Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Dickinson.
Mike was able to get some of the best equipment from his friends back home. It seemed only natural to start a small business to share the goods with new friends he met in the states. They began using their garage in Clewiston, Florida in 1999 to store all of the merchandise and then graduated to a small shop in 2002. Two years later, they moved to Palm Beach County and got a bigger shop off of US 1.
Florida Freedivers’ 2006, they upgraded again to a larger space across the street with three bays. Then in 2010, they rented another open bay next door to store all of the stock. In 2011 they expanded the retail space into the third bay, and in 2012 they wanted to pass the shop to see it continue to grow even more. In June of 2012, Mike and Cherryl sold the shop to Jonathan and Kelsey Dickinson. Once we took over, half of the fourth bay had been converted to a classroom to host FII Freediving Courses. In 2015 Jonathan and I purchased a building on Northlake Blvd that was a landmark in the community. (The Camera Shop) The building had serious potential and need quite a bit of work…We closed in November of 2015 and started the renovations on the 1st of January. The process took us until May where we officially Opened our doors on the 12th of May 2016. Since then we have been ever growing and improving our showroom as well as online!
As we move forward in the future we hope to continue to impress and give outstanding service to every customer we serve. We love to brainstorm about improving the shop, so if you have any ideas we’d be eager to hear them! If you want to stay updated on all of our latest adventures make sure to like us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love to see and get tagged in your fish pictures and get to know you better too!
Martin Stepanek, a 13-time world-record holder and founder of FII, at The Blue Wild Spearfishing Symposium. Later that year, Scuba Works was hosting an Intro to Freediving Seminar that featured him. Martin played a big role in teaching Jonathan the Level 2 Freediving Course, and Level 1 Freediving Course (yes, he did it backward), and then certifying him as a Level 1 Instructor. Jonathan loves teaching, which works great with his outgoing personality. Matthew, Rodman, and Kelsey our other resident instructors who also have a knack for blowing away students.
Since Jonathan is the bold, leader in the relationship, I tend to be the quieter naturally funny one (at least I think so). It’s a good thing I’m the one typing this. I’ve always grown up on boats, so it was an easy transition into being a part of Jonathan’s family. I got certified to scuba dive when I was in college, and have loved diving ever since. My favorite sea creature is the arrow crab. I remember him being the first thing that blew my mind when I was scuba diving. I graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with degrees in Cross-Cultural Studies and Graphic Design. I worked at Apple and started my own design company before buying the shop.
Most recently, we welcomed our 2nd little baby boy freediver into the world on August 12, 2017, His name is Atlas and he was born at home, yes, on purpose. No, I didn’t have any drugs, some like to call me superwoman. He was born in water, we figured it was fitting, and it was the most life-changing experience. PS- I did the freediving breathe up the entire time, and it
worked. It’s almost like women’s bodies were meant to freedive and have babies…it’s pretty incredible.
Since then, it’s been all about the shop….
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being a specialty retailer we face the challenge of big box stores selling people equipment they don’t need or is not the fit for the job. We are committed to ensuring every customer hears our best suggestion and we try to steer them into the gear and courses that will meet their needs to the best of our knowledge.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are the largest Freediving and spearfishing store in the United States. We specialize in freediving and spearfishing gear that allows you to have everything you need to dive anywhere you need! From snorkels to carbon fiber spearguns if there is something you think you need we have it or can get it for you. Our educators are some of the most highly trained individuals in the industry.
Pricing:
- Level 1 freediver course $369
- Level 1 Pool only Freediving course $250
Contact Info:
- Address: 633 Northlake Blvd. North Palm beach, FL 33408
- Website: flffreedivers.com
- Phone: 5618480678
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @FLFreedivers
- Facebook: @flfreedivers
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
