From Advanced Open Water to becoming A PADI Instructor
My IDC Journey with Bespoke Scuba Diving
If you had told me when I first started diving that one day I would become a PADI Open Water
Scuba Instructor, I’m not sure I would have believed you.
My journey with Paul French and Bespoke Scuba Diving started when I completed my Advanced Open Water course with Paul. From there, diving became much more than simply something I enjoyed doing. I wanted to keep learning, keep developing and see just how far I could take it.
With Paul’s guidance, I progressed through Rescue Diver, Master Scuba Diver and eventually
Divemaster. Every course taught me something new, but becoming a Divemaster made me realise that I didn’t want my professional diving journey to stop there.
The next challenge was becoming a PADI Instructor.
Starting My IDC - I started my Instructor Development Course with Paul in April 2026, and I can safely say it wasn’t an easy journey.
There were highs, lows and plenty of moments where I questioned myself. Becoming an instructor is very different from simply becoming a better diver. Suddenly, it wasn’t only about whether I could perform a skill; I had to learn how to teach someone else to perform it safely and confidently.
I had to develop my classroom presentations, confined water teaching, open water teaching,
demonstrations, briefings, debriefings and, importantly, my knowledge and understanding of PADI Standards.
At the beginning, one of my biggest challenges was Knowledge Development presentations. I
remember receiving scores around 3.4, and at the time, getting to a 5 seemed a long way away.
Paul wouldn’t let me settle.
Presentation after presentation, we worked on what I could improve: how I explained things, how I connected the subject to real world diving, how I promoted continuing education and equipment, and how I could make my presentations more engaging for students.
Slowly, things started clicking.
That 3.4 became a 4, then higher, until eventually I was consistently achieving 5s.
For me, that progress summed up what the IDC was really about. It wasn’t about being perfect
when I walked through the door. It was about being willing to learn, accepting feedback and
becoming better every time I tried.
More Than Just a Course Director
Throughout the IDC, Paul wasn’t just teaching me how to pass an Instructor Examination.
There were times when I doubted whether I could do it, but Paul continued to push me. Sometimes I probably needed encouragement; other times I needed someone to tell me exactly what I was doing wrong and make me do it again!
That’s one of the things I appreciated most about the way Paul taught me. The goal wasn’t simply to scrape through an exam. He wanted me to understand why I was doing something and develop into an instructor capable of teaching students after the IE was finished.
They gave up a huge amount of their time throughout my IDC, helping with presentations, skills, teaching techniques and the countless little details that make a difference. Each of them brought something different to my development, and having several experienced instructors giving me advice helped enormously.
It really felt like a team wanted me to succeed.
Then Came the Instructor Examination
Eventually, all the training had to be put to the test: the PADI Instructor Examination.
I would love to say I walked into the IE completely relaxed and confident. I didn’t!
The nerves were definitely there.
But underneath those nerves was months of preparation. Every presentation, every correction, every skill circuit, every briefing and every time Paul or one of the Staff Instructors had made me go back and improve something suddenly had a purpose.
Having Paul there during the IE also made a massive difference to me. He had been there
throughout my diving journey and throughout the ups and downs of my IDC, so having him there to calm my nerves and encourage me when the pressure was at its highest meant a lot.
This was the moment everything we had worked towards came together.
And I passed.
I had officially become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor!
Looking Back at the Journey
Passing the IE was an incredible feeling, but looking back, I’m equally proud of the journey it took to get there.
I went from being an Advanced Open Water diver training with Paul to progressing through Rescue Diver, Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster before eventually becoming an instructor.
More importantly, I developed personally along the way.
The person who started the IDC in April wasn’t the same instructor who walked out of the IE.
My confidence had grown. My teaching had improved. My understanding of diving had developed enormously, and I’d learned that sometimes struggling with something isn’t a sign that you can’t do it. Sometimes it’s simply part of becoming better at it.
Going from scoring around 3.4 to consistently achieving 5s in Knowledge Development is
something I’ll always remember because it reminds me how much progress can be made when you have the right people around you and you’re willing to keep working.
What’s Next?
Becoming an OWSI definitely isn’t the end of my diving journey.
If anything, it feels like the beginning of a completely new chapter.
Now I get the opportunity to take everything Paul and the team at have taught me and use it to introduce other people to diving, develop existing divers and hopefully give my own students the same confidence that the team at Bespoke gave me.
I’m already looking towards continuing my professional development, gaining more instructor-level specialties and progressing towards Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT).
One thing I’ve learned throughout this journey is that there is always another level to work towards and always something new to learn.
To Paul, Jan, Matt, Natalie, Nick, Dave, Rory and Zac: thank you.
Thank you for the patience, the mentoring, the countless hours of training, the corrections, the
encouragement and for continuing to believe in me during the moments when I wasn’t quite as confident in myself.
I came to Bespoke Scuba Diving wanting to become a better diver.
I walked away as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
And I’m definitely not finished yet.
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