member
profile
Greg Holt
Broadcasting beneath
the surface
Hometown:
Orlando, Fla.
Age:
48
Years Diving:
20
Favorite Dive Destination:
My
next dive
Why You Are a DAN Member:
There are so many benefits; it’s
just dumb not to be!
DIVE SLATE
//
16
|
FALL 2011
G
reg Holt, better known to
ScubaRadio listeners as “Greg
the Divemaster,” wanted to dive
the moment he first saw James Cameron’s
The Abyss. His chance came in 1991
while he was working at a radio station
in Orlando, Fla. His assignment: develop
a commercial for a local dive center. His
terms: free dive lessons. “Greg the Open-
Water Diver” was born.
Unfortunately, his first few dives were
hardly the Hollywood fantasy. Chilly
waters, equipment struggles and poor
visibility plagued him, but he stuck with
it. He knew there had to be more.
“My 10
th
dive in, I had my Zen
experience,” Holt remembers. “I’d worked
out all the equipment issues, I was
comfortable, and suddenly all the color
came. For the first time, I could really see
underwater. It’s been like that ever since.”
He continued his diving education and
earned the title “Greg the Divemaster” a
few years later, an experience he shared
with his listeners. By the time he’d
achieved the certification, he’d spent a
decade in radio, learning every format
on the airwaves, including rock, country,
Top 40 and adult contemporary. He had a
diverse and extensive background, which
unknowingly laid the groundwork for
what would become ScubaRadio.
An Idea Takes Hold
One day Holt mentioned to his dive
buddy and fellow station manager, Dick
Sheetz (who would become affectionately
known as Diver Dick), how fun it would
be to do a radio show focused on diving.
He even had an idea for the format.
“In my encounters with the dive industry,
I’d met some interesting characters,” Holt
explained. “I thought, what if we did a show
where we cover locations all over the world,
focusing on those characters with a little
irreverence sprinkled in?”
Excited by the concept, the dive duo
set off for the Diving Equipment and
Marketing Association (DEMA) trade
show to seek sponsorships. “DAN was
the first group I approached,” Holt said.
“I told them, ‘I’m a divemaster, I’m a
DAN Member, and I don’t want to do
ScubaRadio without your support.’”
So began the 14-year relationship
between DAN and ScubaRadio, which
started with commercials but now
includes regular interviews with DAN
staff as well as weekly safety tips. “It’s
been a tremendous relationship that’s
only grown stronger over the years,” Holt
said. “I wouldn’t have started if DAN
hadn’t supported the idea.”
Launched in 1997, ScubaRadio was well
received from the start, and its audience
grew at a remarkable rate. Before long,
though, Holt was faced with a choice:
move into a sales position or leave his job
to continue ScubaRadio full time.
“I went home that night, crunched the
numbers and realized I could actually do
this,” Holt said. “I knew how it could be
done, from programming to syndication
to performance. Timing is a funny thing.
Things happen in life, and hopefully
you’re prepared when they do. At the
time, I was more prepared than I ever
realized.” Holt left his job to become the
full-time owner of ScubaRadio.
Redoubling his efforts to make the
show a success, Holt incorporated it,
syndicated it and watched the reach of
ScubaRadio begin to extend. Suddenly,
they were getting calls from dive
destinations and travel stations seeking
14-23_Dive_Slate_Fall2011.indd 16
9/29/11