Meet the Bubbles or Not Team
The key to a great company is great people. The Bubbles or Not founder, Bob Bennet knew this. He also knew that to train people to become great divers, you had to have excellent instructors. Credentials and certificates were never enough for Bob; he sought out instructors who were humble, and who truly wanted to see students grow and succeed. Instructors with the desire to constantly better themselves and share their knowledge. The Bubbles or Not team is a family of divers focused on introducing people to the joys and wonders of SCUBA.
Robert T. Bennett
Founder – Bob Bennett retired from the U.S. Army and then worked for the Department of Defense. He began diving in 1989 and his experience ranged from open water wreck diving in the Northeast to cave diving in Central Florida. Bob’s primary interest was technical diving, always pushing himself to learn and experience more. During his 25 years of diver training, Bob trained over 500 students from open water through Trimix. We love and miss you Bob.
Professional Diving Credentials
- PADI Course Director
- DSAT Tec Deep Instructor Trainer
- DSAT Tec Trimix Instructor Trainer
PADI Specialty Instructor Ratings
- AWARE – Coral Reef Conservation
- AWARE – Fish Identification
- Deep Diver
- Enriched Air Diver
- Peak Performance Buoyancy
- Project Aware Specialty
- Search and Recovery Diver
- Wreck Diver
- Tec Rec Deep Diver
- Tec Rec Trimix Diver
- Tec Rec Gas Blender
Rose M. Bennett
Owner – Rose retired from the Department of the Army after 24 years of service to manage the daily operations of the dive shop. She began diving in Hawaii with Bob over 20 years ago and is a PADI Master Diver. Like her late husband, Rose embraces the vision of educating the next generation of divers and instructors. With the support of her team, Rose continues to build a family-oriented dive shop focused on introducing people to the joys and wonders of SCUBA.
James Currence
Manager – James is a retired Army Master Sergeant of 22 years. He served seven years with the Pooler Fire Department as Engine company Lieutenant and Advanced EMT. James began his professional dive career in 2019 in Savannah Ga. He and his family all love diving. With a history of being an instructor in the Army and fire department, James loves to teach and share his passion for diving. He received his Master Scuba Diver Trainer with PADI and is also an SSI instructor. James’ favorite class to teach is Rescue diver. James also is an Adaptive Dive buddy with Dive Heart. He has been trained in full face mask diving and enjoys diving his O2ptima rebreather. He is working toward his Tec Rebreather instructor also. As a side note, if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, you’ll want to be diving with James. Just ask him.
PADI Specialty Instructor Ratings
- Master Scuba Diver Trainer
- Open Water Diver
- Advanced Open Water
- Enriched Air Diver
- Rescue Diver
- Divemaster
- Boat Diver
- Deep Diver
- Night Diver
- Underwater Navigation
- Project AWARE
- AWARE – Coral Reef Conservation
- EFR
- Care with Children AED
- Zombie Apocalypse Diver
Dr. William Belcher
PADI MSDT – Dr. William “Zebulon” Belcher, Ph.D. is currently employed as an archaeologist and is a board-certified forensic anthropologist (American Board of Forensic Anthropology) with the University of Hawai’i-West O’ahu in Kapolei. Prior to this position, he served as a forensic anthropologist and archaeologist with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, where he last served as the Deputy Laboratory Director for the last 19 years.
PADI Specialty Instructor Ratings
- Master Scuba Diver Trainer
- Open Water Diver
- Enriched Air Diver
- Rescue Diver
- Search and Rescue
- Wreck Diver
- Deep Diver
- Cavern Diver
- Tec Deep Diver
- EFR
Mark Fairbrass
PADI Open Water Instructor – Mark has been scuba diving since he was a small child in England. He initially trained with BSAC but switched to the PADI system once he moved to the US. Mark is a college professor specializing in teaching Marine Biology. He spends much of his time working with Coast Guard Academy scholars working towards a degree in Marine and Environmental Science. As part of his college activities, he works on projects designed to monitor the marine fish populations off the coast of Georgia and Florida. He is currently working with the National Marine Fisheries Service to tag sharks off the GA coast. These tags allow shark migration patterns to be tracked and population sizes to be estimated.
Jeff Long
PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer (MSDT) – Jeff grew up in south Florida, where he spent countless hours diving the Florida Keys and was originally certified as a PADI Open Water Diver in 1979. Jeff served 23 years in the US Air Force in both the enlisted and officer ranks. After retiring in 2007, he and his family settled in Appling. Jeff has been a leader/coach/teacher for most of his life in everything from sports teams to church programs for youth and adults. When given the chance to teach others about his passion of diving, he jumped. Jeff was the first to graduate from Bubbles or Not’s inaugural VA Certification program where he received his Open Water Instructor’s certification in 2020, and Master SCUBA Diver Trainer (MSDT) in 2021. Along with teaching classes, he has also led dive groups to the US Space & Rocket Center, the Georgia Aquarium, and to the FL Keys to catch lobster.
PADI Specialty Instructor Ratings
- Master Scuba Diver Trainer
- Open Water Diver
- Advanced Open Water
- Enriched Air Diver
- Rescue Diver
- Divemaster
- Boat Diver
- Deep Diver
- Drift Diver
- Underwater Navigation
- Project AWARE
- AWARE – Coral Reef Conservation
- EFR
RHONDA McMULLEN
Community Event Liaison – Rhonda entered the dive community as the parent of two avid divers, her teenage twin sons. After two years on the shore, watching her boys experience the joys of diving and many conversations with the late Bob Bennett, Rhonda finally took the plunge. Her dive experience has been amazing and is one that she is excited to share with others. Rhonda began her training in early 2022 and is currently an Open Water diver. She has plans to pursue her Advanced Open Water certification this year.
Rhonda is a Special Education Teacher pursuing her Master of Education and works with elementary-aged students. She is also the Public Affairs Officer for the US Sea Cadet Corps, a local youth group that provides leadership training and opportunities to young people in the community.
As a Community Event Liaison, Rhonda would like to bring the world of diving to the youth of the CSRA as well as to parents and educators. Her mission is to promote community-based events to divers and non-divers in the surrounding area. These events may include local cleanup dives, area beautification activities, and awareness events to bring PADI Aware opportunities to the CSRA.
Butch Lasseter
Service/Technician Specialist -Butch has been diving for over 25 years and is also a PADI Dive Master. He has been a technical cave diver since 2006 and is trimix certified. Butch enjoys riding his bike and most outdoor activities. He also likes cooking and smoking or grilling meats.
BIANCA SHAW
PADI Dive Master – Bianca was born and raised in Southern California. Essentially growing up on a beach, the ocean has always been part of her life. After serving in the U.S. Airforce, she settled in Georgia where she lives with her husband and their three children. Bianca was led to become a Divemaster by Bob Bennett, and she is passionate about helping others in their scuba diving journey.
Alexia Gonzalez
PADI Dive Master – Alexia has been in love with the ocean since she was five. She became Open Water certified in 2014. Alexia is a PADI Divemaster and may work towards her instructor certification. She graduated from Kennesaw State in July 2020 with an integrated studies degree focusing on environmental science, marketing, and leadership. Alexia loves to share the world of diving and sustainability through social media and her blog and is the PADI Aware manager for Bubbles or Not.
Eric Kinzel
PADI Dive Master – Eric began diving in high school in 1989. Over the years, he enjoyed the occasional dive while on vacation. During a Caribbean cruise, he had the opportunity to introduce his wife and children to the underwater world through a Discover Scuba class. His wife was not a fan, but the kids loved it. Julian, in particular, became an instant diving fanatic. Eric took the opportunity to train alongside his son as the duo worked their way through to Divemaster. His oldest daughter and son-in-law became Advanced Open Water divers. Eric loves working with new divers as they experience scuba for the first time. Oh, and his wife, is about to earn her Open Water Diver certification. (Family peer pressure.)
Julian Kinzel
PADI Dive Master – Julian was eleven years old when he first experienced scuba diving while on vacation in Jamaica. From that moment, he was hooked. Now, seven years later, he finds himself certified as a Divemaster and working part-time for Bubbles or Not. As a current student of Georgia Military College, Julian is working towards a degree in business finance. His goal is to become a PADI instructor, share his passion for diving, and encourage others to get involved. Julian is determined to spend a few years working on a liveaboard and travel the world, diving before he gets too “old.”