How Our Journey Began
From the owner...
During my senior year of high school at the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley, Minnesota, I was presented with a very unique, life-changing elective class opportunity called "Intro to SCUBA Diving." After 10 days of class time spent learning about underwater physics, dive history, and hyperbaric medicine, my interest in diving was set. I knew it would be a phenomenal hobby. During my first pool training session, I took my first underwater breath and was enthralled. The feeling of weightlessness in a foreign introduced me to a new kind thrill, a thrill I wanted to turn into a career.
A few months after completing my PADI Open Water Diver certification test, I began attempting to make my newfound hobby into a livable career. I started out my first underwater job SCUBA diving for lake weeds as a weekend job on top of my full time pipe welding job. Both occupations enthralled me so much that I couldn't just choose one over another...so I combined both occupations by attending an underwater welding academy in New Jersey! After six months of rigorous training, I became a commercially certified surface-supply "hard hat" diver and began traveling Minnesota for maritime contracts such as bridge inspection, salvage, hydroelectric dam maintenance, pile driving, and occasional underwater welding. Since becoming a commercial diver, I have taken every summer off to pursue my diving roots in SCUBA lake weed removal.
I started Holy Divers Aquatic Weed Removal to bring a unique, more effective approach to aquatic weed removal by combining my weed removal experience with professional diving knowledge. With commercial dive gear, specialized waterproof tools, a safety-oriented mindset, and valuable experience from multiple underwater trades, I genuinely hope to build a strong reputation for Holy Divers by revolutionizing the aquatic weed removal industry in lakes all over the Midwest.
​
Dominic Tappella
Owner, Lead SCUBA Diver
​
​