FOUNDER / OWNER

Captain, NAUI Instructor Trainer and Avid Commercial Spear fisherman.
TJ founded “Off The Wall Adventures and Outfitters” 25 years ago in South Lakeland.
Since then he has created a company that boasts 2 retail stores that specialize in Scuba Diving, while encompassing several other hobbies.
He also runs Off The Wall’s charter business in St. Petersburg, hosting spearfishing and fishing charters.
He loves taking people out on the boat and sharing his love of diving with everyone.

OWNER

Shawn has been with Off The Wall Adventures since 2019.
He is a skilled diver and spear fisherman with years of experience and knowledge.
Captain Shawn loves to help beginner spear fishermen and women learn to hunt and shoot fish as well as putting divers on trophy fish.

OWNER / INSTRUCTOR

Jeff joined the adventure in March 2020 after retiring from a 33-year law enforcement career.
He has extensive experience in search and recovery diving, with 25 years on the Polk County Sheriff’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team.
Jeff has been diving for 33 years, and has held his instructor rating for 15 years.
In his semi-retired position, he added his Captain’s license to his resume.

GENERAL MANAGER / INSTRUCTOR TRAINER

Garrett started working with Off The Wall for a summer job in 2010 as a paintball ref.
He fell in love with diving and all other aspects of the Diving as well.
He’s currently a Naui Instructor Trainer, First Aid Instructor, and USCG Licensed Captain.
He enjoys pretty much anything outside.
Hiking, sailing, rafting, mountain biking, golf, and short walks on the beach are some of the current hobbies.
He’s always looking to find more and jump in on the next adventure.
His favorite color is the color of the ocean in the Bahamas on an August afternoon reflecting up from the sandy bottom.
If you want to see that, you’ll have to come with him to the Bahamas on one of our trips.

MANAGER

Brandon grew up in the dive industry working with his father building Off The Wall Adventures & Outfitters from the start in 1999. After graduating from the University of South Florida where he pursued a Bachelors of Arts in Marketing, Brandon worked as a Customer Service Manager for Publix Supermarkets for 7 years. Eventually, the call of the ocean was too much for Brandon to resist and he began working at Off The Wall again. Today, he is the Store Manager of our Brandon location. He enjoys spearfishing and creating comedy on social media. Stop in for a joke. He's full of them. 

INSTRUCTOR & TRIP / EVENT COORDINATOR

NAUI Instructor and Lobster Hunter.
Cassi started her scuba journey in 2019 and became instantly addicted.
She joined the OTWA family in June of 2020 and loves organizing events, trips (local and international), socials and sales that give divers and non-divers an opportunity for excitement.
Cassi loves decompression wreck diving and teaching people about the wonders of the ocean.
Contact CASSI for all your travel wants and needs.

DIVE MASTER

Shay got her open water certification with Off The Wall Adventures in 2019 and has continued her diving education up to Dive Master.
In 2021, she decided to make a career of her passion and became a part of the OTWA Family.
In 2022, she earned her six-pack Captain license.
She enjoys being on the boat, whether that’s being Captain or Dive Mastering.
When diving, Shay enjoys saving the reef from the invasive Lionfish.
Hunting for lobster and spearfishing.

 INSTRUCTOR

Robbie got into scuba diving when he gave it as a gift to himself after graduating from the University of Florida in 1999.  It was something that he had always wanted to do, but never really had the chance until then. In 2005 he became an instructor and began teaching scuba classes. He has been associated with Off the Wall Adventures and Outfitters since 2019.  The thing he likes most about diving is the calming effect that it has.  The thing he likes the most about being an instructor is introducing and teaching people how to dive.  My favorite dive site would have to be Roatan in Honduras. The water is crystal clear, and the marine life is abundant.  My favorite fish would have to be the Caribbean reef sharks I encountered when I was diving in the Bahamas.  He currently holds an active Instructor certification from NAUI and First Aid/CPR/AED with oxygen administration Instructor. Now stop reading about Robbie and get out there and dive! (His words)

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Douglas Ebersole, MD is an interventional cardiologist at the Watson Clinic LLP in Lakeland, Florida and is the Director of the Structural Heart Program at Lakeland Regional Health, an 850-bed tertiary referral hospital in Lakeland.
He has been diving since 1974 and is an avid recreational diver, technical diver, rebreather diver, and cave diver.
He is also a recreational, technical, and rebreather instructor for several training agencies, is a cardiology consultant to Divers Alert Network, RAID medical advisor, and is the Florida Sales agent for KISS Rebreathers.

INSTRUCTOR / SKIPPER

Mark is a retired Naval Officer and has been a Scout leader for over twenty years.
In 2016 he chartered a Sea Scout Ship through St. Stephens’s Episcopal Church to enable older youth (14+) to have a safe place for high adventure activities.
The youth of the ship elected to focus on Scuba Diving and the ship teamed up with OTWA to help make this happen.
This is when Mark joined OTWA to provide a youth program that focus on training youth to plan and dive safely.
Mark’s been diving since 1990 and has logged over a thousand dives all around the world.
In the Navy, Mark was an Aviation Search & Rescue (SAR) Swimmer before receiving his Commission and becoming a Naval Cryptologist Officer. He served a total of 25 years before retiring in 2012.
Skills include: Dive Master / Equipment / Youth Programs / Sea Scouts

Factory Service Repair Technician

Eddie started diving and working on regualtors back in 1976, on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.  He did most of his diving on the Frediericksted Pier (many seahorses ago) and both the Cane Bay and Northstar drop offs.  (First reg he dove and worked on was a Sherwood 2000, which for nostalgia he has a working one on the back shelf).  His hiatus from Scuba was because of the 22 years he spent in the Navy.  After graduation from the Naval Academy, he spend most of his time on the west coast but was abel to travel onboard ships through the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, north to Alaska and Ireland, south to Australia and Kenya.  South America is the place he somehow avoided, he chose Baghdad instead, (yes no ships there)  Pretty much retired, he has been working with us for the past 10 years.  Certified through all of manufactures and years of experience he services all we carry, just make sure you put any tool you use back where you got it from!

INSTRUCTOR

SWIM INSTRUCTOR / DIVE MASTER

Ramona has never been a Stranger to the water. She decided to join the other fish in the sea, and get open water certified with Off The Wall Adventures in 2020. Instantly falling in love with Scuba, she continued her diving education up to Dive Master. In the spring of 2022 she became a part of the OTWA family. You can find her in one of our stores giving back to the community through her swim program or picking up trash during a dive.

1st Mate, Scuba Camp Counselor, Pool Boy & Fish Slayer

 Carter started at OTWA in 2013 as a pool cleaner and was certified as a Jr. open water diver in 2019 completing his final open water dives in Grand Cayman. For Carter only being 14 years old he has logged over 250 dives between the Bahamas, Florida Keys , West Plam and Gulf of Mexico where he loves to spearfish along side of his step father Capt. Tj Konitzer.  You can find Carter in either of the shops filling tanks, helping customers, cleaning the pool, reffing paintball players, deckhand on the boats or underwater shooting fish. 

Captain Dustin has been with Off Thew Wall Adventures since 2023. Driven by his passion for all things fishing he left his 9-5 and started a fishing rod manufacturing company in 2021. Driven to make a change in his life he followed his dream to become a professional fisherman and teamed up with Off The Wall Adventures to make that dream a reality. Motivated to succeed in the fishing industry, Dustin is ready to put you on the fish of a lifetime, all while using gear he has made in his shop.

Freediving Instructor

Scott became a certified PADI Freediving instructor in 2021. While he started freediving primarily as a spearo, Scott found a passion for line diving and the way it challenged him to push his body to new limits and reach deeper depths. In doing so, he realized the importance of technique and safety protocols. Wanting to share this with others, Scott formed Project 5 Freediving (P5F) in 2023. Further, in hopes of expanding into more diving communities, Scott and P5F teamed up with Off the Wall Adventures in 2024. His interpersonal and patient demeanor create a learning environment perfect for newcomers and veteran divers alike. Whether your passion is for line diving or spearfishing, Scott is sure to help you achieve your freediving goals and further your passion for the sport. Sign up for a class today.