SPOTLIGHT
DONNIE MAHANEY
PROFESSIONAL DIVER LOVES THE CHALLENGES AND THE QUIET
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Donnie Mahaney has no plans to retire any time soon . At the age of 75 , he ’ s been a professional diver for 45 years . “ I ’ ll keep going for as long as I can ,” he says .
At the age of 30 , he was approached by a friend who asked him if he was interested in taking diving lessons . “ Back then , that thought had never even crossed my mind , but I said , ‘ Sure ,’” he recalls . “ It ’ s funny because Lloyd Bridges , who starred in the TV show Sea Hunt , was a hero of mine .”
He completed the course and was bitten by the diving bug . He loved it . At that time , his instructor , Bob Welland , had several diving jobs and would take Mahaney along to watch . “ Not long after , Bob left the business , and I took over ,” Mahaney says . “ But even then , people told me I could never make a living at it .” He soon proved them wrong .
At first , Mahaney was taking on a lot of underwater repair jobs . Then he decided to get additional training by signing up for intensive diving courses . This led to a job as a scuba instructor . “ One of my students at the time
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