Hello!
Ok, firstly, my name isn’t really GAFFA! What? Shock Horror, there will be people exclaiming in the streets that I’m fibbing, but let’s give my parents some credit… ;-)
However, the nickname GAFFA which I have grown to love, and some might say even use as my alter-ego, did come about at a time of massive change and excitement for me! During the early days of my scuba diving training, my instructor, mentor and now good friend, Steve, decided that I talked too much (I know, I know it’s unsubstantiated rumour..), and in the interest of not slowing his courses down nicknamed me “GAFFA” and just to clarify why, Steve added: “…that’s right, after gaffa-tape…and if you keep talking I’m going to use it to tape you up..”
So the name, GAFFA, stuck… literally. Mysteriously and almost overnight I began finding labels on all of my dive gear, saying “GAFFA” or “Property of GAFFA”. How kind, the label fairies were looking out for my gear! So I adopted a new name, and by the time I was working as a Scuba Instructor I found myself introducing myself as such. It’s pretty cool when people start to use your name like a rockstar (Sting, Ke$ha, Madonna...GAFFA)….
When Win asked me to join her on her blog-writing journey as a co-writer, I actually felt a little nervous… I get to talk, to a universal audience, as much as I want? I’m in heaven!
So, what am I going to blog about and how will it enhance Win’s already amazing blog? Well I’m planning on continuing with the theme (Eat Travel Dive).
Eat. This seems like an easy one to me. I’ll talk about my recipes and food I love and try as I travel. I'll chuck in my favourite chef’s recipes as I go (I’m pretty certain Win has already mentioned my kitchen hero – Jamie Oliver). I’m totally pumped about trying food as we travel, all the cuisines of the world – if we can!
Travel. Well I’ll talk from the perspective of a male; adventurous, lots of adrenaline and a touch of culture. But mainly adventure! I may talk about the occasional pamper or spa day – you must take time out for yourself!
Dive. This is MY THING! I’m a PADI Master Instructor, with heaps of experience. I have this idea in my head that I want to start my own resort someday, so I’ll blog about the highs of the scuba world. I’ll also talk technical, about courses, equipment, technical diving, recreational diving, and of course becoming a scuba professional.
However, the nickname GAFFA which I have grown to love, and some might say even use as my alter-ego, did come about at a time of massive change and excitement for me! During the early days of my scuba diving training, my instructor, mentor and now good friend, Steve, decided that I talked too much (I know, I know it’s unsubstantiated rumour..), and in the interest of not slowing his courses down nicknamed me “GAFFA” and just to clarify why, Steve added: “…that’s right, after gaffa-tape…and if you keep talking I’m going to use it to tape you up..”
So the name, GAFFA, stuck… literally. Mysteriously and almost overnight I began finding labels on all of my dive gear, saying “GAFFA” or “Property of GAFFA”. How kind, the label fairies were looking out for my gear! So I adopted a new name, and by the time I was working as a Scuba Instructor I found myself introducing myself as such. It’s pretty cool when people start to use your name like a rockstar (Sting, Ke$ha, Madonna...GAFFA)….
When Win asked me to join her on her blog-writing journey as a co-writer, I actually felt a little nervous… I get to talk, to a universal audience, as much as I want? I’m in heaven!
So, what am I going to blog about and how will it enhance Win’s already amazing blog? Well I’m planning on continuing with the theme (Eat Travel Dive).
Eat. This seems like an easy one to me. I’ll talk about my recipes and food I love and try as I travel. I'll chuck in my favourite chef’s recipes as I go (I’m pretty certain Win has already mentioned my kitchen hero – Jamie Oliver). I’m totally pumped about trying food as we travel, all the cuisines of the world – if we can!
Travel. Well I’ll talk from the perspective of a male; adventurous, lots of adrenaline and a touch of culture. But mainly adventure! I may talk about the occasional pamper or spa day – you must take time out for yourself!
Dive. This is MY THING! I’m a PADI Master Instructor, with heaps of experience. I have this idea in my head that I want to start my own resort someday, so I’ll blog about the highs of the scuba world. I’ll also talk technical, about courses, equipment, technical diving, recreational diving, and of course becoming a scuba professional.
One other thing I will talk about is Yoga. I found yoga last year and it has totally changed everything for me, including my consumption rate whilst scuba diving – we'll talk more on that later!
I’m holding on tight. Win is our Captain and is at the helm of this ship. I’m her first mate, for the duration. The SS Adventure is about to set sail! It’d be great to share this experience with you all. Stay tuned.
On a side note, I love Win and she is the most amazing person I know. I hope for great things for Win. She is my source of inspiration.
Finally, I love it when people comment or want to discuss a point I bring up during my posts, so comment and let’s start some discussions!
Win's Perspective on GAFFA: (you'll see what I mean about Gaffa talking too much and me being brief)
Born and raised in the south of England. Travelled to Spain for many family holidays and had a taste of scuba diving. His open water course in Portsmouth was cancelled because of the weather, but no one informed him... So he had a one-on-one course in the freezing cold. This is where Gaffa fell in love with diving.
Gaffa has travelled and worked as a diving instructor in various countries. After some advice from his mentors, he decided to sell his house and travel to Vietnam for some more diving. His plans were changed due to a natural disaster, and he was re-routed to Australia instead. Working in Cairns and finally settling in Sydney, his one year working visa was coming to an end. They only way to stay in Australia was to enter back into the engineering field and get sponsored by a company. Here enters Win, and three years later he is still in Australia.
He is a PADI Master Instructor and enjoys technical diving, wreck diving and underwater photography. Teaching diving is also his passion, starting independent courses and obtaining students through word of mouth.
He loves Superman, and his kryptonite is ice cream and sweeties. He cooks a mean curry and likes to experiment in the kitchen. Jamie Oliver is his cooking idol.
He has a heart of gold and will go out of his way to make anyone happy. Get him talking about diving, and he can't stop.
