DIR Project Personnel
Jeremy Hoey - Founder
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Jeremy was lucky to have come across DIR early on in his diving: he took the GUE Fundamentals course with Dan Mackay in 2006, and hasn't looked back since.
Jeremy has since taken more advanced training, including GUE Cave 1 and GUE Tech 1. He has also recently discovered the joys of scooter diving. Most of his diving has been in BC, but he has also dived in Mexico, Florida, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Grenada and Tobago.
In his non-diving life, Jeremy is one of the founding partners at Atmosphere Visual Effects.
Jeremy is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization. He also takes special responsibility for developing and editing the website, organizing dive trips, and promoting The DIR Project in BC and beyond.
You can contact Jeremy at: jhoey@thedirproject.com
Mark Gottfried - Training Director
After years of searching for a dive philosophy that was more than just "every man for himself", and after participation in too many courses of very questionable quality, in 2005 Mark finally found his calling in DIR diving. The concept of a unified team of equally skilled divers conducting complex dives in a safe manner was irresistable to him, and the rest is history.
Mark brings a great deal of experience to the team: he has safely conducted 1,100+ cold-water dives and 500+ decompression dives, and is a UTD Technical Instructor. He has been a very active advocate for DIR on Vancouver Island, having successfully hosted several seminars and Demo Days at local dive shops. Mark was one of the first ten instructors accredited with Unified Team Diving (UTD).
In his non-diving life, Mark is a Physical Therapist, holding degrees from Charles University Prague and UBC.
As Training Director, Mark is responsible for overseeing the organizing and promotion of seminars and courses, and ensuring the accuracy of the website's technical content.
You can contact Mark at: mgottfried@thedirproject.com
Guy Shockey - Director of Projects
Guy has been diving since 1982, but is a relatively recent newcomer to DIR and has embraced it whole-heartedly: he has logged over 1200 DIR dives since taking DIR-F in early 2007, and has since also completed ANDI Level III Trimix, GUE Tech 1, GUE Tech 2 and GUE Cave 1. Guy is also a GUE Instructor who teaches GUE Fundamentals, GUE Primer, GUE Rec I, and the GUE Doubles and Drysuit courses..
Guy is also our resident expert in underwater videography, and can often be found with a camera mounted on his X Scooter. While the cold waters of BC are Guy's natural habitat, his cameras have also travelled with him to Truk Lagoon, the Cooke Islands, the Red Sea, Kona, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Bonaire, Belize, Cozumel, Florida and more.
In his non-diving life, Guy is the President of Modern Country Interiors and Octopus Point Furniture Company. He is also a former Canadian Forces military officer.
As Director of Projects, Guy is responsible for organizing and running our Special Projects. He is also our Mentor Coordinator for the Vancouver Island region.You can contact Guy at: gshockey@thedirproject.com
Chris Fenton - SREU Director
Chris was fortunate enough to discover the DIR diving philosophy almost immediately in his diving career. Diving since 2003, Chris has logged over 700 dives to date. A student of both technical and cave diving, Chris is certified at the GUE Tech 2 and Cave 1 levels. Chris has been interested in history and archaeology since an early age. As an avid diver, this interest naturally led him to British Columbia’s maritime history.
Most of Chris’ dives have been in the waters of B.C. but he has also been fortunate enough to explore the waters of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Jamaica, Mexico, and Florida.
In his non diving life Chris is a business student at the University of Victoria and involved in real estate sales and investment.
As the SREU Director, Chris is responsible for organizing and running the Shipwreck Research and Exploration Unit of the DIR Project. He is also active in mentoring new DIR divers on Vancouver Island.You can contact Chris at cfenton@thedirproject.com
Alan Johnson - Membership Director
As a highly-qualified DIR diver and the Manager of International Diving Center (one of BC's two DIR Project-approved shops), Alan is uniquely placed to ensure that new divers get off on the right foot. He has had great success bringing new DIR divers along, so who better to be in charge of Memberships?
Alan is currently a GUE Instructor Intern.
As the Membership Director, Alan is responsible for setting and enforcing standards for membership, and overseeing the growth of our membership.
You can contact Alan at: ajohnson@thedirproject.com
Kim Buschmann - Medical Director
Kim has been diving for over 30 years but only recently discovered DIR. Since embracing this style of diving he has completed GUE Fundamentals and is currently enrolled in GUE Tech I. Kim was a an Emergency, General Practise and Sports Medicine physician in civilian life prior to his joining the Canadian Forces. He is now an Advanced Diving Medical Officer, Submarine Medical Officer, and Flight Surgeon with the Canadian Forces. Kim brings 25 years of medical experience to the DIR Project and we are glad to welcome him aboard.
As the Medical Director, Kim is responsible for developing the DIR Project's emergency medical protocols, and providing general medical information to the DIR community.
You can contact Kim at: kbuschmann@thedirproject.com
Eric Snelgrove - Chief Technical Officer
Eric is a highly experienced diver with many years and over a thousand cold-water dives under his belt. He's one of our most active mentors, and he is also everyone's go-to guy for obscure technical information or anything to do with nuts, bolts, wrenches or MIG welders. His garage is the envy of all.
As the Chief Technical Officer, Eric is responsible for coordinating any and all efforts that increase our technical capacity as an organization, including arranging courses, building gas blending facilities, etc..
You can contact Eric at: esnelgrove@thedirproject.com