DEMA 2016 by Jeff Goodman
Having done a few Dive Shows at Birmingham and London, I was looking forward to seeing an American version. No doubt it was going to be bigger, and of course it was, probably by a factor of six – and with warm American hospitality, the entire experience was well worth the long flight(s) and long queues at US immigration and customs.
With 651 exhibitor stands and show areas and floor carpet good enough to be in the home, everyone we met at the show, without exception, were polite, helpful and made us feel welcome. All were keen and enthusiastic to talk about and show us their products.
We were there for four days to talk with and interview exhibitors from equipment manufacturers to dive destination companies and I must say that four days was not nearly enough to explore all that was on offer.
Global names like Scubapro, Mares, Suunto etc were there of course and all showing off fantastic arrays of diving gear. But in addition to these giants were many smaller companies with their own brands and new innovations ranging from ROV’s to environmentally safe sunscreen that doesn’t damage coral reefs. It was an exciting week where we met many familiar faces from the UK as well as making new friends from other parts of the world.
By the end of the fourth day we had completed fifty or so video interviews and I am now starting the process of editing and will be showing them all on Scubaverse over the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Photo: Frogfish Photography
