E098 Por Parasu Komaradat - Thai Sidemount Diving

It's great to bring you Episode #98 with the support of our sponsor XDEEP and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount. Huge thanks to both for their support. In this episode, I introduce a new segment 'Sidemount Diving Secrets' where I'll share some inside tips and tricks that I've picked up over the 11 years now that I've been diving sidemount around the world. Inside the episode, I'll give an overview of the tip, and given we are producing both video and audio episodes, I'll point you back to the Sidemount Pros YouTube channel for the detailed video of each "Sidemount Secret". Let me know what you think and also drop me a note back if you have a tip you'd like to share, or have an aspect of sidemount diving you'd like me to explore. To get us started, this month's Sidemount Diving Secret is regarding the routing of your drysuit inflator hose and is brought to you by Sidemount Pros and is featuring my eBook, "Sidemount Diving Fundamentals" which is available complimentary for Gold patrons and for purchase/download via Patreon or the store on my website at www.sidemountpros.com/store. In this episode, I catch up with Por Parasu Komaradat. Por hails from and is based in Thailand an absolute global mecca for all things diving, from beautiful reefs, to wreck diving. As we'll hear, a heap of caves and mines are being explored and opened up to suitably qualified and experienced divers. Por shares his background in mathematics and software engineering before transitioning to full-time diving.  How he learned sidemount diving from Lamar Hires and went on to also train in Mexico. Por has been working as a technical diving instructor for 16 years. I share my own experience transitioning from software engineering to diving. We discuss the similarities between the two fields and the importance of having mentors in diving. Por also talks about the caves and mines in Thailand and the challenges and differences of diving in each. Por also shares his perspectives on the Mine Diving cross-over course and how important it is to understand how mining is conducted and how mines are created in safely conducting mine dives. Por shares his active projects, including exploring caves in Sulawesi and caves and mines in Thailand. He emphasizes the importance of teaching and building dive communities in the region. Enjoy Steve