Hello, I'm Charie Willis. I've been diving since 1976, but it wasn't until 1977 is when I got certified. After I got certified I had a cold shiver that ran up and down my spine. I wouldn't recommend to anyone to do anything before getting trained in anything.I've heard that God protects even the foolish from time to time and I believe that he protected me from all the dives I did before my certification. I am a PADI/TDI/SDI/HSA instructor now and I'm going to cross over to NAUI so I can get a reliable IT for my technical Instructor certification. I love to cave dive, I also have a Drager Dolphin rebreather, which I'm slowly converting into a mCCR. I love diving and I love teaching. I've heard many times that I seem really enthused about diving and take it very seriously. Which I do. My approach is the student pays for the instruction, but earns their certification. I've seen to many students (as well as instructors) who seemed to have paid for their cert. It's amazing that agencies will allow the good-ole-boy approach to becoming an instructor, that is why I chose PADi to do my first instructor (I know a lot of people do not like Padi). To their defense one person cannot make them an instructor someone else has to come and evaluate them before they become a certified instructor. I did like TDI's approach to technical diving splitting the courses into different classes in order for the student to absorb the information before moving on to the next higher course. Well I'll quit rambling on and just say hello to everyone. Thanks. Charles Willis