MEET Andy Silverman

Andy is the founder and owner of Columbus Scuba. He got his start as an instructor with Scuba Schools International. He then transitioned to the first accredited certifying agency, YMCA SCUBA, earned the rating of Instructor Trainer and was asked to serve on the National Advisory Committee in program development and standards while continuing as the technical advisor for the East Coast region.
In 2011, Andy received the prestigious Platinum Pro 5000 award. Only a select few of the most elite and prominent divers in the world have achieved this award. He has also been awarded ELITE 300 by PADI and is 1 of the 52 instructors out of 136,000 world-wide dive professionals to earn this award.
Andy spent almost a decade as the advisor for the diving program at International Field Studies in Andros, Bahamas which hosts the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world along with beautiful oceanic and inland Blue Holes and caves.
Andy sits on the Advisory Board for International Nitrox and Technical Diving (IANTD) and holds the rating of Instructor Trainer-Trainer and serves as a Course Director and Instructor Trainer with the most recognized training agency worldwide, Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
Andy continues to work with leading equipment manufacturers with field testing and product development. Sidemount diving is Andy’s training passion. He enjoys wrecks, caves and collecting submerged fossils.
Andy is blessed with a phenomenal staff and family. Today he enjoys watching his team grow to become the most outstanding dive educators and accomplished divers that he ever could have imagined.
Thank you for choosing Columbus Scuba, and congratulations on choosing diving as your next endeavor. Diving has been such an important part of my life, on a physical, social, and even spiritual level.
Diving has allowed me to travel the world from Southeast Asia – Australia, Philippines, and Indonesia to the caves of North Florida and rock quarries in the Midwest. I’ve had the opportunity to search for fossils in South Carolina rivers and dive with my amazing children in dozens of the beautiful islands of the Caribbean.
It’s been said, “Scuba divers are the only true explorers left on earth.” While the vast majority of earth is covered with water, we have only tapped into a small percentage of all available to be explored.
The ocean has a very similar composition to that of man, yet we know so little about what really lies beneath the surface. The fact is that just about every living land organism has originated over time from the ocean. The ocean is constantly moving and changing both over long and short periods of time.
Some depths have not yet been reached, and there may be life that has not yet been identified. There are shipwrecks, rich in history, that have disappeared and are waiting to be uncovered, and caves that riddle many of the landmasses we walk on that appear never to end.
Underwater exploration dates back thousands of years and has evolved into a giant industry today. Many men and women have devoted their lives to exploring the aquatic world, and some of their lives have even been lost due to their perseverance.
What we do know is this…. The ocean is beautiful and the ocean is spectacular. Diving is the catalyst to exploring the variety of aquatic environments that lie right at our fingertips. Columbus Scuba welcomes you to begin or continue your journey to visit this mysterious underwater world.
My “journey” is far from over and what drives me most is sharing it with my friends and family! Come join our amazing family and you’ll see exactly what I’m describing. We look forward to diving with you!
Best regards and safe diving!
Andy Silverman
Owner and Dive Educator
What sets Columbus Scuba apart is the culture that we’ve built. What we do underwater is wonderful but a great deal of the magic happens topside.
There is no secret that the Columbus Scuba family continues to grow year after year regardless of the economy or current events. So many of our customers have really found a place to call their “family” and we’ve seen relationships build, marriages form and even children born as a result of this family feel.
Camping and cookouts at the quarries throughout the summer months bring an entire new dynamic to diving. Columbus Scuba divers rush to the quarry every Friday afternoon to connect with our diving family, carrouse around the campfire and welcome the next new group coming to get certified. Its an amazing experience to watch this in motion.
Other stores, dive operators and training agencies have asked “how do you do it” and my response has never changed since I initiated Columbus Scuba. “I havent done anything. It’s the people we’ve attracted, you just have to come out and experience it for yourself to understand”.
It is the personalities of Columbus Scuba that make it what it is today. Some have been with me since 1999 and some are just joining us. Some have moved on to the military, sought jobs in diving internationally or have been relocated due to their careers. Regardless, they will always have a place to call home and we always look forward to seeing them when they return.
Somehow, Ive been connected with some of the most caring and energetic people I could ever hope to call my friends and have on my team. It’s a beautiful thing and we always look forward to meeting the next great person to join us.
See you out diving!
Andy
Meet The Team
Shelby Brown
Store Manager & IDC Staff Instructor
Shelby grew up in Delaware, Ohio. She was introduced to...
Gabe Walsh
Assistant to the Regional Manager & Open Water SCUBA Instructor
Gabe grew up in Upper Arlington, Ohio and started diving...
Cari Stahlman
Columbus Scuba Travel Coordinator and Divemaster
Cari grew up in Pennsylvania & upstate New York. She...
Mike Stahlman
Master Scuba Diver Trainer
In 2009 Mike started his certification through CSI at the...
Tina Fahy
Open Water SCUBA Instructor
Tina has been an OW instructor with CSI since June...
Paul Sherry
Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Originally from New Jersey, Paul has lived in Ohio since...
Matt Roehl
Master SCUBA Diver Trainer
Matt Roehl has yet to grow up and refuses to...
Richard Johnson
Master SCUBA Diver Trainer
Richard did a discover dive on a wreck while on...
Jenna Kreider
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Jenna grew up in Coshocton, Ohio and moved to Columbus...
Charles Nutt
Master Scuba Diver Trainer
From the first breath Charles took underwater he was hooked!...
TC Huang
Divemaster
Scott Thomas
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Scott joined the CSI family when he got certified 2013....
Abra Witzky
Open Water SCUBA Instructor
Abra grew up in Marysville, Ohio. She tried diving while...
Brenda Scurlock
SCUBA Mom
Born in Grundy, VA and raised in Columbus, OH., Brenda...
Jessica Granger
Divemaster
Jessica grew up in the New York City area. She...
Doug Hyland
Master Scuba Diver Trainer / Public Safety Diving Instructor
Doug grew up in Danville, Illinois. He began diving in...
Mitch Mazaher
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Mitch grew up in Nacogdoches & Galveston, Texas. Mitch has...
Paul Marquardt
Divemaster in Training
Paul grew up in Amherst, Ohio, until he was 12...
Kristen Boyd
Divemaster in Training
Kristen started diving in 2013 and immediately fell in love...
Shane Taylor
Divemaster
Shane Taylor is a Divemaster for Columbus Scuba and has...
Brody Crain
Divemaster in Training
Brody grew up in Newark, Ohio. His parents and brother...
Troy Walker
Divemaster in Training
Troy was certified for scuba in 1991 in Kissimmee, Fl. ...
Ari Rabkin
Divemaster in Training
Ari originally got certified in 2003 while in college. After...
Barry Bowen
Divemaster in Training
Barry always wanted to dive since he was a child....
Chris Medved
Divemaster
Chris was born In McKeesport, Pennsylvania, but grew up in...
Lynn Michael
Divemaster in Training
Doug Hyland introduced me to diving in 2012. Once I...
Robin Murray
Divemaster in Training
Robin fell in love with diving during a discover scuba...
Corey Davoll
Divemaster
Corey has been diving since 2016 and obtained his Divemaster...
Tom Woodruff
IDC Staff Instructor
Tom first became certified in 1985, and has been diving...
Jerry Perkins
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Jerry, Instructor, Mayor of CSI-ville, President of Mid-Ohio Dive Club,...
Jude Divierte
IDC Staff Instructor
Jude was born in NY, moved to Ohio in 1986,...
Allison Dawson
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Allison was born in Florida but grew up right here...
Herman Scurlock
Divemaster
Herman grew up in Grove City, Ohio. Because of his...
Shane Cooke
Tec Instructor
Shane is a graduate of OSU and avid outdoor enthusiast....
Chad Hill
Divemaster
Chad grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Growing up in Ohio,...
Kevin Cornelius
Divemaster
Kevin moved around a lot during his childhood, being part...
Chris Lexow
Divemaster
Chris grew up in the suburbs on the south side...
Gabby Kamps
Divemaster in Training
Gabby grew up in Jackson, Ohio. She grew up snorkeling...
Aaron Burkett
Divemaster in Training
Aaron grew up in Tiffin, Ohio. He started diving in...
Jeff Carius
Divemaster
Jeff grew up on the north side of Columbus and...
Mike Hicks
Open Water SCUBA Instructor
Mike grew up in Johnstown, Ohio. He and his friends...
Todd Case
Divemaster
Todd was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. At age 6, he...
Amanda Lexow
Divemaster
Amanda grew up in Brodhead, Wisconsin (along the Wisconsin/Illinois border)....
Devin Howard
Divemaster
Devin grew up in Perrysburg, Ohio (a suburb of Toledo)....
Shawn Boyd
Divemaster in Training
Shawn grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. Shawn had always...
Jon Heidenreich
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Jon grew up in Brunswick, Ohio (outside of Cleveland). Jon...
Kelly Menasco
Divemaster in Training
Kelly grew up in Lawton, Oklahoma. She started diving in...
Josh Ashley
Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Josh was born in Kinston, North Carolina, but spent most...
Marissa Stopski
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Marissa grew up in Morristown, Ohio. She has always loved...
Luke Streng
Divemaster in Training
Luke grew up in Marysville, Ohio. He decided to get...
Josh Moening
Divemaster
Josh grew up in Columbus Grove, Ohio – a small...
Rick Thien
Divemaster
Rick grew up in Minster, Ohio. He started diving when...
Mike Fenster
Divemaster in Training
Mike grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has been a...
Doug Vineyard
Divemaster in Training
Doug grew up in Springfield, Ohio. He has been curious...
Elizabeth Ingraham
Divemaster
Elizabeth grew up in Middletown, Ohio. She has always loved...
Matt Osterwyk
Assistant Instructor
Matt grew up in Flushing, Michigan and spent most of...
Stephen Rike
Divemaster
Stephen grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio – the best...
Mark Filippi
Divemaster
Mark grew up in Whitehall, Ohio. Mark’s interest in SCUBA...
Terri Hunt
Dive Master in Training
Terri grew up in Lancaster, Ohio. When she was growing...
Bryan Griffith
Master Scuba Diver Trainer/IDC Staff Instructor
Bryan grew up in Westerville, Ohio. He started diving in...
Megan McMillin
Divemaster
Megan grew up in New Hampshire. She started diving in...
Daniel Hingston
Divemaster
Dan grew up in Maize, Kansas. He earned his Open...
Jim McMillin
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Jim grew up on the west side of Columbus, Ohio....
Todd Toussant
Dive Master in Training
Todd grew up in Hartville, Ohio. Todd is a firefighter...
Tim Brown
Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Tim grew up in Medina, Ohio, just south of Cleveland....
Mike Lewellen
Divemaster
Mike grew up in Baltimore, Ohio. He earned his Open...
Leslie O’Donnell
Divemaster in Training
Leslie grew up in central Ohio, from 30 miles east...
Jody Brooks
Master Scuba Diver Trainer/IDC Staff Instructor
Jody was an army brat growing up, so he lived...
Gary Wilgus
Master Scuba Diver Trainer / Public Safety Diving Instructor
Gary grew up in Delaware, Ohio. He started diving in...
Bob Bolds
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Bob was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but moved around...
Scott Heidrich
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Scott grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He started diving through...
Valerie Marburger
Dive Master in Training
Valerie was an air force brat, so she moved all...
Scott Pansing
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Scott grew up in Logan, Ohio. He “unofficially” started diving...
Linda Pansing
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Linda grew up in Waldo, Ohio. She started diving in...
Stefan Stropki
Divemaster
Stefan was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but grew up...
Joe Mazik
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Joe grew up in Pickerington, Ohio. Joe started diving in...
Nick Carroll
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Nick grew up in Columbus, Ohio. He started diving in...
Megan Perkins
Divemaster
Megan grew up in New London, Ohio. She started diving...
Robert Olwin
Open Water Scuba Instructor
Bob grew up in New Carlisle, Ohio. He started diving...
Jose Navarro
Divemaster in Training
Jose grew up in the deep south of Pharr, Texas....