Falls Scuba Diving Enterprise Celebrates 30th Anniversary

When you think about a typical strip mall, you’d probably expect to find businesses like a restaurant, a liquor store or, perhaps, a drycleaners.  But how about a scuba diving retail store, complete with a classroom and staff to teach and certify you in the hobby?  Not exactly what comes to mind, right?

Thirty years ago, there were four scuba divers who launched that very idea in Menomonee Falls.  Maybe they were swimming against the business currents but the Underwater Connection not only survived, it is thriving.

“We were just hanging out as divers at another store where we took lessons in Delafield and we had other ideas about how we would like to do this business ourselves,” said John Shuder, a Milwaukee native and one of Underwater Connection’s founders. “It was a fun thing.  We had talked to the Menomonee Falls Recreation Department about renting a pool and they said yes.”

Buoyed by that early success, the group searched for affordable rental space to make their dream a reality.  Fortunately, the local Suburpia submarine sandwich shop was closing and, with a lot of hard work, they were able to convert the restaurant space into the retail and classroom space they needed. Underwater Connection’s grand opening was held April 1, 1982.   

Today, Underwater Connection maintains its original Falls location and also has stores in Delafield and Hales Corners. For about four years (1988-92) they also operated a store in Nassau, Bahamas. With three full-time employees and 13 part-timers, Underwater Connection certifies about 500 new divers every year. Most people are able to complete the learning process within two weeks.

“It’s a regular retail store where we are teachers, teaching people how to get certified in scuba diving,” said Shuder, the only original partner still in the business. “We teach the classes at each location and we also sell and rent scuba equipment to our customers.  We are licensed by the State of Wisconsin and are recognized by the Education Approval Board so our classes count for college credit. 

“Some people can study that stuff in three hours, and some people need six hours. There are questions that they do as homework prior to coming to us.  When they are with us, it’s a Friday night, a Saturday and a Sunday that they do all of the class and pool work and then there are two days where we go out to a local quarry and do the last phase which is outdoor training dives.”

Upon certification, the new divers get their new, laminated photo ID card and they’re ready for a whole new world of underwater adventure.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing 30 years because I thought I’d be doing something else long ago,” Shuder admitted.  “The other three partners just didn’t have the same passion for scuba diving, teaching class or whatever. They liked it but when you have a small business like this you really have to love it and dig in.  Our 10-year plan was to be able to quit our full-time jobs and that came about 6 months after we opened.” 

So what’s the secret? How did Underwater Connection grow into such a success story? Actually, many elements have factored into that success. First, they’re selling a concept that is extremely popular, especially to people looking for something they can do in warmer climates during Wisconsin’s frigid winters.

“People really gravitate to the water,” said Shuder. “Homes are being built on lakes and shorelines of water shows that people are just naturally attracted to water. We have a seasonal change where we have people doing river diving as well as in lakes and quarries. Because of our Bahamas experience, we realized that a lot of people save up their hard earned money and, when it gets cold out, they have their vacations planned to go somewhere warm.  So there are many months of the year where people go on vacation.”

Underwater Connections suddenly found itself in the vacation planning business, too. Last February, as part of the anniversary celebration, Shuder and his crew took 56 people on a scuba diving vacation to Bonaire in the Dutch Antilles islands near Aruba.

“When we first opened our doors, we used to do one warm water trip per year and close the store,” said Shuder. “Today, we take up to six trips in the winter, from October through March. We organize the trips and people like the fact that everything is pre-arranged. They bring their scuba equipment and their ID cards and we go on vacation and scuba diving.”

Another crucial element in their successful business venture happened in their very first year.  It involved some risk and was tied to the success of a certain Milwaukee baseball team.

“How we caught fire and went past all of the other stores, I think, is because we decided to take a real gamble at advertising,” said Shuder.  “We advertised on TV during the Milwaukee Brewer games and it happened to be in 1982, the year the Brewers went to the World Series.  We advertised during the pitching changes.  When we took those ads out, the Brewers were very hot late in the season. They caught fire in ’82 and everyone was watching them on TV and at the local bars. The Brewer games were exciting.”

Shuder also credits his then girlfriend for inspiring him to reach out beyond his male customers and make scuba diving appealing to their wives and girlfriends.

“We took a chance with mainstream advertising and we really had our store dressed up where it was like going into Boston Store or J.C. Penney,” Shuder recalled.  “It wasn’t a dumpy guy shop. We called it a ‘center’ and a ‘diving facility’. We changed the mindset that scuba diving was some dirty hobby for a bunch of guys hanging out, doing macho stuff.  My girlfriend impressed upon me that we really needed to talk to the women so that the wives and girlfriends would sign up along with the guys. We stressed that it’s fun, it’s enjoyable and anyone can do it.”

There’s no way Shuder could have imagined the Underwater Connection would prosper as it has. Each day, he’s thanking his lucky stars.

“I love what I do and I’m tickled pink that I’m seeing 30 years in this business,” Shuder chuckled. “I pinch myself every time I realize I’m still doing this.”