Diego Pauel.
Dutch. Based in Koh Samui for over fifteen years. Freediving instructor, spearo, and the person who holds Rob Allen's Thailand distributorship. Every order on this site is packed and shipped by me.
The short version
Freediving first. Spearfishing on top of that.
Freediving is where all of this started. I have trained for over a decade across six different programs under some of the best instructors in the world. When you spend enough time underwater on a single breath, you learn that the body knows things the mind keeps arguing with. Freediving taught me to trust that.
Spearfishing is the same discipline, turned toward a different end. The breath control, the relaxation, the patience, the awareness of what is happening around you at depth — all of it transfers. A good spearo is a good freediver who happens to be holding a gun. That is the order the skill stacks in, and it is why I sell Rob Allen gear the way I teach freediving: technique and safety first, everything else after.
15+
Years on Koh Samui
10+
Years freediving
4
Certifications
Max 3
Students per course
How I work
One person. Direct line. No scripts.
Owner-operator, in the water
I use every core SKU I sell. The Tuna Rail on my charter days, the Snapper for reef work, the rubbers I cut for my own rigs. When you WhatsApp me about sizing or load on a gun, you are talking to the person who shot one that morning. Not a sales rep reading a spec sheet.
Freediving instructor by trade
I teach Apnea Total Level 1 through Level 3, certified across Oxygen Advantage, Breatheology, and Emergency First Aid and O2. Max three students per course, always. That discipline — watch every dive, catch every mistake, correct in real time — is the same one I bring to gear advice.
Honest over hype
If a cheaper gun is the right call for you, I will say so. If a Snapper 90 works and you do not need the Tuna Rail yet, I will say so. I have no interest in talking someone into a 130 cm bluewater gun they will never load comfortably. The repeat customer is worth more than the one-off upsell.
Safety is not optional
Emergency O2 on every boat, every session. First aid certified instructor within arm's reach on every depth dive. These are not extras on the freediving side, and they are not optional on the spearfishing side either. If you are diving with me or buying from me, the baseline does not change.
Why Rob Allen
One distributor per country. That is the model.
Rob Allen runs a single-distributor-per-country policy. In Thailand, that is me. I order directly from the Rob Allen factory in Durban on a distributor price list. Every shipment has an invoice on file at the factory. Warranty claims route through me, in-country, no international shipping, no PDF apologies from an overseas HQ.
I chose to take this on because the brand actually stands behind the gear. Limited Lifetime Warranty on the speargun itself — the barrel, handle, mechanism, and muzzle. Plated spring-steel shafts that take a hit and spring back instead of bending. Rubbers built by a layered dipping process that lasts noticeably longer in Thai salt. These are the technical facts that turn into stories of Rob Allen guns that come back after a year at the bottom of the sea and still fire. I have seen enough of those stories to stake my name on the brand.
Also: freediving, breathwork, spearfishing trips.
Spearfishing Thailand is the gear side. Freediving courses, breathwork, and guided spearfishing trips out of Koh Samui run through my other sites. If you are building the skill stack from scratch — breath hold, technique, safety, then gun — start there and we will figure out the gear together.
Talk to me
One WhatsApp number. I reply.
Sizing questions, rigging advice, warranty claims, trip availability, or just checking if a specific SKU is in stock before you order — message me directly. I run this operation solo. You are not waiting for a support ticket to cycle through three handlers.
Stay in the loop
Gear drops, trip openings, restock alerts
One email when new stock lands. Early access to guided trips. No noise.
Zero spam. Unsubscribe any time.