About Andy
Andy first started to get interested in the aquatics & reptile hobby back in 1974 when his father Tony started keeping Tropical Fish. Three years later he started keeping Tropical Fish himself which led to the reptiles.
His first venture into the reptile world was he got a Garter Snake from Nick at Knaresborough Zoo in 1980! There was very little reptile equipment around at the time so we had to make use of old fish tanks to keep them in - hence these snakes spent most of their time loose in the house. Monitor Lizards followed shortly after also which spent their time lounging around in the living room.
The next project was a crocodile. However the council did not take to this idea and spoke to his parents to try and talk him out of it. This crocodile came later when the shop opened..
Andy's other passions in life were American Cars and Drag Racing which he took part in during the early 90s, racing a 1971 Oldsmobile and then a 1977 Pontiac
In 1993 he took up Scuba Diving and very soon trained to Instructor Level with The BSAC. He became training officer and stand-in Diving Officer at the local club. His diving took him all over the UK from the South Coast and Cornwall to Northern Isles of Scotland.
Wreck diving being the main interest he soon found it necessary to further his training to go deeper and explore wrecks that have never been seen since the day of the sinking. He then progressed onto Nitrox and then Tri-mix diving.