RAID International has announced the launch of its Latin America Office with leadership provided by well-known dive industry ground breaker Sacha Bernasconi. The RAID Latin America Office will service Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Cuba, Belize, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Puerto Rico, Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia.

RAID International CEO, Jim Holliday, said: “We are very excited in having Sacha come on board with the rapidly growing RAID Team. Sacha like the rest of the RAID Executives is an enthusiastic diver, has travelled to over 30 countries and has worked and dived in Maldives, Honduras, Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Switzerland. In terms of communication skills and business talent, Sacha is a multilingual, highly experienced executive with direct involvement across every area of the diving industry from guiding and teaching courses, to retail sales and dive centre management. He speaks fluent Spanish, Italian, English, German, conversational French and basic Indonesian – what better an individual could you ask for than someone who can support and relate perfectly to the RAID Latin American region RAIDERS”.

Paul Toomer, RAID International Training Director, said: “Having my mate Sacha and his local team come on board with RAID is awesome. Like me, he is extremely passionate about technical diving, dives in sidemount configuration and is certified as Advanced Trimix and Full Cave Diver, so he has the experience to advise our Tech and Cave RAIDERS in areas within his territory like Playa in Mexico on all sorts of great stuff. This is an amazing development for both RAID and the Latin American region.”

Mark McCrum, RAID International Recreational Training Director, said: “Sacha is also highly qualified in recreational training. In the past he has operated as an SSI Platinum Instructor Trainer and Respond Right Instructor Trainer with experience teaching courses at all recreational levels culminating in over 500 certifications personally issued, from beginner to professional divers”.

RAID International Director, Terry Cummins, said: “RAID continues to grow and be the training agency for divers and diving professionals, run by divers with a wealth of dive centre and training agency experience. Sacha is such an individual. He will support RAID in their general efforts to offer state of the art online training to help shape competent thinking, translating to more divers taking continuing education courses, dive travel and gear sales – all contributing to industry growth.”

RAID Founder Barry Coleman said: “From my early formulation of RAID almost 8 years ago, RAID today has full service offices in Southern Africa, Australia, several throughout Asia, Korea, Kuwait / Qatar, Philippines, the UK and now Latin America, which officially opened on the 15^th September 2014. This is evidence of growing acceptance of not only the E Training I started to develop back then, but also since the relaunch, the recognition of the type of individual coming to join RAID is fantastic and sends a message to all where the dive industry should be heading.”

Sacha agreed with Barry’s reference for the need for industry change and stated: “Being very passionate about the internet and new technologies, I was amazed when I heard a training agency was about to relaunch with a 100% online learning system. Having worked around the world I know it is impossible for Dive Centers to keep books in stock for all possible courses and language combinations. With RAID, divers have the full range of course materials available, no matter where they are, with a real zero impact on the environment: no paper, no plastic, no international shipments, no waiting for cards – E Cards are instant at no extra cost and the entire theory package comes at an extremely competitive price for both the diver and the store! So Instructors receive better prepared students from the in-depth online theory and have more time available in the water, focusing on training excellent divers following our high standards. This is only a part of the many benefits that RAID is offering to divers, instructors and dive centers I intend to promote. RAID is changing the future of diver training, raising the bar and setting the standards that everyone else will follow in the future.”

Sacha concluded: “while all major industries are moving into the future, I am not alone in thinking that diver training has had no real major changes in direction for over a decade. A change is absolutely necessary and it is the only way of moving with the times. It’s all happening now with RAID and I am really excited about being a part of it. We are about to start a diving revolution; if you are in my region, contact me now to be a part of it.”

To contact Sacha, email sacha@diveraid-latam.com, call +52 1 984 804 08 05, or Skype diveraid-latam.