All of us at Deep Blue are friendly, professional, highly qualified, and multilingual
Most of the staff that will take you diving are Instructors with many years experience in Cozumel. Collectively we can communicate with you in many languages - English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese. We are all here to ensure you have a fun, safe, and memorable experience.
Deborah Felixson - Owner
Born in the USA but raised in Colombia, South America. A tennis scholarship took her back to the US to study at the Univ. of Texas from where she graduated in Architecture. Ten years later, an architecture job got her to move to Cozumel and six months later, her fascination and love of the ocean made her open a dive shop. She is a Black Belt in Tae-Kwon-Do and a happily single mother of a teenage boy and 3 dogs.
Allen Chan Chi
Position: Instructor
Allen is a native of Cozumel. Started diving in 1997 and became a DM in 2000 and then an Instructor in 2005. Has freelanced with Deep Blue for over 5 years and became a permanent staff member in 2007. He is married and has a 2 year old boy. He loves his work and appreciates it everyday.
Aristeo Perez
Position: Dive Master
Aristeo was born in Bacalar on the southern part of Quintana Roo. An uncle brought him to Cozumel at 11 years old and he started working in the sea cleaning boats. He became a diver at age 20 and has not stopped diving since. He is very involved with the Marine Park in its efforts to keep the lion fish from invading our precious reefs. He loves to fish and frequently participates in fishing tournaments. He is a single father of 3.
Carlos Campos
Position: Boat Captain
Better known as "Soldado" (Soldier), he was born in
Roberto Canto
Position: Boat Captain
Born in Peto, a small town in the Yucatan Peninsula. Moved to Cozumel 23 years ago. Is married with 2 boys and 3 girls ages 2 to 20! Has been a boat captain for Deep Blue since 2002.
Consuelo Santiago "Koko"
Position: Recepcionist
Koko was born in Veracruz and studied Aquatic Activities before coming to Cozumel in 1999. Before starting to work at Deep Blue in 2008, she was a Child Entertainer at the Iberostar Hotel. She is married to a boat Captain and they have a young daughter.
Gary Hillson
Position: Reservations
Gary was born in Yorkshire, England. Started diving in 1986 and became a PADI Instructor in 1995. Dove all around the UK and then a round the world trip took him to work in Turkey and then Belize before landing in Cozumel in 1998. He was offered a job and decided to stick around. After a 6 month break in Taiwan, he came back to Cozumel, settled down and got married. He’s been with Deep Blue since 2007 and is the face behind the emails.
Lucio Ramirez
Position: Operations Manager
Lucio was born in Tepacan, Yucatan and has lived in Cozumel for 40 years. He worked as a Captain for 26 years and sailed around the Yucatan Peninsula and the channel. He is married and has a baby boy. He has been our Operations Manager since 2010.
Sandro Quijada
Position: Instructor
Sandro was born in the Yucatan Pensinsula and at 14 yrs old, seeking adventures, he moved to Cozumel and started diving right after "Gilbert," a Cat 5 huricane that devasted the island in 1988. By 1989 he was a Dive Master, and has been with Deep Blue since 2000. Then became an Instructor in 2009.
Sandro is single, has 4 kids and 4 grandkids and is better known as "Batman" - you can see why....
Claire Macarico
Position: Social Media
Originally from London, Claire moved to Playa del Carmen with dive instructor husband Paulo in 2006. While her husband concentrated on his career in the diving industry Claire followed her passion for animal welfare and volunteered at several animal shelters and assisted at numerous spay and neuter clinics.
After moving to Cozumel in December 2015 Claire has continued to volunteer at animal shelters both here and in Playa del Carmen. She also spends her time diving, practicing yoga, going to the gym and looking after her three precious rescue dogs.
Claire takes care of Deep Blue’s social media.
Paulo Macarico
Position: Instructor
A Deep Blue staff member since November 2015 and originally from Lisbon, Portugal PADI Master Instructor Paulo Macarico moved to Playa del Carmen, Mexico in 2006 after a brief stint in Paris, followed by 19 years in London, where he worked as a photojournalist, a legal interpreter, and as a film subtitle translator.
A certified diver for over 40 years, Paulo briefly left Mexico in 2008 and spent 6 months training up as a PADI scuba instructor at the Utila Dive Centre in Honduras.
Upon his return he spent a few years training Divemasters and instructors for large dive corporations, then moved to Cozumel in 2014 and returned to a more personalized service and to teach a broader range of PADI dive courses and Specialties in Cozumel’s world class reefs.
Lorena Lascano
Position: Sales/
Reservations
Lorena joined Deep Blue 3 years ago as a Receptionist / Customer Service / Sales. She also assists Gary with the emails. She loves meeting people from all over the world and helping travelers have a pleasant stay on the island.
She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, but moved to Cozuzmel in 1996 after graduating from college. She loves everything the island has given her, specially the beach and the reefs. It is here that she became a certified diver and she knew this was home.
Her pasion is her famiy, underwater photography, cooking and gardening. She is a mother of 2 young boys and is happiest spending time with them.
David Villanueva
Position: Equipment
David is in charge of rinsing and storing our equipment, among many other things. He is also in charge of client's equipment.
Jorge Kuyoc
Position: Driver
Jorge has been our driver since 2015. He is from Valladolid, in the Yucatan Peninsula, and came to Cozumel 45 years ago. Has worked all over the island in construction, as a waiter, bartender, bellman, etc He also owned a Cantina and butcher shop some years ago. He has a wife, 7 kids, and 8 grandkids.
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