Columbus SCUBA, Inc. (CSI) began in 1999 when SCUBA instructor Andy Silverman began working as an aquatics director for the YMCA.  Andy felt that SCUBA diving could become an integral part of the YMCA aquatics program which was serving families, youth, and adults in the central Ohio area.

Andy Silverman's first enterprise was knows as Decostop, Inc.  Andy also became heavily involved with the YMCA SCUBA training program.  The YSCUBA program, originating in 1959, was the first agency to offer an organized course structure and an Instructor Institute based in Chicago, Illinois.

Initially, classes were held at the YMCA in the little town of Urbancrest, training only 3 or 4 students at a time. This was necessary because the facility had the resources to accommodate only 6 students at once.  It didn't take long before student referrals resulted in larger classes and demanded more space.  Andy put all the proceeds of his company into buying more equipment so he could equip more students.  Decostop Inc. eventually had a total of 16 sets of equipment and was holding full classes on a regular basis. Interested Divemasters, school groups, corporations, public safety diving teams, and volunteers were all involved in the training courses.

In 2005, Decostop Inc. was transformed into Columbus SCUBA, Inc. (CSI).  This was because the company was now serving all of the Columbus area and surrounding suburbs.  As an instructor trainer for several agencies, Andy and his supporting staff had folks visiting from around the country for Instructor Training Institutes and Public Safety Diving Institutes.  Andy Silverman was asked to serve as the Technical Advisor for the YMCA SCUBA program and CSI became the primary touchpoint.  The number of training and rental rigs jumped to over 40 and an additional compressor with Nitrox blending capabilities was added.

Andy left his position as an executive director for the YMCA of Central Ohio in 2008 so he could fully focus on CSI. He enlisted the help of instructors Jude Divierte and Shane Foglesong whom had been working with CSI for many years.  In September of 2008, International Field Studies (IFS) in Andros, Bahamas called upon CSI for leadership of their dive program.  IFS works with college and high school students in the diving and marine research arena.  The next major step that CSI took was to open a shop in the Hocking Hills/Athens area.

CSI and its instructors have issued nearly 1500 certifications collectively, both locally and abroad.  CSI is affiliated with several training agencies and works within a network of colleges, public diving safety teams, field study stations, and dive shops all around the country.  CSI has become the most versatile training center in the state, including offering training courses from Open Water to Technical Diving to Cave Diving.

CSI has also gained recognition in the press and has also published articles with several dive-training agencies.   Most importantly, we spend more time during the week in the water, both for training and pleasure purposes.  We are situated to serve your diving needs whether it be equipment, training, professional development or travel.

We invite you to join our fun, energetic and very knowledgeable staff, friends and family in the wonderful sport of diving!