Jack Aaron - OwnerThe man behind Aaron's Dive Shop, Jack has owned and operated Aaron's Dive Shop for the past 37 years. He is known as the 'Instructor to the Stars.' After his work on the "LOST" set, Dominic Monaghan (plays Charlie on 'Lost' tv series and was Pipin in Lord of the Rings) and Evangline Lilly (plays Kate on 'Lost' tv series) came in to take their Open Water Course at Aaron's.
Recently Jack worked on the set of Ultimate Survival a popular British tv series. He was the show's water coordinator/producer responsible for water safety, hiring of the boats, hiring of support staff and finding the set locations. They went to the fantastic locations of Lanai Lookout, Blow Hole, Turtle Bay, Shark Cages outside of Haleiwa and the Mokumanu Islands.
Jack is always around the shop or working on a TV/commercial shoot. Otherwise, you'll find him on the tennis courts, handily taking care of most of his challengers (as Ty...one of our DMCs recently discovered).
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 | Kirsty - Manager/MSDT InstructorThis is our international gal! She was born in Australia and raised in New Zealand, and England, and Hong Kong. She graduated from Duke University and ended up working for MTV with their strategic planning department in New York. Boy can she tell you some stories. She decided to pack in all in for 'peace of mind' and headed to Honduras for 4 years working as a divemaster. Now she is an instructor with Aaron's and in charge of the military sales and making sure the shop runs smoothly. She recently married one of Aaron's former instructors, so we think she is staying put in Hawaii now! ... and she had the BEST wedding reception ever! |
Jeff - Open Water Scuba Instructor & Sales Team LeaderIf you ask this gregarious chap where he is from he will say (take a deep breath) - Pennsylvania, Boston, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Daytona Beach, Lake Tahoe, Dutch Harbor .... to name a few. He calls this his 'wander list'!. This guy likes to travel. BUT his diving career started while bartending in Florida. One of his customers was an instructor and took Jeff on a Discover Scuba Dive in the Gulf of Mexico. Six months later Jeff moved to Thailand for an 8 month internship and stayed on for two years working as an instructor there. Now he is here enjoying spear fishing, and exploring new dive sites with Randy on their days off. This is also a rugby player and a three time all American wrestler from Pennsylvania State University, so you know you are in safe hands while diving with him! |  |
 | Jason - Master InstructorThis young man comes to Aaron's originally from Jacksonville Fl but calls the States home as his father traveled often being in the military. He started diving in 1997 when he was given a scuba class as a wedding gift from his brother. He dove sporadically until 2001 when he dove wrecks and reefs in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was there that his interest in diving was re-kindled. While his wife was on deployment, he became a divemaster and an instructor in Islamorada, Fl to pass away the lonely hours. He taught in Jacksonville while learning to cave dive. Then moved on to lake and river diving in San Antonio before moving to Hawaii. Somewhere along the line, he managed to earn a BS degree from Excelsior College, and an MBA from Regis University, all while being a devoted husband and father of 2. |
Jeff - IDC Staff InstructorBorn and raised in Santa Barbara, Jeff moved to hawaii seeking warm waters to dive in. He started off at Aarons 6 years ago as a Divemaster and has since become a PADI Staff Instructor, Naui and SSI instructor, Technical Diving Instructor and a DanO2 instructor. Whew! His next diving aspiration is to become a Tri-Mix instructor. PLUS he works for the Nature Conservancy in Palmyra getting to go there a couple times a year to guide divers. Jeff lives diving so much he goes diving when he is on vacation, recently spending three weeks in Thailand diving. Besides diving, Jeff is a very accomplished musician and a great cook. His favorite classes to teach are the Wreck Specialty and Technical Diving. This is the man who certified Dominic Monaghan and Evangeline Lilly, as well as former astronaut Buzz Aldrin's son!
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 | Melanie - MSDT InstructorThis young lady comes all the way from Munich Germany. She did a lot of snorkeling there but decided there must be something better than murky cold water. She came to Hawaii attending school. A lot of her new found friends were divers, so she took a class. From there she met Divemaster (at the time) Jeff - yes the same Jeff listed above - and the rest is history. They are now married, and Melanie is now one of our instructors. She is also a DanO2 & Emergency First Responder Instructor as well as a National Registry First Responder. She is a technical diver and appeared as a Selma Hyak's stunt double in a diving scene for the movie After the Sunset! If that isn't enough, she owns a dance studio teaching Irish Dancing (jigthishawaii@yahoo.com) and is working toward her Tri-Mix Diving, EMT Basic AND Diving Medical Technician certifications. PLUS this gal knows a lot about the unique Hawaiian marine life - the Naturalist Specialty being her favorite class to teach.
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Kevin - Master Scuba Diver Trainer/Massage Therapist ExtraordinaireOriginally from the Hudson Valley Region of Upstate New York. Back in the early 90s, Kev was studying to be an elementary ed teacher...but he was disillusioned with the system and needed a break. His dad suggested they take a warm weather break from the chilly climes of Upstate New York and learn how to Scuba Dive. That was where it all started. Kevin became consumed by SCUBA training and becoming an instructor then he took that teaching model and translated it to environmental education for kids.
Kevin first came to Oahu in 2003 to pursue his love of Scuba Diving and Massage Therapy. Kevin is a Master Scuba Diver Trainer and an Instructor of Massage at the American Institute of Massage Therapy right here in Kailua. We think this is a fantastic combination….for us after work but even better for our customers on vacation. In his spare time, Kevin is also a competitive triathlete and jazz musician (talk about well rounded). |  |
 | Tim - Dive MasterTim hails from Michigan but now he's all about exotic lands. While living in Panama, about 10 years ago, he started diving. He's been hooked ever since. He's all about the unpopulated, uncharted dive destinations like Timor, Vietnam, and Columbia. Tim, his wife and Sheba, their faithful companion, just returned to Hawaii from a stint in Asia. Some serious diving around Malaysia and the rest of South East Asia. We're happy to have Tim back in the Aaron's fold, leading dives, taking phenomenal pictures (underwater photography being his "thing") and tinkering at the shop work benches...look for Sheba often close by. |
Bob - Divemaster/Tech DiverBob hails from Detroit, Michigan (brrrr). He got certified in a dry suit with 5ft visibility in college. Then took it upon himself to dive every possible lake he could find in Michigan. The military straightened him out and he ended up here in Hawaii.....and back into the water for diving. Bob is now a PADI Divemaster and PADI Tec Rec diver....looking to dive every inch of the world (but we'll keep him in Hawaii for a bit). Now we've just got to get his wife Sarah diving too. Look for big Bob's smiling face and booming voice in the shop or on the boats. |  |
 | Jana - Open Water SCUBA InstructorThe diver from... IOWA! In Hawaii via route of Colorado, Florida, and California! Jana learned to dive in COLD California waters and now abides by the wetsuits optional policy. Maybe she doesn't have a choice since she burned her hooded 7 ml wetsuit when she left Cali (slight exaggeration, but would've liked to)! You'll find Jana working part time on the boats and full time in the hospital as a nurse (double bonus)! If you're looking for someone who's really energetic about blowing bubbles and preserving Hawaii's aquatic environment... This is your girl! |
Josh - Master Scuba Diver TrainerJosh got a taste for diving back in 1997 but it took moving to Hawaii, an accidental conversation and Jason’s fantastic Batman mask to finally get him certified. Josh has since been ever present (we just can’t get rid of him) and is now one of our stellar weekend warriors underwater. The week sees him in army uniform, and on the weekend he’s teaching open water courses, advanced courses, specialties, and generally making sure everybody has a good laugh on the boats and underwater. If you’re interested in bikes, music,or a beer or two …Josh is your man. |  |
 | Ryan - Sales Person and Computer DudeAnd a BIG welcome to our newest dive shop family member, Ryan!!! Ryan is returning to us after many years away, going to college in New York City, playing pro ball in Sweden and then slowing making his way home to Hawaii. He's only here 'til he returns to Sweden for the basketball season but we're happy to have his smiling face around the shop. Ryan is our resident music fanatic/mechanical engineer. Before long we'll have our own Aaron's Dive Shop soundtrack and it's bound to be pretty funky. Ryan is working on getting his nitrox certification and then there's no holding him back! And, Ryan has our favorite webmaster, Kirsten, to thank for his very first dive certification! |
Ty - Divemaster, Salesperson an all around smiling guyFrom Bonner's Ferry, Idaho (a small town 30 miles from the Canadian border), Ty is seriously into snowboarding and soccer. Why diving?...Why not? Ty joined us when he decided to take a break from school and move to sunny Hawaii. He's all about fun, adventure and having a good time. His old instructor also mentioned something about blowing himself up (not sure what that means). |  |
 | Kirsten - PADI IDC Staff Instructor and Webmaster ExtraordinaireThis local grown gal does our website, teaches diving and tries to throw her 5 foot stature around the tennis court. She came to Aaron's first when she was about 5 (or so) when her Dad came into the shop to have tanks filled. She left to the mainland after graduating from high school because she had heard that folks could drive for 7 hours at a time! WOW! Living in the middle of the Tucson desert (one huge beach waiting for the big one in CA so it becomes ocean front) she decided to get herself certified. She tends to do things the hard way, doing all the training and fun dives in San Carlos Mexico. Getting tired of waiting for the ocean to come to Tucson, she came back to the islands, and Aaron's to finish up her Instructor training, and well she doesn't seem to be leaving any time soon. |
Arnie - Master InstructorBorn and raised in New York City, Arnie eventually moved to Hawaii to retire—again. He has already retired from the US Army and from a US National Laboratory, where he was a staff physicist. Need help with the PADI dive physics questions? (He is currently working on his third retirement.) Arnie began diving for Aaron’s in 1999 as an Assistant Instructor and has since become a PADI Master Instructor, SSI Divecon Specialist Instructor, DAN Instructor (four courses), and UDT Technical Diving Instructor (all levels through Trimix training). He also teaches Emergency First Response as well as the professional-level CPR and First Aid course for the American Red Cross. As you might imagine, Arnie really likes teaching classes—especially scuba diving classes. Like many of the staff, Arnie also takes busman’s holidays, his last being two weeks at Bikini Atoll diving on the wrecks from the U.S. atomic tests in the Pacific. An avid underwater photographer (digital and film) Arnie’s images show up on the Aaron website from time to time. |  |
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