Meet the Team

Ben Lair

Ben is a full-time dive professional that specializes in technical diving and underwater photography and videography. Ben has experience teaching and diving all over the world. Ben currently teaches open circuit technical diving, overhead (cave & wreck), and CCR courses (CM O2ptima & Divesoft Liberty SM). Ben is an Instructor Trainer for TDI and offers instructor level courses for a variety of technical diving programs and the Dive Rite CM O2ptima. In addition to teaching, Ben has a passion for organizing diving expeditions in remote and harsh environments and capturing these images for others to enjoy. He realizes that most people will never be able to see these incredible places so he works diligently to be able to bring the images to life.

Ben has experience teaching technical diving courses in Playa del Carmen / Tulum, Mexico – North and South Florida – Southern California – Arizona – San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico – Bonaire – Indonesia – the Cayman Islands and more. With his past experience and vast network of dive professionals Ben is able to effectively organize training courses all over the world. Ben has also worked with production companies and TV programs as a CCR safety diver and has had his images and videos used by NatGeo, the Discovery Channel, and the BBC.

Ben is the co-owner of Paragon Dive Group, one of the largest online retailers in the US. Paragon Dive Group specializes in retailing dive gear from almost all major manufacturers and running dive trips all over the world. Ben currently teaches the Dive Rite CM O2ptima and Divesoft Liberty Sidemount CCR. In addition he offers full cave diving programs in both open circuit and rebreather levels.

Prior to taking the plunge into diving full time, Ben worked as a Firefighter/Paramedic in Tucson, Arizona before retiring from public service to focus on what he loves: life under the water. If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to reach out. Ben loves to talk all things diving! Take a few minutes to explore his photography site and Paragon Dive Group with the links below.

Ben has experience diving all over the world some of the notable places include - new wreck discoveries in Southern California, running trips and guiding on the HMHS Britannic, cave exploration in Mexico, Florida and Norway, mine exploration in Arizona, Poland and Slovakia. Wreck diving trips to Truk Lagoon, Bikini Atoll, Scapa Flow, and more. Part of what makes diving exciting is exploring some of the most remote placed on the planet.

Learn More About Ben:

www.BJLDiving.com
www.BJLImagery.com
www.Choptima.com

Ben@ParagonDive.com
+1 520-260-9940

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/ben.lair.3954/
https://www.instagram.com/bjlimagery

If you have any questions for Ben please reach out to him with the contact information above. He would be happy to get you setup in the world of technical diving.