Gil Zeimer is a respected scuba writer, an esteemed journalist, a prolific blogger, and a dynamic public speaker who specializes in crafting humorous stories – he’ll be on stage at the Long Beach Scuba Show (30-31 May) talking about Blue Friday, and his book Scuba Storyteller.
An award-winning advertising copywriter since 1976 and a PADI-certified diver since 1985, his first scuba story was published in 1994. Over that time, he’s crafted more than 2,800 blogs, including more than 300 scuba-related articles, blogs, newsletters, and websites.
Gil’s stories have appeared in California Diving News, Scuba Diving Industry Magazine, DAN Alert Diver, X-Ray Magazine, InDEPTH Magazine, Dive Pacific, Asian Diver, Scuba Diver Life, Scuba Times, Undercurrent, Adventure Journal, Sport Diver Interactive, Dive Travel, The Coral Reef Alliance, Sun Divers Roatan, Red Sail Sports, Local Getaways the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, the Marin Independent Journal, and more.
Embrace The Global Blue Friday Phenomenon: Don’t Shop… Dive!
Do you go shopping and fight the crowds every year on Black Friday? Wouldn’t you like to embrace a healthier alternative? That’s why Blue Friday was launched in 2020 by a Marin Scuba Club member in Northern California who wanted to take his recently certified son diving in the solitude of Point Lobos in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California.
This grassroots initiative has expanded to more divers and more locations every year since then. In fact, Blue Friday 5.0 on 28 November 2025, was celebrated on four continents by dozens of divers––from Australia, New Zealand, and Palau… to Bali and the United Arab Emirates in Asia… to Istanbul, Turkey in Europe… to 10 dive sites in North America, from Hawaii and California, to Mexico and Honduras, to Colorado, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
There was even a worldwide alliance formed this year between Marin Scuba Club, Sun Divers Roatan, The Reef World Foundation, and its Green Fins global initiative to further embody the true value of Blue Friday, with collaborative environmental participation to clean the ocean and beaches of debris, while protecting coral.
This presentation will chronicle the first five years of Blue Friday and its rapidly growing ‘finprint’, with photos and videos, social media posts, and testimonials from those who have embraced its motto of “Don’t Shop… Dive!” Attending this seminar will equip you with the knowledge to become a Blue Friday Ambassador with your dive buddies and friends in the underwater world.
Scuba Storyteller: How I Turned Four Decades of Dive Logs into a Book
Gil has been diving for 40 years and publishing stories about it for more than 30. Along the way, he has amassed more than 300 scuba articles, blogs, and newsletters that have appeared in over 25 magazines and websites, with 65 of his favorites in his first book.
This interactive presentation will be a real-time writing workshop to turn your dive log entries into stories – both for your personal blogs and for possible publication as articles or even a book.
Gil will share his favorite story titles – such as “Warm Memories of Hypothermia”, “Low Anxiety: Getting Narked in Belize’s Great Blue Hole”, “The Sun Also Burns”, “Maui March Madness – Honeymooning With Humpbacks”, “Jaws at 50: This Shark Still Has Legs”, and “My Dive Buddy Wears Diapers” – and how he got them published in various magazines and websites.
You’ll learn how to write headlines that attract readers, craft strong leads to draw your audience into your stories, add subheads to keep your stories flowing, curate relationships with editors, how to be a shameless self-promoter, and much more.
The seminar will conclude with interactive brainstorming for fun and humorous headlines.
Long Beach Scuba Show
The Long Beach Scuba Show, this year sponsored by Divers Alert Network, is celebrating its 39th anniversary in 2026 (30-31 May), and it represents the first show under the banner of new owners Rork Media Limited, which also runs the GO Diving Shows in the UK and Australia, and publishes the global-multi-edition Scuba Diver magazine, as well as being behind the Scuba Diver Magazine YouTube Channel, and long-established website Divernet.
Fans of the long-running event will be delighted to hear that Rork Media plan to retain everything that made the Scuba Show such a staple on the West Coast diving circuit, and enhance it with new and improved elements, including a Main Stage with a huge video wall right in the exhibition hall itself, a new layout designed to stimulate exploration around the hundreds of booths, and additional interactive attractions including a VR dive on a deep-water shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.
The three seminar rooms have been organised into themes, to make it easier to find speakers/topics of interest, so prepare to dive into Adventure, Inspiration, and UW Imaging.
Whether you’re an experienced diver, a new enthusiast, or just curious about the underwater world, the Scuba Show brings together everything you love about diving under one roof.
Greg Holt from Scuba Radio will be entertaining the crowds on mornings before and as the show opens, offering plenty of fun and games, and the chance to win some amazing prizes.
Explore hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest scuba gear, dive destinations, underwater photography equipment, training programs, and ocean conservation initiatives. Attend inspiring seminars led by world-renowned dive experts, explorers, and photographers, and connect with dive professionals, travel operators, and fellow divers from across the country.
There is also the opportunity to expand your skillset. The PSI-PCI Visual Cylinder Inspection course is open to everyone who wishes to inspect high-pressure breathing gas cylinders, or just know about the process. These specialty courses support the inspection process with formal function specific training on valve maintenance and repair, and Oxygen Cylinder Cleaning. Inspectors who are at the three-year renewal mark and want to attend the PSI-PCI Update course will be able to take care of it at the Scuba Show as well.
PSI-PCI offers the only training that is formally endorsed, utilized, and referred to by the cylinder manufacturers. The training has been created with the input of industry professionals and experts in each field to provide you with the best training available to meet the Federal requirements for the associated processes. You can join the team of PSI-PCI Professionals at the Scuba Show. Don’t wait, seats will fill up quickly! Click here for more information and to book a slot.
The Scuba Show offers two full days of ocean adventure, hand’s-on experiences, and exclusive show specials, and is where the US dive community comes together to celebrate the underwater world.
Get your tickets now!
Tickets are on sale now for the Scuba Show, and new for 2026, there is a change to the cost of entry – there is now one ticket price, which gets every attendee full access to the Exhibition Hall, and entry to all seminars.
With many of the speakers in the dedicated Adventure, Inspiration, and UW Imaging seminar rooms either only presenting on one of the days, or giving two different talks, plus with the headline acts on the Main Stage, and the plethora of booths, interactive elements and much more, there is plenty to keep you occupied on both days, so why not make a weekend of it?
Tickets are available now – click here – priced at $33 for a day ticket, and $60 for a weekend pass. There is also the option of a VIP Pass, which includes a weekend pass plus 6 issues of Scuba Diver magazine and 6 issues of California Diving News (Magazine delivery US & Canada residents only), and a Scuba Show Dive Team T-shirt, for $100.
Under 16s go free – bring the family and let the kids dive into the fun as well.
Join us for two incredible days, 30-31 May 2026, celebrating the world of diving at the Long Beach Convention Center!
