What San Diego Divers does

San Diego Divers is a privately held, single-location scuba diving retail and training business founded around 1998 in Sorrento Valley, San Diego, California, approximately five miles from La Jolla Cove. The company operates as a NAUI Premier Dive Center, providing entry-level through instructor-level certification in both recreational and technical diving, including specializations in mixed gas, wreck exploration, scooter use, and underwater photo/video. It is also an approved Veterans Administration training provider under the GI Bill.

The business runs a full-service retail operation selling equipment from more than 20 manufacturers (including ScubaPro, Atomic, DUI, Halcyon, Shearwater, Suunto, and Fourth Element) and a parallel service and maintenance operation offering regulator overhaul, drysuit repair, tank hydro testing (DOT RIN I023 certified), and air/nitrox fills. Equipment rental spans full recreational packages, individual items, and technical gear such as drysuits, scooters, and double cylinders.

Revenue is generated from four one-time-transaction streams: retail product sales, certification course tuition, equipment rentals, and service/repair work. Customers are predominantly individual recreational divers, with additional segments in technical divers, aspiring dive professionals, and military veterans using GI Bill benefits. The storefront operates Tuesday–Sunday with Monday closure, complemented by an e-commerce site (powered by DiveShop360) for online purchases and course enrollment. There is no disclosed headcount, revenue, funding, or M&A activity.

Name

San Diego Divers

Legal name

San Diego Divers

Website

https://sandiegodivers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

San Diego Divers is a privately held, single-location NAUI Premier Dive Center in San Diego offering scuba equipment retail, certification training from beginner to instructor level, equipment rentals, and regulator/drysuit/tank service to recreational, technical, and veteran divers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scuba Diving Retail and Training Services

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940)

akta.pro primary industry

Dive Centers & Scuba Training (PADI/SSI, certifications) (THAAAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Diving & Snorkeling Retail (Scuba Gear) (CRAMAIAF), Scuba Diving & Freediving Centers (Training, Guided Dives) (THAAAKAD), Diving Experiences (Scuba Dives, Dive Trips, PADI/SSI Courses) (THAJAJAD)

Keywords

• Scuba diving equipment
• NAUI dive certification
• Scuba equipment repair
• Scuba gear rentals
• Technical diving training

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: Sale of scuba diving equipment including regulators, masks, fins, wetsuits, buoyancy compensators, computers, and accessories from multiple branded manufacturers.
2. Dive Training and Certification: NAUI certification courses from beginner to instructor level, including recreational and technical diving training.
3. Service and Maintenance: Regulator repair services, tank hydro testing, drysuit repairs, and air/nitrox fills.
4. Equipment Rentals: Daily and multi-day rental of scuba equipment including full recreational packages, individual gear items, and technical equipment.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

San Diego Divers is a full-service scuba diving retailer and NAUI Premier Dive Center that sells branded scuba equipment (regulators, BCDs, masks, fins, wetsuits, computers, tanks), delivers NAUI certification courses from entry-level Open Water through Instructor level including technical diving specializations, rents recreational and technical dive gear by the day, and provides repair and maintenance services such as regulator overhauls, drysuit repairs, tank hydro testing, and air/nitrox fills.

Product overview

San Diego Divers is a NAUI Premier Dive Center offering a comprehensive scuba diving retail and training operation. The business combines equipment sales (featuring brands like Akona, Atomic, DUI, Fourth Element, Halcyon, Henderson, Hollis, Ikelite, Light & Motion, ScubaPro, Sea n Sea, Sherwood, Shearwater, Si Tech, Suunto, Trident, TUSA, UK, Waterproof, Watershot, and XS Scuba) with professional training services spanning NAUI certifications from basic through instructor level, technical diving courses, equipment rental packages, and full-service repair capabilities including air fills, tank hydro testing, regulator overhaul, and drysuit repair. The company also supports military veterans through GI Bill-eligible training programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scuba Diving Equipment Retail Sale of branded scuba diving equipment including buoyancy compensators, regulators, masks, fins, wetsuits, dive computers/consoles/gauges, tanks, and accessories from manufacturers such as Akona, Atomic, DUI, Faber, Fourth Element, Genesis, Halcyon, Henderson, Hollis, Ikelite, Light & Motion, ScubaPro, Sea & Sea, Sherwood, Shearwater, Si Tech, Suunto, Trident, TUSA, UK, Waterproof, Watershot, and XS Scuba, sold to individual consumers in San Diego and online.
• NAUI Scuba Certification Courses NAUI-certified scuba training from entry-level Open Water through Instructor level, including Advanced Open Water, NITROX Diver, Rescue Diver, Master Diver, Refresher, Introduction to Technical Diving, and the Familiarization-Instructor-Testing (FIT) Program, delivered to individual divers in San Diego.
• Scuba Equipment Rentals Daily and multi-day rental of scuba equipment including full recreational packages, snorkel packages, and individual gear items such as wetsuits, booties, regulators, BCs, hoods, weights, fins, masks, snorkels, aluminum and HP steel tanks, plus technical rentals such as DUI drysuits, dive lights, HID canister lights, technical rigs, scooters/DPVs, double cylinders, and stage cylinders, for local and visiting individual divers.
• Equipment Service and Repair Full-service repair and maintenance including air and nitrox (up to 40%) fills, tank hydro testing at a DOT RIN (I023) certified facility, regulator overhaul and function testing, drysuit neck and wrist seal replacement, and leak testing, for individual scuba divers.
• GI Bill Eligible Dive Training Programs Veterans Administration-approved scuba training programs offered under GI Bill education benefits, covering NAUI certification from basic through instructor level, for U.S. military veterans.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Scuba.com / Leisure Pro: One of the largest online scuba equipment retailers in North America, carrying the same major brands (ScubaPro, Atomic, Halcyon, Shearwater) and competing head-on with San Diego Divers' e-commerce storefront on gear pricing and shipping coverage.
• Reef Scuba (San Diego): San Diego scuba shop offering equipment retail and dive training — overlapping service mix in the same local market that competes for entry-level and continuing-ed divers.
• Blue Water Divers & Swim Center (San Diego): San Diego-area scuba retailer and PADI dive center offering equipment, instruction, and repair services, broadly comparable to San Diego Divers across retail, training, and service revenue lines.
• Ocean Enterprises (San Diego): Local San Diego scuba center providing equipment sales, PADI training, and dive trips — a directly competing dive shop in San Diego with overlapping retail, training, and trip services.
• Dive Gear Express: Long-running online scuba gear retailer recognized for competitive pricing and broad inventory across regulators, BCDs, and accessories — directly comparable to San Diego Divers' equipment retail motion across overlapping brand lines.

Regional players

• Mike's Dive Store: UK-based online scuba retailer carrying similar premium brand portfolios and competing in the online-only segment that pressures San Diego Divers' e-commerce channel from a different geography.
• Pro Dive International: Multi-location scuba training and excursion operator with similar mix of retail, instruction, and technical diving specialization — relevant peer for revenue model and technical curriculum positioning.
• Divers Direct: Florida-based multi-store scuba retailer with both brick-and-mortar showrooms and e-commerce, serving a similar beginner-through-technical customer mix in a different coastal market — comparable business model and positioning.

Others

• NAUI Worldwide: The certifying agency whose Premier Dive Center status San Diego Divers leverages; an ecosystem counterpart whose brand, curriculum, and instructor-program economics directly shape the subject company's training economics.

Broad incumbents

• Scuba Schools International (SSI) Authorized Dive Centers: SSI is the principal competing certification agency to NAUI, and its affiliate dive centers represent San Diego Divers' closest functional peer in the scuba training market — same retail-plus-instruction model under a rival certifying body.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SanDiegoDivers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-diego-divers-supply-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Diego Divers