Meet our expert team of PADI qualified team instructors. They are incredibly passionate and enjoy sharing their passions for the underwater world with our visitors!
Donovan – PADI Divemaster
Favourite Animal: Great White Sharks
I’ve been fascinated with the oceans since I was a child and sharks have been an obsession of mine. I remember the first time I saw a Shark and couldn’t believe how incredibly beautiful and amazing it was. I dive so I can get closer to sharks and to help other people get closer to them too!
Mike – PADI Instructor
Favourite Animal: Nurse Sharks
I began diving in 1982 as an Army diver. Having qualified as a PADI Open Water Diver in 2011. I’ve now completed over 500 dives across the world. I progressed to become a qualified Open Water Scuba Instructor. I joined the team at Blue Planet Aquarium in 2019. Here I’m lucky to have the opportunity to dive with sharks every week, and the privilege of sharing my passion with visitors!
Sophie – PADI Instructor
Favourite Animal: Wobbegong Shark
I first started diving in 2015 in the Maldives. Since then I’ve completed most of my dive training in Indonesia. I now study Marine Biology and Oceanography at university whilst working at Blue Planet Aquarium. We have a great team and I especially love to dive with the shark experiences on the weekend where I can share my passion with our customers!
Brian – PADI Instructor
Favourite Animal: I don’t really have a favourite, they are all special, but I do have a bit of a soft spot for the Zebra sharks!
I first dived while on holiday in Malta in 2013. I enjoyed it so much I signed up for my PADI Open Water course straight away! After diving all around the World I became a PADI Instructor in 2016.
I particularly enjoy wreck diving because of the wildlife they support and the history around them.
Ela – PADI Instructor
Favourite Animal: All fish are my friends. I started my diving journey in 2013, my first dive was in the bath at home with my partner’s dive equipment. Soon I completed the PADI Open Water course and progressed through many diving qualifications to my current status of being a diving instructor. I have dived around the world and feel a great sense of privilege whenever I dive with such magnificent ocean animals. I truly wish to share my passion for the underwater world with all Blue Planet visitors.
Hannah – PADI Instructor
Favourite Animal: I’d have to say I do love our nurse sharks because they are so sassy and naughty and keep us divers on our toes. I also have a very special soft spot for Flare!!
I did my first dive when I was 15. Being half Maltese we would go visit family there and my dad needed something to keep me from staying out late partying, so every holiday would book me onto a course at the local dive centre. Eventually, I quit my job to move to Malta, where I trained as a divemaster for a season and then onto instructor after which I spent a further two seasons teaching. Moving back to the UK I tried my hand at a desk job but the call of the water was too great. So here I am at blue planet aquarium doing my dream job and loving every second.
Kate – PADI Instructor
Favourite animal – I absolutely love the sand tiger sharks with their fearsome faces displaying 250 teeth! I started diving at 18. I completed my PADI open water Instructor aged 28. After a decade of construction working, I purchased a ticket to Koh Tao to complete a Divemaster programme. To discover a new perspective on the dive industry I flew to Malta to complete an open water instructor course and started travelling to various corners of the world collecting dive experiences. Finally, I’ve found a home at Blue Planet Aquarium where every day is still an adventure.
