Goldman ‘Dives’ into Second Career
Marshall Goldman opened a full-service dive shop after exiting a career in telecommunications.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Marshall Goldman swam away from a career in telecommunications and consulting to open 20,000 Leagues SCUBA and Outdoors, a full-service SCUBA shop, offering classes ranging from beginner to instructor, equipment, service – and trips to all parts of the world.
Goldman personally has traveled to the Caribbean, Pacific Rim, the Galapagos Islands, Socorro, Egypt, and more and stated, “This is the most fun part of a SCUBA retailer – helping divers to find that special place in the world where exploring brings everlasting memories. Now we are set to depart for the Philippines.”
Goldman grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs. His father coached him to swim underwater by throwing pennies in the pool. Later, after learning to snorkel in the chilly lakes of Cape Cod, he became an avid snorkeler. Alongside 30 years at MCI and then some small consulting companies, he became SCUBA-certified and advanced to instructor level. He felt the time was right to leave that industry to pursue diving and teaching others to enjoy the underwater world.
His favorite marine life encounters have been in the Coral Triangle, featuring the venomous blue ring octopus and sea krates (snakes), dozens of different colorful sea slugs, or “nudibranchs,” and his favorite marine fishes — clown triggerfish and Napoleon wrasse, a.k.a., the “hump head wrasse.”
Goldman equates the Coral Triangle to Disneyland. “The colors and diversity of marine life, including fishes, invertebrates, and corals are unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s a large area ranging from Papua New Guinea in the east, Indonesia to the west and the Philippines to the north.” More locally, he likes to take groups to the Florida Keys and study reef conservation.
Then there are his other favs, stating, “Diving the reefs of Cuba’s Garden of the Queens (Jardines de le Reina) is one of the best experiences reminiscent of what healthy reefs looked like decades ago. Divers see a range of sea life, from the smallest and some of the rarest of marine animals all the way up to goliath groupers and reef sharks on almost every dive. My favorite fish in this area is the Cuban or golden basslet – a small fish … that is endemic to Cuba. The quality of these reefs is due to the protection afforded to them by the state and reminds us as divers that we, too, are stewards of the reefs.”
Goldman has never experienced eminent danger. However, while diving in Cuba, he was approached by a baby shark who gently bopped him with its snout, then bit his camera’s flash.
“As photographic flash equipment emits a high-pitched electrical current, the shark confused the flash with a small animal! After that, he skedaddled.”
Goldman reminds readers, “While sharks have an extremely powerful bite, they often make a trial bite to determine if something is food.”
In terms of renting vs. owning equipment, Goldman weighs, “Many divers find that investing in their own SCUBA equipment pays them back in familiarity and comfort. This is especially important for dive computers, which assist in controlling dive time to ensure safe dives. The main equipment that is required for most dive shops is the personal equipment of mask, snorkel, fins, and fin boots. There are other items which every diver must have in some diving situations. A trustworthy, local dive shop is the best place to help pick out equipment that fits best.”
Goldman is a volunteer diver at the Georgia Aquarium and spends about 300 hours per year maintaining the freshwater and marine habitats there. He’s an avid underwater photographer, and previously, bred fish from the brackish waters of Lakes Malawi and Tanginika.
On making a late-in-life career shift, Goldman advises, “If 18 percent of small businesses fail within one year and 50 percent fail within two years, make sure to have adequate cash reserves prior to jumping from a steady job to owning your own business. Hire the right people. Don’t look to agree with them universally – listen to their opinions on matters of customer, product, and pricing before making final decisions. If you make a life change to own your own business, assure that it’s something about which you are passionate. That will carry you through tough times.”
Goldman and wife, Roberta, are members of Temple Beth Tikvah.
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