Richard Emslie – PADI MSDT Richard is one of the Resort Managers in Puerto Galera. After completing his divemaster course in the UK, the warm waters of the philippines were more appealing for his Instructor and MSDT! The majority of Richard's diving has been here in the Philipines where he has visted Tubataha Reef in the South China Sea, Apo Reef, Boracay and Dumaguette including Apo Island and Siquior. Born in South Africa, but lived mainly in the UK, Richard's love of the sea and sunshine has brought him to Atlantis Puerto Galera to join the managment team. He has a degree from the UK in Law and Criminology, with past management experience; when not working you will find him underwater or occassionally at the 50 bar where he is always happy to buy you a cold beer!

Matt Reed – TDI Instructor Trainer Matt is one of the Resort Managers in Dumaguete, as well as the driving force behind Atlantis Tech's exploratory expeditions. As an experience technical diver and instructor trainer Matt has trained with some of the world's best, and has worked as a diver in some enviable locations including The Red Sea, Belize, Dominican Republic, Palau, Truk Lagoon, and of course the UK(not sure how enviable that is!). His current diving sees him exploring new sites around the Dumaguete area, and looking for new leads on Philippine caves. Matt is originally from England and has a degree in Audio Technology as well as an NVQ in Engineering; when he's not working Matt likes to spend time with his dive dog Lumpy, and his new family including daughter Lilja, who he is working on turning into a tech diver as soon as possible! As a constant fashion victim Matt is proud to have been the one to start the Atlantis trend for shaved heads amongst the dive team, now seen modelled by many DMs and instructors such as Mike Taylor; one of Matt's proteges.

Pedro Magsino – PADI Course Director Among young active Course Directors in the world, probably very few grew up on a beach in the Philippines. Pedro is locally raised in and educated and begun his career as a tank boy in 1993. Today he is training other instructors and running one of the most successful dive teams in the country. Like so many in our team in Puerto Galera, Pedro has amassed thousands of dives in the area and his claim to fame is the sunfish he once spotted at Dry Dock. He's known for his cheeky smile and will be around to make sure your dive trip runs smoothly - if you can't find him in the dive shop, sniff the air for pizza and that will lead you to Pedro. Pedro is still single so watch out!

Birgert "Bigsy" Eggert – PADI MSDT Bigsy or Mam Bigs as she’s fondly referred to by Dumaguete staff has been with Atlantis since May 2007. She came to the resort first as a guest and loved the place so much that she decided to move here and take on position of Resort Manager. Not only is she resort manager, but also an accomplished PADI Instructor, successful business owner, and overall guru of the dive industry in general. Bigs has been a dive shop owner/operator for 10+ years, and has dived all over the world’s best rated dive destinations. Although originally from Germany, Bigs lived in Sydney, Australia for 12 years and will be the first to state that she’s an Aussie at heart. You’ll find Bigs around the resort chatting with guests, and always putting a smile on people’s faces with her attempts at the local language “Sus talaga”!

Rolando "Oman" Malibiran – PADI IDC Staff Instructor Known as “Oman” or “Allan”, Rolando was born and raised just a stone's throw from the resort in Puerto Galera. Allan particularly enjoys teaching and will make sure you get the most from any course; he also enjoys taking photographers out to find all those things you'd miss without an experienced guide. Allan has been diving since 1996 and manages the divemasters in Atlantis. You may find him on the basketball court from time to time. He is also quite a productive young man, father of four young boys.

Michelle Harrison – PADI Specialty Instructor Michelle is the newest addition to Atlantis Dumaguete. She recently joined the dive team in 2007 after finally getting tired of teaching in the frigid waters of Canada’s West coast and made the decision to uproot and move to Dumaguete in search of warm tropical waters. It was time to retire the drysuit! Michelle loves the thrill of drift diving, big fish, and is always the first one to swim in the middle of a big school of jacks or barracuda! She currently holds 5 specialties in addition to her open water instructor credentials and can be found around the resort or on the water teaching her students and always trying to make people laugh – usually at the expense of herself! In her spare time, you’ll find Michelle sunning herself on the beach, or heading out for a night on the town with the locals.

Rufo Magsino – PADI MSDT Instructor Rufo Magsino joined Atlantis in early 2003, and has rapidly become one of our most popular dive guides. His laid back attitude, together with his ability to find underwater critters makes him your perfect buddy! Finding tiny critters for macro photographers is what he loves most. Rufo is from Big Lalaguna, just around the corner, and married with two young children, Janssen and Joanne. He plays the guitar and enjoys the occasional game of chess when he's not working. He's also a very keen runner, sometimes those running shoes come on twice a day.

Marco Inocencio – PADI Divemaster Marco's background in marine biology made him the perfect choice for the dive team in Atlantis Dumaguete. Despite this being his first foray into the recreational diving industry, Marco is no stranger to the underwater world. He has been diving around Central Visayas as a field research assistant for the Silliman University Marine Laboratory and for Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation. He has also done some diving in Northern Palawan, where he worked for a pearl farm. Guests who dive with Marco always know when he’s found something good! You can hear his giggle from meters away underwater when he’s excited!

Mike Taylor – TDI Instructor Mike is originally from the UK. He first became interested in tech diving whilst helping to lead a 10 week wreck diving expedition, which circled the globe. Suffice to say that the need for further training became ‘apparent’ whilst diving at 55m (200ft) on a single tank on the President Coolidge in Vanuatu. We’ve all done it, the wise learn from experience. John Bennett introduced Mike to Atlantis Tech in 2003 and the rest is history. Mike is a TDI instructor teaching all the way up to Advanced Trimix including Advanced Wreck. He has experience diving all over the world in a variety of conditions, but his real passion is for diving wrecks. So don’t get him started or he’ll be showing you his photos before you know it!

Manuel "Wing Wing" Pontillas – PADI Divemaster Ask any Atlantis Dumaguete guest who has dived with Wing Wing before, and they will most certainly tell you that this guy has an eye like no other. Also known as “The Hawk”, Wing is the fellow you want to dive with if in search of the well hidden, and well camouflaged. Not only does he spot these critters, but he does it from 10 meters away!! A Dumaguete local born and raised Wing has been diving around the Visayas for many years. Prior to becoming a divemaster Wing used to work as a fisherman and so his knowledge of the water and ability to read conditions from the boat is invaluable. Wing is always willing to hang out in Toko’s bar after a day’s diving to chat with guests and make new friends and on his off days, he opts for rest and relaxation with his girlfriend Merlinda.

Martiniano Magsino – PADI Divemaster t took Martiniano 8 years of working in a dive shop in Puerto Galera, before he got his act together and became a divemaster. Just like Rufo and Pedro, he is from Big Lalaguna – a village ten minutes from the resort. He is married with one daughter, Danielle Anne. And like most, he is keen on basketball and having a drink with his mates. It was worth it becoming a divemaster though. Last year Martiniano was one of two lucky divemasters who spotted a couple of hammerhead sharks at Kilima steps, a divesite that since then became his favorite. When he's not in the water, you'll find him in the workshop fixing regulators or anything else we throw at him.

Juderson "Bala" Cusi – PADI Divemaster Most Philippino Divemasters have a nickname, Juderson was renamed “Bala” a long time ago. It means Bullet and the reason for it is something you'll have to ask Bala about on your next visit. Bala became a Divemaster in Puerto Galera early 2005 and devotes most of his time to diving. However, since his wife blessed him with a baby girl, he spends more time at home. We are pleased to see that baby Jasmin Iris has inherited her good looks from her mother! Favorite divesite is Hole in the Wall, because Bala likes it when there's lots of schooling fish everywhere, in particular the shy Clown Triggerfish.

Rustian Malibiran – PADI Divemaster Rustian Malibiran is one of our youngest local divemasters, brother of Rolando and a local talent – both when it comes to diving and entertaining in the bar in Puerto Galera! His favorite dives are adrenaline pumping drift dives with big trevallies but he also enjoys sandy bottoms where he can find critters that are very well camouflaged. Being a divemaster allows him to meet lots of people – which he loves – talking and sharing his culture with guests. Outside Atlantis, Rustian is a big basketball fan, he plays in the local team, but he's also quite happy to relax in front of the TV.

Jerry Castillo – PADI Divemaster Originally filling tanks in 2005, Jerry was so keen on diving that Atlantis just had to let him get on with it! A few months later he shaved his head and became a proper member of the diving staff in Puerto Galera... Jerry is happy to chat to divers from different places when he's not diving, but sometimes he'll be playing chess, scrabble or basketball with his friends or just stay at home reading and listening to music. A big fan of wall diving, Jerry will take you to Sinandigan wall and play with the Clownfish there. Why? “There so cute!”.

Augusto “Goto” Roberto Alparce – PADI Divemaster Also known as “GOTO” which is a local name for a Monitor Lizard in the southern part of the Philippines. Raised in the province of Bicol which is well known for the majestic Mayon Volcano, whalesharks and Manta rays. He started diving when he was 14 years old , has a degree in marine transportation and worked before in a resort in Masbate and diving with manta rays and whalesharks. He loves the rush of adrenaline in drift diving and always mesmerized by the magnificence of the Alma Jane Wreck. You will always recognize him for he will surely greet and chat with you, and always give you a smile. You can always find him in the multimedia room in front of his computer.

Henry “Vod's” Cabuhal - PADI Divemaster When Henry was driving boats for a neighboring dive shop in Puerto Galera, they taught him to dive as a special treat – but without actually certifying him. When we threw him in the pool on his OW course, our jaws fell down with amazement at how good he was. Now a Divemaster, he doesn't just have supreme buoyancy but is also very lucky: One of very few who's seen a manta ray in the Canyons. Not surprisingly, he likes big fish – trevallys, sweetlips – whatever you can find on deep drift dives. When he's not around, he can be found playing basketball in one of the local teams, or watching movies at his parent's house in Big Lalaguna.

Pablo “Ambo” Tegio - PADI Divemaster Funny man Ambo used to be our worst boatman, so we decided to promote him to divemaster instead! If there is something Ambo is very good at besides diving and boat driving, it's making people laugh. He's a local from Puerto Galera, even though he went to school in Manila, and is married to Grace with whom he has Thristan Emmanuel, who is cute as a button. He enjoys the good things in life – singing, dancing, eating chicken Adobo, and meeting new friends of course! His lifestyle reflects on his diving, he prefers shallow and easy dives like the Sabang wrecks where he can hover calmly over frogfish and seahorses.

Vernie Duran – PADI Divemaster Vernie has been a Divemaster in Dumaguete since 2005, after some years divemastering all over the Philippines. His nick name is “Eagle Eye”, because Vernie knows how to smell, detect and spot even the tiniest little critters hidden underneath the sand. Just ask him, and he will find you almost anything to fill up your camera card. Vernie is married to Estrella, and they have three girls, Verchi, Kirsten and Chawa.

Philip Nolan Castillo – PADI Divemaster Philip is one of our homegrown Divemasters. His interests outside diving include basketball and other sports and Philip hopes to travel later on. Philip enjoys deep diving, as well as looking for big fish like sharks and rays - so follow him!

Gabriel ”Gaby” Villarete Flores – PADI Divemaster Some of you might have been diving with Gaby many times in Dumaguete and recognize his big smile, but it’s not until recently that he has become a regular member of the dive team. He has Divemaster experience from most dive areas in the Visayas. Gaby enjoys shallow water reefs but admits to also like the adrenalin pumping dives at drop offs or in strong drifts. Gabi is engaged to his longtime girlfriend Elfie and the two are expecting the arrival of their first child in late 2008.

Lumpy – Dive Dog Lumpy has been a regular member of the dive team for almost three years now. And even though he refuses to actually do any diving in the water, he’s taken part in so many dive classes, dive briefings and snorkel tests that he’s become an invaluable member. Lumpy will also make sure that divers keep fit, by eating their left overs from lunch and letting himself be chased around the resort. He will also often warm up cold diver’s feet by actually sleeping on them in the classroom.