Kristof DAMEN
Hey!
Nice to see you again! If we are seeing each other for the first time: nice to meet you! We undoubtedly share the same passion for that other world . I am Kristof and together with my wife Pernette I run D • CENTER.
A thermos of hot soup, shivering, sometimes just a pond
I dove into it more than 25 years ago . Like many Flemish people I joined a local CMAS diving club. My first five years of diving can best be described as an obsession to discover as many dive sites as possible , to document them and to share this with everyone. This meant about three to four times a week, a first big web project, writing for magazines,... And in the meantime more than 5,000 dives. *stoofer*
In my early twenties I was one of the younger instructors at IANTD . At the same time I was a trainer as a consultant in large companies. Everything revolved around how people learned. Online everything went very fast and through the first video blogs and diving communities, I came into contact with equally obsessed instructors on the other side of the world.
Christmas in the sun, developing products, FUN
I travelled to UTD in California to retrain completely. I spent hours above and in the water working on new teaching methods, writing training procedures, designing, testing and adapting new diving equipment. With Andrew Georgitsis (USA) and Jeff Seckendorf (USA) we talked about openness (sharing knowledge, wanting to be non-exclusive, for everyone) and progressiveness (modern insights from flying sports, sidemount back then, adult water familiarization, and much, much more). No more boundaries, and especially no more walls between people who also happen to like 'watching fish' . Sorry, I hate polarization. Especially when it comes to our sport.
My next years were filled with crazy travels and intense dives with even more intense guys. Nick Toussaint (MEX) and Sergi Perez (ES) and other top colleagues showered me with their experience . Together we made friends from all over the world during our diving projects. FUN was central , and this was only possible with the right training, the right equipment and enough diving. I could especially identify with the friendliness among divers from all possible organizations, whether they were just starting out or were already exploring all the limits of diving.
More Silver-more, D-Burgers, fairs
It happened regularly that I drove back and forth to Tuscany (ITA) by car for a weekend of diving or to pick up some new gear. Or took the plane for a few days at a diving fair or congress. I participated in some DAN research projects (including decompression, PFO , etc.). But I could always dive at places that were not everyday or were in the diving holiday brochures. I also strongly recommend them to customers and diving friends and in return I also train foreign divers in this way who are sent by my 'homies' from abroad. Zeeland is nice, but sharing an apartment in Spain or Denmark with seven friends for 75 euros per day (not per person but all together) and a cheap Ryanair flight. Yes, please. Those were the days ;-)
In the meantime I am in my forties and more than ever a Belgian diver . For a number of years I ran the diving centre at the Zilvermeer in Mol . In this way I had the pleasure to get to know many of our online diving friends, diving organisations and professionals even better. Through events, BBQs, meetings. We did wonderful things together.
Diving is expensive, Belgium, shop
I beam when you talk to me about those exotic adventures. But I consciously refused the chance to 'work' abroad. Diving is a hobby and the good Belgian life, family and friends have kept me here. Made sure that I declined to help open a diving center in Mexico, for example, or had to live from lectures or training. Diving in other waters than ours should be something to look forward to. Life under the sun is sometimes presented as more romantic than it is.
Just give me our iced coffee water and a regular trip to that other one. I still blossom when I can pass on some experience. Or help divers buy the right equipment. Isn't diving expensive ? I was a promising footballer who got shoes and shin guards from mom and dad. But they thought diving was a dangerous choice. I had to save up for that material myself. I succeeded! The only thing that made my diving expensive were bad purchases. And that is exactly what I want to protect my customers from.
Like our Facebook page and stay informed!Just dive into it !
Kristof D.
* ENG: descend, descender, dive center, decent
* NL: descend, diver, diving center, solid