NAUI Dive Spotlight: Courtlandt Butts (NAUI #58436L)

From watching anime as a child to supporting global conservation efforts, Courtlandt Butts is proof of how powerful the underwater world and diving can be and how it can inspire, educate, and unite.

Breathing Underwater: The Origin Story

As a kid, Courtlandt Butts was captivated by a little-known anime called Marine Boy. The show featured a young underwater adventure who could breathe underwater by chewing oxygen-infused gum. That concept had Courtlandt completely hooked!

“I used to have dreams about being able to breathe underwater. I’d be in a lucid state, trying to memorize the ‘formula’—how to tell my lungs and heart to extract oxygen from water. Every time I woke up, I’d forget it—but I knew the answer was there.”

From Lifeguard to Diver

Fast forward to his college years at Florida A&M University, where Courtlandt was working as a lifeguard and assistant aquatics director. A dive shop renting pool space approached him with an offer to help recruit some participants for their scuba courses, and he could take it for free.

“I started hanging around the instructors, tagging along on training dives. I got my Open Water certification at Vortex Springs and just kept going.”

Diving Around the World with Camp Adventure

Courtlandt eventually found another unique way to combine his love for teaching and water with Camp Adventure. Now closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Camp Adventure provided Courtlandt with the opportunity to work with a program known as MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation), a network of support and leisure services designed for use by US Service Members.

MWR facilities can be found at US military installations around the world, and their offerings range from movie nights to summer camps. During working during the week, he taught swim lessons and lifeguarded. But on weekends, he went diving. This gave him a unique opportunity to dive across Okinawa, mainland Japan, Spain, Germany, and more.

“I got to dive in 12 countries thanks to Camp Adventure. It was a dream job. Spelman College, where I later became a professor, didn’t offer summer classes, so I kept going back to Japan to teach and dive.”

Coming Home, Finding Community

Eventually, the diving slowed down. But while living in Atlanta, Georgia, Courtlandt felt the urge to reconnect. After some searching, he found the Southern SeaQuestrians, a local dive club, now affiliated with the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS). That’s where he met NAUI Course Director Trainer, Dr. Anthony Ford (NAUI #48401L), who helped him discover all the possibilities a diving career had to offer.

“Anthony introduced me to NAUI. I was already in an Assistant Instructor Course and still working for the YMCA. But after a few conversations with Dr. Ford, I decided to align with NAUI fully, and I’ve been in love ever since.”

LifeGuardian Worldwide: Diving Meets Justice

Courtlandt’s passion for scuba goes beyond sport. He founded LifeGuardian Worldwide, a company that blends his expertise in public safety with his background in justice-centered education and facilitation. Through this platform, he’s been involved with:

Diving With a Purpose (DWP): Training youth in underwater archaeology and coral restoration and is an organizational member of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS).
Black Girls Dive Foundation: Supporting young Black women as they grow their diving acumen.
Junior Scientists in the Sea (JSIS): Serving as DSO and mentor for the organization, which is also an organizational member of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS).
NABS and the NABS Foundation:

Acting as National Safety Officer and promoting scientific diving. The NABS Foundation is also an AAUS organizational member.

“The federal government uses our coral and archaeological data for official mapping and research. When I talk about environmental justice, I’m not just repeating what I read—I’m collecting and can speak to the data firsthand.”

Diving With Purpose, Empowering with Presence

One of the most emotional moments in Courtlandt’s journey came during a NABS dive trip to Belize. A local vendor pulled him aside and expressed awe at the number of Black divers he saw.

“He said he’d seen divers from all over the world visit and come through, but never this many Black people diving. Then I pointed to our team of instructors and DiveMasters, known as the Aqua Corps, and said, ‘We’re all dive leaders.’ He couldn’t believe it.”

The Ripple Effect

Courtlandt’s story is about many different things, but uniquely, it’s about possibility. It’s about reaching people who’ve never seen themselves represented in the underwater world and proving they belong as divers and even dive leaders if they so choose.

“I realized I’ve been a lifeguard in one form or another my whole life. So, I named my company LifeGuardian Worldwide. It’s what I do—on land, in water, and in the hearts of people I meet.”

Get Inspired

Want to follow in Courtlandt’s footsteps? NAUI provides a path to professional leadership, conservation diving, and community-building opportunities around the world. Learn more at www.naui.org.

NAUI Dive Spotlight: Courtlandt Butts (NAUI #58436L)