Posted 8:48 pm Sunday, February 19, 2012
Owner Of Scuba Steve's Finds Love Of Sea In Heart Of Texas
By CASEY MURPHY
Business Editor
Business Editor
As a child, Billy Hunter loved watching scuba divers explore the waters in Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau, but he didn't think there was any opportunity for such adventures in Tyler.
"I was 42 years old when I found out I could take diving lessons here," he said.
Hunter, 51, owns Scuba Steve's, and he and his instructors teach about 300 students a year how to scuba dive.
"There is a huge market for it," he said. "That always amazed me - that there are that many people who are interested in diving in Tyler, Texas."
He recently moved Scuba Steve's farther down Troup Highway, from its location in the Green Acres Shopping Village to the Highland Shopping Center, 4607 Troup Highway.
Scuba Steve's offers retail sales, training, service and travel.
"This has kind of turned into a big-time passion for me," he said standing in his shop. "You really have to have a love for this sport to pass this excitement on to people walking through that door."
Hunter, born and raised in Tyler, was a welder, making custom fences and gates primarily for farmers and ranchers. He picked up the welding trade when he was in junior high school and still does it on the side, he said.
In December 2003, his best friend Rick Bales told him they needed to get scuba certified. By February 2004, they, along with their wives, became certified before going on a diving trip to Florida.
After becoming scuba certified, "I realized I wanted to ... introduce other people to the sport," he said. By March, he became a dive master, the first level of professional ranking by the National Association of Underwater Instructors. After about a year, Hunter decided he wanted to teach others.
He went through the instructor program, taking classes from Scuba Steve's.
"I started my training with Scuba Steve's, and now I own it," he said.
Steve Lockhart opened the business in 2003 and offered Hunter a position to manage the store after he became one of his instructors, Hunter said. Lockhart was thinking about retiring and gave Hunter the option of managing the store and one day taking over ownership. Hunter bought the business more than two years ago, he added.
"Only by the blessing of my wife was I able to do this," he said. "She told me I could quit my paying job and take over this scuba business."
DIVING, DRIVING
Now, his wife of 30 years, Machelle, is one of his dive masters, a certification she has held since 2007. She is also a registered nurse at East Texas Medical Center's day surgery department.
Hunter and his wife visit Cozumel a few times a year to go diving. Hunter has also been to Roatan, Honduras, Bonaire, in South America, and in caverns, springs and rivers in Florida and lakes in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
"I had no idea that it was available, so I never really pursued it," Hunter said of scuba diving when he was younger. "Looking back now, if I would have started when I was 16 or 17 years old I could have seen the world."
When Hunter and his wife aren't diving, they enjoy riding their Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Hers is a 2004 Road King, and his is a 1992 Fat Boy, Mrs. Hunter said.
Hunter has ridden motorcycles since he was 10 and got his first Harley at age 14. Mrs. Hunter got her motorcycle safety riders certificate in 1992 and that same year bought her first Harley, a 1992 Low Rider, she said.
The couple likes to ride on the weekends, tooling around with friends, she said.
They used to make all the bike rallies in a four-state area during the summers. They have been to Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, as well as Sturgis, South Dakota.
"That's another way we relieve stress," he said. "We get on the bikes and go riding."
TEACHING OTHERS
Hunter is the lead scuba diving instructor at Tyler Junior College.
Students go through four classroom sessions and four pool sessions, each lasting about 2.5 hours. At the end of the class, open-water checkouts are done at the Comal River in New Braunfels in the winter, Tyler State Park during the summer and Clear Springs Scuba Park in Terrell. The water checkouts are a final exam of sorts. Over two days, the students go on six dives and are evaluated on their ability to perform the skills taught to them in class and in the pool sessions.
Hunter said that during different times of year, Scuba Steve's sees different age groups taking scuba diving lessons. The bulk of them are in their mid-30s, and he sees a lot of TJC students.
He said he also teaches a lot of 10-year-olds, the minimum age a child can be to take the class, during summer camps. He also taught a 71-year-old man a few months ago.
Scuba Steve's is most proud of its safety record, Hunter said, adding that he and his instructors have never had any claims.
"We strive for the safety thing," he said. "This is an environment where you're going to die if not trained properly."
Scuba Steve's has 12 active instructors and 11 dive masters.
From police officers and physician assistants, to oil and gas representatives, business owners and school district employees, he has a huge variety of professional occupants on his diving staff, he said. "All of my people really enjoy doing it," he said.
Hunter became an instructor in 2006 and is usually involved in at least one class each month.
Since he only learned of Scuba Steve's less than 10 years ago, it's no surprise other East Texans might not know it's here.
"There are still a lot of people in this area who don't realize scuba diving is available (here)," he said. "Scuba diving is alive and well in Tyler, Texas."
WIDE RANGE
Scuba Steve's is stocked with wet suits, fins, tanks and everything else needed for a dive.
"We've tried to cover a wide range so we can accommodate just about every group out there, as far as their finances," Hunter said regarding Scuba Steve's retail business.
Divers need a buoyancy control device, a regulator, dive computer or set of gauges, a mask, fins, snorkel, wet suit and wet suit boots.
"A lot of people come in here and don't have any idea what it takes," Hunter said of the needed gear. "It's a pretty substantial set of gear. But it's cheaper than golf."
An entry level buoyancy control device and regulator now costs $579 at Scuba Steve's, and the average person spends about $1,100 to get a complete set of gear.
Hunter moved his business into the new location Jan. 1.
Hunter also repairs and performs annual general maintenance on diving equipment sold at his store.
He can also book trips for people interested in taking diving vacations, he said. Hunter is not a travel agent but has resources for discount travel, he added.
Scuba Steve's is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2:30 Saturday. Diving classes are primarily offered at night, from 6:30-9 p.m. at TJC but day classes are taught during the summers.
