We are turning 5!
Written by Melanie Hwa, 31 July 2024.
5! Can you believe it! Whoa! Loads of people ask me about the journey thus far and without a doubt, I always say that it has been an interesting journey.
Humble beginnings
We opened back in August 2019. All wide-eyed and excited about this new venture and baby that we are building. From securing the lease to PJ Palms Sports Centre to laying the first tiles & seeing it come to life, to shaping Flow’s personality and brand positioning as well as direction to what it is today. Man, walking down this nostalgic memory lane got me all teared up!
Seeing that it was towards the end of the season, we thought it best to take this time to lay a solid foundation for Flow by building bridges with our customers and partners gearing up for the new season in 2020.
COVID-era
Come the beginning of the season in March 2020, we were all excited to get it going! Then BAM – it was 18 March 2020 on Tioman after diving – that the government announced that we would be put on national lock down. I remembered that feeling of helplessness that came crushing down.
MCO (3 months)
Like most, we thought the MCO was going to be a short (much needed) break. Though fearful, we were hopeful. We kept our socials active by keeping our fellow dive buddies WET (while dry!) via our live sessions and quizzes. We had so much fun focusing on building content and our brand.
Despite a very frustrating and demotivating situation, we pressed on – keeping busy and tweaking our ways to ensure courses (dry segments) can still go on safely and effectively. We came up with loads of processes & had most of our theory go online.
Post – MCO (3 months)
BAM! It was such a busy busy busy period! We were swamped! Loads of enquiries, tons of customers excited to get their scuba license with their money saved (and no travelling abroad). We even had to turn customers away because we could not service them! Unfortunately, this fortune did not last long.
MCO 2.0, 3.0 (…. we lost count)
Being regarded as ‘non-essential’, we were always the first to close and the last to open. Striving to keep relevant and afloat, we came up with ways and offerings to keep our customers excited about diving. We engaged partners such as Shangri-La and Carsome as well as started workshops of our own.
Post MCO 2021-2022
We opened up end of 2021 but the whole of 2022 was CRAZY! Because travel restrictions are still on, there were loads of demand from divers to dive locally as well as to take up scuba diving! The whole industry was buzzing and we were certainly swamped!
Post COVID-era
Once travel ban was lifted – we resumed our overseas trips again! Oh man! How we missed travelling! Diving was tremendous and our customers who grew with us were ecstatic! Only this year, would we say that we are entering our post Covid era. And mark our words – we have so much more in store for you guys. 
Despite all the ups and downs, we are proud of how far we have come. And sincerely, we couldn’t have done it without you! Through all the faces we have met, all the laughters we have shared and all the memories made – Flow Dive Center is not just mine. It is ours. It was built on all your shoulders which carried us through the tough times. Thank you, thank you, thank you! To many more years to come!
If you have been with us for the past 5 years, we would appreciate it if would LIKE, FOLLOW, COMMENT, SHARE A REVIEW, TAG US ON YOUR STORIES about your experience with Flow. We would love to read each and every one of them!
