ALEXANDRE, RETAIL ASSISTANT AT DECATHLON IN TOULON

He's keen on scuba diving. Learn more about him …

I'm 33, I discovered the underwater world through snorkeling. In 2003, I was in the Navy. At the time, I really liked looking at the seabeds and was very quickly attracted. In 2004, I completed levels 1 and 2 to become a Navy diver. I got my military ship diver certification and so I did many operational dives, but also some recreational ones during my stopovers while on missions. I was involved in spearfishing for 4 years, but I quickly realised that I would rather observe and explore. I left the Navy in 2012 and having done a lot of diving, my diving certificate was recognised as equivalent to level 3 certification. Since then, I've been diving more regularly to complete my sports activities in a relaxing environment.

alexandre retail assistant decathlon toulon

WHAT DO YOU DO AT DECATHLON ?

What's your background ?

I left the military in September 2012. After retraining, I applied for a job in several places that I liked, and Decathlon was one of them. Stéphane, my manager, hired me for the summer season. He called me back in October for a fixed-term contract. I now work 35 hours a week as a host salesman in Toulon. I joined the expert branch in 2015 and have been a diving instructor for 4 years.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT SCUBA DIVING ?

What fascinates me most about diving is its “zen” side: being able to breathe under water while observing the fish, visiting shipwrecks and seeing how the environment gradually takes them over. I love night diving because there's a sense of calm that is found nowhere else. It's both scary and attractive. I also like snorkeling because it combines the sporting side with the pleasure that you get from hiking. A nice 2-hour trip makes good exercise and you can also see many things.

WHAT'S YOUR MOST BEAUTIFUL MEMORY OF AN UNDERWATER EXPERIENCE ?

My most beautiful memory was at the time of a stopover in the Seychelles, with colleagues. We had gone diving, the water was warm and crystal-clear, and it was the first time that I had seen so many colours at a depth of 15 metres. We dived for 1 hour, I saw turtles for the first time, so that's a really good memory.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE IDEA OF BECOMING A SUB-EDITOR ?

I'm quite proud to have looked after the tutorials. It was a change from the daily routine and I met a very friendly and professional team. I soon felt at ease with them which is not always the easiest thing since I'm somewhat shy. I'm glad that customers and people at Decathlon liked the videos, because there have been customers who said that they had seen me. And another thing, my 7-year-old daughter, who is starting to use tablets, watches the videos and I could tell she was happy to see me. That's another small, personal reason to be proud!