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The man behind the scuba mask

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Contributed by: Erin Feese/YourHub.com on 3/14/2008

Editor's note: Visit our Faces of South Metro page, where YourHub.com staff and readers can introduce you to more people who make this part of the metro area what it is.

After spending all morning in a classroom learning about scuba diving, the class of budding divers is itching to get in the pool. Instructor Michael Savino has spent the last four hours going over equipment and safety procedures and quizzing the class on their underwater knowledge.

Now the group is ready to put that knowledge to the test. Savino smiles and asks, "Ready to get wet?"

With visions of tropical vacations dancing in their heads, the small group quickly changes into bathing suits. Savino helps them get outfitted with all the necessary gear: air tank, regulator, fins, mask, air gauge, vest, weight belt.

Savino is a scuba instructor at Underwater Phantaseas, 6860 S. Clinton Court in Greenwood Village. The colorful dive shop does indeed feel like an underwater fantasyland; visitors are greeted with a larger-than-life mural of a scuba diver exploring a coral reef, and scuba gear is stocked floor to ceiling. Scuba enthusiasts only need to venture down a flight of stairs to find the pool, which is the largest dedicated dive training pool in Colorado.

Savino, who has been diving for 20 years and an instructor for two, is happiest when he is on the water or under it. The Coast Guard-licensed boat captain has been sailing and diving all over the world.

"The combination of sailing and diving, it's pure pleasure," he says.

Despite being landlocked, Colorado is home to the third largest population of American scuba divers, after California and Florida, Savino says.

The basic scuba class typically runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. over a weekend, eight hours in the classroom and eight in the pool, Savino says.

Before the class is allowed in the pool, Savino explains how to assemble the complicated mass of equipment. He leans over an air tank, turns it on with a soft hiss and demonstrates how to sample the air supply to make sure it is safe to breathe.

"In the U.S., you're usually pretty safe, but in Third World countries, you never know what you might get," he says.

Training safe divers is his top priority, he says.

During the training, participants set up and break down their equipment at least five times, Savino says.

After class participants pass a 200-yard swim test, it's time to practice breathing underwater. Savino guides the class in practicing different scenarios, such as how to share air with your dive buddy if you run out, and how to recover your air source if it is kicked out of your mouth.

Savino catches one participant with his mask pushed up on his forehead. Savino good-naturedly reminds him the proper way to wear it while not in use is around his neck.

"I have to break you of bad habits now," he says. "All it takes is one little wave, and that mask is swept away."

After eight hours of instruction, Savino's day isn't over. He is scheduled to host a scuba birthday party for a group of 8-year-olds.

For Savino, the reward is sharing his passion for scuba.

"It's about getting them past their nervousness and excited about diving," he says. "It's really fun to introduce this sport to other people."

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