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Mark Powell

About Mark

Mark had his first experience of diving at the age of 10 when he did a try-dive in a local pool. He was hooked from that point onwards. He learnt to dive in 1987 and has been diving ever since. He has dived in the Red Sea, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, California, Gulf of Mexico, the Middle East, Caribbean and the Mediterranean. However he is most at home in the waters around the UK where there is some of the best wreck diving in the world.

Mark became an instructor in 1994 and has been actively instructing since then. In 2002 Mark set up Dive-Tech, a dedicated technical diving facility, with the intention of providing the highest quality technical diving training. He has been a full time diving instructor since then. Dive-Tech provides technical training at all levels up to and including CCR Advanced Mixed Gas Instructor Trainer. It also provides consultancy services to other diving organisations.

Mark is a TDI Instructor Trainer and a member of TDI’s Global Training Advisor Panel. He is a regular contributor to a number of diving magazines and a regular speaker at Diving conferences around the world. Mark represents TDI on the British Diving Safety Group and the HSE Recreational Diving Industry Committee as well as being a member of the Diver Training and Breathing Apparatus committees at the British Standards Institute.

In 2008 Mark published Deco for Divers, a widely acclaimed overview of the theory and physiology of decompression. This has quickly become the standard text on the subject and is recommended reading by a number of the technical diving agencies. In 2010 Deco for divers was awarded “Publication of the Conference” at the EuroTEK.10 technical diving conference and in 2014 it won the Media Award at TekDive USA. Mark’s passion is wreck diving and spends all his spare time diving the wrecks around the coastline of the UK and abroad and has led expeditions to a wide range of locations around the world. He is currently involved in a number of projects including documenting the wreck of HMS Hermes, the worlds first custom aircraft carrier, as well as searching for the other wrecks that were sank at the same time as HMS Hermes. He is also involved in an ongoing project to identify a number of unknown Second World War wrecks.

Explore Articles by Mark

Can you teach Open Water in backplate, harness and wing?

Have you questioned teaching in a backplate, harness and wing before? We’re here to break down exactly why this set up is a-okay to use in your next course and offer some pointers to make it go smoother. Finally, we make the argument on why using a BPHW set up can actually be better in some cases for you as the instructor and the evolving student.
August 11, 2021/by Adolfo Ruiz Cantero

Can we go diving yet?

With the official one-year mark of COVID-19 behind us, you too might be asking, “can we go diving yet?” Even if where you live is open for business, the answer may not be an automatic yes. There are a few things you should consider before booking your next dive or packing your dive bag.
August 6, 2021/by Adolfo Ruiz Cantero

Teaching snorkeling as part of the Open Water course

Lets take a look at the benefits of teaching snorkeling as part of an SDI Open Water Diver course. Snorkeling can make learning to dive more enjoyable and more efficient.
April 26, 2019/by admin

Switching to SDI

Do you know the differences in teaching an SDI course versus teaching another agency's courses? With SDI you might find that we offer a more flexible training schedule as well as the chance to become a more proficient diver from the start. In an SDI course, you'll learn buoyancy control as well as how to use your computer from the moment you step in the water. We aren't in a rush to get divers in and out of courses, our goal is create divers who are confident in their skills.
June 28, 2018/by admin

Avoid the Middle of the Road Strategy

Does your business have a strategic plan for how you’ll stand out from your competitors? Are you spinning your wheels trying to figure out the best way to run your business and make money? Learn about three different strategies that will help you stand out and earn more business.
March 22, 2018/by admin

Frontiers of Decompression Research

Did you know that certain foods have been tested and even showed signs of reducing decompression sickness? Did you also know there are an array of exercises you can do to reduce your risk of DCS? And the most stunning thing of all? Your Genetics even play a role!
February 6, 2018/by admin

Training Agency Standards

Training agency standards are written to represent the minimum acceptable level of any aspect of a training course, under any circumstances. They are not meant to represent the typical level to be expected or even a target to be hit. Good instructors understand that the level should, in most cases, be exceeded.
January 23, 2018/by admin

Understanding ROI – Return On Investment

November 29, 2017/by admin

Stand Out from the Crowd

There are a lot of ways to stand out against the competition these days; and the good news is, it doesn't mean you have to have the lowest prices. In a business like diving where there's no shortage of dive retailers, you may often feel yourself stuggling to set yourself apart from others. There are many ways to stand out and we're giving you some ideas on how to do it.
April 24, 2017/by admin

The AIDA Model of Marketing

Understanding how customers buy, you can tailor your marketing activities to get the best results and get them signing up for courses and dive trips.
March 23, 2017/by admin

Buddy Checks are for Tech Diving Too

No matter what level of diver you are there's one thing that stands true for all: buddy checks. The truth of it all the higher level of certification usually the more things can go wrong. It's important that before every single dive you and your buddy go through a buddy check of each other. We're giving you some guidelines on what you should be doing before every dive.
March 6, 2017/by admin

SDI/TDI/ERDI Welcomes Mark to HQ

Over the last 10 years SDI/TDI/ERDI has seen tremendous growth throughout the world. Due to our growth outside of the United States, we recently decided to expand the staff working with Paul, by adding Jordan Greene, an experienced member of our staff, and Mark Powell, a long time IT for SDI/TDI/ERDI from the UK.
January 24, 2017/by admin

What is Marketing?

The fact is, the diving industry and "marketing" have gone though a very similar evolution process.
December 30, 2014/by admin

Marketing Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

One of the most important techniques in marketing is the concept of segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP).
December 2, 2014/by admin

Why Divers Do Stupid Things

Why do divers do stupid things? Well the short answer is because they are stupid. Now I know that the majority of the readers of this article are going to be divers and it’s not usually a good idea to start off by insulting your audience but bear with me.
July 15, 2014/by Rob O'Goodenow

Tech Diving – Staying Warm for comfort and safety

By Mark Powell

The image that many technical divers try…
February 18, 2014/by Rob O'Goodenow

Diving an Aircraft Carrier – HMS Hermes

Diving an Aircraft Carrier - HMS Hermes
By: Mark Powell
There…
December 6, 2013/by Rob O'Goodenow

Tech Dive Teamwork – Being self sufficient in a team environment

October 23, 2013/by Rob O'Goodenow

What Bailout is Best for You? Rebreathers

What Bailout is Best for You? Rebreathers
By Mark Powell



A…
April 8, 2013/by admin

Solo Diving – Coming Out of the Closet

by Mark Powell

Have you ever ended up separated from your…
November 5, 2012/by admin

Profile of a Wreck Diver

Mark Powell is one of the UK’s best known technical diving…
September 5, 2012/by admin

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