Brian Harrison worked back-to-back night shifts inside a Nissan gigafactory build for five months, saving £30,000 (roughly $38,000) toward a scuba diving school in Tenerife. He leaves the UK next week to launch it.
The 43-year-old construction worker, from Washington in Tyne and Wear, could not swim as a child and failed his first attempt at diving at 14. He is now a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Master Scuba Diver Trainer, and the business those night shifts funded, Sea Wolf Scuba, exists specifically for divers as nervous as he once was.
A Diver Who Failed His First Lesson at Fourteen
Brian’s fear of the water went back decades. “I’ve always wanted to dive and would go on holiday and it would either be a fine or a disaster and I’d start to panic,” he told ChronicleLive, the North East England news outlet that first interviewed him.
His first real attempt came at 14, during a PADI Discover Scuba taster session. He got through the shallow part, then the instructor pulled him out, telling him, in Brian’s own recollection, “you are too scared, you are not going in the sea.”
I’m the only person to fail a Discover Scuba day. But I was determined and did it again.
Brian said that with a laugh, looking back on a fear he eventually turned into a career.
He got properly hooked years later. Visiting Tenerife for a week to see his father, Bob Harrison, during the Covid lockdowns, Brian ended up staying for months. He completed several good dives and even his advanced open water certification, an experience he now calls “an absolute disaster.”
“I thought I now either never dive again as that was horrific, or I learn how to do this properly,” he said. So he went back to the dive shop that had trained him and asked to sort it out properly.
After sorting dual residency, which let him work in Tenerife over winter and return to England each summer, Brian taught at several dive shops on the island. He never planned to become an instructor. “I never thought I’d be an instructor but I knew being around diving would be a nice work environment,” he said. What bothered him was how rushed the teaching felt, especially for nervous divers like himself.
Sea Wolf Scuba is his answer. Brian teaches a maximum of two people at a time on the south of Tenerife, and tells clients upfront that a two-day certification is available, though a slower three-day pace costs him money and gives them a calmer experience. “I’m transparent about that,” he said.
Joining him will be Lobo, his three-year-old dog, who Brian says has become the unofficial face of the business. “Lobo is very much a part of the business, he’s in the name and logo, he’s on the side of the minibus, he’s like a mini celeb,” Brian said.
The Gigafactory Paid for the Dream
The savings came from one of the biggest industrial builds in the North East. Brian worked construction contracts including the Nissan gigafactory project, tied to Nissan’s EV36Zero investment programme. Nissan and its partners have already pledged and begun spending upwards of £2 billion upgrading the Sunderland site for a new wave of electric vehicles.
The specific gigafactory rising next to Nissan’s plant, run by its Chinese battery partner Envision AESC, is part of a wider £1 billion partnership with Sunderland City Council. Once finished, the plant carries a declared capacity of 12 GWh, enough to supply batteries for more than 100,000 electric vehicles a year.
Recruiters staffing the site have advertised shift-based construction roles with a basic salary around £25,800 a year, boosted by shift allowances of 12% to 30% on top. Those allowances, stacked across back-to-back shifts, are how £30,000 accumulates in under two years.
“Everything’s been paid for out of the night shift wages, I’ve not had a full day off since March, no loans, no investors. Roughly £30,000 earned, saved and spent on it,” Brian said. The original plan, drawn up in 2024, was to save £10,000 over five years. Once the gigafactory contract was extended, the timeline shifted toward October 2026 instead.
What Do Night Shifts Do to a Body?
Permanent night work carries measurable health risks, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease and impaired alertness that can rival drink-driving limits after a day without sleep. Around 8.7 million people made up the UK’s night-time workforce in 2022, and the body clock rarely adapts fully to the schedule, researchers studying the sector say.
Brian’s night shifts fit inside a much larger pattern. Bodies studying UK night work describe a workforce absorbing damage that rarely shows up as one dramatic incident.
- 8.7 million people made up the UK’s wider night-time workforce in 2022, about 27% of everyone in work, according to figures reported by Prism News from the Institute of Employment Rights.
- 17% to 26% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease respectively among shift workers compared with day workers, per a 2018 meta-analysis cited by the Society of Occupational Medicine.
- 48 hours or more is how long a nominally 35-hour contracted week can stretch once overtime lands, according to a Trades Union Congress study of night working.
- The World Health Organization’s cancer research arm has classified shift work involving circadian disruption as a probable carcinogen.
Brian kept working through it. Then two near misses changed his mind about the schedule entirely.
Two Near Misses Rewrote the Timeline
The first involved Lobo. Brian was diving with the Sunderland Diving Centre in Northumberland when his dog was hit by a car. Lobo survived, but the moment changed how Brian saw his own five-year plan. “I thought if we don’t go now, the longer we are here, the more likely it is something goes wrong and we won’t get to follow the dream,” he said.
The second involved Brian himself. Working alone on a night shift at the factory, his chair broke and he landed upside down on his neck. “I was able to roll over and get up and was alright but I thought if I don’t leave something will happen,” he said.
He had planned to finish the contract, telling himself he could not walk away from that kind of money. Then he asked himself a simpler question. “What do I want it for if I get to how much I need to start a business,” he said. The five-year plan became a matter of weeks.
The arc from a childhood fear of water to a departure date next week stretches back roughly three decades.
- Around 1997: A 14-year-old Brian fails his first PADI Discover Scuba taster session in open water.
- 2020: A week-long trip to Tenerife to see his father during the Covid lockdowns turns into months, and Brian earns his advanced open water certification.
- 2024: Brian sets an original goal of saving £10,000 over five years to open a dive business.
- 2025 into 2026: Permanent night shifts on construction contracts, including the Nissan gigafactory, push his savings toward £30,000.
- Earlier this year: Lobo is hit by a car in Northumberland, and Brian’s chair collapses on a night shift.
- Next week: Brian and Lobo drive south and take the ferry to start Sea Wolf Scuba.
The five-year plan lasted a little over two years before two near misses tore it up.
Costa Adeje’s Water Is Already Crowded
Brian is not entering an empty market. Dive centers have operated on Tenerife’s coastline since the 1990s, running the same PADI course ladder from beginner to instructor level. Water temperatures stay between 19 and 24 degrees Celsius year round, with visibility peaking between May and October, part of why the islands support so many competing operators.
Brian’s pitch centers on pace. He has kept training beyond his own instructor certificate and can now teach disabled divers alongside beginners. His TikTok videos, aimed at calming first-time nerves, reach more than 100,000 people a month, and Sea Wolf Scuba already has paying customers booked before opening a single day of trade.
- Adaptive training for disabled divers, added on top of his standard PADI instructor qualifications.
- A TikTok following that reaches more than 100,000 people a month, built before the business opened.
- Paying customers already booked months ahead of the first official day of trade.
- Lobo woven into the business itself, on the logo, the name and the side of the minibus.
The established dive shops sell the same volcanic walls and marine life. Brian is betting nervous beginners will pay for the version of that lesson he never got.
Post-Brexit Spain Wants More than a Suitcase
Brian already holds dual residency, letting him work in Tenerife over winter and return to England each summer. That status predates the paperwork facing British nationals arriving fresh today. Since the UK left the EU’s freedom of movement rules at the end of 2020, Britons have been treated as third-country nationals in Spain, the same category as applicants from the US or Canada.
Anyone without existing residency now faces a stricter set of routes.
| Route | Who It Suits | Financial Bar | The Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short stay, no visa | Tourists and scouting trips | Proof of funds for the trip | Capped at 90 days in any 180, and no work allowed |
| Non-Lucrative Visa | Retirees and people living off savings | Passive income of roughly €2,400 a month | Bars almost any local economic activity |
| Self-Employed or Entrepreneur Visa | Founders opening a business | An approved business plan plus monthly social security payments | Immigration lawyers describe Spain as less encouraging of new business than the UK |
| Digital Nomad Visa | Remote workers paid from abroad | Foreign income of at least €2,849 a month | Only up to 20% of income can come from inside Spain |
The Non-Lucrative Visa route alone requires passive income of at least €2,400 a month, and it explicitly bars the holder from working locally, which is why anyone opening a business needs a different route entirely.
Before 2021, a British citizen could move to Spain, stay indefinitely and start working the same day. That direct route is gone. Around 266,000 Britons are officially registered as residents in Spain today, drawn heavily to the Costa del Sol, the Balearics and the Canary Islands.
Brian will drive south next week, taking the ferry with Lobo once his final night shifts finish. Friends he made during his years on the island have been helping him prepare.
“It’s all a bit funny really,” he said. “I’ve made friends over there who have been helping me out so I’m not totally going into the unknown, but it will be emotional leaving.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Can UK Citizens Still Move to Tenerife After Brexit?
Yes, but not freely. Since January 2021, Britons have been treated as third-country nationals in Spain, meaning stays beyond 90 days in any 180-day period require a visa, whether that is a work visa, a self-employed route, or a Non-Lucrative Visa for those living off savings or a pension.
How Many British People Live in Spain?
Roughly 266,000 Britons are officially registered as residents across Spain, with the Canary Islands ranking among the most popular destinations alongside the Costa del Sol and the Balearic Islands.
What Is a PADI Discover Scuba Diving Experience?
It is an entry-level, fully guided taster dive that requires no prior certification or experience, designed to let first-timers breathe underwater safely with an instructor before deciding whether to pursue a full Open Water qualification.
How Warm Is the Water for Diving in Tenerife?
Water temperatures around Tenerife and the wider Canary Islands stay between roughly 19 and 24 degrees Celsius year round, with the clearest visibility typically between May and October.
