Neal Pinney

I was born on August 5th, 1962, in Bennington, Vermont, where my Grandmother raised me till I was four years old.

I was adopted and blessed to be taken to Canada, where I was raised on a very large dairy farm… Sunday evenings were two shows. One was the “Wild Kingdom,” and the other was “The Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau,” where I sat mesmerized.

I became Scuba Certified in 1984. At the Tackle Shack, Pinellas Park, Florida. The owner was Lou Le Vine And Chad Carney was my Instructor.

I became a very avid spearfisherman. Eventually, making it my full-time profession from 1985 to 2010, working five days a week. I absolutely loved my days in the Gulf of Mexico!

1988-89, I met John Gaffney and entered the NASDS Instructor Training School in La Paz and California.

I have been lucky to have had so many amazing mentors over the years. So many of them are pioneers In our Industry. Through them, I gained instructional and retail experience that is so valuable to myself and the people I work with.

I worked at four incredible shops over the years, both in instructional and retail. These included the Tackle Shack, Mac’s Sports, Bill Jackson’s and my shop in Mexico, Freeshaft BUCEO!