Big Monkey- A.K.A. Rick

Big Monkey Story

​Big Monkey comes from a nickname I gave myself during my competitive Functional Fitness days. I ran like a linebacker or "a Big Monkey running". So it stuck. 

I was certified in Open Water in 1996 at UNC Charlotte in my last year of college.  I took it as a college course.  I grew up watching Jacques Cousteau's Under Water World and was fascinated by what laid beneath the surface .  In 1996 PADI offered Open Water SCUBA certification for college credit at UNC Charlotte.  Then it was a 6 week course. Nitrox and Technical Diving was "voodoo diving" at that time and was for only the extreme sports types. Of course I wanted to be a part of it but life got in the way. 

Fast forward to 2022.  I got back into diving and decided to become a Dive Master and PADI Tec/Rec diver.  Soon, friends in North Carolina started asking me to take them on diving tours of Florida. I quickly realized that Florida is the diving capital of the world and after a few dive tours for friends I decided to start a business doing it for people out of state.  So, here we are. 

I was born and raised in Florida. A true rare Florida native meaning I can pronounce all the counties and city names correctly.  I  have a love for Florida and for diving.  There is a diverse amount of diving in Florida for all skill and interest levels.  Being from here, I want to show you all I can of the beautiful dive sites Florida has to offer. 

I love to instruct as I was a fitness coach for over 12 years.  My first concern is safety. Safety comes 1st so, there is no Monkey business when it comes to your or my safety. 

My goal is to show you the underwater world of Florida and hopefully give you a dive buddy you can call whenever you come to visit.