aBOUT US

Jean-Charles (JC) grew up in a small town in central France. Never particularly drawn to school, he knew early on that real-world experience would be his best teacher. One summer, he worked tirelessly to save money for a flight to Ireland, where he hoped to learn English and work in restaurants. He had no clear career plan, but speaking English and gaining international experience seemed like a good way to open doors.
After mastering English, he set his sights on learning Spanish, which led him to Mexico. He found work as a hotel receptionist and bartender in Tulum, and during his time off, he did a Discovery Dive in Casa Cenote. That single dive changed everything, he didn’t know it at the time, but it did. Instantly hooked, he quickly signed up for an Open Water course and spent every free moment diving.
A local dive shop owner noticed his enthusiasm and offered him the chance to train as a Divemaster in exchange for work. Without pay, JC worked daily shifts at the dive shop while keeping his hotel job to support himself. It was exhausting, but he was determined.
While diving in the cenotes, he became fascinated by the tunnels and passageways just out of reach. He constantly wondered: What’s over there? Where does this tunnel go? Realizing he couldn’t explore them without proper training, he saved every penny to pursue cave diving.
In December 2009, he took his Intro to Cave course with Kim Davidson. That was it—he was hooked. The challenge, the skill level, the adventure—it all clicked. He completed his Full Cave course with Robbie Schmittner and, after 15 months of hard work, decided to leave the hospitality industry behind and dedicate himself fully to diving.
His passion paid off when he was offered a manager position at another dive center, where he met Jaime. They quickly became friends and then, dive buddies. Years later, while diving in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia and Malaysia, their paths crossed again in Thailand while both of them were traveling the world. He even spent a few years in Sweden before returning to Tulum in 2015 to reignite his passion for cave diving.

Back in Mexico, JC focused on refining his skills—refreshing his cave diving techniques, mastering sidemount, and becoming an instructor. By the end of 2015, he opened his own dive center, Zen Diving. But he wasn’t done learning. He pursued further training, enrolling in an instructor program with Patrick Widmann at ProTec, where he met Elliot. Their connection would later prove instrumental in the creation of Axolot Diving Expeditions.
Zen Diving grew into a successful business, allowing JC to hire two guides. In 2019, he finally took a vacation, diving caves in Sardinia, France, and Mallorca—where he fell in love with Sa Gleda. But upon returning to Mexico, disaster struck: COVID-19 shut everything down.
With tourism at a standstill, JC lost everything—his shop, his home, his staff. Forced to sell the company car, he shut down Zen Diving and took a job in a food truck just to get by. But in those uncertain months, he started dreaming again—about diving, adventure, and the future.

Determined to rebuild, he landed a job with Nautilus Liveaboards, working in Isla Guadalupe with great white sharks before moving to Socorro. Saving every dollar, he finally bought his KISS Sidewinder rebreather. To fund his next level of training, he took a seasonal job in Iceland, guiding dives in Silfra, and later returned to Mexico for his Cave CCR and MOD2 courses.
With his skills sharper than ever, JC joined Master Liveaboards as a Cruise Director and Operations Manager in Bikini Atoll and Truk Lagoon. That’s where wreck diving stole his heart. The history, the silent giants resting on the seafloor—he was completely captivated.
Back in Tulum, he pushed his limits further, completing his CCR MOD3 on the Fathom MKIII and finally diving the legendary Wakulla Room and deep sections of The Pit. It was clear what he wanted: to explore the world’s most remote dive sites and share those experiences with others.

That’s how Axolot Diving Expeditions was born. Alongside Jaime and Elliot, JC built a company dedicated to adventure, technical diving, and expeditions to the most breathtaking places on the planet.

And so, the journey continues…