For 40 years, Great Lakes Divers Incorporated (AKA Divers Inc.) has been the Ann Arbor area’s premiere location for buying scuba equipment and learning how to scuba dive. The business aims to offer everyone a chance to have their underwater adventure. It offers classes, equipment and diving locations suitable for divers of any skill set, from novice to expert.
Opening in 1985 under Recreational Diving, Divers Inc. has maintained its commitment to providing diving education and resources to Washtenaw residents. Owner Rich Synowiec, the son of a marinebiologist mother, has run the property for the past 20 years, beginning as an instructor for the company in 1996.
Now, in 2025, Divers Inc., located at 3380 Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor, Synowiec, said he wants to educate a new generation on the beauty of scuba diving.
“While in college, I found that I love doing this,” Synowiec said. “My kids are 19 now, so they have been diving their entire life, and the Great Lakes Divers have become a tourist destination.”
According to the website, Divers Inc. operates as a haven for Scuba Diving, offering services such as gas fills for diving equipment to an “Explore The World” category for you to receive inspiration for your next dive or chronicle the company’s journey of trips around the world.
Along with their services, one central element to their business is the incorporation of training for those looking to dive. According to Synowiec, Divers Inc. has certification under the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), allowing the company to teach scuba diving. He says the lessons for those wanting to learn the basics of diving begin in three areas.
“It starts in a classroom, which is all done online in our store through e-learning. Afterward, our pool is called confined water training. That is where you learn the skills. You learn to clear your mask or put your regulator back in your mouth. That is where we start,” Synowiec said. “And finally, we move into deeper water, and then we do open water training where we take you to a real lake.”
According to Synowiec, the diving locations vary, with the company teaching diving lessons from small lakes throughout Michigan to offering private dives to shipwrecks in Milwaukee. However, Synowiec said their standard teaching site is White Star Quarry, located in Northern Ohio.
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“It’s about an hour and a half away and it’s Caribbean clear water. When people learn how to dive, we support them by taking them to local destinations,” Synowiec said. “We bring people from all over the world to dive with us because we offer something that nobody else does.”
For those worried about any safety measures, Synowiec said that each of his staff members is PEDI safety trained – this includes focuses on diving safety and emergency first response techniques such as CPR and AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) courses for potential cardiac arrest.
“We are all trained in safety, and we are all required to keep trained on it through the professional association we are involved in,” Synowiec said. “PEDI has standards and a quality assurance program so everybody is safe. One of the things that we do is make you a dive buddy. We are not just going to make you competent. We are going to make you good buddies for us.”
Regarding potential visitors, the veteran business said they are always open for potential divers and want you to enjoy the waters with them.
“We have a fantastic staff and a dog named Shipwrecks who would love to meet you,” Synowiec said. “My family dives, and one of my daughters works in the store. We have a way for everybody to try it. So if you are looking for a sport to be obsessed with, we cater to everybody, and we love the people that are obsessed with it.”
For more information on Divers Incorporated – Ann Arbor, you can visit their website or call them at 734-971-7770.
Antonio Cooper is a freelance journalist from Detroit, Michigan. His coverage of music festivals and interviews with local celebrities appeared in The E-Current Magazine, The Detroit Metro Times, XXL Magazine, RichMagDigital, The Ann Arbor Observer, and Pop Magazine.
