Key Biscayne has a new master scuba diver. He isn’t old enough to drive. How it happened

A few miles east of Key Biscayne, a scuba diver descends into the waters of the Atlantic.

The conditions aren’t ideal. Choppy waves batter the hull of the dive boat. The water is murky, allowing only a few feet of visibility in any direction. And strong currents ripple beneath the surface.

The diver is unfazed, slowly gliding toward the ocean floor, hands clasped serenely in front of him.

His name is Matteo Miller. And it’s his 12th birthday.

Underwater mission

Three years ago, Matteo went snorkeling at this very spot, a man-made reef known as Neptune Memorial Cremation Reef. Now, he’s returning to the dive site, less than 24 hours from becoming one of the youngest junior master scuba divers in the world.

To become a master scuba diver, the highest recreational diver certification, you need at least 50 official dives, several specialty training, and multiple certifications. Matteo has been striving for this moment for two years, working with instructors from Diver’s Paradise , a dive shop in Key Biscayne associated with the Professional Association of Dive Instructors.

The final certification Matteo needs is that of “rescue diver,” a training focused on how to help fellow divers in emergency situations, and the reason he is returning to the Neptune dive site. According to association rules, you must be at least 12 years old to complete the rescue training, so Matteo is completing his certification as quickly as allowed.

It’s impossible to know how long Matteo will hold the title of youngest master scuba diver. It is possible that, somewhere else in the world, another newly minted 12-year-old is completing their own master diver certification.

For Mateo, the record isn’t what matters.

“I just love being on, and mostly under, the water,” he said.

How a passion for diving started

Matteo Miller was born on the upper east side of Manhattan, but grew up spending summers at his family’s home in South Beach.

A seventh-grader this school year at Ransom Everglades in Coconut Grove, he first discovered diving in a family friend’s pool.

“They threw me in,” Matteo said, but “not literally.” “Almost,” said his father, Paul Miller, smiling at the memory.

It was in that pool, aided by their friend’s scuba gear, that Matteo took his first breaths underwater.

“That was the moment it just all clicked and I was like ‘I really want to do this’.”

Matteo and his family spent much of 2020 in Miami, and moved there full time in 2021, when he was 8. Desperate for outdoor recreation during the COVID lockdowns, Miller and Valentina Repola, Matteo’s mother, signed up their son for a sailing camp in Key Biscayne. Driving to camp everyday that summer, they spotted a large red-and-white dive flag waving above Crandon Park and it sparked their curiosity.

The flag belonged to Diver’s Paradise. Repola called to ask if the dive shop taught a “bubble-maker” class, the lowest level dive class offered by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors. The people at Diver’s Paradise had never offered the class, but they were more than happy to accommodate the young diver.

The class quickly confirmed Matteo’s love of diving. “I just feel more calm underwater,” he said.

Working toward a scuba diving goal

Matteo fulfilled his junior open water scuba certification on his 10th birthday, convincing his parents to reschedule his oral surgery in order to complete the requirements as soon as possible. Since then he has had his sights set on becoming a junior master scuba diver.

Over the past two years Matteo has received his advanced open water certification and completed training in several areas, including fish identification and underwater photography. He and his father have gone on over 55 dives during that time, sometimes waking up as early as 5 a.m. to get out on the water. Many of these dives have been coral reef cleanups, often with Debris Free Oceans.

The dives haven’t always been easy. Miller said there have been a few times where he’s become “cognizant of the dangers” that are inherent to scuba diving, like when it began lightning while they were out in a dive, or a time he briefly lost track of his son and their dive guide while underwater.

Mostly, though he’s been impressed with just how capable and responsible his son has been while diving. Miller described a moment, on one of the pair’s earlier dives, when Matteo noticed his father’s oxygen tank was leaking. Using dive signs and his underwater white board, he told his dad to stay put while he went to get the attention of their dive master, who returned and fixed the problem.

“The way I experienced it” said Miller, “was, oh, my God, my 10-year-old is 36 feet underwater, recognizes a problem, and rather than pretending it wasn’t there or being freaked out, he came up with an action plan.”

The dive final training for certification

Matteo began the morning of his 12th birthday in the pool at Diver’s Paradise, alongside his father and their instructor Michael Pondel. The trio went through various scenarios: what to do if a diver is unresponsive underwater or what to do if a diver is in distress on the surface. Matteo approached these exercises on this August day with good-natured seriousness, only occasionally pushing his dad into the deep end between scenarios.

Out on the water, the Millers and Pondel re-created these trainings in the real world, and found time for a few other activities in between. Despite the strong currents and clouded visibility, Matteo maneuvered underwater with ease, working through the scenarios and even posing for a few pictures.

Matteo completed his final rescue diver training on Friday, Aug. 9. He said he felt “in awe” after securing this final master scuba diver certification.

“I just want to keep doing more and more and more,” he said.

Matteo is already looking forward to learning other diving-related skills, such as operating a dive propulsion vehicle or “underwater scooter.” In the future, he dreams of becoming an underwater photographer or engineer, or even a Navy Seal.

His parents say they are “very proud” of Matteo.

“Not only am I proud of him just generally,” said his mom, “but I’m also so proud that he’s just fearless, I love that about him.”