About Us

Julian

That's me - the boss. I have been living in Malaysia for almost eight years now. Previously I was in KL working in an environmental consulting company. Before that I lived and worked in Russia for over five years. Talk about a change in environment!

And then I gave it all up to pursue an old dream: to one day run my own dive centre somewhere in the world. Pako gave me a great opportunity, so I took it.

Now 46 years old (the youthful looks deceive many) I enjoy classical music, red wine (anyone who brings a bottle is automatically given "good friend" status - hint) and a good laugh.

Yeen

And that's my wife - the real boss. Yeen is from Kuala Lumpur and we met when I worked there.

Before joining me on the island, she was managing the IT department for the Malaysian subsidiary of a US company in KL. Now she is my administrator of sorts!

Yeen is a keen diver, and will hopefully complete her dive master course sometime soon..... Like me, she loves the small stuff, and likes to join our regulars on nudibranch hunts. She even knows many of the Latin names! She is also a keen environmentalist, and has encouraged me to join the Malaysian Nature Society, of which she has been a member. We share concerns about the future of Tioman, with significant development planned in the next few years. What is now a haven of biodiversity, with a number of unique species, needs to be protected.

History of Tioman Dive Centre

Tioman Dive Centre is a new name for an old operation. Established in 1993 under the name Scuba Point, Tioman Dive Centre was adopted as a new name at the begining of 2002, following a change in management.

Previously managed by Dr Tarek Amin (known to his friends as Pako), I took over the operation in early 2001, after managing it on Pako's behalf for several months while he and his wife Susanne went on extended holiday. Pako and Susanne decided to move on, so I moved in!

We focus on two areas:

Diver training: we provide a full range of PADI dive training courses, from "try it and see" Discover Scuba Experiences, to the professional Dive Master certification.

Leisure diving: for certified divers, Tioman has a range of varied dive sites, each with its own characteristics. Close by we have shallow reef dives with lots of fish and a wide range of corals. Further away are more challenging deeper rock and cavern sites.