SCUBA DIVING

My diving career CURRICULUM VITAE

My eyes saw the sunlight first on 24th of November 1981, in small ex-Yugoslavian country called Slovenia. I lived between Italian and Austrian border, in the enclosure of Alps, right by high mountain lakes. Since childhood I showed a great interest in exploring nature's variety, which I even deepened with free diving. My parents couldnt get me out of water for hours, although I trained swimming since the age of 5. After 8 years of intense swimming trainings, I changed boring following of bottom lines with gym- at the age of 18 became Master of martial arts and one of first women judges in my country (this is maybe why I have no problems with panick divers).

The same year-2000, I was accepted to Academy of Fine Arts and Design of Ljubljana, Slovenia . Although I mostly researched interpersonal psychical communication (which I also improved with years of summer jobs in sales and tourism), I kept my love to water. After family and my personal tragedy in 2003 I found scuba diving as the most helpful theraphy. I did first 2 stars of CMAS at home, mostly diving in Adriatic Sea.

In the beginning of 2004 I did first trip to Jordan, got on well with all the stuff in Dive Aqaba Divecentre, especially with my later on instructor- Gareth Bruce, and consequentialy crossed over to PADI- first Rescue and then DM internship. At one of my trips downthere I met one of our most famous underwater photographers, Andrej Voje and became his photo model, which is not very thankful job to do, but I learnt a lot, especially about underwater photo equipment, rare aquatic life sorts and also my diving skills improved.

My Red Sea fairy tale ended up when I had to get back home and finish my study of painting. On 29th of September I did my Bachelor Degree and was assigned an academic adress. Right after it I got accepted to Master degree study of visual communications design. My main subject is Photography.

Totally into this art I regularly attend any kind of courses. I just finished one that was held by one of our most famous documentary photographers, working also for National Geographic, Arne Hodalič.

There is not a plenty of study literature written in my home language, so I mostly study in foreign languages, like English, German and Serbo-Croatian. Which are all my second languages. Then I also learnt little bit of Italian and Arabic in order to achieve easier understanding and better correspondence with co-diving stuff and customers.

My diving future plans are to become instructor and specialise myself in working with people with special needs. To develop better understaning and keep updated Im also attending simposiums of latest hyperbaric medicine researches.

In late 2006 I moved to UK to study Animation and so I live closer to developed diving community, working on diveshows, like the one every year on Birmingham's NEC, where I represent my friend's Jaime Burns all day diving programme Tv Scuba (http://www.tvscuba.com/)

Anja Tolar
PADI # 969426