Our former students: Gigi

Gigi took her PADI Instructor Course at Purple Dive in December 2025

Where are you from and how did you start diving?

Hi, I’m Gigi — born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Funny enough, people had been trying to drag me into diving since 2015 and I always said no. Fast forward to February this year, when I finally did my very first DSD on a liveaboard in Halmahera… and well, that was it.

Instant love. Since then, I basically haven’t stopped diving.

What made you decide to embark on the Instructor course?

During my Divemaster course, I got to assist quite a few instructors, and I fell in love with watching people’s worlds change underwater.

The real “aha” moment came when I assisted a refresher course for a family with two kids.

Seeing their excitement, building connections, and being part of their journey made me realize: yep, i feel like this is what I want to do, and i think i can do it(?)

And I’ve been hooked on teaching ever since.

⁠What was your favourite part/highlight of the training?

Watching all of us grow together was such a highlight. We started off the Instructor course nervous and questioning ourselves, and somehow ended up as confident instructors.

Seeing my peers develop and inspire one another was honestly one of the best parts of the whole journey.

What was your biggest challenge and how did the team help you overcome this?

My biggest challenge was believing in myself and finding my confidence—very deep, very emotional…

But let’s be real: the real enemy was the RDP. AAAAAAH.

What made it manageable was the team. Everyone was always there for questions (especially my slightly ridiculous ones), encouraged us to ask everything, and somehow managed to keep us calm—even during the IE.

I also really loved how the team understood each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses and supported us in a very personal way.

⁠Where are you working now and what is your current role?

I’m currently in my “life in transition” era and moving to Bali—yay!

I’ve just accepted a position as a dive instructor at a dive center there. On the side, I’m also writing and sharing my diving adventures on social media.

Shameless self marketing incoming! Feel free to follow along on Instagram or TikTok: @plongeegee & @jiejie.gigi

What is your favourite part about your job?

Even though I haven’t officially started yet, I get the feeling I’ll love teaching Open Water students and taking non-divers on their very first DSDs.

How did your training at Purple Dive prepare or facilitate you in finding/working as a dive professional?

Purple Dive didn’t just train us to pass the IE — they prepared us to be dive professionals.

From solid skills and structure to constant encouragement and support, the training gave me confidence in myself and in my abilities moving forward.

What is your best dive to this day?

Hands down, our deep dive workshop where we met a mola mola!!

Also, diving with my peers and instructors was such a highlight.

It felt like the only time we all got to relax, enjoy the dive, and just… be divers again.