KISS Rebreather Team
Mike Young – Owner, Product Manager
Growing up in the mountains of Colorado, Mike Young’s childhood was nothing short of unique.
Back in September, 1974 Erwin and Lynne Young moved from Post, Texas to Alamosa, Colorado with their four children, Mark, Mike, Sherri, and Jay. Erwin learned the warm (87° F) geothermal water available on his 80-acre farm was ideal for raising tilapia. Soon after that Erwin added alligators to the farm as a means of disposing the remains of the filleted fish harvested. Once news got out about the gators, the Young family was soon thrust into the spotlight of many media programs and articles. Growing up with the saurian beasts, Mike and his brother Jay, were the only ones old enough to work with them for the eager public who wanted to see them, marking the beginning of the Colorado Gators Reptile Park in 1990.
Growing up as he had, Mike discovered no adventure was too big, taking up other pursuits such as becoming an avid extreme skier, hunter, mountaineer and extreme motorcyclist. Mike learned to scuba dive in the early 90’s and made his first open water dives in a sinkhole on the edge of the Africa's Kalahari Desert. This new experience combined with his passion for extreme sports and wrangling alligators, made it natural for him to gravitate toward technical diving. He was soon performing deep cave dives and his interest in sump diving grew.
On the career side Mike was educated and trained as a tool and die builder for automated machinery in the mid 90's. Among his more notable jobs was with the Hiram Walker distillery, where he designed and built an applicator that would apply a red ribbon and plastic button to 280 bottles of Kahlúa per minute.
Mike’s desire for diving and reaching areas unseen has led him to custom build many of his own products. Through his background in engineering and manufacturing, he had become affiliated with both Hollis and KISS Rebreathers for a number of years. In that time he was influential in the design of a number of diving systems, including the development of the KISS GEM gas extender rebreather.
In October 2012 Mike became the third owner of KISS Rebreathers, moving the entire production facility from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Fort Smith, Arkansas in the USA. With his extensive background in machining, product development, and testing, it was a natural move for him to make, and the right one for KISS which he has since developed the KISS Orca Spirit, KISS Spirit LTE, GEM Sidekick SCR and GS CCR.
In addition to overseeing production and designs for new equipment, Mike’s interest to explore is still very much alive. As a result Mike is a member of the Advance Diver Magazine Exploration Team, as well as the US Deep Caving Team. His exploits include the J2 expedition back in 2010, exploring a system in southern Mexico that is 1200 meters deep and required two days of extreme caving just to reach the water. In 2011, Mike and the deep caving team mapped an underground river system in Puerto Rico that totaled over 23 kilometers in length, making it the world’s longest underground river. Some of the area surveyed had never been seen by human eyes before. More recently, while exploring and mapping submerged caverns in the Yucatan peninsula, Mike also discovered a fully intact Mayan vase dating back 1300 years.
Between Mike’s passion for exploration, and actively working on new concepts and designs to further enhance our ability to explore our world underwater, we expect more great things to come!
Kim Mikusch – KISS Rebreather Consultant, Sales, International Sales (rebreathers and parts orders.)
KISS Rebreathers is one of the oldest continuously operating rebreather manufacturers in the North American and international market, and Kim Mikusch has been with the company nearly every step of the way.
Kim has been scuba diving since 1990 and has been diving the KISS rebreathers and involved in the company since 1999. She has a business background and is a former dive shop owner. As she expanded her personal diving horizons, her interest grew to include technical and rebreather diving. She has also worked in the finance and securities industry. Kim owned and operated both Jetsam Technologies Ltd. (KISS Rebreathers) and KISS Manufacturing Ltd. from January 2006 to October 2012.
When Kim took over the business in 2006, she carried on the KISS line of mechanically controlled rebreathers. She continued with the design and development of the Classic Explorer & Sport KISS, and introduced the GEM semi-closed rebreather in 2011. Kim worked closely with Mike Young, who was in charge of Product Development for KISS Rebreathers, for several years. In October 2012, Kim sold KISS Rebreather’s to Mike and the company moved to the United States.
While Kim was the owner of KISS Rebreathers, she ensured that good business practices were followed, quality equipment and parts were provided, and ensured proper training procedures were in place. She was also instrumental in designing a Quality Assurance program for KISS Rebreather's under the ISO standard as well as making KISS Rebreathers a member of the Rebreather Education & Safety Association (RESA). Kim is one of the officers of RESA and KISS Rebreathers currently holds the position of President. She is located in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada.
Douglas Ebersole – Florida, USA Sales Agent & Instructor
Doug is a professional that knows how to wear two hats, and wear them well. While he is KISS CCR Trimix Instructor and KISS Rebreather’s Florida Sales Agent, he is also first and foremost a Interventional Cardiologist at the Watson Clinic, plus director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Florida.
Like most that grew up during the 70’s Doug’s fascination with the ocean was further peaked by watching every episode of “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” to even catching old reruns of Mike Nelson in “Sea Hunt” causing him to long for the day he could learn to scuba dive. In 1974, at the age of fourteen, Doug signed up for his first scuba diving lesson, thus began a large chapter of his life.
His college years were spent at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. His diving was then limited to summer vacations in Florida and Mexico. After college, it was off to medical school in Miami, Florida, where he was much closer to great diving, but the time requirements of studying medicine limited his time in the water. After medical school, he and his new bride, Carol, moved to San Antonio, Texas, for his training in internal medicine and then cardiology while she was training in radiology. Between the rigorous hours of residency and fellowship and the pressures of being a new husband and subsequently a new father, scuba diving was again put on hold, but only temporary.
He eventually found time to return to diving, and his interests progressed through nitrox and trimix and then on to semi-closed with a Draeger Dolphin, which subsequently progressed to closed circuit rebreathers in 2005 with a Sport KISS. Today Doug dives both the Classic and the Spirit.
While he loves to travel to parts of the world documenting the underwater environment with his camera, Doug also finds a special satisfaction in teaching all levels of diving, the one he especially enjoys teaching is KISS CCR. As long as there is oxygen and sorb available, Doug is on his KISS.
"Coming from a physiology background, I love the simplicity of the KISS system,” Doug says. “It is very intuitive and very easy for divers to comprehend all aspects of the system. Additionally, the small size and light weight like the Spirit makes international travel much easier."
As Doug will sometimes joke his real job, “the one that pay the bills", is his cardiology practice in Lakeland, Florida where he is the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Between is medical background and expertise diving, Doug has successfully added both awareness, diagnosis and treatment of PF0’s (Patent Foramen Ovale), a condition in which a tiny hole in the heart’s Atrium has been linked with some SCUBA divers being more susceptible to DCS. Doug has even preformed the procedure to correct that problem on several divers so that they can continue diving.
David Oldham - Mid-Atlantic, USA Sales Agent & KISS Instructor/Trainer
Dave Oldham is a wreck diver, Engineer, technical and Kiss rebreather instructor and Photographer. He enjoys diving on the local shipwrecks along the Northeast US coast, and traveling to dive locations around the world. This includes diving many well-known historic wrecks, and searching for new ones. As an amateur photographer since childhood, he loves combining that hobby with SCUBA diving. He enjoys sharing the beauty of our underwater world, and his love of diving.
"As a wreck diver, CCR greatly simplifies the logistics of deep dives,” he says. “As a photographer / videographer it also improves your ability to get closer to many subjects, and allows you the bottom time needed to get the shots you are looking for. The streamlined, uncluttered design of the KISS reduces entanglement hazards common to wreck diving, while also simplifying the handling of dive and photo gear. The simplicity of the KISS design makes it easy to learn, operate, assemble and maintain. I believe this also makes the KISS less prone to failure. The compact design, light weight, yet rugged construction makes it great for travel."
Tony Howell - New Zealand Sales Agent & KISS Instructor/Trainer
Tony Howell learnt to dive while still in the New Zealand Army temporarily posted to Malaysia. That first dive training was in 1972. In 1975, back in New Zealand, he was awarded his first dive Instructor rating. He is a passionate long serving PADI Course Director (1989) and TDI Instructor Trainer (2003). Tech diving caught his interest in early 2003 and he has dived extensively using Scuba in its various recreational and technical configurations.
As a dive retailer since 2002, Tony understands the need for divers to have top quality gear available to them. He recognized that the CCR was the dive equipment of the future, after all a CCR was first dived in 1878. Now days CCRs are becoming mainstream and training is more thorough. He qualified on an eCCR in 2007 and then upgraded to a KISS Classic mCCR in 2009. He is a TDI KISS Instructor Trainer.
" I just love the simplicity of the KISS CCRs. They are so easy to teach and maintain. I have travelled extensively with my Classic and it has never let me down. I feel much safer on my Classic than I do on tech scuba. A good machine needs to be backed up by excellent Instructors and a solid supportive manufacturer’s infrastructure. KISS has been outstanding to work with and allows me to 100% support my clients in turn ”
Grant Pearce - Australia Sales Agent & KISS Instructor
Grant Pearce is a dive industry professional with a diverse background. He runs Pine Tank Lodge, a cave divers accommodation mecca near Mt Gambier and also AquiferTec, an online dive store specializing in exploration and technical underwater equipment, including rebreathers.
A veteran Aussie cave diver of some 34 years, Grant has been involved in numerous projects in the Mt Gambier region, the Nullarbor, Tasmania and New Zealand. He has also been involved in numerous filming projects and media exposure events, including tech support on James Cameron’s SANCTUM and Coast Australia documentary – as lead character interviewed by Australian Marine Biologist, Professor Emma Johnson.
Grant mixes his professional interest as a scientist and engineer with his passion for cave diving and his study of karst geomorphology (Hypogene Karst development). For many years he converted and dived his KISS Classic as a side mount rebreather. When Grant heard about Mikes Young’s new prototype Sidekick he saw immediately the potential for the sidekick as the ideal exploration rebreather. Grant dives his Sidekick exclusively on all his cave dives. He also wrote the TDI course on the KISS Sidekick MCCR and was the first endorsed Instructor by KISS HQ and TDI to teach the Sidekick. Grant is also a Rebreather Trimix Diver and Rebreather Instructor.
Laurent Lavoye - SE Asia/China Sales Agent & KISS Instructor
Laurent Lavoye, while originally from France, has built up his career working in many parts of the world. He has a business background and is the owner of one of the best-rated dive resorts in Indonesia, 7SEAS®.
In his 20 years as a dive professional, he has achieved the Course Director & Instructor Trainer rating from PADI TecRec & PSAI, as well as instructor with TDI. He teaches all levels of dive training; up to Trimix, open circuit, as well as closed circuit, including at the professional level. Laurent is a well-respected leader in the dive industry, particularly in Asia.
Laurent is our main representative & KISS Sales Agent in the SE Asia/China region, and the primary KISS Instructor, which includes the ​​Spirit Sidewinde​r, LTE, and Classic.
Tony Land
Tony Land serves as the General Manager of Divetech in Grand Cayman – one of the first rebreather-friendly resorts in the Caribbean. There, among other things, he serves as a KISS rebreather instructor, and trimix instructor through TDI and IANTD. He is also teaches underwater photography.
Tony assists KISS Rebreathers with CAD (computer-aided-design) work, and helps turn the visions of Mike Young into 3D computer models for manufacture. He also assists with development, and is currently pursuing new rebreather designs and manufacturing techniques.
One of Tony’s greatest passions is underwater photography. His grandfather, a crime scene photographer with the police department, first got him interested. In his former career, Tony also worked as a Police Officer, photographing crime scenes, as well as being a professional EMS worker. Now, Tony’s KISS Spirit LTE is the perfect tool for him to continue with photography.
Since 2006, Tony has been worked professionally in the rebreather industry, and has been a rebreather diver for the same amount of time. During that time, he has become involved with a large cave exploration projects in Mexico, as well as professional television and video production.
Edd Sorenson
Edd Sorenson (born October 17, 1959) is a technical cave diver known for numerous rescues of lost or trapped divers in the underwater caves of Florida particularly in Vortex Springs and Blue Springs Recreational Park.
His diving career started back in 1995 in the Pacific Northwest that sparked a new passion for the world beneath the water’s surface. He continued his education over the course of the next year. While on vacation in Florida in 1996 to wreck dive The Spiegel Grove, which was blown out, he found his new love for cave diving at Ginnie Springs doing a cavern dive. He was rebreather certified in 1997, Full Cave Certified in 1998 and over the course of the years he has continued on to become one of the cave diving communities best known Instructor Trainer’s for several training agencies.
In 1999 he was asked to join the International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery (IUCRR) as one of the founding members and later founded Cave Adventurers in 2003. After joining the IUCRR Edd did his first body recovery in 1999 at Ginnie Springs in High Springs, FL.
Edd became a local hero in 2012 when he successfully rescued 4 people in 3 different rescues, in Jackson County, Florida, on Merritts Millpond. Edd has been featured in Duracell’s series Quantum Hero’s.
For his efforts in 2012, Edd was awarded first ever Diver’s Alert Network’s Hero Award, Heroic Merit Award and Instructor Trainer of the Year from the Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI).
Edd is the Safety Director for the NSS-CDS and has been awarded a Life Saving Award in 2013. This year at the 2019 NSS-CDS International conference Edd received a Lifetime Achievement Award and the NSS-CDS named an award after him “Edd Sorenson Life Saving Award” which this year’s recipient was Rick Stanton from the UK for his part in the Thai Cave Rescue last year.
Edd has also received awards from Jackson County Sheriff Louis S. Robert III for his Meritorious Service for the lives he has saved, an award from the International Association of Dive Rescue Specialists (IADRS) and the Edd Sorenson outstanding Achievement award from the Aquatic Science Association.
Due to his experience with Vortex Springs cave system, Edd was involved in the 2010 search for missing dive Ben McDaniel. Edd searched the cave system to where he could barely fit his head through and found no signs that anyone had been in that area. The system was pristine with no marks or any disturbance to the floor or the ceiling.
In February 2019 Edd, along with Mike Young, successfully recovered 2 Italian Divers lost for 17 days in the Dominican cave system called Dudu Lagoon.
In April 2019 Edd successfully rescued Josh Bratchley , a British Cave diver who assisted in the 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thai cave, from Millpond Cave in Flynn’s Lick, Tennessee. Bratchley was lost in the cave for 27 hours when Edd found him in an air bell at the back of the cave and successfully brought him out alive.
Edd has been instrumental in the dive community for not only Cave Rescues and Recoveries but innovating and fine tuning “Sidemount Diving” as it became more popular over the years.
Edd has also been hands on with Mike Young, Owner of KISS Rebreathers, on creating a Sidemount Rebreather known as “The Sidewinder”.
When Edd is not teaching diving or saving lost divers, he enjoys riding his Big Dog Chopper, Flying his Piper Cherokee 6 airplane and ... Well... diving for fun!! (Go Figure).
Woody Alpern
Woody Alpern is one of KISS Rebreathers most outspoken and passionate divers. Frequently you will see his presence on social media, as well as many dive sites, showing his passion for KISS Rebreather diving, the environment, & his family. He first started diving in 1978, at the age of 14. His goal, to catch Lobsters underneath the Port Everglades inlet in Ft. Lauderdale and sell them for a side business.
He now holds Elite Instructor Status through PADI, teaches PADI Tec 40, as well as being a PADI IDC Staff Instructor on the KISS Spirit OS, and LTE. He is the recipient of 12 PADI Excellence awards for teaching.
He is an SSI Instructor Trainer, as well as Instructor through IANTD and TDI teaching technical diving on the KISS Spirit. He is an IANTD hypoxic Trimix KISS diver.
He now has over 7000 dives, with a passion for deep wreck diving, his KISS Spirit LTE with bright pink canister’s, his tool of choice!
He is a diver at the Georgia Aquarium, as well as a performer there.
Woody is a CPA/PFS, Commercial Real Estate Developer/Owner/Investor, Co-Founded RebelInvestor.com, President and CEO of CPA Wealth Advisors, LLC (further info at CPA4Wealth.com), and Radio Talk Show Host – “CPA Wealth Advisors Radio Show”.
