Jamie Robbins’ passion for scuba diving began at the age of six when he created scuba tanks out of cardboard boxes and vacuum hoses to take a swim around his parent’s living room. He was certified to dive through the YMCA at the age of 15 in Southern California and has been a scuba instructor with their Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) for more than 25 years – he’ll be giving some insightful presentations at the Long Beach Scuba Show (30-31 May).
He wrote and edited under the byline Jamie Robbins for numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times and the Reno Gazette-Journal. He earned undergraduate degrees in oceanographic technology and religious studies before transitioning to graduate studies in journalism.
His 12-year career in print news ultimately led him to build internet advertising business models for Gannett Co., Inc. newspapers, which led to a technology career in Silicon Valley. From big tech, he transitioned to starting his own business in web portal creation for telecommunications companies and another business in sports videography. He is still active in those businesses, one of which is operated by his daughter, and the other by his son.
Jamie now writes books and teaches scuba in Pensacola, Florida, where he lives with his wife, Donna. He also teaches diving in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.
Learning to Scuba Dive is a Transformational Experience
Jamie Robbins, author of the newly released Jesus and the Art of Scuba Diving, has witnessed hundreds of oddly emotional responses in his many Open Water students over the years. As he began to catalogue these experiences in journals, he started to notice students were not just learning to dive, they were changing their lives.
Through many conversations on dive boats and beaches, he began to hear the stories of overcoming childhood traumas or simply life’s difficulties through the simple act of scuba diving. Come and hear first-hand how he uses diving as a transformational tool to help students (and himself too) learn to emerge from often-traumatic events into a reimagined future with nothing more than understanding and a kind word.
What’s Going on in My Students’ Heads?
Jamie Robbins, author of the newly released Jesus and the Art of Scuba Diving, has witnessed hundreds of oddly emotional responses in his many Open Water students over the years. One day, a student collapsed in tears onto a pool-side chair when asked to make a giant-stride entry into the water. A light came on in his mind that there was much more going on here than a simple scuba skill session.
Join him in this talk to hear the many stories of how taking the time to really listen to his beginning students has created life-long bonds and transformational experiences that went far beyond diving. No one is asking the instructor to be a psychologist, but active listening goes a long way to making better divers.
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!
