TOM STEINER VAN DEN OUWEELEN
Teaching diving for me is more than a lifestyle; it's my passion and it's a part of me.
“One important key to extreme diving is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is training and to never overestimate your self-confidence...”
— Tom Steiner
Technical Diving Instructor Trainer • Explorer • Expedition Leader
Tom Steiner van den Ouweelen is one of the world's most experienced Technical Diving Instructor Trainers and Course Directors, with more than four decades dedicated to diving education, exploration, and expedition leadership.
Born in Switzerland in 1965, Tom discovered diving in Barbados in 1979 before continuing his training in the cold waters of Lake Geneva. This demanding environment shaped the disciplined and methodical approach that has become his trademark as an instructor.
Today, Tom has accumulated more than 17,000 dives, including over 2,500 hours on rebreathers, more than 5,500 cave dives, over 6,000 dives between 40 and 100 metres, and numerous dives beyond 100 metres. His experience spans caves, deep wrecks, rebreathers, ice diving, expedition diving, and technical exploration across the globe.
A full-time diving professional for more than 36 years, Tom has trained recreational divers, technical divers, instructors, and instructor trainers from every continent. His teaching philosophy is simple: demanding training creates confident, skilled, and safe divers.
Throughout his career, Tom has held senior instructional and examiner positions with numerous international training agencies, including TDI/SDI, PADI TecRec, CMAS, IANTD, ANDI, BSAC, ISE, EDA, NRC, PROTEC, and INNERSPACE Explorers. His multilingual ability—speaking seven languages fluently—has enabled him to teach thousands of divers worldwide.
Tom's expertise extends well beyond recreational diving. He has trained astronauts at the European Space Agency (ESA), delivered rebreather programmes for the Greek Navy and Coast Guard, and instructed military, scientific, and professional divers in advanced technical procedures.
His expedition and safety experience includes organising the AIDA Freediving World Championship in Switzerland, leading underwater safety operations for 48 athletes in 4°C water, and acting as safety diver for world-renowned freedivers including Loïc Leferme, Fred Buyle, Şahika Ercümen, William Turbridge and Sarah Campbell. He also supported legendary deep diver Pascal Bernabé during his trimix training and record-attempt preparations.
Tom has contributed to numerous technical diving innovations, including developing one of the industry's first Technical Sidemount training programmes. He has written and translated books on Nitrox and Rebreather diving and participated in several diving documentaries, including 330 Metres Below the Sea and movies like 22 Minutes.
Before relocating to Malta, Tom spent sixteen years in Egypt, where he managed Dahab Divers Lodge before founding two renowned technical diving centres: Fantaseatec and Dahab Divers Technical.
In 2026, Tom served as Explorer-in-Residence and expedition leader during the inaugural organised technical diving expedition along Greenland's west coast, navigating from Nuuk to Ilulissat aboard an icebreaker. The expedition is believed to have been the first organised diving exploration of this remote coastline.
Today, Tom is based on Gozo, Malta, where he operates Gozo Technical Diving, specialising in advanced technical, cave, sidemount, and rebreather training. During the European winter, he teaches and leads expeditions around the world.
Experience at a Glance
17,000+ dives
2,500+ hours on rebreathers
5,500+ cave dives
6,000+ dives between 40–100 metres
250+ dives between 100–150 metres
5 dives beyond 150 metres
Diving since 1979
Full-time professional instructor for 37+ years
Technical, Cave & CCR Instructor Trainer
Expedition leader and explorer
Based on Gozo, Malta
TOM STEINER
TDI and SDI Instructor and Course Director Trainer #9045
PADI Instructor Trainer #920652
OFFICIAL RAZOR Instructor #41
PHILIPP OTTO BREICHA
Scubadiving is like space traveling. you are in fascinating but quixotic surroundings – completely depending on your equipment. and if you can manage it – you are totally weightless
Philipp was born in 1966 in Austria and raised in Vienna. Since his childhood, he was fascinated by the underwater world but, due to a perforated eardrum he was not allowed to dive. During his time, he spent endless hours exploring the shallow waters and the shorelines during his family vacations in Croatia.
As soon as he got the medical go ahead, he started training and became addicted to diving. In 2007, he became a Divemaster and in 2008 he reached the Assistant Instructor rating.
In 2010 he became a partner of Under Pressure at the Attersee in Austria and became an Instructor in 2011 after finishing his IDC with Ben Walzinger and the IE by Dive Asia in Phuket. Since 2012, he spends his time on the fascinating island of Gozo. In 2018 he got the opportunity to become part of Gozo Diving, leading recreational diving activities. He now spends two months in spring and two months in autumn on Gozo.
Total number of dives: +2000
First dive: 2006
Training agency: SDI/PADI
Dr. THOMAS LOUVRADOUX
“Learn, Practice and Master. Put the ego on the side and become the best diver you can be!”
Thomas is a Technical Diving Instructor and co-owner of Gozo Technical Diving. Originally from France, he combines a scientific background with a passion for exploration, training, and technical diving.
Holding a PhD in Quantum Physics, Thomas brings a methodical, analytical approach to diving education. His teaching philosophy is simple: understand the theory, master the skills, and build confident, capable divers through structured and high-quality training.
Thomas is an active technical diver with extensive experience in deep open-circuit and closed-circuit diving. He is qualified as a Full Trimix Diver and Full Cave Diver and regularly dives both open-circuit and rebreather systems.
His current rebreather qualifications include:
TDI Mixed Gas CCR MOD 3 on the Triton CCR
TDI Mixed Gas CCR MOD 3 on the JJ-CCR
TDI Mixed Gas CCR MOD 2 on the Divesoft Liberty Sidemount CCR
As an instructor, Thomas teaches:
TDI Open Circuit Technical Diving up to Full Trimix
TDI Full Cave Diving
Triton CCR Rebreather Courses
Having spent years training with some of the industry's most respected instructors, Thomas remains committed to continuous development, both as a diver and educator. Whether teaching a diver's first technical course or guiding experienced divers towards advanced cave or trimix qualifications, his focus remains the same: safety, precision, and building long-term competence.
Qualifications & Experience
PhD in Quantum Physics
TDI Full Trimix Diver
TDI Full Cave Diver
TDI Mixed Gas CCR MOD 3 (Triton CCR)
TDI Mixed Gas CCR MOD 3 (JJ-CCR)
TDI Mixed Gas CCR MOD 2 (Divesoft Liberty Sidemount CCR)
TDI Open Circuit Trimix Instructor
TDI Full Cave Instructor
Triton CCR Instructor
Diving Statistics
2,000+ dives logged
Extensive experience between 40m and 100m
Training Agency: SDI / TDI
First Dive: 2005
MATT JEVON
“Don’t train until you get it right, train until you can’t get it wrong”
Diving since 1989 Matt is qualified and experienced in diving and teaching new starters to CCR, through to full hypoxic mixed gas courses to 100m+ and he wrote the bailout CCR course for TDI. Primary Units are the JJ-CCR and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount
Matt engages in as much expedition and fun diving as he does teaching. You get to learn from Matt’s experiences as well as the course standards. Matt teaches for TDI and ANDI through GOZOTECHNICALDIVING and his own 5 star TDI dive centre and ANDI facility in Kinsale, Ireland, South West Technical Diving (www.swt.ie).
Matt teaches in some amazing dive centres around the world on request, but has a special place in his heart for Gozotechnicaldiving. He authors a Facebook page, Psychological skills for diving and works outside of diving in high performance sport and business. A qualified sports psychologist and performance expert, Matt brings these expereinces to his diving teaching. A certified Deco nerd, you can be certain of access to the very latest in safe and best decompression practice. Trained and assessed as a diver and instructor by some of the world’s best, Matt aims in his teaching to pass on these experiences in diving and high performance environments, into your CCR training.
Matt’s personal diving has included cave exploration in the Philippines, wreck projects in Croatia and Ireland as well as running expeditions to Truk, Bikini and more.
Dives: 8000+
Dives 40m to 145m – 3500+
Agencies SDITDI, ANDI, PADI
Qualifications: TDI Advanced Mixed Gas Instructor CCR, ANDI Expedition Level 5 Hypoxic Gas Instructor, TDI Full Cave Instructor, ANDI L5 CCR Cave Instructor. Hypoxic Trimix instructor OC. Cave and Tech DPV instructor. Bailout CCR instructor. SDI Course Director