong more in the water than on land."

Lars Nielsen

SSI Freediving Instructor

Danish instructor who speaks Czech. Try Freediving, Basic, Level 1 and training for freedivers.

Lars is our freediving instructor from Denmark, who has been living in Prague since 2011 and speaks excellent Czech. He has 5+2 children and therefore saintly patience. He worked in management and HR for a long time, and now he is fully dedicated to freediving. He is an SSI Level 1 instructor. He dives to depths of around 30 metres, has rescue dives trained to 20 metres and can hold his breath for 3:15 minutes in static, just so you have an idea of what sort of bloke he is.

For many years Lars taught gymnastics, ocean swimming in a triathlon club, and he also works with children’s swimming. In general, he very much enjoys water. He is constantly developing his skills in and out of the water, and for years he has been dedicated to safe breath-hold diving to depth and underwater swimming.

He combines his experience from freediving and everyday life. "Thanks to it I am happier with myself, and I believe I can pass that on to others," says Lars about himself. At our school Lars runs Basic Freediving and Level 1 courses, as well as Try Freediving taster lessons and training sessions for certified freedivers.

Petr Vaculík

Divemaster

Czech quarries, Indonesia and relaxed dives. You can meet him at the quarry on Try scuba diving sessions. #relaxeddive

He first tried diving on holiday in Indonesia, and it was then clear that the underwater world would not let him go. But it truly captivated him only with the OWD course – which brought with it huge luck in the form of a great instructor and a group of people around him, with whom everything then went on by itself. Specks, stress, and above all lots of fun.

He likes Czech quarries, but regularly returns to Indonesia – that was where his love of diving began long ago. Likewise, he enjoys the sea, the ocean and drift diving.

You can meet him at the quarry on Try scuba diving sessions.

For him, diving is above all relaxation – switching off the mind and pure freedom and calm beneath the surface. He enjoys it most when he sees a smile on his buddy’s face, whether it is a complete beginner or an experienced old hand. That is why he also likes to say: #relaxeddive

Vojta Suchý

Instructor

A patient instructor with an emphasis on safety, comfort and practical skills. From first dives to advanced specialisations, he helps students gain confidence and enjoyment from diving.

Vojta is an instructor who approaches diving with enthusiasm and a strong emphasis on safety, comfort and practical skills. He teaches recreational divers from their first dives to more advanced specialisations, and his aim is for students to feel confident and calm underwater and to be able to truly enjoy every dive.

In his teaching he combines clear explanations, a patient approach and the ability to adapt the pace and style of teaching to different types of student. He has experience from Czech and overseas locations, which allows him to prepare divers for a range of conditions – from relaxing holidays to more demanding environments where greater discipline and precision are needed.

Students appreciate his friendly style, attention to detail and ability to create an atmosphere in which they learn naturally and without stress. He sees diving as a combination of adventure, personal development and the joy of discovery – and that is exactly what he tries to pass on.