MATT BOLTON - PADI Course Director #463559

General Manager and Resident PADI Course Director Matt is one of the few Asian based Course Directors to have been selected to attend the prestigious Course Director Training Course at PADI HQ in California.

Matt originally joined Crystal Dive in 1999 and quickly became Head Instructor at the resort.

Teaching all levels of PADI courses and building up an extensive knowledge of the local dive scene, Matt became Operations Manager in 2003, quickly developing the Resort into a 5 Star Instructor Development Center.

During this period he worked alongside some of the region’s leading Course Directors giving him a unique insight into various teaching styles within PADI IDC's.

Boasting a wealth of teaching experience throughout the PADI System, Matt has now been involved with over 60 PADI IDC's certifying over 1,000 PADI Professionals plus over 1,500 PADI divers.

As well as boasting over 6 years management experience with one of Thailand's premier scuba diving operations, Matt has 18 Instructor Trainer Specialty ratings as well as being an EFR Primary, Secondry and Care for Children Instructor Trainer.

Matt is also the only Koh Tao Course Director to attend the 3 Day 2005 PADI Business of Diving Seminar's, an exclusive PADI Developmental program aimed at the industry's business leaders.

As Crystal grew in popularity, Matt employed an Operations Manager and moved into a new position, concentrating more on the business side, answering e-mails, devising new marketing strategies as well as new educational initiatives such as the introduction of the Environmental & Conservation curriculum and Technical diving at Crystal.

He continues to spearhead the Instructor Development Programs at the school working alongside fellow PADI Course Directors Kenji Takahashi & Justin Mayers.

In 2008, after 5 years of hard work both Matt and Crystal began to receive recognition from within the industry. Invited to the Asia Dive Expo in Singapore as a guest speaker at the "Business Solutions for the Future" conference hosted by PADI Asia Pacific Matt was also on hand to receive the prestigious "Diver Training" award on behalf of Crystal Dive Resort who became the first, and to this point only Koh Tao based dive operation ever to win an award at the PADI Members Awards.

Crystal were also finalists in the "Marine Environmental" award & the "Instructor Development" award becoming the first Dive center ever to receive three nominations at one awards ceremony.

2009 has started off where 2008 finished with the recent news that Crystal Dive has also been awarded the Project AWARE Environmental Achievement, an award given out annually by Project AWARE a nonprofit environmental & conservation organization.

click HERE to read an open letter from Matt >>

IDC Koh Tao @ Crystal Dive IDC Resort
Mae Haad Beach, Koh Tao, Thailand
Tel; +66 77 456107 Fax: +66 77 456105
m@il: matt@idckohtao.com

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