John Volanthen began caving with the scouts at the age of 14 and is now a world record-holding British cave diver who has been at the forefront of underground rescue and exploration for over twenty years. Best known as the first diver to locate and contact the missing youth Thai soccer team with his diving partner Rick Stanton, he also planned and participated in the children's rescue, carrying three children to safety. John has been involved in search, rescue and recovery operations as well as mapping caves worldwide. His many awards include the British and Commonwealth George Medal, the Scout Association Bronze Cross, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and Scientific Exploration Society Pioneer with Purpose. With a background in medical electronics, John has invented underwater mapping devices, communications systems and state of the art, micro rebreathers, allowing divers to stay underwater longer than was previously possible. In Wookey Hole in the UK, alongside Rick Stanton, John advanced the British cave diving depth record to over 90M. As part of an international team, he set a world record for the longest cave dive from surface, well over 10km. John lives in Bristol and continues to explore and document underwater caves throughout the world. He is always on standby for the next rescue.