Matthew Levin Dives Into Business, Hobby

Page 28A • June 22-28, 2012 www.atlantabusinesschronicle.com ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE People In The News Matthew Levin dives into business, hobby By Urvaksh Karkaria STAFF WRITER ost accountants schmooze their clients over 18 holes at the local EXECUTIVE PROFILE country club. Matthew Levin Mtakes his clients on heart-stopping MATTHEW H. LEVIN dives into subterranean caves. Levin, a CPA and trained scuba driver, is Born: Miami Lives in: Atlanta Age: 56 as comfortable meandering through laby- Current job: Tax partner, Windham Brannon P.C. rinths hundreds of feet under water as he Previous job: Vice president of corporate tax, is navigating the Internal Revenue Days Inns of America Inc. Service’s equally torturous tax code. In his spare time, the 56-year-old is also Education: Bachelor of Science, Accounting/Finance, a support diver with the The Woodville Florida State University; Master of taxation and Executive Karst Plain Project (WKPP), a nonprofit MBA, Georgia State University. that does underwater cave research and Family: Wife, Paulette mapping for the state of Florida. “They’re literally going where no man has gone before,” said Mark Thomas, a cave diver who has diver can get lost,” “The short answer is because it’s there,” known Levin for about a decade. Levin said. “People he quipped. Levin, for whom cave diving is have been killed about exploration, indulges his diving in caves.” The rewards hobby in the springs and sink- Being meticulous The risks involved in diving 100-plus feet holes of North Florida and and detail-oriented under water and swimming into the Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. makes Levin a good unknown are offset by the rare sights and “You’re going somewhere few cave diver. experiences cave diving offers. people have ever been,” Levin “He plans the “People think caves are a deep dark said. “It’s an adventure; it’s seeing dive, and then dives hole, but they are fabulous underwater the inside of the Earth.” the plan,” Thomas chamber rooms with unique structures Underwater caves, some of said. “If you make a and formations,” Levin said. which once were dry and above mistake in a cave, The limestone in Florida caves varies in ground, offer a glimpse into his- you may pay a dire color from bright white to almost black. In tory tens of thousands of years consequence.” Mexico caves, you see colors of brown and old, revealing fossils and hints of Levin’s levelhead- red. Some areas in caves can be very con- ancient life. edness and stricted, but others can be huge. “You see the Earth as it was composure also Some of these underwater chambers are BYRON E. SMALL thousands of years ago,” Levin serves him well nav- so massive, they swallow up all light, even said. “You’re seeing history.” igating subterranean tunnels several dozen from the high intensity lighting systems Levin recalls finding remnants feet under water. cave divers carry. of an Indian campfire on one of “You can’t be a cowboy and do this kind “The light simply vanishes before it can his cave dives in Mexico. of stuff and live long,” Thomas said. reach the other side of the cave,” Levin said. “We were 900 feet back in the Cave diving is about having good phys- One of Levin’s memorable dives was in underwater cave, and there was a ical and mental reflexes, Levin said. Sally Ward Spring, part of the Wakulla cut out limestone area that was SPECIAL “Many times you’re swimming against a Springs Cave System in Edward Ball State charred and had remnants of Down below: Levin diving in the Sac Actun cave strong current,” he said. “You need to Park, about 25 miles south of Tallahassee. ash,” he said. system, in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. develop buoyancy control, breath control, It required swimming through 1,000 feet On another dive in “The Bone underwater navigation, and understand of tunnel, at a depth of 110 feet, to arrive at Tunnel” of Devil’s Eye Spring in Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula just basic physics and decompression issues.” a balcony-like outcrop that overlooked a north central Florida, Levin came across south of Cancun, Mexico, are top cave Nitrogen narcosis is a major issue, 200-foot-wide underwater chamber named fossilized Mastodon bones. diving spots in the Western Hemisphere. where the nitrogen in the air can intoxicate “The Cube Room.” The room rose to a For Levin, cave diving is about getting Underwater caves are typically limestone- divers and make them lose their bearings. domed ceiling at 90 feet, reminding Levin away from the hustle and bustle of a based and formed by freshwater erosion. Narcosis becomes an issue as one goes of a rotunda like that of the U.S. Capitol. 9-to-5 job. “From a simplified geological perspec- deeper in the water column. To help solve Below, the chamber dropped 190 feet. “There’s no phone, there’s no fax, tive, Florida is a sheet of limestone, with this problem, a mixed gas known as trimix “It’s crystal clear water, solid white there’s no email down there,” said Levin, a an underground freshwater system and is used in cave diving. This gas blend limestone with sculpted patterns tax partner at Windham Brannon P.C. “It some grass and trees on the top,” Levin removes some of the narcotic nitrogen and throughout the fossilized walls,” he said. just gets you away from life’s daily grind.” explained. “The limestone is very soluble replaces it with non-narcotic helium. “It just absolutely takes your breath away.” Levin grew up in the 1960s, as cave and porous.” On a cave dive in Marianna, Fla., Levin’s Reach Karkaria at [email protected]. diving was just getting started, in Florida larynx became temporarily paralyzed, The risks If you know an executive whose hobby — — a premier cave diving location. effectively closing his windpipe. It was or day job — is unusual enough to be in print, “He was in the right place, at the right Cave diving is physically and mentally later diagnosed to be mucus stuck in his contact Lisa R. Schoolcraft time,” Thomas said. rigorous — not to mention expensive. throat, causing a spasm. at [email protected]. Levin was drawn to scuba diving by the Levin has invested more than $20,000 into “I went to draw a breath and ... it felt television show “Sea Hunt.” The show diving gear alone. like somebody had turned off my tanks,” starred Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson, a The 173-pound triathlete straps on more Levin recalled. “I’m inhaling and nothing’s CONTACT THE CHRONICLE water-loving adventurer. than 150 pounds of gear on cave dives, happening.” Atlanta Business Chronicle now has a “[Bridges] was always off doing all these including a double tank rig, extra stage Fortunately, Levin’s cave training came to new system for submissions for People adventurous things under water, rescuing tanks and high-intensity lights. And then his rescue — rather than panic, he concen- in the News that allows you to enter the people, fighting bad guys, discovering trea- there’s the 78-pound underwater scooter trated on signaling his dive partners and information directly in an online form. sure,” Levin said. “If you ask just about any that is hand-carried to the water. breathing deeply. Eventually, his windpipe Please visit www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/ scuba diver, who’s my vintage, how they Also, cave divers use a thin line that relaxed and he was able to fully breathe. potm/form to submit achievements, got interested in scuba diving, they’d prob- helps guide them out of the cave and into “It was probably no longer than 60 or announcements of new hires and ably tell you ‘from watching Sea Hunt.’ ” open water. 90 seconds, [but] it felt like eternity,” promotions, along with photos. View your Levin started cave diving in the springs “You’re swimming into an enclosed envi- Levin said. submissions online at www.bizjournals. and sinkholes around Tallahassee, while ronment, and once you get inside the cave, Given the risks and hazards, why does com/atlanta/potm/. attending Florida State University. you lose all surface light — an untrained Levin pursue cave diving?