I. Love. This. Shop!…read more
We drove from Austin to do research on my first BCD on our way to the UFC fight at the Toyota Center. It was the first of 3 shops we planned to visit that day and, really, we should have just stopped here.
My birthday gift from Boyfriend was a new scuba diving mask because the brandless one I bought 4 years ago sucks. And he's tired of seeing my poor face all fogged up on our dives (I know, I know - scrubber, toothpaste, Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo -- I've tried it all!!). OTA has the widest selection of masks I've seen in a dive shop in a very long time. The last not-to-be-named shop we went to; the woman had me try on one mask, told me the $220 mask was the only one that would fit my face, and how would I like to pay? I'm not an expert, but I find it hard to believe that the shape of my face is soooo specialized that only the most expensive mask would work for me.
Enter Tiffany at OTA. She showed me a mask that she uses, but also some that were $120 less. She told me the difference between brands, styles, tinting, some that came with a box. Turns out my face isn't that special afterall (wha, wha, wha, whaaaa). After finding my supercute Agua Lung mask (with pink lining!), we looked at BCDs.
Enter John. Now, I may have a special place in my heart for him because of his Jersey accent, but he was awesome. We must've spent 45 minutes in the trying on BCDs, getting some great information about brands and which are more likely to be able to service the BCD while we're traveling internationally, and talking about upgrading our watches. Had we stopped here first, we probably would have bought more than just my new mask.
BONUS: On my way to the restroom, I saw a Black man giving a swimming lesson to a toddler. When I tell you he was THE sweetest, gentlest teacher to this little girl who, you could tell adored him, I almost just sat there to watch the rest of their lesson.
A shop with diverse, genuine, enthusiastic, honest and fun staff with an extensive inventory of brands that feels tidy and easy to maneuver around is a rare find.
We'll be making the drive from Austin to come here again.
