**Announcement Made at the 2025 DEMA Member Update and Annual Meeting**
The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association is pleased to announce that Ben Collins is the 2025 recipient of DEMA’s Wave Makers Award. The announcement was made at the DEMA Member Update and Annual Meeting on November 12, 2025.
The Wave Makers Award was first introduced in 2017 and aims to recognize professionals who have been working in the industry for five years or less and have made a significant contribution to the industry during that time. The Wave Makers Award encourages the Industry to support a culture that fosters innovative thinking and encourages engagement with the association and industry by new professionals.
The finalists for the 2025 Wave Makers Award included:
- Ben Collins, Garmin
- Viviana Marcy, International Training, Inc
- Suzanne Tucci, Jr Scientists in the Sea
2025 DEMA Members selected Ben Collins as the 2025 Award recipient by viewing and voting for the finalist of their choice, based on the biographies and short videos that the finalists submitted.
Ben Collins has rapidly emerged as an innovator whose work is reshaping the future of dive technology. As Senior Product Manager for Garmin’s dive category, he has led the development of safety-driven, performance-enhancing tools that blend intuitive design with deep personal diving experience. In under five years, Ben has guided strategy for breakthrough technologies—from diver-to-diver messaging and enhanced surface visibility tools to integrated satellite emergency communication and eco-forward product design using recycled ocean-bound plastics. His leadership has advanced apnea training, improved coordination underwater, and expanded accessibility for both new and experienced divers.
Beyond his contributions at Garmin, Ben brings more than 25 years of scuba experience and a world-class athletic background, shaped by his career as a professional triathlete and long-time member of Team USA. His roles as a Paralympic guide and cycling pilot reflect the same precision, resilience, and user-focused mindset that define his approach to product innovation. Ben’s work consistently elevates divers as explorers and stewards, reinforcing a vision of safer, smarter, and more inclusive diving for all.
DEMA congratulates Ben Collins for his hard work and passionate service to our Industry and looks forward to seeing the contributions he will continue to make throughout his career.
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