Staff

Ed Hayes
Ed Hayes is the owner and training director of Scuba Shack. He is a PADI Staff Instructor, and instructor with Global Underwater Explorers (GUE). Ed is fully involved with the day-to-day operations of Scuba Shack, and frequently dives at Brownstone Quarry and the caverns and caves of Florida. He continues his own education on a regular basis and is passionate about training techniques and diving principles.

Forest Rothchild
Once Forest's fins hit the water, he stayed in! After completing his dive certification in 2007, he's managed to log more than 1,000 dives and has instructor ratings through three different agencies. Forest owns a commercial light salvage company, teaches public safety diving and emergency response teams and can be often found at Scuba Shack helping out. Forest is a GUE Tech 1 and Cave 1 and working toward his Tech 2 & Cave 2.

Steve McGough
Steve is a PADI Master Instructor who started diving in 1989. By 1991, Steve was store manager for Scuba Shack, working full-time in sales and training. After more than eight years at Scuba Shack, Steve moved to the Bahamas and worked at Nassau Scuba Centre. Steve is a dive industry and Internet marketing consultant for Scuba Shack.

Monty Fitzpatrick
Monty is Scuba Shack's resident PADI Course Director. Monty started his diving career working for his father as a commercial diver. His love for working underwater led him to become a PADI professional. During his 15 years as an instructor he has certified more than 1,000 divers from basic open water to IDC Staff Instructor. Monty is an instructor trainer in 19 different PADI specialties.

Joel Toohey
Joel is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer who started diving in 1982. He enjoys the vertical walls, great swim throughs and diverse marine life in the Cayman Islands (who doesn't!). Jacques Cousteau made quite an impression on Joel and got him interested in the underwater world.

Gary Woods
Gary has been a certified diver since 1987 and became a professional in 2002. Diving is his passion and he enjoys teaching others what he has learned himself. An accomplished underwater photographer, Gary publishes a yearly calendar. Gary is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and certified to teach 16 specialty programs.

Nick Civitillo
Nick is an IDC Staff Instructor and key member of the Scuba Shack Training Council. Nick enjoys introducing new students to the "other 80%" and teaching the values of gear ownership and continued learning. Roatan in Honduras is Nick's favorite destination, leading annual trips to the island. He can also be found in Key Largo every Winter diving with staff and new divers. Stop in the store and you have a good chance of bumping into Nick talking equipment, training and travel.

Peter Katz DMD
Peter is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer who started diving in 1987. Like many divers who have been diving for years, Sea Hunt and Jacque Cousteau got him involved with the sport. He enjoys diving the wrecks off Block Island and in the Bahamas.

Dennis Bosse
Dennis is a person who just loves diving - who happens to be one of Scuba Shack's instructors. From local New England shores to clear blue warm water destinations, Dennis finds enjoyment on every dive. Continuing to expand his horizons, Dennis recently returned from exploring the beautiful caverns of Mexico. He has a passion to share the fun and social aspect of diving through teaching and posting on the staff blog, where Dennis posts about his diving adventures.

Ginamarie Hayes
After her first lesson in 1998, Ginamarie knew she would forever be a scuba enthusiast, and her passion has accelerated her diving career. Ginamarie is a PADI Instructor and enjoys introducing students to a new world. She is dedicated to continuing her own education and has completed GUE Tech 1 and Cave 1 certifications, and aspires to achieve Tech 2 and Cave 2 ratings. If you ask, she'll tell you she is the luckiest woman in the world, and diving has enhanced her life in more than just one way… it's how she and Ed met.

Jeff Cinciripino
Jeff has been diving with his wife Donna and son Matthew since 2004. His passion for diving led him to the PADI professional ranks in 2006 with the goal of helping new divers discover the thrill of underwater adventure. He has numerous dives off the islands of Maui and Lanai and continues to explore new sites across the Caribbean and the Northeast. Jeff completed the PADI Instructor Examination and became an instructor in the fall of 2009..

Mark Fearon
Interested in learning to dive since he was 12, Mark never found the time to learn to dive until 2006. He enjoyed reading about the wrecks in Lake Ontario from the war of 1812 and the treasure hunters in the Caribbean in National Geographic magazine. Mark became open water certified and eventually became a divemaster in August 2008, attended the IDC in 2010, and received his Open Water Scuba Instructor certification in October 2010.

Stretch Altenhein
Stretch began diving in 2008 in the Caribbean. As a PADI Instructor and with the help of Scuba Shack has become fully submerged in diving. He frequents the warm clear reefs off of St. Kitts, but the more cooler diving that New England has to offer still holds a lot of appeal and interest for him.

Paul Costanzo
Paul has been diving since 2008. After he completed his open water training at Scuba Shack he was hooked and never stopped training. He is also a GUE diver. Paul enjoys diving with the many friends he made since he started in this sport. Paul dives througout the northeast and south to Florida and the Caribbean. Underwater photography is a big part of his diving, especially when there are sharks around.

Dennis Finnegan
Denis became a certified diver in 2005 and is a PADI Instructor. Twenty-four years of United States Navy experience - and watching Sea Hunt - got Denis interested in scuba diving. His favorite spot to dive is Bloody Bay Wall just off the north side of Little Cayman.

Dave Lockrow

Mike Alos
If you're diving an underwater wreck - especially in New England - chances are Mike has been diving on it or is familiar with it. Mike's a PADI Assistant Instructor who stumbled upon Scuba Shack and scuba diving on the way to the Greater Hartford Open golf tournament one Saturday morning. He frequently reconsiders not filling out that job application a dive operations manager in Aruba handed him ;)

Rick Mooney
Rick dove as a youngster, but certified in 2007 while vacationing at his wife's ancestral island of Grenada. Rick came to Scuba Shack to take his diving to a higher level. As a PADI Divemaster, Rick wants to share what he's learned with others while continuing to expand his own diving skills and education. His favorite dive sites include Grenada wrecks and Kelleston Drain in Tobago.

Donna Cinciripino
Donna got certified in 2004 - a few months after Jeff and her son Matt started diving - and became a PADI Divemaster in 2006. She likes sharing what she has learned as a diver, and has a lot of fun meeting so many great people! Donna likes to dive just about anywhere, but favors Maui, Hawaii and the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai. She hopes to keep traveling the world to see new places, both above and below the water!

Fran Falanga
Fran has been a certified diver since 2007 and has submerged himself in the sport. Currently working towards his PADI Divemaster certification, Fran has embraced the Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) philosophy and wishes to become a GUE Tech and Cave diver. Fran enjoys helping around the shop and at the pool. He is a proud father of four and hopes to one day share his love of diving with his children.

Ed Kask
Ed enjoys helping students learn to have fun while diving. He believes in the Global Underwater Explorer approach toward safety, discipline and conservatism. Ed loves to dive Bermuda and the Caribbean, and plans to continue his diving education and become an instructor.

Jeffrey Kezerian
Jeffrey is a PADI Divemaster who learned how to dive in 2006 with Scuba Shack. His first dive was a resort dive in 1994, allowing him to float in and around the world's oceans clueless and dazed. After training with Scuba Shack, he is situationally aware, fully engaged, and enjoying dives everywhere. This year Jeffrey also passed the GUE Fundamentals training in Florida, and has dreams of being part of an exploration team someday.

Devin Berke
Devin began diving in January 2009 and immediately became immersed. He recently completed the PADI Divemaster and GUE Fundamentals. Devin is always looking for an opportunity to dive, whether assisting in a Scuba Shack pool session or planning the next trip. Devin will continuing his dive education as a GUE cave diver and his goal is to not settle on a favorite dive site any time soon.

Jill Hall and Chris Young
Jill and Chris developed an intense passion for SCUBA diving and the training philosophy at Scuba Shack Their diving adventures began in 2009 after obtaining their Open Water certifications in the chilly October waters of the Brownstone Quarry. Since that time, this husband and wife duo has explored a wide variety of dive sites and enjoy working with students and leading Drive & Dives.

Christian Baki
Christian began diving in 2010 after returning from a cruise in the Caribbean where watched scuba divers approaching a wreck below him while snorkeling. He's progressed through the PADI and GUE courses with a strong desire to gain more knowledge. He is currently working on his PADI Divemaster certification, and is also looking forward to continue his education with GUE. Christian has a passion for underwater photography, and is looking forward to expand and share his experiences.