Big Bubble – The Team
Monday, May 11th, 2009
Lorena – The friendly Instructor of Big Bubble
Lorena comes from Switzerland and she is living her dream.After 2 years being Head Divemaster at Big Bubble, it was time to change. She enjoys teaching and having fun with her Open Water students from their first bubble at 1meter to their last bubbles at 18meters. Lorena speaks Italian, German and English, so no matter who you are or where you come from, she is going to have fun with you in the classroom and in the water. She is a happy shiny person. Lorenas passion reaches from the tinyest pipefish to the big whalshark and is always trying to find new and interesting things. In the morning she is like Speedy Gonzales you can really see here Italians roots. Come and join her at Big Bubble and soon you will be on a super cool underwater adventure too.
Chill The Chilled Out Diving Instructor
Coming from Grimsby, in England, Chill “knows” fish! (Albeit fried in batter and served with chips and mushy peas!) He is a real Grimbarian! After traveling the world for 12 years and working in any job that would pay for the next part of the journey, Chill settled here over 4 years ago, when he came to Big Bubble and realized a career in diving would be far better than working for a living!
After 3 years as chief Divemaster, when he spent so much time under water that his toes were becoming webbed and he was on first name terms with all the fish, he decided he needed to spend a little time in the classroom to dry out.
Now concentrating on teaching Open Water courses, he gets great job satisfaction teaching his students to dive and sharing his vast knowledge of the underwater world and his rather twisted sense of humor with anyone who’ll listen!
Gorka, the Spaniard
Since his first “Giant Stride” into the water and as competitive swimmer for most of his life , Gorka knew that somehow he will spend the rest of his life in close relation with the Underwater Environment. So he became Big Bubble’s Head Dive Master. Although he is a certfied PADI diving instructor, he prefers to work as Divemaster. As a former schoolteacher, he brings the professionalism of teaching into Scuba Diving. He will take good care of our certified Divers and our Advanced Open Water Students. Teaching them to become better diver, being confident on a dive deeper, navigate a dive or experience a thrilling Night Dive. If you are already a certified diver Gorka is the right person for you, he will bring you to new Dive Sites every day and show you the secrets and wonders of the Underwater World around Koh Tao. Gorka is a friendly, open and professional Dive Guide and diving instructor who always has a smile on his face. He is helpful and will look after any of your diving-related needs. Any questions you mmight have; don’t hesitate…..just ask him!!!
Scuba Diving Instructor Phil – Exil-Berliner with gills
Phil is from Germany, to be exact from Berlin.
He came by chance on one of his trips to BigBubble to do his Open Water Course. But he did not stay a beginner for long. He wanted more. The time between Thailand trips got shorter and the stays got longer . On his last trip he decided to fly back to Germany after only three months to pull up stakes and came back to Koh Tao. “Ick wohn’ jetzt hier (Berliner slang for I live now here) and need a Job!” Since then he’s a Dive Master and Instructor for German and English-speaking guests at the Big Bubble Dive School. He loves to teach others the joy of diving. As an instructor, he succeeds to teach every scaredy-cat to enjoy diving and transforms them into secure diver. Diver who dive with him as a guide are looking forward to an exciting adventure. Phil loves the great bull sharks as well as all the small stuff which he seeks out in each dive on every reef. He found his secret passion in the trigger fish under water and on land at the snakes.
Tom – Former Bavarian Hill-Billy and Dive Fear Specialist
Afraid of Sharks ? HE WAS TOO!!! Tom, our Bavarian Hill-Billy came to Koh Tao the first time 1993 and stuck here since then. The first 6 years we had a hard time to get him in the water. He was very scared to get eaten by the numerous Great Whites around here Koh Tao. In 2000 we tossed him in the water and forced him to do his Open Water Diver Diving Course. And suddenly he changed, and his life changed too! – Sharks became his friends and his diving skills became exceptional and in 2002 he did his Diving Instructor Course. Since that time he taught more then 850 students scuba diving on different levels. Also his German improved a lot, but you can still hear his Bavarian roots. In Thai they say – Chai Yen – what means ‘cool heart’; he is calm understanding and very skilled. Twisting words is one of his favored hobbies. Today he says: “If you don’t want to see sharks.. just close your eyes”.
Mio – The Longtail Boat Driver
Mio is our Longtail Driver, he is the one who will bring you with our Longtail to the Big Boat. Sometimes he is a bit grumpy but he has a good heart and is one of the most experienced Longtail Captains on the Island. Mio works with Big Bubble since … nobody can really remember…! Since more than 15 years has he been driving scuba divers and snorkelers around Koh Tao.
If you are up for an extra bit of excitement and want to go snorkeling with Blacktip Reef Sharks, Mio is the one who can bring you to the exact right spot in Shark Bay!
Kwan – The Head of Office
Kwan is the good soul in our dive shop and travel office. She will arange all boat, bus, train or flight tickets to any destination to make sure you have no problems and can enjoy your holiday without any booking hassel. Kwan is also responsible for all administrative tasks in our dive resort. So if you want to pay your fun dives or diving courses she is the one who will take care of that too.
Deang – The Dive Boat Captain
Pi Deng is the captain of our Big Boat and he is the one who will make sure that you arrive safely on all dive sites we go to. He lives on the boat, cooks his food there and has his family is visiting him occasionally.
Please respect the privacy of his cabin because it is actually his living room, sleeping room and his little Temple is in there as well.
He is a very friendly man and has allways a smile on his face. Since he is a father as well he is good with kids and happy to show them around on the boat while their parents are diving.
Chip – The Dive Boat Helper
Chip is our boat technician, he is the one who is filling the tanks for your dives with clean fresh sea air. If you need help to get in or out of the water he is happy to be there for you. Since he is always smiling, Chip takes also a stunt part on almost every dive video.
Besides his entertainment skills, Chip is also our handyman on the dive boat; so if you need an o-ring or any other help on technical stuff he’s the one to look out for.
