UTD Journal Volume 1, Issue 7, September 2013 | Page 4

UTD’s MEXICAN LEADERSHIP TRAINING CENTER By Adam Korytko, UTD Foundational Instructor Trainer and Cave Instructor diving in 1986 and soon found that waiting for weekends to go diving in the ocean just was not enough for me. I joined a local club and started night diving during the week in lakes near Milan, where the attraction was definitely not the good viz or the flora and fauna (you dive what you have!). I simply wanted to dive and improve my skills, so I started diving doubles and extended my range. While living in Europe, I actively pursued technical diving in the lakes of northern Italy and wreck diving in the Mediterranean and the North Sea, having the pleasure of diving Scapa Flow, the Milford Haven and the Isonzo. In 2004, my life changed when I started cave diving in Florida. I decided to move immediately to Mexico to pursue this passion and in early 2006 I started my own cave diving company and began my apprenticeship to become a cave instructor under the mentorship of some of the best cave diving instructors and explorers in the Riviera Maya and Florida. In 2008, I became an NSS-CDS Cave Instructor. One aspect that bothered me was that many students were attempting cave training when their basic skills were not up to scratch and I found myself needing to teach them how to dive rather than how to cave dive. In 2010, I met Andrew Georgitsis and, after discussing the UTD philosophy and future plans, crossed over to became a UTD Cave Instructor. The DIR/Hogarthian diving approach is rooted in cave diving, which is generally accepted as the most challenging form of recreational diving. Even if you do not live in an area with caves, the skills learned will make all your diving much more rewarding. Born in England, I spent most of my life in Italy. I started Contact Adam at Cave Heaven [email protected]