Oliver Kirchhoff. Diving instructor, technical diver, aspiring cave diver. Nearly 10 years of professional experience as a dive professional and more than 5,400 logged dives. Water has been a major part of my life from an early age. As a child, I learned to swim early, served as a lifeguard with the water rescue service as a teenager, and enjoyed the colorful underwater world while snorkeling on my travels. Then, in 2014, came the big but unexpected moment: I earned my Open Water Diver certification in Greece with Kostas, a legend in Greek diving, with 50 years of professional experience as a dive instructor and an estimated 20,000 logged dives. This sparked my interest, and Kostas, my mentor, encouraged me to continue. In 2016, I began my professional training in Crete , followed by three years of gaining experience and countless dives as a divemaster. In 2018, I completed my ITC in Northern Greece with instructor Alexandros Zoidis, another Greek diving legend and SSI Regional Manager for Greece. Afterwards, I moved to Mirbat, Oman, to work with Extra Divers , where I spent two exciting seasons as a dive instructor. Three months managing the dive center at Sumhuram Divers and two months in Northern Greece with the Poseidon Diving Academy later, I returned to Germany at the start of the global lockdowns. As a freelancer on Fehmarn Island in the Baltic Sea, in the Mecklenburg Lake District, and at one of the world's deepest indoor diving centers, Deep Spot in Poland, I continued to pursue my passion for diving and teaching. Finally, in 2023, I moved to North Rhine-Westphalia, to Monte Mare Rheinbach , Germany's largest training dive center, where I still work full-time today. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of learning from the very best, which has allowed me to develop a broad base of experience and teaching strategies that inform my training philosophy. I teach everything from introductory dives to assistant dive instructors, am myself an enthusiastic aspiring cave diver, and love exploring the underwater world and sharing it with others.

 

Professional Status:

 

SSI Master Instructor

SSI Assistant Instructor Trainer

SSI Pro Number: 75189

 

SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor

SDI Pro Number: 28768