To better understand the life and work of Nikos Kartelias, I borrow excerpts from the interview he gave to Antonis Drosos of Boat & Fishing magazine.

Photos: Nikos Kartelias, Boat & Fishing, Giorgos Petrou

At a time when as a country we were not on the map of underwater activity, he did the absolute best to go at the behest of the Navy and take part in one of the toughest frogman training schools, that of the USA. Honoring his origins, he came out 1st in the school and upon returning, he built the first obstacle course and began the training of Greek frogmen and later began the certification of the first scuba divers.

Nikos Kartelias created the Kartelias company that we all know. Kartelias is the pioneer company in the field of diving. Former rank holder and first instructor of the Hellenic Navy frogman school. Nikos Kartelias was trained in the most difficult frogman school of the American Navy, and is one of the few who succeeded and graduated from this school and even with an EXCELLENT rating. After his retirement from the Navy, he collaborated with famous American archaeologists in underwater research and excavations, in Greece and abroad.

In 1966, he founded the first private scuba diving school, the first diving center and the first station for filling bottles with breathable air in our country in Kastela, Piraeus, while subsequently he also started trading in diving equipment.

Το 1967 ανέλαβε την αποκλειστική αντιπροσωπεία του οίκου TECHNISUB Ιταλίας για την Ελλάδα, καθώς και τη θυγατρική της, AQUA SPHERE. Ακολούθησαν οι αντιπροσωπείες SPIROTECHNIQUE (τώρα AQUALUNG), BEUCHAT, DESSAULT Γαλλίας, PROBLUE, SCUBATECH, NORTHERN DIVER. Όλοι οι παραπάνω οίκοι είναι πρωτοποριακοί και παράγουν εξοπλισμούς υψηλής τεχνολογίας.

Since 1969, a modern manufacturing industry has been established for the manufacture of wetsuits using high-quality imported materials, ready-made or custom-made. The company was transferred in 1983 to a privately owned building in Neo Faliro. This building, where all the company's activities are housed, was designed for a special diving center, in order to meet all the needs of its customers: Original, impressive and with a very wide variety of all types of retail exhibition. Modern workshop for the manufacture of quality wetsuits, ready-made and custom-made. Warehouses for wholesale sale to selected stores throughout Greece. Repair and service laboratories for regulators with the issuance of certificates. Water-cooled cylinder filling station. Air cylinder re-inspection center (hydrostatic test) with a license from the Ministry of Industry and the issuance of certificates

How did you begin your journey with diving? What was the beginning and motivation for you to get involved in something that was unknown at the time?

Το 1954 υπηρετούσα ως µόνιµος υπαξιωματικός στο Πολεμικό Ναυτικό. ∆εν είχαμε βατραχανθρώπους τότε. Επειδή η Ελλάδα ήταν µέλος του ΝΑΤΟ, το Πολεμικό Ναυτικό είχε την υποχρέωση να κάνει σώμα βατραχανθρώπων, και έστειλε µια εγκύκλιο στα πλοία απευθυνόμενη σε µόνιµους υπαξιωματικούς και αξιωματικούς που επιθυμούσαν να πάνε να εκπαιδευτούν στην Αμερική, και όποιος - όταν γύριζε, θα µπορούσε να είναι εκπαιδευτής βατραχανθρώπων. ∆ηλώσαμε συµµετοχή αρκετοί Έλληνες, 37 αν θυμάμαι καλά, και µετά έγινε µια επιλογή και πήγαµε 7 στην Αµερική. Ήταν Φεβρουάριος, κακός καιρός και πολύ κρύο εκεί πέρα. Οι Αμερικανοί έχουν το χειρότερο και δυσκολότερο σύστημα εκπαίδευσης στον κόσμο. Γιατί από την απόβαση στη Νορμανδία που είχαν χρησιμοποιήσει βατραχανθρώπους και είχαν αποτελέσματα, αλλά και πολλές απώλειες, σκέφτηκαν να φτιάξουν ένα πρόγραµµα, να το διαφημίσουν και να βρεθούν εθελοντές να υπηρετήσουν αυτό το σώμα. Έτσι έφτιαξαν τη σχολή βατραχανθρώπων που βρίσκεται στο Νόρβεκ.

So we went there, 7 Greeks, while in total there are 140 of us from various places, such as Americans, Italians, Turks and of course us seven Greeks. In their program, they prepare the frogmen candidates for two weeks with tough exercises on land and at sea, while the training culminates in the third week, which they call “hell week”. Anyone who manages to get through it without stopping, getting scared, or getting sick is considered suitable to enter the school. If you don’t get through “hell week”, the “devil’s week” as it is commonly called in our language, they don’t keep you, but they expel you. Also, if anyone saw that they weren’t making it, they could leave in the meantime. I was young, 24 years old at the time, and as a Greek I was stubborn, so I didn’t want Greece to be embarrassed and not have a representative. So, I always starred in the exercises. In the end, we ended the “hell week” with 19 Americans, and from NATO I was the only one. And in fact, if you look at my diploma, I was the only student who got an excellent grade in that school.

When did the Hellenic Navy's frogman school begin operating?

Το ’54 τελειώσαμε την εκπαίδευση στην Αµερική, αλλά η σχολή στην Ελλάδα άρχισε να λειτουργεί το 1957. Το ‘57 ήταν ναύαρχος και Αρχηγός Ναυτικής Εκπαίδευσης ο Ναύαρχος Κιοσές, ο οποίος είχε πάρει την εντολή να ετοιμάσει το σώμα βατραχανθρώπων και ήταν αυτός που έστειλε στο ναυτικό την εγκύκλιο για την πρόσκληση εθελοντών που θα πήγαιναν στην Αµερική. Το ‘57 που άρχισε να λειτουργεί η σχολή, έπρεπε να γίνει επιλογή και ο µόνος εκπαιδευτής ήμουν εγώ, οι υπόλοιποι που δεν τα κατάφεραν ήταν σε άλλες υπηρεσίες. Έτσι πήρα το πρώτο σχολείο που ήταν 120 υποψήφιοι, αλλά όταν τους έκανα ασκήσεις για να δω την ικανότητά τους, δεν πέρασε κανείς. Με φωνάζει λοιπόν ο ναύαρχος και µου λέει:

– “Mr. Kartelias, why did they leave? What are you doing to them?” – “Mr. Admiral, I am doing what my country sent me to learn in America,” I replied, so he called me to his office to discuss it further. – “What did you do in America?” I tell him a few things about “hell week” and he turns around and says to me: – “19 came from America and one from NATO. Does America have Olympic champions?” – “Too many” – “Does Greece have any?” – “Apart from Konstantinos, the successor in sailing, who raced with Eskitzoglou and Zaimi, we have no others” – “Since we don’t have Olympic champions, why do you want to produce first-class frogmen. Let’s produce second-class ones at least!” – “No, Admiral. We can make first-class food, but we’ll need some things and a plan to make it happen.” – “What are those?” – “First, the food needs to change. We in America used to eat very well.” – “And who eats well?”

I had information that those who ate well were in the hospitals, where they had meat twice a week, while they also got breakfast, sweets, yogurts, etc. So I tell him that they ate well in the hospitals, so he calls the supervisor and says: "Starting tomorrow, the frogmen will eat double the patient's portion!" The second thing I explained to him was that they can't do exercises all week and work shifts on the weekends. They have to rest for two days.

He then calls the deputy commander and tells him, “The frogmen candidates will not work shifts.” “Third, because we have many children of farmers and sailors, if the service could give them a small allowance, even for their cigarettes, it would be a good incentive.” – “How much?” he asks me… At that time I was getting a thousand, so I tell him “a five hundred.” He immediately gives me 600 and tells me: “Get others now that they will eat well, they will not get tired and they will also have some pocket money!” So, again with the admiral’s supervision, we set off with the jeep and the driver, trying not to do hard exercises and have them run away again (laughs…)

We went ahead and took out a few to start with. Later, an obstacle course had to be built so that they could train better, as was done in America. I had brought photos of the track in America, so we were based there and under my supervision the naval station built them. So we set up a new, similar track. In fact, the naval staff, ministers and other officials came, and they admired this obstacle course, as well as the demonstration that the admiral had me do in front of them. From then on, the school began… And here we had “hell week” and large withdrawals from training.

Then you opened the first school?

Then I opened the first school in Greece, but it took me three years to get a license because there was no relevant legislation in Greece. There were some Coast Guard officers who called me to do various jobs, because there were no frogmen in the market at that time. So I went when the "Agamemnon" sank and I had to see underneath, I went when the dictators were swimming in Lagonisi and I had to see the beach from below, whether there were any bombs, and other things. Once, in a conversation with a lieutenant commander I knew, I happened to tell him that every weekend we have drownings of people who dive because they have no training.

There are schools all over the world, I was a frogman instructor in the Navy, and so I had asked the Port Authority to give me permission to train people so that we wouldn’t have accidents. The person in charge understood this and asked me who I asked for permission from. He called him on the phone in front of me and asked him: “Why don’t you give Kartelias a permit?”, to which he replied “because we don’t have legislation!” He slaps his hand on the chair and says: “Give him, and fix it, I want him to get a permit tomorrow!” And so we started… He believed that a man capable of training frogmen in the Navy could surely save some people who are needlessly drowning on the beaches while going diving!

Έτσι ξεκίνησε η πρώτη σχολή;

Exactly. I took several people out. I had a unique training program. I did imaginary exercises to inspire them and the school went very well. I took hundreds of people out and I can say with confidence that they are the best divers…

Did this first school start in 1966?

Yes. It started in 1966 and continued uninterrupted until 1980 when we came here, as I couldn't keep up and stopped. Then my daughter took lessons.

What do you remember from those first years of school?

I remember bringing compressors to fill with air, because the divers went to the factories to have their air filled. My first students were scientists, like doctors, lawyers, etc., and I had to teach those who had the ability to learn and liked it.

So you were addressing the wealthy world of that time?

No. All over the world. It just so happened that the first school had six students who were all scientists. Then I made groups in the schools where I matched workers and scientists together, so that the lesson would work better.

Did you regret pursuing this career at all?

No. On the contrary, I am happy because I contributed to diving and we have managed to save lives of those who were "lively". I have helped diving, professional divers, sponge divers who wanted to try more modern means. I gave them tanks, and at the instigation of the ministry they came to me and I gave them a school, so they then signed up to do sponge fishing with tanks. In fact, I remember that I put advertisements in the newspapers that candidates were wanted to be trained for sponge fishing with tanks and we had a large group of those who graduated, who then signed up.

Then I have done many excavations with famous archaeologists, mainly Americans, both abroad and in Greece. Students would come from America to practice diving, and Throckmorton, an archaeologist who was financed by the Americans, was obliged to take 10-15 children, train them for a week and leave them. So I trained students from America to learn diving, to learn how and when to do research for archaeology, etc. There are many activities that I have done. What should I remember first now?

Any stories from those years?

Underwater archaeology is also interesting. At one point, Throckmorton, the American archaeologist representing the University of Pennsylvania, knew that a ship called the "Colombia" had sunk on the island and in the Gulf of Sapienza. However, this ship was not visible at all with glasses from above, nor with a bottle from below, because it was buried. But it had to be found, and that is why the Americans, French and English who were in the group for the archaeological research of the area were looking for it, without having achieved anything. When the American asked me for help, I took a 3-meter concrete rod from a building site, made it pointed at the front, put a handle on the back, went to the possible spots where the "Colombai" could have sunk and put the "spit" inside to figure out where there was sand and where there was soil.

So when I reached the spot where the ship had sunk and buried, I felt something different, as if the iron was moving in and out strangely. After making some movements in the 10, 15, 20 meters where the wreck might have been spread out, I told the American that I had found the ship. He couldn't believe his ears and we immediately went to see. We pulled the mud off the top, made an incision two meters deep and we did indeed find a ship, but it was an Austrian brig and not the "Colombaï". A different wreck that no one knew about!

Κάποια άλλη φορά στη Σαπιέντζα, είχαμε πάει να μετρήσουμε κάποιες κολώνες που τις ήξεραν οι ψαράδες. Αφού τελείωσε η κατάδυση και τα μετρήματα (κάναμε 1400 μετρήματα για να φτιάξουμε τη θέση και την κλίση που είχαν οι 17 κολώνες), έφυγα µε το ψαροντούφεκο, χωρίς μπουκάλα, 500 μέτρα πιο μακριά από το συγκεκριμένο σημείο και μέσα σε μία σχισμή βλέπω ένα ροφό. Αν και κάρφωσα το ροφό, µου πήρε τη βέργα μέσα. Έκανα δυο-τρεις βουτιές για να ξεβραχώσω το ψάρι, και όπως έβαζα το χέρι µου για να κρατηθώ, κατάλαβα ότι η πέτρα δεν ήταν ανώμαλη, αλλά τετραγωνισμένη. Ξύνοντας µε το μαχαίρι µου, διαπίστωσα ότι ήταν κάτι σαν δεξαμενή ελαιοπιεστηρίου. Θυμόμουν πως στο χωριό που έχουμε τα λιοτρίβια για τις ελιές, έχουν τέτοιες δεξαμενές. Λέω τότε στους Αμερικανούς ότι βρήκα μία τέτοια δεξαμενή. Πάμε λοιπόν να δούμε τι ήταν και διαπιστώθηκε ότι ήταν σαρκοφάγοι!

In 1967 you took over the exclusive representation of the Italian company TECHNISUB for Greece and then other representations. How did you enter this field?

As for the dealerships, they gave them to me because I was “the one” for the job. Someone had written to Technique in Italy at the time, asking to send him goods to Greece. The person in charge from Italy then came to discuss it and said to him. “Where will you repair the weapons?” He replied: “at Kartelia”. “Then call him here, so I can see that he knows how to repair them properly”. They called me then and I told them that “I can’t be a technician for anyone who has weapons, I only make weapons for my customers”. The Italian went to a second dealer who had also been interested in the dealership and asked him again where he would fix the weapons if they broke, and he also replied “at Kartelia”. So later the Italian came and found me and said to me: “They called me to show me what they do for my dealers, but you do it for me!”. “Yes, but they may have huge sums for imports”… “What can you afford?” While they had told him 5 million, I told him just 300,000. “Isn’t that a little?”, I ask him. “No,” he says, “you’ll do repeats!” That’s how he gave me the courage to go ahead and start importing, to build this store in a place that’s convenient for people, near the electric station, on Piraeus and Syggrou. I quickly managed to gain people’s trust, so that they would say “if I want to shop, I’ll go to Kartelias”.

Even today I offer a work that no one knows about. I constantly supervise the guys here at the store, and I am strict in providing quality and proper service. You can't test a bottle and hit numbers because you saw it was clean. The test must be done properly and let it be clean. Everything here is done for safety.



His wife, Georgia Kartelia, became the first Greek female scuba diver in 1965 and also one of Mr. Kartelia's daughters, Olga, is an Instructor and the other, Dimitra, is a scuba diver.

Nikos Kartelias is clearly the most emblematic figure of Greek diving.

George Petrou:

My acquaintance and coexistence on both a personal and professional level with Mr. Nikos Kartelias was an honor for me and a great motivation to have the strength to face the difficulties of this field and to continue to dream and magically experience our beloved diving in a unique way. This tribute is a small tribute to his person and work.