Jim Campos
Owner, Technician, Instructor
Jim's love of Scuba started by watching Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt. From there he took a PADI Scuba class in the Philippines and dove the beautiful reefs of Batangas. Leaving the Philippines for the US in 1978 on a student visa and wanting to meet people, Jim signed up for a $50 NAUI scuba class. His enthusiasm for Scuba was so great that Jim couldn't wait until spring, so he convinced his instructor to do his actual training dives under the ice! Jim began hanging out with the divers at Smith Diving, diving any chance he could get, and helping the instructors in the pool. Soon he was promoted from dive shop groupie to actual dive shop employee learning how to service and sell scuba equipment. He even started working as a commercial diver. In 1980, Jim went off to California for Scuba Instructor training, returning to Minneapolis to teach as an independent instructor. Jim worked so hard setting up scuba classes, he earned recognition from NAUI, his Scuba training agency, for teaching the most students in a five state area. He quickly developed programs for training sheriff and fire departments divers, becoming a Dakota County special deputy himself.
Jim met his wife, Claudia, when he assisted in her Advanced Scuba class. He claims he married her to keep his tax receipts. She claims she married him for his 25 scuba tanks. They married in 1983 and soon decided to put his passion and knowledge of the Scuba industry and her accounting skills to work. Moving to Rochester where there was no divestore, they opened Minnesota Divecenter, Inc. in 1985, later renaming it MDC Sports. Even though he was running the business and teaching, Jim continued to develop his own skills becoming a Master Scuba Technician for servicing scuba equipment as well as a Technical Diving Instructor in Nitrox, Trimix, and rebreathers. Jim even found time to take cave diving training.
Jim's career took a right turn when Mayo Clinic started planning their recompression chamber. Recognizing Jim's background in gas mixing and his understanding of all things pressure, Jim was encouraged to apply for a chamber operator position. Today, Jim is a Certified Hyperbaric Technician for Mayo Clinic and loves it! Although Jim turned the day-to-day divestore management over to his wife, he can still be found teaching Ice Diving, Equipment Specialty, Advanced Nitrox, and other specialty classes.
Professional Certifications:
PADI Master Instructor with Specialties
In Ice Diving, Equipment Specialist, Search & Recovery, Deep Diving,
Wreck Diving, Dry Suit Diver, Night Diving, Underwater Photographer,
And Enriched Air; NAUI Instructor; HSA Instructor; TDI Advanced
Nitrox & Decompression Theory Instructor
Personal SCUBA Certifications:
Aqualung Master Technician, Apex Technician, Scubapro Technician, Sherwood Technician, PSI Cylinder Inspector, TDI Advanced Blender, NSS/NACD Full Cave certification
Teaching Specialties:
PADI Ice Diving, Equipment Specialist
What got you interested in scuba?
Mike Nelson from "Sea Hunt."
Why did you decide to become a scuba technician?
I had to be a technician to work at Smith Diving in Minneapolis, my first job in the US.
Why did you decide to become a scuba instructor?
It was a good way to make money and have fun.
What is your favorite dive site?
Anywhere in the Philippines
What are your other hobbies or interests?
Paintball, military and political history, eating good food