Name: Yan Saillard

Training:
• Owner & Instructor
• PADI IDCS
• PSI Cylinder Inspector
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About: Yan began diving in the late 90's, logging nearly 60 dives his first year ~all in the Northland! The next year he took the professional path, earning his Divemaster certification, then going to Florida to become an OWSI and also completed a "Dive Industry Specialist" program. Yan is currently an IDCS (Instructor Development Course Staff-instructor). When it comes to dive training, it is Yan's feeling that while dive training is fun, there is also the need to stress safety and skills development. Lately, he has been spending more time in the store than teaching, but when he does have the chance to work with a class, his favorite one to teach is Rescue Diver.

Yan's favorite dives are slow putzy dives. He enjoys just relaxing and taking in the environment. "There's always something to see when you get into the water. Alot of people have a negative expectation of local diving, especially if they've been diving in the Caribbean. Many people don't realize that we have sponges, jellyfish, and relatives of corals right here in our area." Yan feels that if you really like to dive, there's no excuse not to dive in the area. "We have some of the worlds most well preserved shipwrecks in Lake Superior, lots of small inland lakes teeming with fish, and impressive walls in our deeper lakes." Just about anywhere you go around the Northland, there is a shore line. Get out and explore!

Yan has helped teach UWS's Coral Reef Ecology course along with his wife, Heidi, and Dr. Ed Burkett. This class spends two weeks in the Caribbean and learns all about hard and soft corals, fish, plants, and other life that is found on a coral reef. Students not only learn to ID the various species, but also learn about reef structure, zonation, the reefs interaction with other environments, the effects of hurricanes and humans on the reef, and they get to experience a culture different than our own. No worries 'mon...cool runnin's.

As a member of the Superior/Douglas County Public Safety Dive Team, Yan knows what working public safety dive teams are looking for when it comes to getting set up with dive equipment. When customers come into the store, they appreciate the time Yan takes to find out what kind of gear they need.

Name: Joel Mickelson

Training:
• Instructor
• PADI IDCS
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About: Joel guides students through a wide range of core and specialty certifications. He also regularly guides divers to his favorite local sites. Whatever stage you are at in your diving, he will help you move on to the next level and beyond to professional levels all the way up to PADI Assistant Instructor!

Offering a wide range of diving specialties, Joel teaches those most sought after and useful in this area such as Enriched Air Diver, Dry Suit Diver, Deep Diver, Multilevel/Computer Diver, Underwater Navigation, Wreck Diver, and offers advanced training in Bouyancy Control. If it’s been a while and you are just looking to knock a little dust off of your scuba skills and knowledge base, drop Joel a line. He’ll get you comfortably and confidently diving again in no time.

Joel is our go-to guy for Scouting organizations looking for scuba and snorkel training. Is Sea Base calling you!? Or maybe your group would just like a Discover Scuba Diving session for a fun activity? As a dive instructor and former local Scoutmaster, Joel knows what it takes to get your Scouts ready to dive! He also works with other organizations looking for a more private training experience.

He is also a volunteer dive trainer for the Great Lakes Aquarium, so give him a call if you are interested in becoming a GLA volunteer diver. C’mon, feed the 5 foot sturgeon, 10-pound walleye, and those beautiful burbot; it’s a blast! Yan will even lend you the scuba gear to volunteer, for free!

With dives numbering in the hundreds ranging from the Canadian border south to Cozumel, Mexico, Joel will bring unique perspectives to your next dive experiences.

Name: Paul Buchanan aka The Rat on Ritalin

Training:
• Instructor
• PADI OWSI
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About: "If you love to dive, you dive where you live." If he could, Paul would dive in tropical waters every day but he says that’s not going to happen. Paul is our most active fun-dive group leader. He enjoys diving locally because our area offers divers lots of opportunity to work on diving skills and enjoy the sport of scuba diving.

On our weekly fun-dives, Paul leads a dive group to different dive sites on the north shore. A couple favorites of his is the harbor breakwall in Two Harbors and Lake Ore-be-gone on Minnesota's Iron Range. "With the sun setting earlier every day on Lake Superior, we will be able to do some night diving and maybe spot some salmon or trout. Lake Ore Be Gone in Gilbert is a great dive site to spend the whole day diving and to just relax in the sun. It features a number of dive sites, including a school bus, an airplane, a helicopter, a jeep and a couple speeders! We still have some time left this summer for diving so stop at Innerspace Scuba Center and buy your new dive light for the Monday funs dives, and sign up for the Advanced Open Water course."

Name: Steve Smith

Training:
• Instructor
• PADI OWSI

About: An modern day explorer, Steve enjoys diving when he's not paddling and leading tours in his kayak. Besides teaching the PADI Open Water Diver course, Steve is also an Ice Diver instructor.

Name: Rudy Proudy

Training:
• Instructor
• PADI - OWSI
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About: Rudy has been an instructor longer than anyone else at the store. After a few years of not teaching, he decided to get back into it last year.

Name: Gary Mattevi

Training:
• Instructor
• PADI OWSI

About: Gary is our newest PADI instructor! As a 7th degree black belt, his experience teaching martial arts for many years gives him a unique perspective as a scuba instructor. Gary is also a certified Ice Diver, and has many dives logged in Lake Superior and area lakes.

Name: Shane Grahn

Training:
• PADI - Assisant Instructor
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About: Shane is an equipment tech and also helps out with classes at UWS. As a mechanic for Caterpillar, he has lots of mechanical expertise and takes pride in a job done right. Shane also enjoys teaching discover scuba courses and scuba refresher classes.

Name: Dave Wakefield

Training
• PADI Dive Master
• EFR Instructor
• PADI Digital Photography Instructor
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About: As the member of Team Innerspace with the most life experience, Dave counts diving among many activities. He is an active yachtsman and is a member of the Ski Patrol at Spirit Mountain. Dave has travelled the world and is always looking forward to new discoveries.

Name: Dave Rands

Training
• PADI Dive Master
• Aqualung Equipment Tech

About:

Dave conducts scube review classes and is currently enrolled in the PADI Assistant Instructor class.

Name: Ron Rilling

Training
• PADI Dive Master

About: Ron has been diving since Lake Superior was still part of Pangea! Age jokes aside, Ron will help out with discover scuba and open water training dives when his schedule allows.

Name: Megan Warner

Training
• PADI Dive Master
• Coral Research Specialist

About: Megan recently completed the Divemaster program here at Innerspace. She has been diving since 2002 and was a member of UWS's CCRS student research program. Ms. Warner is currently learning to sail. Our resident Yachtsman Dave W. has been showing her "the ropes! "

Megan was our team captian for the 2007 Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival, and did a great job coordinating some 25+ volunter paddlers! So good that she has since shouldered the burden of being team captain once again for the 2008 Dragon Boat Festival.

Name: Jasper Meddock

Training
• PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and Dry Suit Diver

About: Jasper is a student at UMD majoring in Outdoor Recreation Education. His favorite hobbies are kiteboarding and snowkiting.

He learned to dive last year and is also a certified dry suit diver. Once he finishes school, Jasper wants to travel around the world kiting and diving, and with any luck he will make a living doing it!