From BellBoy to Cave Mentor - Tavo's Darkside Story

In Episode brought to you by XDEEP, Steve Davis is joined by Gustavo “Tavo” Padilla-Pohjanen of Darkside Divers, Mexico. From a rocky start in snowboarding to discovering peace and purpose underwater, Tavo shares his remarkable journey into diving, sidemount, and ultimately the caves of Mexico.Tavo opens up about the importance of foundational training, the need for a strong mindset and preparation before entering overhead environments, and how his passion evolved into Darkside Divers, a thriving training operation built with purpose alongside his wife, Laura. This is a must-listen for any diver curious about the path to becoming a top-tier cave instructor—and why “just meeting agency standards” isn’t enough.Guest BioGustavo “Tavo” Padilla-Pohjanen is a cave and technical diving instructor, co-founder of Darkside Divers in Tulum, Mexico. With roots in recreational diving and a deep commitment to progressive, foundational training, Tavo has worked with legendary instructors like Patrick Widmann, Fred Devos, and John Kieren.Host BioSteve Davis is a passionate sidemount instructor, technical diver, and the voice behind Speaking Sidemount. With extensive experience in sidemount and overhead environments, Steve brings deep insight and curiosity to every conversation.🎥 Watch full episodes & bonus clips: 🎧 Listen to the Podcast - Spotify | Apple | Google — search Speaking Sidemount Podcast📘 Sidemount books: Train with Steve: Support the show: Follow Steve on Instagram: @nzsteved🛠️ Thanks to our sponsor XDEEP - and to Tavo PCDarkside DiversFacebook: @darksidediversmxInstagram: @darksidediversEmail: info@darksidediversmx.comInto Earth – Mick Friis’s video with Tavo:

You can listen to From BellBoy to Cave Mentor - Tavo's Darkside Story online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

From BellBoy to Cave Mentor - Tavo's Darkside Story is an episode from Speaking Sidemount by Steve Davis.

This episode is 01:02:08 long.

This episode was published on Jan 26, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Speaking Sidemount when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.