Kevin Tate

Tate teaches TDI out of Florida Springs Scuba in north Florida cave country, and he is almost always named alongside Toby Keith, who teaches with him — most of the praise in the reviews is for the pair rather than one instructor, and it reads as a genuine partnership rather than a shop listing two names. Two things stand out. Students travel a long way for it: one couple drives eighteen hours from up north, another reviewer regularly comes down from Northern Virginia, and in one case two instructors from another operation took their Extended Range course with him and were, in their own words, completely blown away. And the reviews are specific about what the advanced courses demand — "these are advanced levels of diving that demand real expertise, not just in skills, but in safety, awareness" — which is the register of somebody describing a course that was harder than expected and better for it. He is recommended on r/scuba for the Orlando area by a diver who did intro to tech and advanced nitrox with him. Reviewers also mention him simply taking the time: a drysuit student notes he "spent all the time I needed to get my questions answered".