Oli van Overbeek from DiveLife In Manchester and Kris Fearnley from Canary Divers in Rishton have announced a collaboration between their two dive businesses. As both stores have become a victim of their own individual successes, it was decided to share resources and support one another’s strengths, a model that Mr van Overbeek has been keen to push for some time now.

In practical terms DiveLife will now take the lead in all retail sales for both stores, whereas Canary Divers will take on the recreational training and club activity for both stores and clubs. This allows an unparalleled offering in quality and customer support.

The combined entity offers:

• Cylinder testing
• Equipment Servicing for all major brands
• Recreational Training at both facilities
• Wing & Long hose available
• National and international club trips
• Access to two RAID instructor trainers, and a myriad of experienced instructors and divemasters
• A comprehensive membership scheme supported by both stores (for 1 membership fee)
• All major brands, SANTI, HALCYON, APEKS, MARES, XDEEP, AMMONITE, DIVESOFT, POSEIDON, RAZOR, SHEARWATER, SUUNTO, etc
• Technical and Rebreather training available to instructor level

DiveLife has been a staple name in the northwest of England, a store that has changed hands several times and not always with the most successful outcomes. When Mr van Overbeek took the reins just a few years ago, he rebuilt the shop from the ground up, making it the success it is today. A well-stocked shop and a great online outlet.

Oli van Overbeek says:

“As we rebuilt DiveLife to a status that it deserved we soon came to realise that the industry was changing; because of this I’ve felt and repeatedly stated that having a 1001 micro shops and schools was not a sustainable model. I’ve had the vision for larger global training centres which can be a training and support hub for local instructors and clubs; having this collaboration agreement with Mr Fearnley from Canary Divers will surely be the first step in such a Hub. Kris has done wonders at Canary in terms of the social atmosphere and training ethos, and I’m excited to say we have been working together to get him and part of his team over to RAID to increase their offering. We’ve mainly focused on being an equipment supply company and therefore it made sense to work together and support each other and the clients at the end of the day.” 

Kris Fearnley says:

“The collaboration between the centres makes 100% sense, Canary has been focused on training and offering a fantastic friendly dive club but as a side of being so incredibly busy on that side we have had to neglect the retail, while Dive life focuses on retail primarily it makes complete sense to join the centres and continue focusing on our strengths and continue the growth both centres have had over the last few years.“

Canary Divers in Rishton is a dive shop and training centre with years of experience training and supporting the local diving community, recently in the news for their Youth Diver Network initiatives and raising money and awareness for various charities. Situated on the Rishton High Street it’s hard to miss them, the shop features a large welcoming reception and even onsite café.

Divelife in Whitefield, Manchester is a specialist retail outlet offering anything from simple clips to full tech equipment. Run by Oli van Overbeek since 2018, who has 20+ years of experience in diving, after the store had been re-opened by local divers and enthusiasts. Since taking the reins, Oli has built the shop out to the level of a UK premier supplier in just under 3 years. The store now holds the highest levels of accounts with premium brands such as SANTI, Halcyon, xDeep, Ammonite, Poseidon, Mares, Divesoft, and SEAC just to name a few.

DiveLife offers a 3-tier structure of training to offer the best and most modern way of diver training. DiveLife has in-house RAID trained instructors, offer 1-2-1 training via Matrix Diving and also has associate trainers who work with DiveLife from multiple agencies. Servicing and air-fills are also offered on-site, with two extra servicing workshops available for a quick turnaround for cylinders, drysuits and regulators.

For more, visit www.divelife.co.uk and www.canarydivers.com.