Water sports Employee of the Year 2011 Steve Tippetts is not one to rest on his laurels.
Indeed, the DiveTech employee is six years into a third successful career, having served for 10 years in the British Army and then a decade stint in corporate sales, warehouse logistics and software. But Mr Tippetts had more than that about him.
“I came out in 2005 to see if it was what I wanted, got accepted for this job and made that magical phone call to the boss that everyone wants to. He said, ‘I thought you were in the Caribbean’ and I said, ‘I am’. He said, ‘Don’t tell me, you’re phoning me to tell me you’re staying there,’ and I said, ‘actually boss, that’s exactly the reason why I’m calling you,’ and I’ve never looked back,” Mr. Tippetts said.
He continued, “I just decided I’d had enough of the real world and that it was time to find something that was fun and was for me.”
His part-time work as an instructor had started to expand from a weekend job to three and then four days a week, he said. He decided to go full time and spent eight months researching and training.
Fantastic moments
The underwater world has brought him his fair share of fantastic moments, he said.
“I got up close and personal with nine reef sharks – that was very impressive, especially when a hammerhead came to find out what was going on and what was so interesting,” Mr. Tippetts said. “I’ve come up close and personal with a manta ray on the North Wall. You never know what it is you’re going to see. Sometimes it’s the big stuff, sometimes the small stuff that is impressive.”
On the night of the awards, he said he had no idea he was even nominated and was excited to go along just to enjoy the evening’s festivities. He was lost for words, he said, to be nominated.
“I was amazed,” he said. “It was a fantastic night and right the way up until when they read out the winners I didn’t think I’d got an award. I had no concept of that.”
Mr. Tippetts is senior instructor at DiveTech with responsibilities for overseeing training, supporting staff and making sure they get what they need and the job is done properly. He is also the technical instructor.
Now into a third successful career which has taken him around the world, what advice does he have for youngsters wondering what to do with themselves?
“Make the most of it,” Mr. Tippetts said. “Don’t let anything down to chance. If you’ve got the balls to do it, jump off the beaten track. At the end of the day, when I turn 65 I’m not going to be the person that says, ‘I wish I could have …’ or ‘I wish I’d done this’ because at the end of the day, I’m doing it.”
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