Kameron D’Hue aka Kam aka Kammy aka MC Kammer aka Skillo is no stranger to the ocean. Kam grew up here in West Bay on Grand Cayman, and spent his summers playing in the waves on an all-to-familiar dock right here at Cobalt Coast. He started his dive career in 2019 and has now been THREE times honored by the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame - he was awarded the Bob Soto Memorial Scuba Scholarship in 2019, awarded as an Emerging Honoree in 2023, and most recently was the Master of Ceremony for the event in 2024! Kam is easily recognized by his fun-loving nature and (sometimes terrible) jokes. Divers, students, and colleagues alike all appreciate him for his charismatic and bubbly personality, as much as his kindness and patience above and below the surface.
Kam has been a stellar member of the Divetech team since joining us in 2023, and for this month’s blog post we thought we’d get to know him a little better!
What was your experience like growing up here on Grand Cayman?
Growing up here in the Cayman Islands was like the best of both worlds, at least to me it was. You had the tranquility and peacefulness that living on a small and beautiful island offers, while also having access to most things someone would have living in a big city. Name brand clothes and shoes, proper housing and clean running water, gaming systems and flat screen TV's, Burger King and Starbucks and Disney and Nickelodeon just to name a few examples.
Kam and his family through the years
What part of the island are you from, and what was school like?
I am from the beautiful district of West Bay on the main island Grand Cayman, which is also where I grew up. Because the island is so small, there's not much difference in the scenery and people throughout the island besides maybe the way each district talks. So, as you could imagine, going to school was a piece of cake, especially going to kindergarten and elementary school because everyone went to the schools in their district. So you basically knew everyone either from being related or running around the neighborhood together.
Now high school was a bit more nerve-racking and interesting. I remember seeing kids I've never seen before, because for high school here in Grand Cayman everyone from different districts basically went to the same few high schools. So obviously growing up in West Bay, I was now going to school with kids from the opposite side of the island in East End and North Side that never saw each other before, which made high school even more interesting and exciting as you got to meet new people/friends.
High school is also where I met my now fiance Lasean (pronounced La-shawn). We've been together for 11 years (since we were 15) so it is safe to say we were high school sweethearts. Besides awesome memories and a good education, she's the best thing I took from high school.
Kam and Lasean
I hear you used to hang out at Cobalt Coast as a kid! What was that like?
Wow! The sweet sweet memories of hanging out at Cobalt Coast with friends. I remember going to Cobalt Coast every summer, Christmas, New Years, public holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving or whatever reason we got a break from school. As you could imagine living on a small island surrounded by water, going to the local beach or dock to jump off was a very popular pastime of ours. We would go ANY chance we got, we especially loved it when it was hurricane season as the waves would be the biggest then. We would jump off the dock doing front and back flips and also play King of the Dock, which is a game where you try to push everyone off the dock until you were the last man standing and crowned "King of the Dock". Sometimes it would be 8 to 12 of us, so you could imagine the epic battles we had on the Cobalt Coast dock. I also find it so funny that when I was younger, me and my friends would sometimes be chased away (politely) by the Divetech staff anytime the water was not safe to jump in because the waves were too big. But that's when we loved it most, so we hated the staff for the most part. Now that I'm an instructor at the same Cobalt Coast dock with the same Divetech, I sometimes do the chasing away hahaha. It's amazing how life comes full circle sometimes. And I will forever be grateful to experience both sides of the fence.
What is your favorite holiday and why?
My favorite holiday is Christmas. For some reason Christmastime always makes me feel happy and peaceful. Seeing all the amazing Christmas decorations, hearing the Christmas songs on the radio, the feverishly unwrapping of gifts and don't get me started on the scrumptious food.
What are your favorite Caymanian foods and traditions?
My favorite Caymanian foods are Cayman-style beef with rice and beans, stew conch with white rice, and cassava cake with a cold glass of sweet swanky (a old time Caymanian drink passed down through many generations with a simple recipe of water mixed with brown sugar, some people would add a little lime or lemon).
And my favorite Caymanian traditions that we still do to this day would be the setting off of fireworks on Christmas Eve, and pitching tents for camping on the beach during Easter with family and friends. And I think what makes me like them even more is the fact that I've been told by visitors/foreigners that they're unusual traditions that's not really done elsewhere around the world.
Where are your favorite places around the Cayman Islands?
Some of my favorite places around the island are:
Food: The Falls Steakhouse, Peppers Bar and Grill, Heritage Kitchen which is right next to the West Bay public beach and a small local restaurant in West Bay called Liberty's.
Fun: Of course diving with Divetech in West Bay is # 1, The Cayman Turtle Centre, ATV Tour of Barkers National Park in West Bay, Parasailing on 7mile beach, The movie theater in Camana Bay and ANY football(soccer) field on the island!
Relaxation: massages at the Kimpton Seafire Resort Spa, a nice slow walk at dusk or dawn on any of our beautiful beaches, strolling around Camana Bay at dusk by the waterside and just staying home with family and friends.
Kam and his football teams
You LOVE playing soccer. Can you talk about your history and experience with the sport?
So my relationship with football(soccer) started when I was about 7 years old. Besides playing for my local school teams when I was younger, I now play for a local team called Future SC in West Bay. We compete in a local league here on Island every year against 14 other teams. I've also represented the Cayman Islands on an international level in every possible age group from the Under-13's right up to the Men’s team. I've been to many different countries because of football, like Haiti, Panama, Jamaica, Canada, and Florida and Philadelphia in the USA just to name a few. I was also selected as the MVP by the Chelsea FC youth foundation Coaches at a football camp held by Chelsea FC in partnership with Digicel in Jamaica in 2014. I also coach the youth Under-11's team for my local club Future S.C. Football has given me so much to be grateful for and one day I would like to have left my mark in football just as much as scuba diving here in the Cayman Islands.
What inspired you to get into scuba diving, and eventually become a dive instructor?
So coming from a family of men who were at sea so much one could say they lived on the sea, and growing up in and around the water, I've always had a yearning for the sea. So once I saw the opportunity to become a dive instructor with Inspire Cayman Training, which is like a trade school here, I dove right in. Inspire Cayman Training along with Mr. Aaron Hunt of Eco Divers, taught me everything I needed to know from open water right up to Dive Master. Then I started my IDC with Ash McKnight of Go Pro Seasports Diving. Luckily for me, there is a scuba scholarship here called the Bob Soto's Memorial Scuba Scholarship which paid for all my Instructor training and gear. Bob Soto, a Cayman dive pioneer, opened one of the world’s first diving resorts on Grand Cayman in 1957. The Bob Soto Memorial Scuba Scholarship is aimed at Caymanians like me who share Soto’s passion for diving and want to further their scuba training and is carried on by his wife Ms. Suzy Soto. Then after many early mornings and late nights of studying dive physics, physiology and other things, I passed my Instructor Exam and became an Instructor.
What is your favorite thing about diving? What is your favorite marine creature?
Although I am someone who likes socializing and talking with others, one of my favorite things about diving is the peace of mind and quietness you experience while under the waves. And another thing I absolutely love about diving is the fact that no 2 days are the same. You could dive the same spot at the same time of day with the same gear with the same crew, with the same everything and still have a completely different dive seeing things you didn't see the dive/day before.
My favorite marine creature would have to be a turtle.......or an eagle ray......or an octopus. I really can't choose. Hahaha
You’ve won some amazing awards and honors, can you talk about them?
In 2015 I won sportsman of the year which is the highest sports award one could be awarded in high school here on Island. I was also prom king that year.
In 2019 I was awarded the Bob Soto's Memorial Scuba Scholarship at the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductee ceremony.
In 2022 I was awarded the VoTech Star award and chosen to be an ambassador. VoTech Stars is a Chamber of Commerce workforce development programme aimed at attracting more Caymanians to pursue careers in vocational and technical fields.
In 2023 I was a local honoree at International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductee ceremony and awarded the Emerging Pioneer award.
And in 2024 I was asked to co-MC the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductee ceremony, which of course I said yes to.
Kam with some of his many awards
You have some cute dogs! Can you talk a little bit about them?
I have 3 doggies. I have a 6 year old shih-tzu male named Duke who I adopted when I used to work at the dog pound on my last day there, he is the loud and rowdy one. Always ready to jump on yah at any moment to play as he's very friendly with strangers. He is afraid of thunder and loves cuddling.
Then there's my 6 year old female shih-tzu Dory who my fiance got from a family friend, she's almost the opposite of Duke. She’s more quiet and laid back, a bit skittish around strangers. She absolutely hates the nail clippers and loves spinning in circles and doing zoomies when she wants to play.
And last but not least, there's Ruby. She is a Labrador-golden retriever mix who we got from a lady that couldn't afford her anymore. She is basically a mix of Duke and Dory in personality. She's friendly but skittish, loud but quiet and sneaky when she wants to be. She loves long adventurous walks and cooked chicken. And she hates bath time and the rain.
Kam's adorable doggos - Dory, Duke, and Ruby
You love telling jokes! What is your favorite joke?
Where do dolphins go to get their teeth looked at?
The Orca-dontist.
What do peanuts say when they sneeze?
"Cashew!!!"
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