For Scuba Divemaster Jana Montoya, the Ocean Isn’t Just a Playground. It’s a Calling

“Scuba diving is like taking a trip to another planet,” she shares. “I see and experience things I would never be able to experience on land. If you are lucky enough to spot an octopus, it’s like meeting an alien. Who else has eight legs, nine brains and three hearts?”

Jana’s journey has been anything but ordinary. Born in Latvia, she lived in the Marshall Islands before relocating to Redondo Beach. Backed by an MBA, she enjoyed a full career as a treasury management professional until her true passion could no longer be overlooked.

In 2019 she cofounded Under the Sea, offering regular excursions for scuba divers. “I take people 100 feet deep and bring them back happy and satisfied with their experience,” she says.

Jana believes that although the ocean doesn’t care who you are, the people who guide you through those depths should care. With that in mind, she actively focuses on community outreach, speaking to children at schools about the importance of our oceans and the benefits of diving.

Jana’s diving adventures, solo or with clients, could include shore diving or boat trips to deeper waters. Popular South Bay destinations include the waters off Veterans Park in Redondo Beach or Terranea Resort and Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes, known for their kelp forests and diverse marine life.

On any given dive, Jana might spot a rare manta ray, anemones, an octopus hunting for clams or small turtles riding the current. “One time, we had a dive you always wish for but rarely experience,” she remembers. “We bumped into the same manta ray three times during one dive! These animals are amazing, and we love seeing them.”

Jana also mentions an affinity for nudibranchs, brilliantly colored sea slugs. “The color combinations are beyond your wildest dreams.” She references a website, beloved in the scuba world, that shows David Bowie outfits that match various nudibranchs.

“As we glide through a kelp forest and sun rays shine through the kelp canopies, it is like being in a magical, enchanted place,” she says. “But instead of walking, you actually fly through it.”

Beyond the sea flora and fauna, there are other treasures to be discovered below the surface. On one excursion Jana spotted a submerged Japanese patrol boat 112 feet deep on the ocean floor, with a gun still mounted on its deck.

A scuba instructor at Dive N’ Surf in Redondo Beach, Jana emphasizes safety protocols tailored to a range of divers. Scuba students can try out their underwater breathing in the pool at Dive N’ Surf prior to diving in the ocean.

She also instructs future scuba divers on how to instruct beginners. In addition to sharing technical know-how, she ensures that they gain a broader understanding of what it means to lead underwater.

By teaching and mentoring, she’s reshaping the future of diving—one breath, one student and one wave at a time. “It never gets old training the next generation, who will change lives as future scuba instructors,” she says.

Avid about conservation, Jana advocates for ocean cleanup and protection efforts. “It is very disturbing to see plastic bags, balloons and abandoned fishing gear and lobster traps, especially if a marine animal got tangled in it,” she says. Dive N’ Surf sponsors a monthly cleanup dive off Veterans Park beach to collect as much trash from the ocean as possible.

Jana’s altruism doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. Before dedicating her life to diving, she volunteered for a human rights organization, translating Russian to those seeking asylum in the U.S. and helping them acclimate and find needed resources to prosper. Some people dip their toes into adventure, and some dive headfirst. Jana is most definitely the latter.