Neil Andoque: From On-Air to Underwater

Newly-minted scuba diving instructor Neil Andoque, ironically, had an immense fear of drowning growing up. 

In high school, towering in class at 5’5, he almost drowned in a 6-feet deep pool if not for a classmate – a boy much shorter than him – who saved him with his superb swimming skills.

When he was older, he found himself fearfully hanging on for dear life as the boat he was on made its way from Puerto Galera to Batangas, amid a typhoon that brought about huge waves and made for a choppy ride.

All these made Neil fixated with the water, and he was eager to conquer the fear it brought him. This pushed him to finally take swimming lessons – at 30 years old, and alongside kids who weren’t even half his size.

It wasn’t easy, but if there was one thing Neil knew how to do, it was stepping out of his comfort zone so he could see results. After all, he’s had quite a lot of practice through the years, both in school and in his career.

A rocky start

To become a scientist – that was what he wanted when he was young. Neil was specifically interested in biology, but his grandfather wouldn’t hear of it while his teachers didn’t encourage his interest in science.

“Because of that, I leaned more towards arts and communications,” he said. “Being exposed to music thanks to my dad and uncles, I got the idea of pursuing a career as a radio DJ.”

Even if he was only in high school, Neil started applying to radio stations. He’d write scripts on a yellow pad and would record demo tapes which he would send to radio stations. “I knew I was too young to get accepted, but I’d still send applications anyway,” he said.

He was excited to start college so he could finally get a shot at becoming a DJ. However, it wasn’t going to be easy.

“My dad wanted me to be a pilot, but my aptitude tests showed that I was terrible at Math and had no business being in a career that involved numbers,” he shared with a laugh. “However, by some twist of fate though, I got accepted at Mapua Institute of Technology. My dad was happy about me pursuing Engineering because it was a gateway to a career in aviation.”

But in Mapua, he struggled with most of his subjects, so much so that he ended up dropping out from his course without his parents’ knowledge.

“Of course, in the end, they found out. My dad didn’t talk to me for years. He was understandably heartbroken,” he said. “My mom was supportive. She felt I needed a break and so she sent me to the US.”

MTV was all the rage back then, and Neil was exposed to much of it during his stay in the States. This rekindled his dream of becoming a DJ and so, when he came back to the Philippines, he pursued Communication Arts at the Centro Escolar University.

He plowed through college and eagerly started on his on-the-job (OJT) training at 97.9 Home Radio.

Discovering his passion

Home Radio had only been operating for six months at the time Neil joined the team. The station had recently been acquired by its new owners, and was in the process of finding its place in the industry. It also didn’t have much budget to take new people in just yet, but Neil was unfazed. It was an opportunity for him to get to know the industry.

“I made a deal with my boss. I told him I will work more than my OJT hours if they will train me. He said yes,” he said. “I worked for free until I graduated, but they did give me an allowance of 500 pesos a month.”

In the end, the station did end up hiring him, and he stayed with Home Radio for two years before moving on to WRR 101.9 For Life! where he became known as DJ Jack Melo.

It was an experience he relished. For one, he cherished learning from mentors such as DJs Martin D and Chinaheart, and supervisor Mars Ocampo. He also found his groove serving a different kind of audience in WRR, and enjoyed meeting listeners from different walks of life. Of course, working in ABS-CBN’s FM radio station – also the No. 1 station at that time – had its perks as well.

Neil ended up staying a good 13 years. “I can say it was my passion. I never had to drag myself to work, and out of those 13 years, only one instance successfully made me miss my shift: Typhoon Ondoy. As a media person, I always felt it was my responsibility to be at the station especially during my shift, but when Ondoy wreaked havoc in Metro Manila, there was simply no way for me to get to work.”

Much as he loved radio, however, he started to feel how it was changing in the last couple of years to fit the modern times amid the emergence of social media and livestreaming.

At that point, he felt radio wasn’t for him anymore.

“I decided it was time to get off the bus because I’ve reached my stop,” he said. “It was hard because I always thought I would retire in radio. I was really lost after.”

A meaningful venture

What followed was a two-year stint in public relations with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. While he learned a lot in the said job, he was yearning for the same kind of passion he felt in radio. He decided it was time to leave ABS-CBN altogether

To pass his time by while figuring out his next career move, Neil turned to scuba diving, a hobby he had been enjoying after finally learning how to swim. In fact, he even took it a step further and enrolled in the Red Cross Rescue and Survival Swimming Course, thus further boosting his skills underwater.

“When I got over my fear, I realized that water was actually my medium. Underwater, I was graceful and confident. Skills-wise, I learned quickly,” he said.

At first, scuba diving was simply all about seeing turtle and practicing underwater photography. But he quickly realized that the way he felt about it was the same way he felt about radio. “I found a new passion. I could never wait until the next dive. It took forever to put on the gear, I was always wet, my hair was dry, and my skin is burned, but every night I’d go to bed excited about doing it all over again the next day,” he said.

As such, Neil decided to apply for all the necessary certifications and become a dive master.

As a dive master, he would assist the diving instructor by handling logistics, like plotting the itinerary, ensuring that the gears were ready and complete, and managing the divers. He also makes it a point to share with divers what he knows about the underwater, so they could also do their share in caring for it and pass the message on to more people.

“Before, I would teach people to appreciate a song through its artist, its history, the technicalities… now, I introduce them to underwater wonders. Diving is more than just getting in the water and seeing all the fish. It’s about appreciating nature and understanding how the creatures interact,” he said. “When I became a professional, it also became about educating people about how underwater creations benefit us, and so we should take care of them.”

After three years of being a dive master, he finally pursued his goal of becoming a scuba diving instructor. It was a long time coming, but given how rigid the process is and how expensive the fees are, Neil wanted to make sure he was ready for it.

And, as it turned out, he was. 

Last December, Neil became a full-fledged instructor under the world’s leading scuba diving training organization PADI, or Professional Association of Diving Instructors.

Today, Neil has his hands full with his very own dive-travel agency. “I’ve realized that there is a market for people who want to dive in the Philippines, but communication seems to be a problem. In this area, I am able to apply what I learned in radio and public relations,” he said. “I facilitate all the logistics and handle all requirements, from the resorts, the dive sites, the kind of diving they’ll do, and even the food and dietary requirements.”

On top of all that, he can now teach as well, thus expanding the services he can offer and likewise boosting his resume.

Amid all these, he remains committed to his advocacy of educating divers about the need to take better care of the underwater.

“When you’re surrounded by sea creatures, you’d feel sorry for them because they can’t protect themselves. It’s my responsibility to send the message across to the students I teach,” he said. “I hope that by doing so, diving will have a deeper meaning for them as well.”

With this new chapter in his life, Neil feels like he has come full circle. “I wanted to be a scientist and with my job right now, I’m more exposed to people in the field like marine scientists and biologists. It’s always a pleasure to talk to them,” he said. “Nature has its way of restarting itself, but we still have a responsibility. As a scuba diving instructor, I am able to teach my students more thoroughly about it, apart from teaching them the technicalities of the sport. As such, diving becomes even more meaningful to them, and that’s makes it even more rewarding for me.”

Photos courtesy of Colin Snow