Elite Scuba

Elite Scuba opened its doors on US Highway 1 in Ormond Beach in November 2015, founded by Will Smith and John Fortner with the stated goal of making scuba diving more economical and drawing younger participants into a sport that can otherwise carry a reputation for being expensive and gatekept. A decade in, the shop has built out a full service operation that covers training, equipment, and gear maintenance under one roof, which is not something every independent dive shop manages to sustain.

On the training side, Elite Scuba runs the full spectrum from complete beginners through advanced certifications. A Try Scuba class gives newcomers a low commitment first experience in the water, and Open Water Scuba Certification is the standard entry point for anyone looking to dive independently after training. Beyond that, the shop offers technical diving instruction, cave training, and professional level certifications including Divemaster and Instructor Training, meaning a diver could realistically start as a complete beginner and work all the way up to teaching others without ever needing to leave this one shop. The business holds SDI/TDI Instructor Training Facility status and is a ScubaPro Platinum Dealership, both of which are meaningful credentials in the dive industry and signal a level of investment beyond a basic retail counter with a few rental tanks.

The shop also operates as a full service equipment center, handling regulator repair, compressor sales and service, drysuit repair, and even compressor technician training for divers or shops that want that specialized skill set. That combination of retail, instruction, and repair under one roof is genuinely useful for local divers, since it means gear does not need to be shipped out or driven to a different city for maintenance between dive trips.

Elite Scuba also organizes group dive trips and runs a dive club, giving certified divers in the Ormond Beach area a built in community and a way to get out on organized trips rather than always planning solo outings. For veterans and active military, the shop is set up to accept VA and GI Bill training benefits, which can make the path to a professional dive certification substantially more affordable for anyone eligible.

Volusia County’s coastline and the artificial reefs and wrecks off this stretch of Florida give local divers plenty of destinations within a reasonable drive, and having a dive shop in Ormond Beach itself, rather than needing to travel to Daytona Beach or further south, is a real convenience for anyone serious about the sport. Whether the goal is a first ever breath underwater through a Try Scuba class or a technical certification years down the line, Elite Scuba’s combination of training depth and repair capability makes it a solid home base for the local diving community.