Our Team

Why Louisville Dive Center?

Professional Dive Training in Louisville

Meet Our

Louisville Diving Instructors

RUSTY DAVIS

Course Director

Rusty has been diving with Louisville Dive Center since his wife Shelly enrolled them in scuba classes as a Christmas gift in 1994. He became a NAUI instructor in March of 2003 and added instructor ratings with SSI, SDI, ASHI and DAN over the next few years. In 2005 Rusty became a NAUI Instructor Trainer. Also in 2005, he earned his Captain's License through the United States Coast Guard. Rusty's experience in scuba instruction varies from open water & try SCUBA classes up through leadership & public safety. He also serves on the NAUI membership committee. He has had opportunities to dive environments from cold-water inland quarries to exotic tropical dive destinations like the Caymans, Hawaii, and Clark’s Cay Honduras. Rusty holds a wealth of knowledge and experience and is able to answer any scuba question you may have. 

TONY LANTRIP

Course Director

Drawn by his love and fascination of the ocean and aquatic life, Tony has been a certified diver since 1987, but really became serious about diving in 1999. Since becoming a NAUI instructor in 2002, Tony has certified over 2000 students and holds SSI and SDI credentials as well. Tony currently is one of our two course directors and loves teaching everyone, from beginners to professionals. Tony’s favorite place to dive is either Crystal River for freshwater diving, or Cayman Brac for saltwater diving. Tony cherishes the relationships he has made diving and is passionate about sharing what he knows with the next generation of divers.

ANDREA VIVONA

Instructor

Andrea grew up loving water and watching diving shows and ocean documentaries. This led to lifelong love of diving. She has been a diver for fourteen years and a PADI instructor for five. Her favorite dive location is Okinawa, Japan but she enjoys our local quarries and springs or wherever else she can get her “diving fix”. 

chad crick

CHAD CRICK

Instructor Trainer

Chad began scuba diving in 1996. He became an Instructor for the Louisville Dive Center in 2006 and completed his NAUI Instructor Trainer certification in 2007. Chad has extensive diving experience in Public Safety Diving, Underwater Search and Rescue/Recovery, and Underwater Investigations. He is the lead team instructor for the largest police department dive team in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which he has been a part of for over twenty years. While public safety diving has been his passion for years, Chad enjoys kicking back and diving for fun in the balmy waters of Cozumel Mexico.

dean sturgeon

DEAN STURGEON

Instructor

A lifelong lover of water since childhood, Dean has been a Divemaster for over ten years and an instructor since 2022. While not instructing new students at the Louisville Dive Center, Dean works as an instructor and public safety diver on the Louisville Metro Police Dive Team. While away from work you can always find Dean near the water. He is constantly searching for a new place to dive. These days his favorite dive location is Cozumel, Mexico. 

dwight thrailkill

DWIGHT THRAILKILL

Instructor Trainer

Originally from California, Dwight caught the dive bug in 1992 and has explored and traveled extensively since, diving in sites as far away as Micronesia. Dwight is passionate about tech diving and is extremely knowledgeable about his gear. He has been an Instructor Trainer at the Louisville Dive Center since 2005 and is our primary tech diving instructor. Away from diving, Dwight works for the largest cargo company in the world as an International Aircraft Dispatcher and when he’s not controlling airplanes you’ll find him tearing his jeep apart, underwater or planning his next vacation. 

KAYCEE RANNY

Instructor

Kaycee’s love for scuba began with a college course she took her sophomore year at Murray State University. That was eleven years ago. Now she’s one of our instructors and has been with us for several years. Her love for the ocean doesn't stop with scuba: Kaycee majored in environmental sustainability and conservation biology and loves teaching what she knows to her students. She focuses on photography, buoyancy and trim mastery in her classes, all in the effort to teach new divers how to enjoy our reefs in a safe sustainable way.

AIMEE MILLS

Divemaster

Aimee has been a diver since 2018 and has just recently become our newest Divemaster. Her love of water and aquatic life pushes Aimee to explore the underwater world. Her favorite dive location is Hawaii. Outside of the Louisville Dive Center, Aimee works as a public safety diver with the Louisville Metro Dive Team and has assisted in many search and rescue operations. 

ASHLEY DRURY

Divemaster

Ashley began diving seven years ago while attending Indiana University, where she studied animal behavior and marine conservation. After falling in love with the sport in college, she spent six months training for her Divemaster and guiding dives in Key Largo, Florida, which is still her favorite place to dive to this day. She has been a Divemaster for five years now and is on her way to becoming an Instructor. She also works in the shop managing our day to day operations. Outside the shop you can find her with her friends, acting in the local community theater.

chad ellis

CHAD ELLIS

Divemaster

Chad has been a diver for over twenty years and a PADI Divemaster for over ten. His passion for diving comes from the love he has for sharing the experience with others, especially new students. The community aspect of diving has always been what kept Chad teaching. He loves meeting new divers, sharing what he knows, and diving with new people. Chad’s favorite dive site is the Cathedral dive in Hawaii. 

DAMIAN OLIVER

Instructor

Damian has always been an avid diver since he started 21 years ago and has been part of the Louisville dive community for over a decade. He has been a divemaster for most of his time as a diver and became an instructor in 2022. His favorite place to dive will always be Wilmington, NC, where he dove for the first time. 

jim brady

JIM BRADY

Divemaster

Jim Brady was inspired to dive by a member of the Indiana State Police Dive Team when he was in middle school. It took him until a trip to Mexico in 2009 for him to get his first certification, but after that he was hooked. Once he got home he found the Louisville Dive Center and has been a Divemaster with us for the last three and half years. Outside of the shop, Jim works as a machinist and is also a professional photographer, a passion he loves to combine with diving. Like most, Jim is a fan of warm tropical waters, but enjoys challenging conditions like low visibility as well. 

mike langford

MIKE LANGFORD

Divemaster

Mike is one of our newest members to our team. He was inspired to start diving while snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef and was struck with the desire to go deeper and explore the reef from below. While the Great Barrier Reef remains Mike’s favorite dive site, he enjoys diving in the Florida Keys as a closer option. While out of the water, Mike works as a Software Developing Director, working on applications for the electric grid. 

ZANE BAZE

Divemaster

Zane is one of our newest divemasters and our newest diver. His love of the water and passion for the sport inspired him to become the best diver he could be. While not at the shop, Zane works as a farrier, making sure that horses around the country are happy and healthy.

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