Hot off the presses...
July 16, 2003 Rancho Santa Margarita, California
In response to the recent introductions of new equipment by Global Underwater Explorers, a regionally-recognized SCUBA instruction agency, PADI has acquired controlling interest in U.S. Divers of San Diego.
In their press release, PADI Spokesman Rich Waterman, announced that "...due to recent anti-competitive events in the SCUBA industry, PADI has decided to enter the SCUBA equipment marketplace. Most notably, Global Underwear[sic] Explorers has followed the course laid out by Microsoft in the Computer Industry by using its monopolistic control of the SCUBA instruction industry to leverage sales of equipment by its corporate affiliate Halcyon. All of the GUE instructional material forces divers to use Halcyon equipment otherwise the student is 'stroked' out of the class. We aim to do the same, by requiring all PADI certification forms ("PIC Cards") to be accompanied by a Warranty Card for a US Divers/SeaQuest wetsuit, BCD, or regulator. Certification cards will be replaced with badges that are attached to specially designed clips on SeaQuest BCDs."
From their headquarters in Beverly Hills, GUE Spokesman George Irvine V stated "We are not concerned with their actions. We are Doing It Right and they are just strokes....and badges?. Our divers don't need no stinking badges...it wouldn't be streamlined. However, for only $97 you can buy one of our new SPGs to augment our line of backplates, wings, and other REAL diving equipment. Just go to http://www.gue.com or http://www.halcyon.com for more info. Oh, and I will be offering a DIR Fundamentals class next week in Florida or you can buy anyone of Jarod's books online. Also for our computer oriented divers, and I mean Personal Computer not no stinking dive computer, you can download our dive planning software. All of this is available to you, the discerning diver, at a fair value determined by GUE."
Several SCUBA industry analysts also believe that PADI may have something more sinister up their sleeve. "By buying U.S. Divers and the SeaQuest trademarks, PADI may be planning to ask local courts for an injunction against other companies using the word Diver in the materials. They may even force GUE to change the name of its internal publication "Quest" to something not infringing. Rumor has that they may change it to GUDIR.", stated Ben Bought Rodale's Vice President of Advertising and Equipment Review.
For more information on these events, contact DEMA at http://www.dema.org.
July 16, 2003 Rancho Santa Margarita, California
In response to the recent introductions of new equipment by Global Underwater Explorers, a regionally-recognized SCUBA instruction agency, PADI has acquired controlling interest in U.S. Divers of San Diego.
In their press release, PADI Spokesman Rich Waterman, announced that "...due to recent anti-competitive events in the SCUBA industry, PADI has decided to enter the SCUBA equipment marketplace. Most notably, Global Underwear[sic] Explorers has followed the course laid out by Microsoft in the Computer Industry by using its monopolistic control of the SCUBA instruction industry to leverage sales of equipment by its corporate affiliate Halcyon. All of the GUE instructional material forces divers to use Halcyon equipment otherwise the student is 'stroked' out of the class. We aim to do the same, by requiring all PADI certification forms ("PIC Cards") to be accompanied by a Warranty Card for a US Divers/SeaQuest wetsuit, BCD, or regulator. Certification cards will be replaced with badges that are attached to specially designed clips on SeaQuest BCDs."
From their headquarters in Beverly Hills, GUE Spokesman George Irvine V stated "We are not concerned with their actions. We are Doing It Right and they are just strokes....and badges?. Our divers don't need no stinking badges...it wouldn't be streamlined. However, for only $97 you can buy one of our new SPGs to augment our line of backplates, wings, and other REAL diving equipment. Just go to http://www.gue.com or http://www.halcyon.com for more info. Oh, and I will be offering a DIR Fundamentals class next week in Florida or you can buy anyone of Jarod's books online. Also for our computer oriented divers, and I mean Personal Computer not no stinking dive computer, you can download our dive planning software. All of this is available to you, the discerning diver, at a fair value determined by GUE."
Several SCUBA industry analysts also believe that PADI may have something more sinister up their sleeve. "By buying U.S. Divers and the SeaQuest trademarks, PADI may be planning to ask local courts for an injunction against other companies using the word Diver in the materials. They may even force GUE to change the name of its internal publication "Quest" to something not infringing. Rumor has that they may change it to GUDIR.", stated Ben Bought Rodale's Vice President of Advertising and Equipment Review.
For more information on these events, contact DEMA at http://www.dema.org.
