Rodale’s Scuba Diving

An Interview with Patrick Hammer

Patrick Hammer got into diving at a very early age. On family vacations to Florida, he would spend hours in the water. His parents realized his love for the water and helped him follow his dreams. By 1973, he had a dive club at the local college with 150 members. He then opened a dive store and it was not long where he left school to keep the store going. He then started teaching PADI Instructors in 1975.

By 1980, he had trained hundreds of instructors. He had stores in Illinois, Georgia and Florida, but saw his dream drifting away from him. He sold out and kept only one store. Overnight, the pressure was off and the fun was back. He enjoyed diving and training again. After ten years of working one store, he saw that many of my customers from the past 25 years had moved southwest and were raising families there. He knew it was time to open another store and opened Scuba Emporium Orland Park in 1999. This 7500 square foot store has become the super store in the area. They have a pool, swimming classes, and a very well-stocked dive center. Today, both stores are PADI five star Instructor development centers, offering instructor training monthly. They conduct instructor development in Florida, Michigan, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, and Curacao.

In the early-90s, Hammer saw a way to help midwest divers even more. H had been a strong supporter of the oldest running dive show in North America, OUR WORLD-UNDERWATER, with a booth there for many years. Next, he was able to be a corporate sponsor. This showed his support for the show and the midwest diver. Eventually, the show was starting to move into another direction and Hammer was given the opportunity to purchase the show. Of the popular show, Hammer says “All the volunteers do a great job and are still assisting me in taking the show to new heights.”

Next, in the late-90s, Hammer saw yet another way he could get more involved in the DIVE industry. He ran for the DEMA board and was elected. He’s in his third year on the board and says he love it: “DEMA is for everyone and it is the heartbeat of the industry. Dive centers need to be members just to keep well informed. So I am always looking for stores to join and find out if there is any reason not to. So far I have found no valid reason not to join.”

RSD Extra: What makes your stores successful?

Hammer: The SCUBA industry is unique in some ways, but in most it is just a retail store. We purchase inventory and sell it. What is different is the training of the divers and taking them, and maybe their families, on vacations. We don’t just turn product, we become part of our customer’s lives. We must be upbeat, happy, and knowledgeable. Our job is taking them away from theirs. I credit my success to knowing I do not own a student or customer. They are part of the industry. We do all we can to keep them diving with us. My staff is the best. They watch out for eachother and are all part of my wife Sherry and my family. The bond is good and the customers see we love our job and are concerned about their needs before ours.

RSD Extra: Tell us about OUR WORLD-UNDERWATER.

Hammer: The show has been around for 32 years. It is the way the midwest kicks off the season. What makes the show so successful are the volunteers that work hard all year to produce a show that fills the needs of any dive consumer. We have seminars, in-depth workshops, film festivals, and dances. The show is at a convention center and is run very professionally. We offer free scuba experiences all weekend. Another unique part of the show is the scholarship. We earmark a certain amount of every show to help the scuba industry. We make donations to not-for-profit companies that may have impact on a person’s life in diving. The show has started many divers off on the path to making diving their career. Today, it is a great feeling to meet someone who got their start from the show. Another strong part of the show is the OUR WORLD-UNDERWATER award. We give this very prestigious award to someone who has done a lot for diving. We look for a strong devotion to the scuba industry and even support of the show.

RSD Extra: You still love teaching diving, don’t you?

I still love teaching. I go to work every day and look forward to what I will be doing. One day it may be a kid’s birthday party. We are running hundreds of bubble maker parties. These kids are the business of future. I may be doing a rebreather course next and then the next day something else. On the weekend, I may conduct an instructor course. My job is never the same. It is always fun watching the students progress. The biggest reward is the student that starts their open water course with us and then ends as a PADI instructor.

We have an awards banquet every year. I have been doing this for 20 years. It is great. Everyone who took a course from us that year is invited. We have slides, dinners, movies, prizes, and awards. It is a formal dress night, where my staff and I award our students. It is a lot of fun.

When I finish a class, I will bring the students back to the platform and shake their hands. At this time I give them a PADI patch. My students know they are certified before we come up. It is a great way to compliment them. I find it interesting how tight they hold on to this award.

RSD Extra: Why are you in the midwest?

I grew up on Chicago’s south side. I spent a large part of my childhood diving the local lake rivers and ponds. I have found some nice wrecks in Lake Michigan. I have written a book on the wrecks. The midwest is nice, with the changing seasons. The beautiful fall colors and the long warm summer days. Anything you want to do anytime--Chicago and the surrounding suburbs have it all. But the wreck diving on Lake Michigan is superb. Nothing beats coming up, from a wreck dive at 4:00 PM, or later and seeing the sun behind the city. No other skyline looks as pretty as Chicago from a few miles out.

RSD Extra: You own a training pool, don’t you?

Hammer: I run our business course at the stores. Most instructors want to get into the business. But usually they are under-capitalized. To own a pool is a major upfront cost with a long time return. I owned stores without pools and I would suggest all stores have a pool. We can offer any class anytime. I have a pool at both stores and would never change. As far as cost goes, it does cost us more per student to have a pool. So if someone has a pool they can use anytime and they can get a good price, I would suggest this maybe as a way to start in the industry. However, I like having my own pool. We are looking out for our customer’s interest. They can take the class they want when they want.