Brenda Letts - President, Letts Dive!!
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
“Try it, it’ll be fun,” he said...The year was 2011. Joe and I were on our honeymoon in Jamaica. I signed up for a Discover Scuba lesson, it was very exciting, however, it didn’t go so well. My instructor was impatient, and I felt overwhelmed at the pace the skills-drills were going. Of the six students enrolled only two completed the class. I was not one of them. After that experience, I assumed Scuba Diving just wasn’t for me.
For 4 years, yes, 4 years, Joe gently whispered sweet nothings to me, “You should try it again, I bet you will have a better experience. You just need the right Instructor!” Got to give him credit for his tenacity because here I am. The experience gave me a better understanding of why you want your spouse/buddy to love diving! But it can’t be forced! We embrace what we discover and reject what we’re told! Discovering diving was one of my best personal decisions ever!
In March of 2015, I began Open Water Training. Let’s just say, I was on the slow track. Joe was incredibly patient with me, I learned so much about diving and soon enough I had mastered all the skills. The first few dives, I was a little nervous and jokingly confessed I had two fingers gripped tightly on the rear D-ring of his Buoyancy Compensator! However, every dive, I felt stronger, gaining more knowledge and confidence. From there, I accompanied Joe to every class he taught, gaining self-confidence and experience along the way. From Deep Dives to Wreck Dives and Dry Suit Dives in Canada to Mine Dives in Missouri, I continue to grow both personally and professionally.
I look forward to sharing my journey and experience with both the beginner and advanced diver alike.
I’m extremely excited for our next adventure. Along with Joe, I am now the President and co-owner of Letts Dive!! St Petersburg! Please stop by and get to know us! You won’t find a better instructional facility anywhere, Deep Down, We Care!
Joe Letts - Vice President, Letts Dive!!
PADI Master Instructor
The Summer of 1965, at the age of 13, I was working at a shoe factory in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. My first real job. Lied about my age. By my 14th birthday, I had saved up enough to purchase a used set of scuba equipment. 72cf Steel tank with a “J” valve, mask, fins, snorkel, weight belt, weights, a rubber (both sides) wetsuit, and a double hose Royal Aquamaster US Divers regulator. With visions of Sea Hunt and Jacques Cousteau dancing in my head I read the entire US Navy Diving Manual – and headed out to the local quarry.
My father dropped me off and asked, “You know what you’re doing?” I said yes, and he drove away. With me was my best friend Paul Carlson. Paul was there to be my safety diver. Of course, he was fully clothed. The equipment and I malfunctioned badly that day and as I crawled wide-eyed out of the quarry, Paul took off. I never saw him again. Later that year, Dad decided I needed formal scuba diving training and referred me to his friend and coworker, Art. I have never stopped diving since. 7,000 dives plus. Thanks to the Peel Diving Club, (George Bailey, Rick Rowan, Art Sweezie, Frank Shackleton, Paul Mathies, and many others), I became the youngest Scuba Instructor in Canada at 17. Art, Frank, Rick, and Paul are friends to this day.
Joining the Canadian Navy at 18, I became a Sonarman and Ship’s Diver. After leaving the Navy I had a Canadian banking career in Computer Operations. I started Letts Dive!! in Canada in 1985 and my company certified over 1000 PADI Open Water Divers. In 1989, I co-founded an environmentally sensitive diving resort project on the Turneffe Islands of Belize. After divesting myself of the Belize project, in 1992 I emigrated to the USA and have spent the past 27 years in the securities industry, and diving! Brenda, my wife, decided to resurrect Letts Dive!! in St Petersburg, Florida.
I am confident that you will never find a Local Dive Store more dedicated to you, your needs, and your education than Letts Dive!! I look forward to having you visit us, and we want to be diving with you soon!
Erin Langenburg - East Coast Partner, Letts Dive!!
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
I am originally from Michigan, but lived for ten years in France where I completed my Masters degree. I am also fluent in French and hold dual-nationality. When you ask where I am from, I will point out the town on my Michigan “hand-map” as all good Michiganders should.
I have traveled to 37 countries and love meeting new people and learning new languages. I also lived in Chicago, until I decided the cold was no longer for me.
I moved to St. Pete Beach in July 2017 and never looked back. Turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made, because it was here I met Brenda and Captain Joe, and the rest is history! I currently have a day-job at Capgemini in Miami as the Chief of Staff for Sanofi (a French owned, global pharma company), but diving is my true passion.
I did my discover scuba dive in 2015 and decided right then and there that I wanted to make my passion a career and share my love of the underwater world with others. My first time in the water was in Cozumel, and while I did some training at Haigh Quarry while living in Chicago, my go-to place will forever and always be Cozumel.
A PADI instructor since May 2019, and a SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor since December 2020, I truly enjoy sharing my love of diving and ocean conservation with others. My dive experience includes Bali, Bonaire, all over Florida, as well as the Mexican Caribbean and Pacific. I strive to create a fun, trusting environment for our clients and I am very patient with everyone. I will work closely with you and help you get comfortable in the water no matter what it takes.
My favorite quote is from Jacques Cousteau – the father of scuba diving, “...but man only needs to descend beneath the surface, and he is free.”
I oversee Letts Dive!!’s East coast Florida training and charter operation, as well as many of our trips both in the US, as well as abroad. Any classes that interest you can always be done on the east coast, in the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. I like to take our clients to Key Largo and Jupiter or West Palm Beach for training. I also run the social media and marketing arm of Letts Dive!! You can find me and "the other dive shop dogs," Lucy or Wout the pugs, in the shop once a month!
