Jake Holzapfel
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
Jake's journey to becoming an Instructor started at age 10 when he first put on dive gear in a pool. Instantly hooked, he was a certified diver by age 13 and an Advanced Open Water diver by 15. Jake's initial dive experiences consisted of diving lakes and quarries in Virginia and diving on vacations with his family. A few years later and after a short time attending college, Jake decided diving was going to be his career.
This decision prompted him to move to Key Largo, Florida and accept an internship at Rainbow Reef Dive Center. It was there that he learned the ins and outs of the dive industry and worked his way towards becoming an instructor. After eight long months, he completed his Instructor
Examination and became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor at the age of 20. After being hired as a permanent staff member at Rainbow Reef, Jake quickly earned his Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating and began teaching additional specialty classes. In his first year as an instructor he trained enough divers to earn a PADI Elite Instructor Award.
Examination and became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor at the age of 20. After being hired as a permanent staff member at Rainbow Reef, Jake quickly earned his Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating and began teaching additional specialty classes. In his first year as an instructor he trained enough divers to earn a PADI Elite Instructor Award.After teaching and diving diligently for a year, Jake took the next step and upgraded his professional rating to IDC Staff Instructor. He took on the responsibilities of assisting with the Instructor Development Course and ran multiple Divemaster programs for the next year and a half. He again earned an Elite Instructor Rating and added a Certificate of Excellence to his resume. Jake also stepped into the world of ocean conservation by joining Rainbow Reef's conservation team and quickly emerged as a leader. It was there he worked directly with senior members of PADI AWARE and various Key Largo organizations to organize regular Dive Against Debris trips, Lionfish Derby, and coral restoration and outplanting dives.
Along the way Jake also earned numerous technical diving certifications on both open circuit SCUBA and the O2ptima Rebreather. He is qualified to teach 21 different PADI specialties.
In August of 2021 Jake moved to Tampa, FL and joined the Letts Dive!! Team, where he is excited to continue sharing his passion for the ocean with both new and veteran divers alike.