"I dive to help others enjoy a world ...very different to the one they are currently living in"

I learned to
1999
scuba dive
certified as
2001
tec trimix diver
became a
2004
diving instructor
became a
2007
course director
certified as
2008
sidemount cave diver
became a
2013
cave instructor

Steve Martin is one of the key people leading the field regarding the development of Sidemount diving. He built his experience through travelling and conducting courses all over the world.

Steve is one of the few dive industry professionals that receives sponsorship support from various diving manufacturers such as Fourth Element, Apeks and XDeep.

Steve is best known for having developed his world renowned Sidemount Essentials Course, it is his signature training program which now sets an industry benchmark.

His company Sidemount Scuba Diving was established in 2009, his website sidemounting.com provides us today with one of the biggest online resources on the subject of side mount diving.

Steve is no stranger to social media, his extremely popular facebook fan page and YouTube channel are among the highest ranked of their kind. In 2017 both channels had over 6000 active subscribers.

Steve’s true passion for this discipline is unmatched, he is possibly the only person that does not dive in or teach anything other than side mount configuration.



"I am one of the few people, lucky enough to find something I am truly passionate about !!"

Steve is highly experienced with all aspects of side mount diving; he regularly dives in a variety of differing environments including overhead; cave & wreck diving, deep technical diving and recreational ocean diving.

Due to Steve also frequently changing between warm & cold water environments, he has developed proficiency diving and teaching in both wetsuits and drysuits.

A lot of Steve’s success has been down to his unique teaching style, using GoPro video cameras he has taken video feedback to another level, it’s a fact that after training 95% of his students, not only continue diving 100% in sidemount configuration but also each student more than doubles their yearly number of dives!!

Steve is a firm believer that every instructor should be "raising the bar" by offering training to the best of their ability. He suggests that all instructors do equal amounts of diving for themselves, compared with how much they dive for work.

Steve said “I am one of the few people in the dive industry lucky enough to find something I enjoy and am truly passionate about!! I owe a lot to all the divers who train with me, so thank you all”

Steve has just released 2017, online training materials to support all levels of divers, using all types of open circuit configurations. He also appeared in January 2012 edition of Sport Diver Magazines article “Sidemount diving – the next big thing in British diving?” View here




Videos below are my must watch selection from my YouTube channel

I truly believe... "You are only as good as the last student you had the privilege to teach"

Why do you offer a money back guarantee ?

Having myself taken many training courses from a variety of instructors over the years, I have found that, while sometimes the course I paid for was enjoyable and did indeed meet my expectations, there were often occasions in which a course I enrolled in and paid for did not fulfil these same expectations and was not a rewarding or enjoyable experience.

In hindsight, my training development would have been a much more fulfilling and enjoyable experience had I taken the time out to properly research each individual instructor and their training philosophy's.

So I believe that you should retain the right to choose whether or not my teaching style and philosophy is the right one for you. I am confident in my teaching ability and understand that some people may choose not to continue their training. And so therefore, I am more then willing to spend the necessary time training with you, in order for you to make that decision.

I believe in always teaching to the best of my ability and I believe my training is more than worth your time and commitment. If you would like to know more, you can view what others have to say in the testimonials section.



You should be happy with what you pay for !!

My policy is, if you are not satisfied at the end of your first day, you reserve the option to cancel your further training days without further payment, no problems and no hard feelings.

If after day 1, you are 100% satisfied with my training then your in-water training continues. So for just one day of your time you get the chance to find out if I am the right person to be training you.

As a professional, I would much rather somebody be 100% satisfied with the training they receive than feel obligated to stick with something they are not necessarily happy with.