Mike Parnell grew up about as far away from the ocean as is imaginable: Chicago`s West Side. “When I was a kid, while all the other boys in my neighborhood were out playing basketball, I would be outside sitting under some tree, reading a book about the sea,'' he said.  Certainly unusual for a young black kid in Chicago’s urban neighborhoods.

 

He took on several jobs in various fields, including medical radiology and ramp service for Eastern airlines, whose discount employee tickets allowed him to fly to the islands, where he took classes and eventually became a scuba instructor specializing in a variety of areas, among them underwater photography, ice diving and wreck diving.

 

This entrepreneur and diving veteran has owned Mike Parnell's Magnum Scuba for the past 40 years, the first black-owned scuba shop in the country.  His credentials include Instructor for scuba diving, (advanced, master and rescue), search and recovery and deep diving, among others.

 

He also trains Chicago firefighters to prepare for their scuba diving license, offering greater financial and job status within the industry.

His travels are worldwide:  Bonaire/Cayman Islands, Cuba, Maldives, Palau, Yap, Indonesia, Cozumel and the Phillipines.

 

Mike has introduced hundreds to the sport, old, young and from every walk of life.  ''I want to introduce as many people as I can, particularly to the wonders of diving,'' he said. He also wants to introduce black youngsters to the sport and to the lucrative career opportunities in the field, and will shortly introduce a non-profit organization to meet these needs.