The Freedive Cafe Podcast: Recent Episodes
Donny Mac - Freediver
Jeroen is from Belgium. He is a passionate health-care provider working as an intensive care unit nurse, with a love for technical innovation, teaching and diving, and a former business owner in composites resins 3D-shaping for the nautical and entertainment industry.
Jeroen is perhaps best known to us in the freediving community in his role as freediving medic in some of the biggest freediving competitions in the world.
Today’s discussion is a wide-ranging and thorough exploration of freediving medical safety.
In this episode we discuss:
Jeroen is a freediver, intensive care unit nurse and freediving medic.
He also organises safety in a water stage movie studio in Brussels, working with some famous actors.
Prospecting the dive location.
Dealing with therapeutic use exemptions of drugs that could be detected on a doping test.
Rescue protocols for certain incidents.
The use of the pulse oximeter to detect problems in the diver.
Following up with athletes and incident reporting.
Doing scientific research, gathering information during competition periods.
Specific rescue protocols for black outs and squeezes / barotraumas, etc.
Most divers do not respond to the ‘Blow Tap Talk’ protocol after an underwater black out.
Training the other members of the freediving safety team.
The authority to stop the competition.
What is DCI (Decompression Illness)
Decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism (AGE). What is the difference?
How are these conditions treated?
The hot topic of in-water recompression as treatment.
There are no guaranteed safe decompression tables.
The use of breathing oxygen in-water after deep dives as a preventative measure to prevent DCI and as general recovery.
Shout out to the Patreon supporters and thanks for contributing your questions.
An example of the individual nature of symptoms DCI cases.
Some examples of difficult decisions being made: Hanako Hirose, Petar Klovar
What is oedema?
The responsibilities of the freediving governing bodies to do better for the safety of the athletes.
What is a PFO (patent foramen ovale)?
Questions from Patreon supporters Tom, and Racso and Sean.
Should you ever dive alone?
Why does he freedive?
For freediving courses, workshops and retreats in Egypt and Europe visit www.truedepthfreediving.com!
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Tea Košnjek is a kinesiologist and a strength & conditioning coach working with Olympic-level swimmers and freedivers around the world.
From pool to depth disciplines, she helps athletes optimise their performance by focusing on strength, movement efficiency, and mastering technique.
Between 2018 and 2024, she was the technique and S&C coach for freediver Alenka Artnik, a multiple world champion and world record holder.
Tea continues to support a wide range of freedivers globally—both pool and depth—in unlocking their full potential through strength and technique training.
In this episode we discuss:
Tea is from Slovenia, and has a background in competitive swimming.
She studied kinesiology and started coaching strength and conditioning.
Tea was inspired to look further into freediving when she saw the dives on Diveye.
Tea collaborated with Alenka Artnik (episodes #57 and #154) for many years.
What does ‘training’ mean, actually?
What are the most unique aspects of training for freediving, compared to other sports?
What is periodisation and how to do it.
What can we do during the base training phase?
How gender differences influence training decisions.
About how periods affect hormones and therefore training.
Showing up for training, perceived exertion, mental condition and how it affects motivation.
Deloading before the competition or event.
Specific attention to each freediving discipline:
(See the video version of the podcast on the True Depth Freediving YouTube channel for videos of exercises)
FIM (Free Immersion)
CWTB (Bifins)
CWT (Monofin)
CNF (No Fins)
Comparing the depth disciplines to the pool versions.
Tracking training and progress and what to track.
How to recover from training.
Supplementation (protein, creatine, omega 3, vitamin D)
Sauna, cold plunges, foam rollers, etc.
Advice for coaches on how to motivate and encourage our athletes/coachees.
Tea’s services and Instagram.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive Section
Why does she freedive?
For freediving courses, workshops and retreats in Egypt and Europe visit www.truedepthfreediving.com!
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Huang Hua Yang is a former farmer and the deepest freediving athlete from the beautiful country of Taiwan. One of the deepest men in the world, he shares his freediving story and philosophy with us.
In this episode we discuss:
Huayang joined us from Panglao, Philippines at the time of recording, where he was training for the Asian Freediving Cup.
Comparing conditions in Panglao and Taiwan.
Donny lived in Taiwan for ten years and started a freediving school there.
Huayang was a farmer from the countryside close to Taoyuan, before he came to freediving in 2011.
Talking of the beauty of Taiwan’s Orchid Island.
Shout out to Wayne and Yen at Weirdos Freediving and Wu How at Deep Soul.
Huayang took his first freediving course in 2015, possibly one of the first PADI freediving courses.
Huayang did his instructor course with JP Francois at Freediving Planet in Moalboal, Philippines.
A question from Patreon supporter Tom Way about the freediving scene in Taiwan.
Taiwanese diver Haixiang beats Alexey in DNF in competition.
About the future of freediving competitions and their taking place in Asia.
Huayang’s journey to depth and competitions.
Shout out to Huayang’s coach Theo-Patrick Fourcade.
What are the fundamentals of training for freediving for Huayang? How has it changed over time?
Does he see any major differences in the training philosophies of Western and Asian freedivers?
Comparing different training approaches of different coaches.
Different athletes need different approaches.
What does it take to dive deeper than 100m?
Huayang’s experience with lung squeeze and how to avoid it?
His experiences with narcosis, how does it feel?
The benefits of RV diving for training compressibility.
How a week of training looks like for him at the moment.
On teaching equalisation to speakers of different languages.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Why does he freedive?
For freediving courses, workshops and retreats in Egypt and Europe visit www.truedepthfreediving.com!
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
David Mellor is an English freediver who started freediving at 49 years old and achieved the incredible goal of freediving to 100 metres, in competition, at the age of 60 years old.
In this episode we discuss:
David and Donny sat down at The Little Blue in Dahab, home of True Depth Freediving, for this interview.
David became a grandfather!
David moved to Poole in England when he was 12 years old.
He was a tool maker by trade and eventually opened his own factory.
After three kids and a divorce David wasn’t in the best of shape.
David was 49 years old when he did his first freediving course.
Shout out to Emma Farrell (Episodes #32 and #50) and Vobster Quay.
He did his first competition when he was 55 years old.
At the age of 55 David sold his business and moved into freediving full-time.
He dived 100m (FIM) for the first at the age of 59 and did 100m in competition at the age of 60.
Shout out to Harry Chamas (Episodes #49 and #73).
Shout out o Gus Kreivenas (Episodes #30, #31 and #105).
Shout out to Alice Modolo (Episode #117).
Shout out to Federico Mana (Episode #84).
David didn’t have and LMC or Blackout until he was diving 100m!
Shout out to Tom Peled (Episode #120).
What was blocking David’s equalisation at 85m?
How important is strength training for David?
Two exercises to improve your hypoxic tolerance (hypoxic runs and static).
Experiences with squeezing.
An over expansion injury.
Does he do flexibility/compressibility training?
Discussing David’s experience with DCI in Dominica?
Shout out to Jonathan Sunnex (Episodes #68 and Lost Episode #2).
What is David thinking when he’s coming up from a dive?
David’s mum is a total beast!
How important is nutrition to David?
Does he take any supplements?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive Section!
David’s retreats with Echo Echo Projects with Lydia Gard and Martin Petrus, and teaching in the UK and other places.
Why does he freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Marco Nones is one of the most influential persons in the development of freediving on Egypt's Red Sea and a coach to some of the best freedivers in the world.
In this episode we discuss:
We met for this interview at Only One Apnea Centre located in Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Marco first came to Sharm in early 2000 as a scuba diving instructor.
The AIDA World Championship was organised by Marco in 2007 and 2008.
Marco is from Genoa, Italy.
He started in the scuba business but had to choose freediving in the end.
About Marco’s contribution to the PSS education materials.
Marco has been working closely with athletes in, and moving to, the elite level.
How Marco trains his athletes.
What positive and negative developments in competitive freediving has Marco seen over the years?
Where should the aspiring deep freediver put their attention?
Training all the rings in the system. What are the rings?
The confusion of performance and training.
Discussing the mouthfill factor, or ‘Delta’ and how to train mouthfill systematically.
Marco’s thoughts on using pure O2 to aid recovery or avoid DCS after deep dives.
On the topic of doping in freediving.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive Content
What is the future of Only One Apnea?
Why does Marco freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Enchante Gallardo is a Hawaii born freediving athlete who has recently surpassed the 100m depth.
In this episode we discuss:
Enchanted was born and raised on Oahu, Hawaii.
She went to school in California and lived for many years in Puerto Rico.
She did her first course with FII in Hawaii and immediately fell in love.
She spent a lot of time around the water as a kid in Hawaii.
About surfing and growing up surfing, and wild ocean conditions.
Questions from Patreon supporter Philip.
About training freediving in Hawaii, the set up and ocean life there.
Congratulations on strong performances in both the AIDA and CMAS World Championships in 2024.
A black out at the beginning of Vertical Blue last year and how Enchante recovered.
How Enchante balances being a mom with two young boys and training for elite level freediving.
How did she prepare for and periodise training leading up to the big competitions.
Shout out to Enchante’s coach Tom Peled.
Base training, running, strength training and flexibility strategies.
Her experience with squeezing.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive Content
Plans for 2025?
Why does she freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Heike Schwerdtner is a trainer of nurses from Germany and also the first woman to beat Natalia Molchanova's static apnea world record. A record that has stood for eleven years.
In this episode we discuss:
Heike recently broke the 11 year old STA record held by Natalia Molchanova.
Shout out to her coach Rami Bladlav who appeared on episode #133
Heike lives in Bavaria in Germany.
Heike started swimming at 3 years and began training springboard diving from 7 to 12 years old, then was a professional swimmer until 18 years old.
Heike started her apnea journey at 40 years old.
Did apnea help release trauma?
Did her childhood in the water contribute to her abilities?
Rami Bladlav appeared on episode #133 of the podcast.
She doesn’t do much CO2 training.
Big shout out to Heike’s partner Klaus for his help in training.
Does Heike use hyperventilation in her statics and how much?
Heike’s nutrition strategy and how much does she fast?
Why does she choose a predominantly plant-based diet?
What kind of supplementation does she use?
Heike is a nurse trainer.
Shout out to the Patreon supporters!
A question from patron Tom about measuring blood glucose and its relation to hypoxia.
A question from a patron Adrien about memory loss from long statics.
A question from patron Marc about the day of the world record.
Mental strategy for long statics.
How dynamic training enhances static performance.
Does Heike have her sights on the depths?
What complementary apnea does she do?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon exclusive section!
Another massive shout out to her partner Klaus! And to buddy Katerin!
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Lotta Ericson is co-founder, owner and manager of Freedive Dahab, the longest established freediving centre in Dahab, Egypt. She has a deep history in freediving as a competitive athlete and developer of the freediving education systems.
In this episode we discuss:
We are in Home Sweet Home, Dahab for this one!
Lotta is from Sweden and was a social worker before moving to Egypt.
Lotta’s early days in Dahab, starting in 1998.
Shout out to Tom Sietas, Episode #52 of the podcast.
How Dahab has changed over the last 25 years.
Disappearance of the Israelis.
The old trip to The Blue Hole, state of the road etc
Abandoned resorts, building projects along the coast.
The trash situation in Dahab, out of control? Or better than ever?
The state of Dahab’s waters, reefs and fish populations.
Did Jacques Cousteau blow up The Blue Hole?
The development of freediving in Dahab and The Blue Hole.
The birth of freediving competitions in The Blue Hole.
What happened to the decompression chamber in Dahab?
How freediving competitions have changed over the years.
How Freedive Dahab came to be and it’s many locations.
Desert Island Questions - Patreon Exclusive Section
Does Lotta still like Dahab?
Why does she freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Samo Jeranko is an elite freediver and top-level coach to freediving athletes, based in Slovenia. In this episode we take a deep dive into the coaching and training strategies he employs for his clients and himself.
In this episode we discuss:
Samo was recently in Croatia for spearfishing and the sea temperature was worryingly warm.
Samo Jeranko first appeared on episode #86 of The Freedive Cafe Podcast.
Samo now has two long daughters of 3 and a half years old and 6 weeks old.
How does having young children affect his ability to train?
Samo is working as a freediving coach both in person and online.
We discuss the Norwegian Method - the advanced training methodology of Norway’s top athletes.
A question from Patreon supporter Matthias about specific testing for his coached athletes.
The importance of good aerobic and strength bases in the early part of the season.
The biggest mistake freediving athletes make when planning their season.
About the 10 x 50 DNF exercise and its value.
How to train Co2 with dry exercises.
A question from Patreon supporter Vittorio about using dry exercises to facilitate depth adaptation.
How does Samo approach the situation where a client suffers from barotrauma?
Thoughts on partially empty and fully empty lung dives.
On the dangers of hyperventilation.
Deep dive into the dynamics of strength training for freediving and periodisation.
Differences between male and female athletes and the influence of the menstrual cycle on training.
Tips on the best way to recover and get ready for the next dive session.
Nervous system repair and recovery.
The three fundamentals of recovery
Transcendental meditation.
A question from Patreon supporter Darren about rebuilding trust after a blackout.
Thoughts on the current state of freediving organisations and the doping scandal.
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Originally produced between 2019 and 2021, the Lost Episodes of The Freedive Cafe were originally released as exclusive content for Patreon subscribers, then lost to time. Recently unearthed in the Sinai desert, I can now deliver them for your listening pleasure!
This episode with Johnny was originally released on Patreon in July 2020.
To become a supporter of the podcast through Patreon visit:
https://www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Johnny also appeared on Episode #68
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Stéphane Tourreau is an elite level competitive freediver from France.
In this episode we discuss:
Stephane first appeared on episode #5 of the podcast.
Stephane was in Tenerife at time of the interview.
Stephane spent 1.5 years in Dominica.
How did he dive over 100m almost every three days in one year?
What did his training look like, in general, while he spend those 1.5 years in Dominica?
Call back to Episode #137 with Bizo Silva about potential for harm to lungs by breathing pure 02 for recovery.
His experience of getting DCS at Vertical Blue
About Stephane’s rate of progression, and a 4 year lack of progression.
The importance of careful planning and keeping a log.
What are the benefits of passive exhale dives?
52m on full exhale!
Stephane’s experience with squeezing.
Experience with narcosis and adaptation to narcosis.
Mindfulness as a tool for deep diving.
What is the best way to increase hypoxic tolerance?
Thoughts on doping in freediving.
Why does he (continue to) freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Erika Schagatay PhD is a scientist based in Sweden and Dahab who focuses on researching freediving and apnea.
She first appeared on Episode #42 of the podcast.
In this episode we discuss:
Shout out to Nathan McClatchey for saving this interview, and Chou and Mireia in Barcelona!
Erika’s ‘Divelab’ in Dahab.
What is the apnea RAMP test?
Genetics vs Training.
Continued and upcoming research to take place.
Lactate threshold, and diving mammals.
Do aerobic training benefits also feed into apnea ability?
On Frank Pernett’s thesis on..
New theories on the dangers of hyperventilation in serial/repeated, shallow diving.
A question from Patreon supporter Tom Way about the perfect amount o2 and Co2 to have in the blood.
It’s easier to hyperventilate than you think.
Detecting hyperventilation with a chest strap.
Deep diving with accurate pulse oximetry.
Lung atelectasis and pulmonary oedema.
Is there a genetic component to strong desaturation and oedema?
Different lungs may have different sensitivities.
Deeper dives may not mean stronger dive response.
Can arrhythmia cause black out?
Blood pressure and freediving.
The spleen effect is not part of the diving response.
The strength of the dive response is not affected by hyperventilation.
Clarifying the blood shift.
What is myoglobin and can we use it? Increase it?
How does caffeine affect the diving response?
The effects of alcohol on freediving.
Can you train for high altitude with apnea training?
What role does CO2 play in high altitude adaptation?
A question from Tom about an educational pathway into Erika’s area of research.
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Alenka Artnik is the deepest female freediver in the world. Originating from Slovenia, she transformed her life and broke free of her old bonds to pursue this amazing sport and its deeper dimensions.
Alenka first appeared on Episode #57 of the show.
In this episode we discuss:
She was in Dahab for training at the time of the interview.
What are the biggest changes Alenka has noticed in Dahab in the 7 years since she was last here?
Alenka got married! Congratulations!
Alenka's feelings on the recent doping scandal in freediving.
What has changed most in Alenka's training over the last 5 years?
The important role of Tea Košnjek, Alenka's strength and technique coach.
How important is pool training for freediving?
Alenka describes her approach to periodisation.
How many times does she train strength at this time of year?
The importance of balance in life, and treating oneself every so often.
How does one maintain strength close to a competition?
The importance of the mental and spiritual dimensions of freediving.
How important is visualisation?
What is Alenka's experience with narcosis?
The importance of clarity of mind and vision and purpose in life.
How important is having a training plan?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Why does Alenka freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
Originally produced between 2019 and 2021, the Lost Episodes of The Freedive Cafe were originally released as exclusive content for Patreon subscribers, then lost to time. Recently unearthed in the Sinai desert, I can now deliver them for your listening pleasure!
This episode with Davide was originally released on Patreon in October 2020.
To become a supporter of the podcast through Patreon visit:
https://www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Davide also appeared on Episodes #22 and #151
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
Kateryna Sadurska is a world record holding freediving athlete from Ukraine. Kate joined me at The Little Blue in Dahab to discuss her amazing 2023, how she trained for those huge dives and how her philosophy of freediving is evolving.
She first appeared on Episode #139 of the podcast.
In this episode we discuss:
This was the first Freedive Cafe interview filmed at The Little Blue | Freediver's Oasis in Dahab.
Kate first appeared on Episode #139 of The Freedive Cafe.
A breakdown of Kate's last year including some incredible World Records in CNF.
Congratulations on Kate's first 100m dive!
No fins workshops with Stefan Randig.
Donny is older than Stefan. Very important to note!
Kate's challenges with equalisation and how it's progressing.
Ukrainian boycott of competitions in protest at Russian athletes being allowed to compete.
Dealing with the stress of Ukraine being under attack.
Donny's one-man-mission to do away with alarms.
What are the biggest changes Kate has made in her approach to training?
Kate started working with Samo Jeranko for the 2023 season.
Getting into the gym for the first time.
When did Kate know she could do the world record.
How did Kate and Samo periodise the training in preparation for the big competitions?
What kind of strength training was she doing?
How important is strength training for freediving?
Did they use cardio training, too?
Kate's best advice for no fins diving.
The importance of managing buoyancy in no fins.
How important has nutrition been for Kate?
On plant-based/vegan diets.
Is Kate taking any particular supplements for freediving?
On protein supplementation.
About Kate's swimwear brand (www.saobrand.com)
Kate's plans for this year (2024).
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
Frank Pernett is originally from Colombia. He has been freediving his whole life and been involved in the deep freediving and freediving competition scenes for many years. He is currently based in Sweden where he is working towards his PhD under the watchful eye of freediving scientist Erika Schagatay
Frank is a wealth of knowledge about freediving science and physiology and today we discuss some of the traditional topics of freediving science that interest us most as well as some new approaches to understanding the dive response and we talk in detail about what can cause lung squeeze and what protocols we might follow to prevent them.
In this episode we discuss:
Frank is from a Columbian island, San Andres in the Caribbean Sea.
Frank has been freediving since he was a kid.
He moved to Sweden to work on his Phd with Erika Schagatay.
How Vertical Blue has changed over the years.
What makes freediving such a unique sport?
Frank's main interests and areas of research.
Common misconceptions about freediving
Deep dive into the dive response (bradycardia and vasoconstriction).
A description of vasoconstriction.
The relation between vasoconstriction and depth.
Is a lower resting heart rate better for freediving?
CO2 and CO2 tolerance.
About early contractions and stretch receptors.
How is CO2 actually measured in the body.
Hypoxia and black out.
How oxygen and CO2 are affected by fasting and diet.
Lower temperatures to reduce O2 consumption.
Franks experience with squeezes and how he overcame them.
What would Frank research with unlimited funds?
Why does Frank freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
Davide Carrera was born in Turin in Italy and began freediving as a child during his summers spent in Leguria.
He has was part of the World Championship winning teams of 1996 and 2001 and established a FIM world record shortly after when he dove to 91m.
He moved away from the competitive sphere in the end and went on to study yoga extensively, and he integrates that into his freediving, and it was his tale of solitary wandering across the mediterranean in his 28 foot trimaran that inspired my first interest in Davide.
We first spoke 5 years ago on episode 22 of the freedive cafe podcast, now we meet, face t face in Dahab, to discuss his recent return to the very top tier of the freediving competitive scene and what it takes to dive 130m deep.
In this episode we discuss:
Thanks to Dahab Freedivers and Carlos Diezel for letting us use the Dahab Freedivers space.
A possibly lost episode of TFC with Davide?!
What brings Davide to Dahab after so long?
Thoughts on changes in Dahab and seeing the positive before the negative.
Thoughts on the recent doping scandal in the freediving world.
A philosophical and spiritual approach to freediving.
Why social media conversations are so flawed.
What invigorated Davide to perform a 130m dive at this point in his career, what has changed over the years?
About continuing to train through the winter in thicker wetsuits.
New top-secret 8mm wetsuit material on the way?
Training hard to dive easy.
Davide's technique has grace and beauty, should that be a focus of freedivers?
A question from Rodrigo about his beautiful monofin technique.
About cakras.
Why does Davide remove the nose clip so deep?
Can Davide retrieve air at 100m+?
Back when packing and mouthfill were cheating!
Davide has only had one squeeze!
Davide's experience with narcosis.
Static at 110m!
Davide calls Spain home now.
Will his son, Nero, become a deep freediver?
How Davide meditates, 3 or 4 times a day.
What are 'Hurt Salutations'?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
Alexey Molchanov is a multi-world record holding and world record breaking freediving athlete and arguably the greatest and most consistent freediving athlete of all time.
In this episode we discuss:
This is the 150th episode of The Freedive Cafe!
Alexey was in Cyprus at the time of recording, preparing for the AIDA World Championships.
Alexey's thoughts on the doping accusations against Vitomir Maricic and Petar Klovar and doping in freediving.
Is it time for new freediving organisations?
Talking about Alexey's competition and how his training has evolved since we last spoke.
Questions from patreon supporters Jordy and Matthias about Alexey's base training phase.
Question from Zoe about the benefits of swimming for beginner freedivers.
How does Alexey train his no fins leg lick?
A question from Maurice about recovery protocols.
The benefits of active recovery for Alexey's body type.
A question from Emile about lung squeeze and how the experience of squeeze has evolved over the years.
The importance of developing mobility of the breathing muscles and thoracic cage.
A question from Bizo Silva (#137) about a special technique to counter contractions.
Hypoxic tolerance and how it evolves over the years.
Is no fins the key to improving hypoxic tolerance???
What is Alexey's experience with narcosis and does adaptation come over time?
A question from Kris about mental preparation before a dive.
A question from several patrons about what Alexey thinks his mum would think about the way the freediving world has changed in the last few years.
Why does Alexey freedive?
For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com
For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com
Join me in Dahab, Egypt for freediving courses and training the whole year round. Find out about my teaching philosophy at https://freediveandthrive.com
Shadi Türk is a Syrian former fixer and journalist who worked through 10 years of the terrible war in his home country. After reaching his breaking point in this capacity he embarked on a journey of discovery which led him to Kaş, Türkiye, and the new adventure of deep freediving.
In this episode we discuss:
Shadi was born and raised in Syria and moved to Türkiye when he was 18, where he studied architecture.
How Shadi became a fixer and a journalist.
The psychological impact of seeing so much death and destruction.
Shadi was working in Syria for 10 years in his fixing/journalistic capacity.
The emotional toll of this experience.
How did Shadi get out of Syria and into freediving?
Embarking on a journey along the Lycian Way.
How was Shadi's first experience of freediving?|
His first competition was a World Championships!
What is Shadi's motivation for continuing freediving?
Shadi was doing around 80m after only 1 year of training!
How Shadi ended up in the Philippines.
Shadi's current approach to training for freediving.
Experience with blackouts and squeezes?
Shadi and Donny's experience of narcosis from 'shallow' dives.
Could Shadi imagine taking freediving back to Syria?
PATREON EXCLUSIVE - Desert Island Questions
Shout out to some people!
Why does Shadi freedive?
Join me in Dahab, Egypt for freediving courses and training the whole year round. Find out about my teaching philosophy at https://freediveandthrive.com
Khaled ELGammal is Egypt's deepest diver and the first to reach the 100m mark. Today we hear about how Khaled left a corporate life working in oil and gas to dedicate himself to training for and teaching freediving.
In this episode we discuss:
Khaled was fresh back from Kuwait where he was acting as safety diver for the CMAS Indoor World Championships.
Shout out to co-host Jordy Duncan who is competing for Australia at the AIDA World Championships in Jeju, South Korea.
Khaled is originally from Cairo.
He left s corporate job in oil and gas to focus on freediving full time.
He was a competitive swimmer when he was younger.
AIDA Instructor Trainer and Egyptian National record holder.
Shout outs to David Mellor and Dave McGoo.
Shout out to Harry Chamas.
How was the journey to 100m?
What was the first 100m dive like?
Shout out to Gus Kreivenas and what it's like to train with him.
What kind of complementary training went into his training? Strength, flexibility?
Shout out to Shaza at Sharkfit gym in Dahab.
Training statics for depth?
Khaled's experience with barotrauma.
The benefits of instructing/coaching for maintaining a good base level of diving fitness.
What are Khaled's plans for competition in 2023?
Discussing the Egyptian freediving scene and the future of the sport in the country.
The diving scene in Dahab town.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Why does he freedive?
Join me in Dahab, Egypt for freediving courses and training the whole year round. Find out about my teaching philosophy at https://freediveandthrive.com
Gary McGrath is the deepest ever self-propelled freediver from the UK, claiming a national record of 112m in CWT at 2022's Vertical Blue competition.
In this episode we catch up with Gary since last years amazing Vertical Blue performance and examine the dark places in our mental environments, open up about depression, anxiety and seeking help, and sincerely hope you benefit from this discussion ❤️
Also watch on YouTube at Freedive and Thrive.
In this episode we discuss:
Second time lucky!
Catching up with Gary since his 2022 Vertical Blue experience.
The difficult and expensive process of getting to Vertical Blue.
How does one get into VB anyway?
Gary lost all his gear on the way to Vertical Blue!
What turning up at the Blue Hole feels like.
The journey from disqualification and COVID in 2021 to the UK national record in 2022.
The Vertical Blue 2022 experience.
Crowdfunding for Gary's next VB appearance:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-gary-get-to-vertical-blue
What changed in training for Gary between 2021 and 2022?
Gary's experience with mental health problems.
Depression, anxiety and how we deal with them, overcome them.
Imposter syndrome in the freediving elite.
Please feel free to reach out to Gary or myself if you are suffering similar issues.
What advice would Gary give to his ten years younger self?
Thank you for listening x
Join me in Dahab, Egypt for freediving courses and training the whole year round. Find out about my teaching philosophy at https://freediveandthrive.com
Miguel Lozano is one of the deepest freedivers in the world. He first appeared on episode #67 of The Freedice Cafe podcast!
This interview is also available in video format on the Freedive and Thrive Youtube channel.
In this episode we discuss:
Miguel and I last spoke in January 2020, recorded an interview and forgot to release it!
About Miguel's Deep Camp in Dahab.
The structure of the Deep Camp.
What Miguel's been up to these past 3 years.
Miguel's thoughts on the current condition of the freediving competition scene.
Advice on equalisation (lack of rhythm and speed is the problem)
Advice on dry training and complementary training for freediving.
Advice for instructors who wish to train .
Advice on periodisation for freediving training through the year.
The evolution of the Freedive Cafe Podcast over time.
On the use of dive computers and alarms in freediving.
Advice on dealing with squeezes and thoughts on passive exhale diving and RV (residual volume diving).
Advice on technicalities of training the different disciplines.
How does Miguel do a 60 metre dive that takes 7 minutes ?!?!
Shout out to Julia Mouce at Apnea Bali!
Will Miguel return to world record attempts?
Join me in Dahab, Egypt for freediving courses and training the whole year round. Find out about my teaching philosophy at https://freediveandthrive.com
Stefan Randig is German competitive freediver based in Dahab, Egypt. He first appeared on episode #10 of The Freedive Cafe:
https://freedivecafe.com/2017/10/01/10-stefan-randig-freedive-panglao/
In this episode we discuss:
The last time Stefan and I talked was in 2017, on episode #10 of The Freedive Cafe! (link above)
What happened to Freedive Panglao?
Stefan started his freediving journey in Dahab.
Shout out to our colleagues in The Philippines.
Dahab during COVID times.
What's it like to raise a child in Dahab?
Shout out to Carlos Diezel of Dahab Freedivers.
At the time of recording Stefan was fresh back from Vertical Blue 2022, how was his experience?
Shout out to Stefan's coach Dean Chaouche
Stefan got a new National Record for CNF with a dive of 77m.
Stefan is actually younger than Donny! So he should pay more respect to Donny!
Stefan's approach to training.
How the freediving lifestyle influences motivation.
Stefan hasn't blacked out yet in his career.
The difficulty of getting paid sponsorship in freediving.
Stefan's plans for 2023.
About the Deepspot challenge.
Thoughts on getting to Blue Element in Dominica in 2023.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE
A shout out to some special people.
Jordy Duncan is not only my awesome co-host on the Freediving Journal News Dispatch, but an up and coming elite freediver in her own right.
Jordy has only been diving for around 2 years but has managed to achieve distances in the pool of more than 200m, which for me is an absolutely mind-blowing achievement!
Perhaps more interesting than Jordy's rapid rise as a freediving athlete is to see that in the context of where she's coming from.... Jordy has struggled with an eating disorder for much of her life and her discovery of freediving and applying herself to it has been instrumental in her recovery.
In this episode we discuss:
Jordy is originally from Townsville, North Queensland, and is now located in Brisbane.
Shout out to Townsville and Cairns folks!
Shout out to Jack Webb at Freedive Far North Queensland.
Shout out to Ant Judge.
Getting burnt out at a young age from swimming.
Weight gain after quitting swimming.
Start of a party lifestyle and drinking a lot.
The development of Jordy's bulimia and what bulimia nervosa is as a medical condition.
Crying out for help and not knowing how to ask.
Jordy was offically diagnosed with bulimia nervosa at age 21.
Working ski-seasons on Japan and France.
First time going to hospital for recovery.
Did Jordy know how underweight she had become?
Why is bulimia a taboo subject?
Comparing alcoholism and eating disorders.
Jordy's discovery of freediving through Tinder!
Black-outs and an underwater black-out.
Starting coaching with Samo Jeranko (#87)
Moving in with Amber Bourke! (#40)
Jordy is one of the best pool freedivers in the world and only getting better!
How, where and when does Jordy train?
Goal to compete at AIDA Pool World Championships in June.
Let's help Jordy get to South Korea!
Jordy works for the Queensland state government in human resources.
Jordy's plans for 2023.
The ongoing struggle of our conditions and addictions.
How does Jordy fuel herself for training now, and deal with food and the complicated issues she has with it?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
Shout out to special people.
Why does she freedive?
Pete Botman is a Canadian/Dutch freediving athlete and instructor based in Dahab, Egypt. He is a 100m+ diver, multiple World Record holder in the CMAS Master's category and didn't start freediving until he was later in his forties.
In this episode we discuss:
Pete was born and raised in Canada but grew up speaking Dutch.
He joined the swim team and competed at quite a high level until aged 16.
Teaching, coaching, lifeguarding, and cross-country skiing.
How difficult is cross country skiiing?
The possibilities of youth and hangovers!
Pete didn't start freediving until he was about 46 years old!
About 10 years as a PADI scuba instructor leading up to freediving.
Coming out of an awesome 2022 season for Pete.
Pete and Olga Rodnova run Personal Best freediving together in Dahab, Egypt and Kas, Turkey.
The difficulties of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on running a business.
How to juggle training and teaching?
Shout out to David Mellor and his first 100m dives!
Stumbling blocks with throat squeezes and how Pete overcame them.
Reverse packing and squeezing.
Pete was 59 old years at the time of the interview.
Age is no barrier to freediving!
'Freediving is just about getting back up" ;)
Donny gets 'narced' from dives deeper than 60m!
Is narcosis just about nitrogen or are the other gases involved, too?
Pete achieved world record in many disciplines in the Master's category in the CMAS Outdoor World Championship.
The last championship and a rivalry with Jesper Stechmann and Jens Stoetzner.
About being coaching to Giorgos Panagiotakis?
Swimming with dolphins is the best kind of CO2 training!
Comparing Egypt and Taiwan's climate.
What does training session, week, look like for Pete?
Fondly remembering the beer-can-in-the-ass chicken and thoughts on nutrition.
Shout out to the Ukrainians who can't be diving right now!
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
Shout out to some special people!
Why does he freedive?
Tito Zappalà is an Italian freediver and coach. He worked under the eye of Andrea Zuccari at Freediving World in Sharm el-Sheikh for five years before moving up to Dahab when he currently lives and coaches.
In this episode we discuss:
Tito and Kat's plans for the winter.
Only 3 people in 7 years who pissed him off!
Tito is from the galaxy and the stars, and ... specifically from Sicily, Italy.
Early start in freediving, spearfishing with his father.
Selling the family gold for a Gopro.
Tito's early work as an underwater photographer.
Starting work with Andrea Zuccari at Freediving World.
Working for Andrea for 5 years.
Why did Tito move up to Dahab.
Shout out to Kat4dive!
Shout out to Gus Kreivenas!
Tito's style of teaching and coaching in Dahab.
Shout out to Ali of Aqua Maria! The episode before this one!
Tito's first competition in the Blue Hole in 2021.
Jumping from 80m to 100m in two dives!
Tito's first 100m dive,
Tito's World Record attempt in Variable Weight (VWT)
What is Variable Weight?
Shout out to Walid Boudhiaf and his 150m World Record in VWT.
Shout out to Marco Nones!
Shout out to Carlos Diezel of Dahab Freedivers
Shout out to Stavros Kastrinakis of Freediving Club Greece.
Detailed information on the training process for the World Record attempt.
Is another attempt on the books?
Biggest mistakes in freediving safety?
Top tips for freediving equalisation.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
Why does he freedive?
Ali Okab is the boss and face of the world-famous Aqua Marina, located right at the Blue Hole north of Dahab, Egypt.
His restaurant is the starting point for all freediving adventures in the Blue Hole and the de facto family house for freedivers from all over the world.
In this episode we discuss:
Ali's full name is Ali Rekab Ali Ali Okab.
Aqua Marina is a home for all the freedivers of the world.
The challenges of running a restaurant at the Blue Hole.
Ali's realisation about freediving and its people through the trials of the COVID era.
Ali is from Alexandria.
He was working as a taxi driver before moving to Sinai.
Ali's initial confusion about the sport of freediving.
A free freediving course from Lotta Ericson.
Ali has been at the Blue Hole for 23 years!
About the special service offered by Ali at Aqua Marina.
The amazing food and the good price!
AIDA supplied a defibrillator for the restaurant.
How freediving in the Blue Hole has changed over the years.
How to look after and care for this unique environment.
Shout out to Mohammend, the thinking mind!
Ali's new place in Dahab town.
Kateryna Sadurska is a multiple record holder and Ukrainian champion.
Kat has a background as a synchronised swimmer and even made it to the Olympics in Rio to represent Ukraine in that sport, and later turned her attention to our wonderful sport of freediving where she has rapidly been rising to the elite levels, especially in her pool performances.
In this episode we discuss:
Katerina is from Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
She has a background in synchronised swimming and did that for 17 years.
Going to the Olympics and World Championships to compete.
How Kat discovered freediving through underwater photography.
Comparison of breath-holding skills in freediving and synchronised swimming.
A first freediving competition in Poland.
A first national record of 175m in dynamic monofin!
A first depth course in Odessa, on the Black Sea.
A first depth competition in Bonaire.
Becoming a freediving instructor and working with Nataliia Zharkova.
The most recent World Championships and her results.
Out-break of invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Working at Freediving World Sharm El Sheikh, school of Andrea Zuccari.
The lead up to Belgrade world championships, and training and lack of training.
At the time of recording Kat's husband and mother were in Kharkiv, under pressure from the Russian invasion.
Shout out to all the great Ukrainian divers who aren't able to dive at the moment.
What are her current limitations to going deeper?
Shout out to Amber Bourke!
About No Fins and the possibility of a World Record.
What complementary training does Kat do?
How much help did a synchronised swimming background give her?
Nutrition and the importance of Coca Cola.
Has she had much experience with lung barotrauma?
Crucial advice for aspiring deep divers.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Kateryna's swimwear brand:
https://saobrand.com
Why does she freedive?
Denis Grosmaire was raised in the pacific island nation of French Polynesia, travelling for island to island as a kid with his mom, growing up in the ocean from a very young age.
However, he didn't dive deeper than 30m or take a freediving course until he was 39 years old. After that he very quickly rose up through the competition ranks and now dives well over 100m.
Denis also has a fascinating relationship with sharks. He spends hours and hours in the waters of French Polynesia with Tiger sharks and has fought hard to win some amazing conservation victories there.
In this episode we discuss:
Denis was in Dahab in August 2022 for training in preparation for competition.
Denis is based on a remote island in French Polynesia called Tikehau.
Denis grew up on many islands in French Polynesia.
Selling a house and giving up and office job to become a freediving instructor.
Long background in spearfishing and diving but didn't take a course until age 39, and didn't dive deeper than 30m!
Opening a school in French Polynesia in September 2016.
The difficulty of being a freediving instructor on French territory.
A stressful first competition in 2018.
The difficulty of training in Tahiti.
Next competition was Vertical Blue in 2018 and got into the 90s!
Denis had achieved 105m in FIM at the time of recording.
Mental coaching.
The importance of meditation and visualisation.
What is Denis training plan?
Finding tiger sharks to dive with.
The devastation caused by shark finning and what Denis did about it.
Protecting sharks and Polynesian culture.
The problem of Chinese vessels coming into Tahitian waters to get shark fins.
Advice for people who wish to interact with sharks.
PATREON SPECIAL - Desert Island Questions
Donny Mac can be found in Dahab, Egypt from March 2023 where he is teaching unique freediving courses, providing coaching for aspiring deep divers and offering yoga and other service.
Everything he does can be found at www.freediveandthrive.com
Bizo Silva is an Emergency Medicine physician practicing in a trauma center in Northern California, USA. He specialized in lung ultrasound in trauma. Bizo took part in much of the basic research and development of methods on how lung ultrasound is practiced today.
After working for a few years in a very busy trauma center in Brazil, he moved to the USA in 2007. He discovered freediving on a vacation to Hawaii, and shortly after decided to shift careers towards freediving medicine after he was blown away by the fascinating physiology of this unusual sport.
In this episode we discuss:
Bizo grew up in Brazil, went to med school there.
He met his partner in New York and has lived in the US for 17 years.
He has a masters in lung ultrasound and contusion.
At what point did freediving enter his life?
He started getting interested in freediving while on a trip to Hawaii.
Took a level 1 courses with Ben Zyons.
The difference between lung contusion and pulmonary barotrauma.
Clarifying the term 'oedema', compared to contusion.
Call back to Ep#21 with Ron Chapman, discussing the death of Nick Mevoli.
What does 'lung squeeze' mean, exactly? (we don't know).
What is remodelling of the vasculature around the alveoli?
Not only a vasogenic adaptation, but also structural changes in walls of blood vessels.
Shout out to Aharon Solomons and Tommy and Happy Birthday!
Shout out to Juani Valdivia!
What changes happen in the structure of lungs in high altitude situations?
Altitude pulmonary oedema quite similar to lung squeeze.
The gradation of different levels of lung squeeze. Not only hydrostatic stress but also sheer stress.
Comparing CT scans and lung ultrasound.
A portable lung ultrasound attachment for an iPad can be had for around 2-3k.
Link to lung ultrasound study I participated in during the 2022 Taiwanese Cup.
What issues did Bizo bring up with that study?
What are B-lines? Why are they not the same thing as lung comets. Clarifying the terminology.
How informative are lung ultrasounds to the trained observer?
How quickly can the lung recover as long as there is no structural rupture.
Development of condition similar to scar tissue/'pulmonary fibrosis'
Why do some people squeeze more than other?
Comparing the lungs of healthy individual smokers to long-term smokers.
Donny's history with smoking.
Uniformity of lung injury is important.
Can a lung ultrasound detect COPD?
Lung ultrasounds can only see the surface of the lungs.
What was problematic about the conclusions of the lung ultrasound study?
How ultrasound really works.
Donny's lung ultrasound images.
What is atelectasis and how does it generate B-lines?
What is the value of checking SaO2 (oxygen saturation) after dives?
What is CPAP and what can it do for us?
The problem with pure O2!
What is the benefit of recovery breath and should we still do it?
Should we pack after the dive?
Anecdote of a man who saved himself from heart attack with coughing.
What is SIPE (swimming induced pulmonary oedema)?
Difficulty of monitoring O2 and doing lung ultrasound while in the water.
What is the current state of competition medical care?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Why does Bizo freedive?
Donny can be found in Dahab, Egypt from March 2023 where he is teaching unique freediving courses, providing coaching for aspiring deep divers and offering yoga and other service.
Everything he does can be found at www.freediveandthrive.com
Alex Llinas is from Colombia and holds several national records. He dived his first 100m during competition at this years AIDA World Championships in Roatan.
His story of spending years in immigration limbo, battling cancer and losing his father before going on to become a top freediving athlete is truly inspirational.
In this episode we discuss:
Alex is from Colombia
About San Andres island, Colombia
Then to life in Medellin.
From Colombia to Charlotte, NC
A slightly complicated immigration issue...
Leaving then real job for a life of freediving.
Discovering he has lymphoma.
Dealing with the effects of cancer treatment.
A terrible infection that kicked his ass.
Great dives at the Freediving World Cup in Sharm.
What makes CNF so challenging, and what makes someone good at it?
What has been limiting Alex so far is his equalisation.
Switching from pain cave mentality to listening to your body.
Alex's experience with lung squeezes.
The 'culture of squeezing' in freediving.
How structured is Alex's coaching and how is coaching from Vitomir Maricic?
Shout out to Stefan Randig.
The evolution of freediving as a serious sport.
Alex was in the new Black Panther movie!
PATREON EXCLUSIVE | DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS (www.patreon.com/freedivecafe)
Shout out to influential people.
Plans for the future.
Why does he freedive?
Jani Valdivia is from Peru and is based in Tampa, Florida where he works as a neurosurgeon.
He is also a member of the AIDA Medical Committee, President of AIDA Peru and a competitive freediver himself.
He was first on the podcast on Episode #99
For freediving courses, coaching, podcasts and videos visit:
https://freediveandthrive.com
In this episode we discuss:
Balancing life as a neurosurgeon and aspiring deep freediver.
Training options in Florida.
Getting ready for Vertical Blue 2022.
What has Juani been working on recently?
The risk of Decompression Sickness.
The dangers of taking certain medications combined with freediving.
Diuretics, beta blockers, alpha blockers, blood thinners\anti coagulants, etc
One dose to reverse the effects of a certain anti-coagulant cost 22,000$
What is the difference between a beta blocker and an alpha blocker.
Are any OTC medications or supplements of concern. Fish oil, vitamin E.
Do certain preconditions make lung barotrauma more likely?
Difference between immersion pulmonary edema and lung barotrauma and the spectrum between.
Referring to the lung ultrasound study done by Andy Chi.
Shout out to Bizo Silva.
Things to look out for regarding lung barotrauma.
Thoughts on permanent impairment from lung barotrauma.
How much rest to take after lung barotrauma.
Actions to take after lung squeeze.
Warmings about aspirin and ibuprofen.
Differences between DCI (decompression illness) and AGE (arterial gas embolism).
The importance of having insurance in case there is an accident.
Suspicions about doping in the freediving scene.
What are Juani's plans for the future in this field?
Carlos Diezel is a freediving athlete from Brazil and manager of the world famous Dahab Freedivers school in Egypt.
In this episode we discuss:
Carlos is from Brazil.
The underwater world of Brazil's coast.
Discovering freediving at Julia Mouce's Apnea Bali, via Mike Board's Freedive Gili!
Carlos is getting steadily deeper and loves depth
Carlos is currently coached by Julia Mouce.
The issue of diving for the numbers.
Carlos did his last comp with a broken ankle!
Discovering new layers of relaxation in Free Immersion.
What kinds of complementary training does Carlos do to support his diving?
Why and how could Carlos choose Dahab to live with his family?
Carlos was a mechanical engineer in his previous life.
Loving or hating Dahab, or both at the same time?
Shoutouts to Dahab Freedivers founders Miguel Lozano, Pascal Berger and Stephen Keenan.
What is the long term vision for Dahab Freedivers?
Carlos' love of teaching.
Some great advice for instructors.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS | PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Shout out to important people.
How to find Carlos.
Why does he freedive?
Rami Bladlav is a top level athlete in Static Apnea competing for Sweden. He is nearing the 10 minute breath-hold mark.
Today we talk about his journey from Iraq, to Mixed Martial Arts, to his passion for long breath-holding performances.
In this episode we discuss:
Rami is originally from Iraq, but grew up in Iran, then moved to Sweden at age 10/11
Rami started sport with football, then eventually mixed martial arts.
What is it like to be a fighter?
Rami's fighting history.
Rami has two young daughters.
How did he come to discover freediving?
Rami started off with a 187m DYN!
He now focuses mainly on static apnea.
Are there any similarities between STA and MMA?
Did triathlon help with freediving, STA, lung capacity?
Rami had a 9.5l lung capacity after packing last time he tested.
Why static?!
A question from Freediving Journal co-host Jordy Duncan about drive and motivation?
Some chat about Rami's training methodology.
Shout out to Erika Shagatay, episode #
Shout out to Valdemar Karlsson
How did Rami injury his breathing muscles with packing?
Shout out to Akim Ladhari.
How many times does he pack and how?
Advice for those wishing to improve their statics.
Rami's thoughts on hyperventilation.
Thoughts on food and nutrition.
Best supplements for STA.
Rami's interesting mental strategies for dealing with long statics.
Another question from Jordy about plans after the World Championships.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Rami's biggest influences.
Why does he freedive?
Guillaume Néry is one of the most iconic figures in the freediving world. A World Champion, world record achiever and a filmmaker who has introduced the underwater world and freediving to millions.
In this episode we discuss:
Guillaume grew up next to the sea in Nice, France.
Does going naked in the bed improve breath hold ability?
Meeting Claude Chapuis, his mentor.
Remembering Loïc Leferme
Pioneers of the freediving world.
How were the big dives performed back in the day?
Guillaume's current approach to depth progression.
Guillaume's changing approach to training over the years.
The universal understandings of the elite level freediver.
The full story of Guillaume's 139m dive and accident in Cyprus in 2015.
Why did Guillaume retire from competition after that incident?
Is Guillaume Nery really back on the freediving competition scene?
A question from Patreon supporter Maria about Guillaume's pool diving.
Why don't we like pool training?!
A question from Patreon supporter David about achieving relaxation and CO2 tolerance during filming videos.
How involved in the artistic process is Guillaume when making videos with his former wife Julie Gautier.
Guillaume has recently released a new book: Nature Aquatique, currently only available in French.
Coral Gardeners video and ocean conservation work Guillaume is doing now, and what we can do about the issue of ocean degradation.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
Time and relaxation.
Why does he freedive?
Shout outs to Claude Chapuis and Loïc Leferme.
Lily Crespy is a former molecular biologist turned freediving coach and instructor. She has represented France several times as an athlete in freediving competitions and is part-owner of the world famous Dahab Freedivers school.
In this episode we discuss:
Lily is from France.
An accidental discovery of freediving, from pharmaceutical company to the ocean.
Apnea Total on Koh Tao and a broken leg with a nice boy.
Shout out to Julia Mouce at Apnea Bali.
Shout out to JP from Freediving Planet and Thibault Guignes at Freedive HQ back in the day.
The story of Stephen Keenan and his tragic passing from Lily's perspective who was there at the time on 22 July, 2017.
Alessia Zecchini's attempted crossing of the arch at Dahab.
How has safety improved at the Blue Hole in Dahab since this accident?
Lily's own depth journey and taking part in competitions.
Why did Lily decide to move from Dahab back to France?
The therapeutic possibilities of freediving.
EMDR as treatment for PTSD.
How Lily is trying to integrate PTSD treatment with freediving experiences.
Why is it so damn hard to teach freediving in France?
About Enki, Lily's coaching services: www.enki-coaching.com
Why not go to Corsica?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Thanks to some special people.
Why does Lily freedive?
Today we are joined by Croatian athlete Lidija Lijic.
Lidija is a 5 x world record holder, a World and European champion, a pilot, a climber, a mountaineer, an architect, a motivational speaker and a Sea Shepherd ambassador.
The strength of the Croatian athletes in freediving is well known, Lidija is not an exception. We talked about her Jump Blue Days, running up mountains with a snorkel in your mouth, an incredible project in the Himalayas with Vitomir Maricic, her love of sport climbing and her possible plans for this years Vertical Blue....
In this episode we discuss:
Donny's first depth competition experience.
New podcast incoming ... The Freediving Journal
Course dates for Donny's Dahab trip.
Lidija is from Split, Croatia.
Starting to train freediving in Italy.
Becoming part of the Croatian national team.
Lidija has been competing for about 15 years.
The super-high level of Croatian freediving athleticism.
Competing back in the Jump Blue days!
Lidija is a glider pilot.
She works as an architect in the boat-building business.
Another of Lidija's hobbies is serious alpine climbing!
About running up mountains with a snorkel in the mouth.
About a project with Vitomir Maricic, freediving in the Himalayas.
After a pause Lidija is getting back into training for big performances.
Is she also into depth?
What complementary training supports freediving? Sport climbing is a big part of it.
Thoughts about nutrition. Lidija is a vegetarian.
Lidija's environmental work and work she does with Sea Shepherd.
About Lidija's work as an architect on super luxury yachts.|
What interests does she have outside of freediving?
Lidija is planning to go to Vertical Blue in 2022.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
Options for coaching and workshops with Lidija.
Motivational speeches and lectures.
Why does she freedive?
Stig Severinsen has a degree in biology and a Ph.D. in medicine. He began experimenting with holding his breath as a child at the bottom of his parents’ pool.
Stig has played underwater rugby at an elite level, he's been a freediving world record holder, he's broken a few Guinness world records, he was the first to break the 20m breath hold barrier on pure O2 among other feats of human endurance, and now he works on spreading the word about his system Breatheology, a set of tools and techniques derived from 3 specific areas;
- The art and science of breath control and yoga
- Research on human physiology and neurology
- Modern sport exercise training and FLOW psychology.
In this episode we discuss:
Stig's been on Youtube and using the internet for education and spreading his work for a long time.
Stig's background and how he grew up and got into the underwater world.
The wonderful worlds of underwater hockey and underwater rugby.
Stig's early friendship with Carlos Coste.
Is Stig still keeping up with the contemporary freediving scene?
Shout out to Johan Thelaus
Reminiscences on the 'Golden Age' of freediving.
Shout out to Umberto Pelizzari.
What kind of training methods did Stig and friends discover back in the day?
Attitudes to training these days.
Early experimentation with nutrition.
Stig has achieved many firsts including the first 20 minute breath-hold (pure oxygen assistance).
What is Breatheology?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
On today's show is Jennifer Wendland, Jennifer is a current World Record-holding freediver from Germany and unless anything has changed since we recorded this interview two months ago, currently holds all of the German national records, and has done for quite a long time!
We talk about how she manages to balance training as a top-level athlete while working a regular human job, we compare athletes of other sports and talk about what challenges she faced over the years and how she overcame them.
The preamble to this episode contains a rant by Donny about politics and sport and references the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the country of Taiwan. If you are easily triggered by these topics then please skip to 13:39 to start the interview.
In this episode we discuss:
Jennifer is from Germany.
A bit of a background in competitive swimming, underwater rugby.
Was underwater rugby popular in Germany?
Does underwater rugby help with freediving?
Hypoxia in underwater rugby?
Jennifer had all the German national records at the time of recording!
Shout out to Only One Apnea Centre and Marco Nones.
Trying to link professional life to professional freediving.
Jennifer works for an energy company.
A bad experience in Dahab and the resultant water-fear.
Equalisation has been the main challenge.
Otovents, EQ tools and equalisation exercises.
Shout out to Martin Zajac (Episode #71)
The potential of freedivers who are trained from a very young age.
How does Jennifer structure her training year?
Jennifer's take on nutrition.
Comparisons with top-level triathletes and the importance of improving the engine in the chest.
Jennifer has never had any problem with her lungs (good flexibility and caution).
Does being a world record holder increase her stress level?
Jennifer enjoys cycling, board games and reading in her free time, but doesn't have much free time!
The politics of CMAS/ German freediving system, etc.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Shout outs to Andreas Pap, Marco Nones and Martin Zajac
On today's show we are talking to Mr 10 minutes himself, Florian Dagoury.
Florian is French freediver with more than 10 years experience in the sport and has reached in these last few years, the amazing performance of 10 minute in static apnea, his chosen discipline - a performance that very few in the world have achieved.
Florian is based in Thailand, from where he joins me today. We'll hear about his journey as a freediver, his work in Thailand with his school Blue Immersion and how COVID has affected business there.
We talk about the myocarditis he developed after his COVID vaccinations and how it has affected his athletic, breath-hold performances and we give advice to budding static apneists on how they can best improve their breath-hold times.
In this episode we discuss:
Florian was in Thailand for the recording, where has lived for 10 years.
He started freediving at Blue Immersionm on Koh Tao, and eventually took over from Akim Ladhari.
How are courses happening now during these tough COVID times?
Florian is from France, in the suburbs of Paris.
How did Flo come to focus on Static?
Deep diving in Song Hong Lake, Thailand.
Did Flo have a great static in the beginning, or did he have to train himself up from a more average performance?
He hardly takes any days off from training static!
Did he engage in much sport before he discovered freediving?
Florian has achieved more than 10:30 minutes in static.
The COVID vaccine, myocarditis story.
There is no anti-vaccination message here.
How did a previous bout of COVID affect future freediving performances?
What 'official' protocol was followed to heal from the myocarditis?What is a typical week of training like for Flo at the moment?
Training almost every day in static?
Experience with over-training.
Florian's method of pre-dive 'light' hyperventilation.
3 best pieces of advice to improve your static and bonus!
Nutrition and the crazy weight loss/fasting involved in the biggest performances.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS plus what Donny thinks of the French and how was it being featured on the world's biggest podcast?
How to get in touch with Florian.
Shout outs to Branko Petrovich, Aharon Solomons, Eric Fattah and his girlfriend.
Petar Klovar is a World Record breaking Croatian competitive freediver. In the 2022 CMAS World Championships he dived an incredible 92m in CNF (Constant Weight No Fins).
In this episode we discuss:
Is Croatia trying to take over the freediving world?
Petar has gone from 70 to 90+ metres in 2 years of CNF!!
He has a good background in swimming.
Petar is from the coastal city of Rijeka in Croatia.
Gym training for appearance and a spell in kickboxing.
How has focusing on freediving affected Petar's physique.
How did he get into freediving as a sport.
What have been the highlights of Petar's freediving career so far?
How much deeper can Petar go? He has his sights on the world record!
How does the dolphin kick advantage or disadvantage Petar on his dives?
What were Petar's equalisation problems and what did he do to overcome them?
The value of daily dry equalisation practices.
How is Petar preparing for the next season?
Petar's experience with COVID19 and the after effects.
What does Petar do in his 'normal human life'?
Follow Petar's girlfriend's IG page for tattoo art! @ana_petko_witch
Petar's take on nutrition.
His experience with lung squeezes and the reasons for them.
How he spends his free time.
He and Ana both love bouldering.
Find out more about coaching from Petar at adriaticfreediving.com
MEMBERS ONLY EXCLUSIVE - DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Shout out to Petar's supporters.
Why does he freedive?
On today's show we have a Freedive Cafe favourite returning to the show. Founder of Immersion Freediving and the Freedive Live Podcast, Ted Harty came back and we had a conversation sharing some of our experiences and advice regarding the instruction of freediving.
So this episode may offer up some helpful or insightful information for new or aspiring freediving instructors and my even hold a few gems for experienced instructors too.
In this episode we discuss:
Ted has moved to Georgia!
About the 2022 Freedive Live Summit
Conversing on the art of instruction:
Walk through the first open water session.
Pre-dive session briefings.
Saving money by not losing gear!
The surface buoyancy test/surface safety test.
Randomising rescue practices.
Safety and equipment checks done before and during the session.
The biggest beginner instructor mistake.
How do you cope with student anxiety and water fear?
A question from Patron Andrea Claussen... How do you deal with students who lack patience and have a tendency to push too hard (and risk injuries)?
Managing varying abilities during a course, one student going ahead of another...
What are some ways to make the whole experience more fun for the student?
Why we're not covering EQ in this conversation.
Managing student expectations.
What separates a good instructor from a great one?
MT Solomons is a link to the early days of deep freediving before the modern competition era, along with her partner at the time Aharon Solomons they were there in the time of Pipin and Audrey, Umberto Pelizzari and Davide Carrera, a young Martin Stepanek was around, Kirk Crack, Tanya Streeter, a whole host of freediving royalty, a time when things were simpler in the world and also in freediving, when freediving was still very exploratory and deep diving logistics and training were being figured out as they went along.
You'll also hear about the shared history I discovered I had with MT and Aharon with a place called Agios Pavlos in southern Crete in Greece, which blew my mind, and then we'll move on to talk about MT's life in Baja, Mexico, where she is running unique freediving training courses and we talk about her experiences with plant medicines and the ultimate potential of the deep diver outside of just training and performances.
In this episode we discuss:
MT was back in the UK for the holiday season when we spoke.
About the Huniquin people, Ayahuasca ceremonies.
How MT discovered freediving.
Our shared history of Crete, Agios Pavlos, Triopetra, Derek Ireland and shout out to Helen and Phil at Yoga Rocks.
https://www.yogaholidaysgreece.com
How Aharon Solomons introduced her to freediving in Crete.
Diving with a yellow submarine!
The days of early deep diving with Pipin Ferreras, Martin Stepanek,Umberto Pelizzari, Davide Carrera and Tanya Streeter.
How MT got started in Mexico.
The ecology and weather of the Baja Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez.
How diving works in MT's area and the experience on offer.
MT's relationship with plant medicine and how that experience ties in to the experience of freediving.
The deeper experience of freediving and the possibilities of deep human diving.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE
World Record Holder Vitomir Maričić returns to The Freedive Cafe to answer the legendary Training Talk questions!
We also discuss his experiences with nitrogen narcosis and decompression illness.
The Training Talk Questions are:
What is your favourite freediving discipline and why?
Do you have a coach and who do you train with?
Do you periodise your training through the year?
What kind of dry training do you do?
Do you have a dry EQ practice, if so, what kind of exercises?
Describe your favourite pool training sessions, if you train in the pool.
How do you structure depth training sessions and how does it change through the year or the season?
What are you doing, in your mind, in the 2 minutes before your deep dives?
Do you do warm up? How? Or why not?
Do you pack? How many times?
At what depth do you begin your freefall?
Do you count your kicks or strokes?
Hands up or down on the ascent?
Do you exhale before surfacing or remove the noseclip before surfacing?
Do you do recovery or hook breathing?
What is your experience with narcosis and how do you deal with it?
Have you ever experienced decompression related symptoms?
Do you drink coffee, alcohol or smoke?
What is the one piece of nutrition advice you would give?
Do you take any supplements?
What lifestyle or mindset change helped you improve more than anything else? Which person, or persons have influenced your own approach to freediving the most?
What do you like to do on rest days and do you have any strategies to speed up your recovery? Describe your deepest dive in detail.
What is your favourite memory so far from your freediving journey?
What was the best place you ever freedived?
Originally aired on Thrivers Podcast exactly one year ago, in this fascinating interview we discuss James Nestor's latest book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.
James Nestor originally appeared on episode #19 of The Freedive Café when we discussed his previous book Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and what the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves.
In this episode we discuss:
How did the Coronavirus situation affect the release and promotion of the book?
Was James nervous to go on Joe Rogan’s podcast?
What is the basic premise of Breath?
What is the scientific backing for the information in the book?
Why is mouth breathing so detrimental to health?
The experiment documented in the book which James took part in with Anders Olssen.
Traditional Native American views on mouth breathing.
Practical advice on how to work with nose breathing.
The earliest modern pulmonauts.
Why should we be breathing LESS, rather than MORE!
Link to Patrick McKeown interview on The Freedive Cafe Podcast.
The story of Emil Zátopek.
All about breathing slow and the 5.5 second rule.
The importance of chewing your food properly!
The right time and place for hyperventilation.
Can CO2 be breathed for therapeutic reasons and to treat anxiety?
What interesting titbits didn’t make it into the book?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS! Patreon Exclusive.
James has another idea for a book!
How can people find out more about James and his books?
Chris McKay was Chief of Safety at the 2021 AIDA World Championships in Cyprus and runs Freedive Tulum in Mexico.
In this episode we discuss:
How was Chris' whole experience of the AIDA WC 2021 in Cyprus?
Did the issue with Taiwan flag negatively affect the athletes?
Chris is from Queensland in Australia.
A start in freediving through spearfishing.
Enjoying depth but not competing.
Comparing freediving to climbing.
Chris came from a safety and rescue training background, working in adventure tourism.
Talking about organising safety at Vertical Blue.
Which competition memories stand out most for Chris.
Remembering Sayuri Kinoshita.
How has the safety situation changed over the years in freediving competitions?
Identifying potential problems with divers and predicting possible negative dives.
Chris' most challenging experiences during comps.
Is there anything missing from rescue techniques in freediving education?
A Patreon question from Mauricio about 'bad spots'.
A Patreon question from Kai about rescue techniques.
A Patreon question from Jan about becoming certified as a safety diver.
A Patreon question from Christian about safety divers not taking part in competitions.
Shout out to Linda Paganelli.
A Patreon question from rescue swimmer Dalen about diving alone.
About Chris' set up in Tulum, Mexico.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
How to get in touch with Chris?
Freedive Tulum
Tom Peled is a breath coach and freediving coach from Tel Aviv, Israel. Join us for this fascinating conversation on the power of the breath, working with trauma, helping athletes to their peak performance and much more.
In this episode we discuss:
Shout out to Madison and Alice Modolo
Tom is from Tel Aviv, Israel
He joined the Navy when he was 18 and eventually became a scuba instructor.
Discussing the diving conditions off the coast of Israel.
Did Tom get involved in the competitive scene?
Meeting up with Aharon Solomons!
The research phase begins...
How Tom's teaching methodology developed.
How does Tom define breathwork and how is it applied?
Helping victims of trauma with breathwork.
Inspiration from the oxygen advantage method.
How breathwork is integrated into the athlete's training strategy.
Hypoventilation and reduced breathwork.
When complementary training is and isn't useful.
Tom's thoughts on the benefits of running.
What a year of training would look like?
Respiratory health, treating asthma, COPD with breath work.
Tom's take on respiratory training devices.
Tom's thoughts on supplementation, what is garbage and what is worth taking? Creatine, beta alanine, citrulline, NAC, ashwagandha.
Mental work, long distance athlete's mentality.
Talking about the 2 minutes before the dive, the "breathe-up".
Hyperventilation - is it always bad?
How to get in touch with Tom and get some coaching.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
Tom's plans for the future.
Why does he freedive?
Julia Mouce, Freedive Cafe favourite returns for her fourth appearance!
Julia is the owner of Apnea Bali freediving school on the island of Bali, Indonesia and one of the most highly regarded professional freediving coaches in the world.
Today we focus on the art of instructing freediving, from the beginning level, to coaching athletes at the top of their game.
In this episode we discuss:
Discussing the AIDA World Championships in Cyprus.
Advice for instructors:
Don't talk too much!
Always say something positive.
Don't get too serious with the students.
Dive with your students.
Don't discuss theory on the buoy.
The value of putting the students feet first.
Advice for coaching those struggling with EQ.
Tips on coaching duck dives.
Developments in freediving as a sport.
Coaching and its value.
Training smart and training silly.
How negative performances can influence future performances.
Finding the right coach to suit your personality.
Don't be too proud as a coach.
About the current situation for Apnea Bali and Julia in Bali.
About Julia's coaching services.
Julia still has a few coaching spaces left!
Fatima Korok is a World Champion freediver from Hungary.
She first appeared on the show on Episode #110 and now returns to dig deep into her training methods with a special Training Talk episode.
The Training Talk questions are:
What is your favourite freediving discipline and why?
Do you have a coach and who do you train with?
Do you periodise your training through the year?
What kind of dry training do you do?
Do you have a dry EQ practice, if so, what kind of exercises?
Can you handsfree? How deep?
Describe your favourite pool training sessions, if you train in the pool.
How do you structure depth training sessions and how does it change through the year or the season?
What are you doing, in your mind, in the 2 minutes before your deep dives?
Do you do warm up? How? Or why not?
Do you pack? How many times?
At what depth do you begin your freefall?
Do you count your kicks or strokes?
Hands up or down on the ascent?
Do you exhale before surfacing or remove the noseclip before surfacing?
Do you do recovery or hook breathing?
What is your experience with narcosis and how do you deal with it?
Have you ever experienced decompression related symptoms?
Do you drink coffee, alcohol or smoke?
What is the one piece of nutrition advice you would give?
Do you take any supplements?
What lifestyle or mindset change helped you improve more than anything else?
Which person, or persons have influenced your own approach to freediving the most?
What do you like to do on rest days and do you have any strategies to speed up your recovery?
Describe your deepest dive in detail.
What is your favourite memory so far from your freediving journey?
What was the best place you ever freedived?
On today’s show we have another amazing girl joining us, you know the girls are really the ones leading the way in terms of exciting freediving these days, and Alice Modolo of France is no exception.
This year at the famous Vertical Blue competition she achieved the first ever 100m dive for a french female athlete and topped that off with a CMAS world record in CWT bifins with a dive to 95m.
Alice has had a long and interesting journey in freediving, at one point giving up the sport for several years to focus on her career, then ultimatley giving up her career to focus on the sport. We’ll hear all about the process she has gone through to bring her mind, her breath and her body into alignment with what is necessary to be a world record making freediving athlete.
In this episode we discuss:
How it’s more complicated to teach freediving in France.
A good performance at the French Championship and great year at Vertical Blue for Alice.
Hats off to Alenka Artnik.
Alice is from France and started freediving when she was 23 years old.
Seasickness and issues with the water.
Taking a 4 year break from freediving to pursue her professional career.
Coming back stronger than ever.
Alice is a dentist, but quit her job to pursue freediving!
The benefits of working with a mental trainer for athletes.
The influence of trauma on your performance as an athlete.
Deep freediving is also facing fears and facing death.
Shout out to one of Alice’s coaches Tom Peled.
Talking about yoga for flexibility.
Strength training is important but softness and relaxation is more important.
The importance of not overtraining and focusing on the specific training needed.
Alice’s approach to food and nutrition.
What does Alice do in her free time?
The impact of working with Federico Mana on her equalisation skills.
A question from Patreon supporter Marc Sodoyer.
A question from Patreon supporter Joshua about her mask/goggle set up?
Shout out to Stavros Kastrinakis at Freediving Club Greece.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVE SECTION
Another question from patron Marc!
Why does Alice freedive?
Gary McGrath is and English competitive freediver. His first appearance was episode #109.
This is a Training Talk episode. The Training Talk questions are:
What is your favourite freediving discipline and why?
Do you have a coach and who do you train with?
Do you periodise your training through the year?
What kind of dry training do you do?
Do you have a dry EQ practice, if so, what kind of exercises?
Describe your favourite pool training sessions, if you train in the pool.
How do you structure depth training sessions and how does it change through the year or the season?
What are you doing, in your mind, in the 2 minutes before your deep dives?
Do you do warm up? How? Or why not?
Do you pack? How many times?
At what depth do you begin your freefall?
Do you count your kicks or strokes?
Hands up or down on the ascent?
Do you exhale before surfacing or remove the noseclip before surfacing?
Do you do recovery or hook breathing?
What is your experience with narcosis and how do you deal with it?
Have you ever experienced decompression related symptoms?
Do you drink coffee, alcohol or smoke?
What is the one piece of nutrition advice you would give?
Do you take any supplements?
What lifestyle or mindset change helped you improve more than anything else?
Which person, or persons have influenced your own approach to freediving the most?
What do you like to do on rest days and do you have any strategies to speed up your recovery?
Describe your deepest dive in detail.
What is your favourite memory so far from your freediving journey?
What was the best place you ever freedived?
Claire Paris is a competitive freediver and professor in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Her research is dedicated to biological oceanography and ocean conservation and we'll go into that in detail in the show. If you wanted to know how pelagic fish begin their lives or what the difference is between phytoplankton and zoo plankton and how important they both are to the health of the planet, you'll find that out too.
In this episode we discuss:
How was Claire's experience at Vertical Blue this year (2021)?
Claire is originally from the south of France.
A quick detour into the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton.
Claire is currently a professor of marine science at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Donny is not a scientist, he's a dumbass.
Talking about the Splash Facility in Miami.
How Claire is teaching young marine scientists to freedive in order to do their research, and do it safely.
How did Claire get in to freediving?
Meeting Will Trubridge at the Blue Hole.
Meeting Natalia Molchanova and how she inspired and motivated Claire.
Why deep diving is not easy living in Miami.
The joys of drift diving in the open ocean.
Claire maintains her diving fitness with exercises every day.
Claire hasn't had any problems with lung squeezing so far.
Claire talks about her research done at Dean's Blue Hole.
Potential secret passageways at the bottom of the Blue Hole.
The incredible negative changes Claire has witnessed in the health of the ocean over the years.
The problem of bringing awareness to conservation issues.
An appeal to spearfishermen and women to be sensible with their catches.
A question from Patron and Claire's husband Ricardo about what she would do with a 12 month sabbatical.
A question from Patron Stephane about how she stays motivated to freedive.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive
How to get in touch.
Why does she freedive?
Tom Ardavany first contributed to the Vertical Blue medical team in 2012 and has been part of the team many times since then. He has also been present as a medic at many other top-level freediving competitions including Blue Element in Dominica.
Tom is an expert in the field, and brilliantly educates us on everything from lung squeeze and athlete monitoring protocols as well as the unforeseen and strange situations that have taken him by surprise over the years.
In this episode we discuss:
Tom is based in the Seattle area.
What kind of freediving do they have up there?
How did Tom get started as a freediver's medic?
Tom's first time at Vertical Blue was a real eye opener.
Tom's history in freediving competitions.
Shout out to Leigh and Bill Baker.
Shout out to Jani Valdivia.
The wide range of medical situations can occur during a competition.
A DCS experience and a popped lung through stretching.
What have been the most challenging experiences?
Has a diver's nutrition ever been though of as a potential cause of problems?
Since the death of Nick Mevoli how has safety and medical in freediving competitions developed?
What screening procedures are there and what follow up procedures?
What is the protocol after a suspected lung barotrauma, official guidelines?
Hemoptysis is coughing up of blood.
What are the steps from deep blackout, to platform, and further...
A diver cannot be moved without a pulse and why.
We've come a long way in terms of freediving instruction and medical care.
Being part of a safety team is great experience to up one's safety game.
Shout out to Gary McGrath.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS – Patreon Exclusive Section
Louisa Collyns hails from London but eventually found her way into the underwater world through scuba diving, and then, as so often happens, she met some freedivers and nothing was ever the same again.
She has been involved in teaching freediving and being a safety diver at major competions for the best part of a decade and is also the founder of Freedive Ibiza, which has been providing freediving education on the beautiful Spanish island since 2015.
In this episode we discuss:
Louisa grew up in London.
Louisa started scuba diving at 22, freediving when she was 36 in 2012.
She took her first freediving course with Lotta Ericson at Freedive Dahab.
Shout out to Lotta and Linda Paganelli.
Did Louisa take part in the competition scene, too?
How did she end up involved so deeply in the safety scene?
What about Freedive Ibiza and why Ibiza?
How has Brexit affected business?
How connected is the safety at a competition to the organisation (AIDA/CMAS)?
How to set up safety at a competition.
How are safety divers rotated during the day to keep them safe?
What kind of technology is used to support the safety team?
How much of a difference does Diveye make to the safety team?
A question from Patreon supporter Mattias about freediving platforms and the counter – ballast system.
Are most blackouts non-events?
Donny pulling stuff out his ass about how rescues are initiated and completed.
At what point is the diver handed over to the medics?
Which experiences have been the most powerful learning experiences?
What would she like to see change/develop in freediving safety?
What should change in recreational freediving?
What are the best qualities of the safety diver?
How being a safety diver affected her own diving.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS – Patreon Exclusive Section
Why does she freedive?
Mirela Kardasevic is and has been World Champion, Vice-World Champion, 6 times World Record Holder, twice bronze medalist at the European Championship, and multiple Croatian national champion and record holder and some of that might have to be updated since the CMAS competition last week, but as you can see, it's quite the list of achievements for someone who came into the sport aged 30 and has only been at it for a few years.
In this episode we discuss:
It's the 4 year anniversary of The Freedive Cafe!
Congratulations on Mirela's performance at the CMAS World Championships.
Difference between 25m and 50m pool records.
Mirela is living in Zagreb, Croatia at the time of recording.
Mirela has two sons aged 9 and 10.
Mirela has a background in swimming, until the age of 21.
She suffered from Legg-Calve-Perthes when she was a child and how it led to her swimming and recovery.
She had a scholarship for swimming at Arizona State University.
She started freediving at age 30.
Mirela also dives depth and has won many medals.
She especially likes DNF and CNF.
Mirelal is being coached by Freedive Cafe favourite Matt Malina!
She does a lot of strength training and HIT, long walks, and cycling.
Has she had any trouble with equalisation?
Talking about diet and supplements.
Mirela is recently converted to a fully plant-based diet, inspired by The Game Changers documentary on Netflix.
How much wine does she drink?
What are the highlights of the freediving career/life?
Which people have influenced her most?
What advice would she give to her beginner-self?
Lots of questions from Patreon supporters, thank you!
How does she prepare mentally for a dive?
How many training days compared to rest days?
What does Mirela do for work? (Digital Marketing from home)
Mirela is a massive basketball fan!
An embarrassing story from Donny's childhood.
The benefits of maintaining a dry static practice.
Experience of barotrauma.
Tips on parenting for Patron Nick.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Why does she freedive?
Nathan Vinski is an up and coming Canadian competitive freediver and freediving coach.
Nathan's specialist skill is 'being a struggling freediver' and knowing how to apply a sports science-based approach to freediving, helping to turn freediver struggles into strengths. If you want to know how to train and compete for depth, or pool, in cold or warm locations, Nathan is a guy that can help you out because he's been through all the struggles and reached all the dead ends that we aspiring deep divers often encounter.
In this episode we discuss:
Making the most of the pandemic in Dahab.
Nathan spent his first three years freediving in Canada.
Nathan's mom used to race dragon boat!
The breath-holding uncle.
Randomly discovering an instructor in his school!
Challenges of finding depth in Canada.
A trip to Utilla.
The effect of Stephen Keenan's death on Nathan's attitude towards Dahab at the time.
Shout out to Paul Sutton at Saltfree Divers.
Nathan is now based in Dahab.
The first few years of 'sucking' at freediving....
What was the turning point for Nathan in his approach to training?
Nathan was officially diving in the 90s a the time of recording.
The journey from 64 to 74 took two years, main issues being over-training and burnout.
Seven important training principles.
The importance of having reasonably achievable goals.
Not sticking to 'the plan' and diving for fun.
How to find Nathan and what coaching options he is offering.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS Patreon Exclusive
Why does Nathan freedive?
Fatima Korok is from Hungary. Fatima has been on a special journey through freediving, not just quickly rising to become the first Hungarian freediver to become a World Champion, but overcoming many personal challenges on the way.
In this episode we discuss:
Fatima was in Dahab at the time of recording.
How has her experience of the pandemic been?
Getting Dominican Republic and Dominica mixed up in big way!
Life in Dahab during 'lockdown'
A trip to Croatia to visit Vitomir Maricic and attend a comp.
An interesting dive and first black out in Sharm El-Sheikh
A huge 86m CWTB (Constant Weight Bi-fins) dive!
Fatima is from Hungary, born in Budapest and grew up in a small village.
Synchronised swimming became a big part of her life from a young age.
Did synchronised swimming affect her current CO2 tolerance?
She did her first course in Utilla.
Fatima's challenges with her weight.
A move to Tenerife for scuba diving.
Documentary on Audrey Mestre mentioned in the interview.
What diet worked for Fatima in the end and how does she approach food?
Dealing with addictions.
Discussing women's Bi-fins records and Fatima's ultimate potential.
What are her plans for the future?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Gary McGrath is an English diver who recently surpassed the 100m mark in depth. He joins me from Dahab, Egypt, to discuss his freediving progression.
In this episode we discuss:
Donny first noticed Gary after he hit the 100m mark!
Gary used to work at Freedive Gili! (Donny's 'freediving spiritual home')
Gary's is from England, his mum is Thai.
Shout out to Saltfree Divers based at The National Diving and Activity Centre, a beautiful flooded quarry in Chepstow, near Bristol in the UK.
How did Gary progress over 15 years to 100m.
He mostly dived in the pool in the first few years.
Gary has an organic and relaxed approach to training.
What is tree surgery?? (Gary is an arborist).
High-lights of Gary's freediving career so far, including getting selected for the British Team at the World Championships in 2012.
The joys of Ibiza.
Shout out to Per Jennische.
Working on the safety team for Blue Element.
About Gary's sinus issues and how he overcame them (ultimately with a balloon sinuplasty operation)
Do Asians have different shaped sinuses!?
The reality of the benefits of the neti-pot.
The lead up to that first 100m dive.
Mike Board! Get a haircut you bum!
What is a typical week of training like for Gary in Dahab?
Is running and cycling detrimental to freediving?
Does the progress accumulated over time, stay?
The cumulative effect of over 15 years deep freediving and the importance of conservative progression.
Gary says he's never had a murmer of a squeeze.
Shout out to David Mellor!
What is the most crucial advice he would give to anyone wishing to progress in freediving?
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive Section
Why does Gary freedive?
Although Sheena McNally hails from a part of Canada over 1,000 km from the ocean, she has always loved being in the water. Growing up, she spent summers on the lake and winters in the pool, becoming certified in lifesaving, rescue, and swimming instruction. As an adult, shedabbled in many activities, including martial arts, circus, and running, but none of them stuck. She eventually took up scuba diving and fell in love with the sea, which led her to leave the chilly prairies and a career in design and communications behind. Her search for sunny weather and good diving brought her to Utila, Honduras, where she enrolled in a beginner freediving course—and got completely hooked!
Sheena first appeared on the show on Episode #85
In this episode we discuss:
Shout out to (decaf) coffee and Jani Valdivia!
Sheen first appeared on Episode #85.
Sheen spent most of the pandemic in Dominica.
Sheena and Donny were diving together in Bali just when the s**t hit the fan!
Shout out to Apnea Bali.
Shout out to Scott Lambert who saved my ass and got me out of the Bali in the nick of time!
The lockdown situation in Dominica.
Is it possible to travel to Dominica? (this information may have changed!)
How's the freediving education scene been there?
Sheena dived below 100m!
The build up and training involved in that dive.
How much did Sheena structure her training?
Improvements in training logs.
The importance of scheduling proper rest.
Breaking down Sheena's first 100m dive.
Sheena's clumsy and incredibly inefficient process and being honest with herself.
What are Sheena's weaknesses?
Silver bullets for mastering equalisation!
What are her greatest motivations to go deeper?
A disclaimer about Donny's comments on the situation in Taiwan!
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS!
Daan Verhoeven is best know for his amazing photography of freedivers. He hails from the Netherlands and now lives in Cornwall, UK. He started freediving in 2005. Between 2006 and 2011 he set national records in 5 of the 6 freediving disciplines. He is a freediving instructor with AIDA, SSI and PADI. He’s an AIDA judge and was voted safety diver of the year in 2010 and 2011. He has been a freediving photographer since 2011.
He lives together with his girlfriend Georgina Miller, who is also a freediver, in a house by the sea, and together they run a freediving school, Aquacity Freediving. They have 2 dogs, Beans and Charlie, and a grumpy cat called Johnny (after Johnny Cash). Daan loves ginger and cinnamon, the melodies of Tom Waits, the voice of Peter Gabriel and the colour orange. He also translates his father’s (Dutch philosopher Cornelis Verhoeven) work into English.
Daan previously appeared on episodes #2 and #102 of the podcast!
Emilio Rodríguez-Álvarez is an archaeologist specialising in the archaeology of ancient Greece, the study of pottery technology, geographic Information Systems and maritime archaeology. He finished his B.A. at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) and took his M.A. from University of Reading (UK); after working in Galicia he moved to the University of Arizona (US), in order to work on his Ph.D.
Emilio is a keen freediver himself and is especially interested in the ancient divers of the Mediterranean, he’s done work on, for example, sponge harvesting in the archaeological record of the Mediterranean Basin.and also has a general fascination with all the indigenous, traditional freediving cultures still extant around the world and what we can learn from them.
In this episode we discuss:
Emilio is from Galicia!
How is the discipline of ancient archeology done and how is the science coming along?
Sponges as shock absorbers in helmets!
A collection of references to freediving in antiquity.
The difficulty of doing research and problems with exploring the evidence of ancient freediving.
How did humans start with freediving?
The search for surfers ear.
Neanderthals freediving in ancient Iraq?
Extant traditional freediving cultures around the world such as the Ama, Bajau, Moken etc.
The genetics of the Bajau Laut people and their enlarged spleens.
Ancient Polynesian diving for pearls.
Pearl diving in antiquity and in the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh
How deep have we been diving through history.
Aristotle and his ear perforation claims!
Ancient nose clips made from pearl shells.
Did Greek divers really deliberately blow out their ear drums?
Early depletion of sea life and how it affected freediving.
Ancient freediving masks and snorkels.
The problem with bronze knifes in the 6th century BCE.
Diving for sponges in the Mediterranean and how it was done.
What were they doing with a mouthful of olive oil?! Ancient flashlight?!
The story of Yorgos Haggi Statti.
Dances that imitate divers health issues.
The role of female freedivers in ancient Greece.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Gus Kreivenas is a 100+m diver originally from Lithuania and over the last decade has been developing himself into an elite freediver, focusing on awareness, sensitivity and focus to bring himself to this level in the safest and most enjoyable way.
This is a Training Talk episode originally released on Freedive Cafe PLUS at www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
Enjoy and share the love, and DIVE SAFE!
Sara Campbell is a bit of a legend in the freediving community.
She is a Kundalini Yoga teacher, and four times World Record-holding freediver. She is the founder of Discover Your Depths, a unique teaching and personal growth philosophy based on yoga, meditation, freediving and mind-body awareness.
Sara has been practising Kundalini Yoga since 2003, and attributes her phenomenal success in breath-hold diving – from beginner to three-times World Record holder in just nine months (diving to 90m below the surface of the ocean on just one breath!) – to her practice. She is one of only a handful of women to have dived below 100m.
In this episode we discuss:
Sara was still in Dahab at the time of the interview.
How has Sara been handling the Covid situation?
And how has it been in Dahab in general?
What has Sara been up to in the 3 years since we last spoke?
About Discover Your Depths and the creation of Holistic Freediving.
What are the main mental and emotional barriers during a freediver's journey?
The mirroring of life's challenges in the underwater challenges.
What does it mean to act in integrity with our goals?
A tangent to discuss Donny's lack of dental hygiene.
Recommendations for people to make positive changes in their lives.
Sara is relocating to the Canary Islands!
Questions from Daan Verhoeven about why she insists on being addressed as 'Ma'am' and her Dynamic PB.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Adam Stern is an Australian freediving athlete, Australian champion and 8 x Australian freediving record holder.
He also teaches freediving for all levels from absolute beginner all the way up to instructor and competitor levels.
This is an interview from the PLUS archives, recorded in May 2019.
Daan Verhoeven is best know for his amazing photography of freedivers. He hails from the Netherlands and now lives in Cornwall, UK. He started freediving in 2005. Between 2006 and 2011 he set national records in 5 of the 6 freediving disciplines. He is a freediving instructor with AIDA, SSI and PADI. He’s and AIDA judge and was voted safety diver of the year in 2010 and 2011. He has been a freediving photographer since 2011.
He lives together with his girlfriend Georgina Miller, who is also a freediver, in a house by the sea, and together they run a freediving school, Aquacity Freediving. They have 2 dogs, Beans and Charlie, and a grumpy cat called Johnny (after Johnny Cash). Daan loves ginger and cinnamon, the melodies of Tom Waits, the voice of Peter Gabriel and the colour orange. He also translates his father’s (Dutch philosopher Cornelis Verhoeven) work into English.
In this episode we discuss:
Daan has been with the podcast all the way!
Daan managed to get to Cyprus in 2020 for the Infinity Depth Games
Arnauld Jerald and Alexey Molchanov competing for a world record was definitely a highlight for the sport in an otherwise subdued year for freediving.
The challenges of living through the pandemic as a travelling photographer.
Why has Taiwan done so well during the pandemic?
The rise of online coaching in freediving.
Shout out to Linda Paganelli.
Why is Daan experimenting with cold water immersion?
What have been the highlights of the last three and a half years?
What is the funniest thing that he’s seen in that time?
And the most disappointing thing?
Thoughts on the Freediving World Series
Whatever happened to Jump Blue?
A question from Sara to Daan about his birthday suit.
A question from Sheena McNally.
And pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?
A question from Danny about snail farts.
A question from Alexandre about inappropriate nicknames.
A question from Ben Gardiner about Daan’s last ever picture.
A question from Farron about nude pictures of Daan, and more..
A question from Catherine about the weirdest picture Daan has ever taken.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS – PATREON
Does Donny’s voice induce MDR?
Julia Mouce is an instructor for SSI, AIDA, Apnea Total and PADI as well as an Instructor Trainer for Apnea Total and PADI, she is an accomplished competition freediver herself, holding records for Argentina in CWT and CNF.
She is also the owner of a very well-known school in Bali, Apnea Bali and another school, Freedive Air, on Gili Air, just off the Lombok coast.
Julia is especially well known for her success in coaching some of the world’s top athletes, and as one of the most experienced instructors in Asia, having introduced hundreds of new students to the sport she is madly passionate about.
This episode first aired on Freedive Cafe PLUS through Patreon.
Donny is currently based in Xiao Liuqiu, Taiwan.
Donny is from Scotland and has lived in the Netherlands, Finland, Australia and Thailand among other places.
An early exposure to freediving through the Big Blue movie and a long time waiting for the right time to start.
Viktor Reshetniak was Donny's first freediving instructor and he did AIDA4 at Freediving Planet with Jean Pol Francois in The Philippines before heading back to Gili Trawangan to do his first instructor course with Viktor again at Freedive Gili.
The inception of Freedive Taiwan.
Can he train and teach at the same time?
Being coached by Aharon Solomons.
Long-term goals?
Thoughts on nutrition and the journey from plant-based to meat again.
The inception of The Freedive Cafe podcast.
The always pertinent issue of lung squeeze.
Dry breath-hold training and pranayama.
Are there too many female guests on the show?
Where would I relocate if I could choose anywhere?
Favourite things to do apart from freediving.
DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS
Plans for the future
How to contact Donny
Why does he freedive?
In this episode we discuss:
Jani is from Lima, Peru
Jani got interested in freediving through a scuba accident!
He did his first course with William Trubridge and became an instructor under Jonathan Sunnex.
Work as a medic at competitions and burgeoning interest LMC and Blackout.
Developing the freediving scene in Peru.
Jani is a neurosurgeon.
Jani is a member of the AIDA medical committee and directs the medical communications.
The medical part of freediving is a new frontier.
Jani's main interest is the clinical presentation of cerebral hypoxia.
Definitions of terms.
Symptoms and signs of loss of motor control (LMC)
The many variants of syncope (blackout)
The worrying decerebrate posture and it's appearance during blackout.
Jani's own expereinces with LMC and blackout.
How easy is it to do inadvertant hyperventilation?
Is there such a thing as post-blackout syndrome and comparisons to concussion.
Are certain individuals more prone to syncope?
Is hyperventilation really the biggest cause of blackout?
Jani's ideas for a quick and easy neurological assesment of freedivers without a medical professional present, for examlpe in the case where DCS is suspected.
The MFSCO2 acronym and how to use it.
Shout out to Kerry Hollowell?
A Patreon question from Matthias about best recovery for LMC and blackout.
A Patreon question from Ted Manasa about permanent brain damage.
Is there such a thing as 'apnea brain'
Thoughts on LMC support and blackout rescue techniques.
Thoughts on best way to perform recovery breathing.
Jani's interests outside of freediving.
Desert Island Questions Session.
Plans for the future.
Shout out to Carla Hanson, William Trubridge, Walid Boudhiaf, Jonny Sunnex and Tom Ardavany among others...
Shout out to Farron Taijeron.
William Trubridge is a world champion and multiple world record holder. He currently holds the huge 102m CNF record which may just be the most impressive thing a human being has ever done on one breath!
He is the owner of Vertical Blue freediving school and organiser of the Vertical Blue competition which many of you will know as the ultimate venue of freediving competition in the world.
Will first appeared on Episode #69
Today on the show we have the inimitable Aharon Solomons. Aharon is a legend in the freediving community, known for his forward thinking attitude towards training, his irreverent sense of humour and general passionate dedication to our beloved sport for decades.
Aharon first appeared on Episodes 15 and 16 of the show. If you want to hear Aharon's fascinating backstory and an introduction to his training methodology then check those out, in this episode we further explore in great detail the training side of his ideas while reflecting in the developments in the sport in the three years since we last spoke.
Life in Israel during the time of Coronavirus
Aharon has been doing online coaching for years.
The core reasons for failure to equalise in freediving beginners.
The sacred cows of the freediving education organisations.
Is hyperventilation really as dangerous as it's made out to be?
Haldane effect.
The dangers of packing.
Michael Board's accident – was is CAGE?
The athletes scene and developments (or lack of ) on the competition front.
Is freediving becoming more of an elitist sport?
Which athletes has Aharon been most impressed with these past couple of years?
About monofin style and who is mastering it? (Alessia Zecchini, Alenka Artnik, Nataliia Zharkova)
Free Immersion is not like a monkey going up a pole and having an epileptic fit in the process.
What is unconscious equalisation and how do we achieve it?
Recapping what RV diving is and why Aharon has no use for FRC dives.
Can anyone learn BTV (hands-free equalisation)?
What is the cheekfill?
On the topic of periodisation and a 6 month plan.
Static is not training for depth.
The benifits of apnea walking for depth diving and how to structure it.
The importance of focusing on one discipline at a time.
A side-note on yoga.
Practice visualisation instead.
Aharon is not a fan of alarms.
What does Aharon wish he knew about freediving and what are difficulties in finding out?
A question from Matt Malina about writing a book?
The Desert Island Questions
Bill Streever, a biologist, is the award winning and bestselling nature writer behind In Oceans Deep, Cold, Heat, and And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind. He has worked on issues ranging from the environmental effects of underwater sound to the evolution of cave crayfish to the restoration of tundra wetlands to climate change. With his wife, marine biologist Lisanne Aerts, he lives aboard the cruising sailboat Rocinante, currently in South America. When he is not busy fixing the boat, he spends his time sailing, diving, hiking, rowing a dinghy, paddling a kayak, seeing the world through the twin lenses of science and history, and, of course, writing.
Dean Chaouche began his relationship with the ocean at a very young age on the beaches of the Gower just off Swansea, Wales.
He began surfing at a young age and from that I developed a strong desire to travel and surf all over the world.
On his travels he decided to take a surf trip to Indonesia, while looking for a yoga school to practice, he stumbled across “Freedive Gili & Yoga” run by UK record holder Mike Board. There he stayed for around a year and a half, both training and teaching under SSI. While there he developed a taste for deep diving and decided to follow this avenue of freediving with more fervor. This is where he began the next phase of his life, competitive freediving.
Dean is a 9x British Record Holder and Molchanovs Instructor Trainer.
Nays Baghai is an independent film maker and underwater cameraman based in Sydney, Australia.
Nays became fascinated with the worlds of film and diving when he saw The Blue Planet at age seven, and has gone on to win over 20 awards for his short films across various international festivals. His first feature film, Descent, is a psychological documentary about ice freediver Kiki Bosch, and won the Best Australian Documentary award at the Academy Award-qualifying Sydney Film Festival.
He is currently expanding Descent into a larger documentary series. As an underwater cinematographer and photographer, Nays’ work has been showcased by numerous dive brands, including DeeperBlue, Molchanovs Freediving, Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions, Cressi Australia, and many more. He is a PADI-certified Freediving Instructor and Master Scuba Diver, and can dive to 40m both with and without tanks. In his free time, Nays can be found freediving (both with and without his cameras), cooking vegan pasta, playing his guitars and basses, meditating, and developing ideas for new film projects.
Yoram Zekri | Ocean Prana Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com Use the discount code 1234567890 to get 10% off any orders from BESTDIVE! Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Photo Credit: Smartshot Yoram Zekri is today's guest. With more than 30 years experience in the freediving life, more than 22 years as a freediving educator and a long history of competitive diving and development of the sport as we know it today, Yoram is thoroughly embedded in freediving culture. His freediving centre in Amed, Bali, Ocean Prana, is a wonderful place, with a village of bungalows for accommodation, decks and rooms for yoga, working out and classrooms, a healthy food restaurant and a beautiful 25m long, dedicated freediving pool, all a stone's throw from the waters of Jemeluk Bay in Bali's tranquil and remote north-eastern coast. Photo Credit: Smartshot In this episode we discuss:How is Yoram dealing with the Coronavirus?When will Bali re-open for tourism? (I need to pick up my stuff!)Shout out to Ocean Prana staff!Yoram is 44 years old but started swimming when he was 8.He started scuba when he was 12!Yoram is one of those inspired by Le Grand Bleu!A very young start in freediving.Yoram started very early in the competitive scene, when he was 21, at the first AIDA competitions.12 years in Tahiti.Yoram's deepest dive was 141m in NLT (No Limits)Yoram has been teaching for more than 22 years!Fred Buyle and talking about the 'Golden Age of Freediving'Thoughts on what has become of the freediving scene.Yoram's involvement in the inception of AIDA and it's competition rules.Will Yoram focus on deep diving again in the future?Talking about Tahiti, life there and diving there.What does Yoram love so much about NLT?About the amazing facilities of Ocean Prana and how it came to be.What are Yoram's plans for the future and the future of Ocean Prana?The future of Bali after the Coronavirus.Yoram's interests outside of freediving (primarily his son!)Shout outs to influential people: Jacques Mayol, Umberto Pelizzari, Hugo VerlommeYoram's recommended books are the books of Yuval Noah Harari.Why does Yoram freedive? Yoram's Links:Ocean Prana Websitephone Australia: +(61)435-441-414phone Bali: +(62)89-695-477-933Email : blueshift-freediving@hotmail.com Photo Credit: Smartshot Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Pascal Berger Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Photo Credit: Robert Strix Pascal Berger was born and bred in Switzerland on a diet of cheese and chocolate. He grew to become half-competitive freediver, and half-designer.After graduating from the University of Art and Design of Geneva, Pascal built a successful career as a designer since 2001, with yearly shows in Milan and mentoring of young design students.In 2010 Pascal discovered freediving, which quickly became a real passion, especially for the depth disciplines where he enjoys the peaceful and quiet sensations of the deep blue. With clear strong abilities from the start, he progressed very fast and in a matter of years became the Swiss national record holder for all depth disciplines. His deepest record was set in 2017 in Variable Weight with a dive to -131m.Taking the best of both worlds, in 2013 Pascal created OCTOPUS, committed to bringing top-quality, innovative and sexy specialized equipment to the fast-growing freediving community. Photo Credit: Lily Cottier In this episode we discuss:Pascal is from Geneva in Switzerland.He started his deep diving in the Blue Hole in Dahab.He did his AIDA courses with Akim Ladhari and Lily Crespy and his first instructor course with Umberto Pelizzari.Pascal achieved the Swiss national record in VWT (Variable Weight) with a dive to 131m.What attracted him to the VWT discipline?The story of the sandbag VWT dives.The VWT sled made from mountain bike components.The story of the 131m NR WATCH VIDEOWhy Pascal didn't pursue further depths and two experiences of DCS.Pascal also discovered he had PFO (patent foramen ovale)The inception of Dahab Freedivers with Stephen Keenan and Miguel Lozano.What makes Dahab Freedivers great?Managing the loss of Stephen Keenan in 2017.Passing on the Dahab Freedivers baton.Octopus Freediving Equipment and how it came about.How did the Octopus design style evolve?How is Octopus weathering Coronavirus?What new developments are coming to Octopus?What are Pascal's fantasy freediving products he would develop if he could?Shout out to Miguel Lozano, Stephen Keenan, Lily Crespy, Umberto Pelizzari.Free time and Netflix.Pascal's recommended book is How Everything Can Collapse by Pablo Servigne and Raphaël StevensWhy does Pascal freedive? Pascal's Links:Octopus Freediving EquipmentOctopus on FacebookPascal's Email: pascal.berger.designer@gmail.com Photo Credit: Lily Cottier Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Martin Štěpánek PLUS Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Martin Stepanek is originally from The Czech Republic. He is a multi-world record holder, holding 13 of them, and a true legend in the sport, diving up to 122m in CWT.He is also the founder of the Freediving Instructors International organisation and is based on the beautiful island of Kona, Hawaii when he isn't travelling around the world teaching and coaching athletes.This episode was originally released as Freedive Cafe PLUS episode #12, exclusively for Patreon supporters.For Martin's first interview on the show, see HERE!For more PLUS episodes, click HERE! Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Marcin Baranowski Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Marcin Baranowski is a Professor of Physiology at the Medical University of Bialystok, Poland. His research focuses on lipid metabolism. He's also a passionate freediver, competing both in pool and depth since 2012. Marcin uses his experience as a scientist to find new ways of improving diving performance. He shares his knowledge by organizing workshops on freediving physiology, giving talks, and writing articles for the official website of AIDA Poland. In this episode we discuss:How is the lockdown situation in Poland due to the Coronavirus?Marcin is from Poland. He is a Professor or Human Physiology.Marcin is also a competitive freediver himself.Marcin's definition of the Mammalian Diving Response (MDR)Why are humans so good in the water?The diving response is a response to stress.But the diving response can be trained.Submerging the face in water (training in the pool) while breathholding may be be much better than dry training alone.Do dry exercises make you a better freediver?He is a big fan of no warm-up diving.The importance of a warm and dry face before maximal attempts (in no warm-up diving).The mask is a 'dive reflex killer'!Do genetics affect the MDR?A Patreon question from Veronika about removing the spleen and can you still dive if it has been removed?Marcin is also a big fan of RV (Residual Volume) diving to train blood-shift.RV may be safer than FRC diving.Thoughts on packing and it's dangers.About CAGE (Cerebral Arterial Gas Embolism)How to improve whole-body oxygen storage, and can myoglobin storage be improved and used?A Patreon question from Matthias about reducing metabolic rate.Menstrual cycle and how it affects resting oxygen consumption.On fasting and ketogenic diets.Why high-carb may be better for freedivers compared to high-fat.On calorie-restricted diets.The benefits of meditation and yoga for decreased oxygen consumption.Support for antioxidants for recovery and how creatine may reduce risk of blackout in those with low phosphocreatine levels.The risks of diving with PFO.Freediving during pregnancy.How to reduce the risk of trachea/lung squeezes.Viagra for risk-reduction in freediving???Patreons question from Emile.What is the future of elite-level freediving?Marcin's recommended books are The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski. Marcins's Links:Facebook PageMarcin's Youtube Channel Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Linda Paganelli Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Linda Paganelli is originally from Rimini, Italy and is now based on the Canary Islands. She was an early pioneer on the freediving scene in Dahab, co-founder of Freedive Dahab, co-owner of Blue Immersion in Thailand and owner of Atlantis Freediving in Tenerife.She's had an enormous influence on a huge number of divers and was a pretty deep diver herself back in the day, diving up to 83m in CWT. Photo Credit: Jacques de Vos In this episode we discuss:Shout out to Per Jennische, Episode #3How is Linda coping in the Canary Islands with Coronavirus Lockdown?Linda has a centre, Atlantis Freediving in Tenerife.Linda is from Rimini, Italy.Arriving in Dahab and establishing freediving there.Linda overcame equalisation problems to become one of the deepest female divers in the world.A crazy training session with Herbert Nitsch and reaching over 70m.There was no such thing as structured training back then!How has Dahab and the freediving world changed these past 18 years and has it been for the good, or not?Would Linda live in Dahab now?A serious motorbike accident in Dahab.Linda's relationship with Lotta Ericson and founding Freedive Dahab.About Linda's own deep diving career.A question from Patron Anna Karina Schmitt.What have been the highlights of Linda's diving career?Thoughts on the female freedivers development.Is the education organisation you choose really important?The story of Blue Immersion in Thailand and Akim Ladhari.Questions from Patron and guest Daan Verhoeven.How to deal with equalisation problems.About Linda's place, Atlantis Freediving, in the Canary Islands.Does Linda still have deep diving aspirations?What would Linda have done differently?Non-freediving activities.The joys of trail running!Linda's recommended book is Endure by Alex Hutchinson.Why does Linda freedive? Linda's Links:Freedive DahabAtlantis Freediving Tenerife Photo Credit: Carlos Negrete Garcia Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Adam Sellars Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Adam Sellars has been on what could be described as a spiritual journey these past 5 years that has culminated in the colliding of two worlds that have shaped the person he is today. As an athlete Adam has always grappled with the pressure that is part and parcel of the sporting experience and the other is his own battles with the pressures in life which at one point threatened to cripple and derail his life.Adam wishes to share the principles of meditation, power of breath and breath hold with teams, organisations and individuals alike.Adam’s Pressure Project aims to release people from self-defeating thought patterns so they can live a full and happy life and achieve goals through unlocking the potential often suppressed and sabotaged within. In this episode we discuss:With Adam we are exploring the subjects of fear, anxiety, pressure and depression.What Adam was doing during in his quarantine.Focus on controlling the controllables.Adam is from Townsville, Australia.From swimming to surfing to spearing to freediving.Adam's first spearing trip.World Championships in Roatan in 2017 were a huge highlight.The trouble of training as a deep diver in Australia.Adam's troubles with depression and what became of it.The problem with not staying present.The overwhelming power of the coronavirus to suck our attention.Mindfulness and it's ability to reprogramme the brain.A study about experienced meditators.Normalising the voice in the head and other meditation techniques.What does Adam offer on his retreats?What people are searching for when they do a freediving course.What is teaching freediving in Australia like and amazing locations like Mount Gambier?Recommendations for how to stay sane during lockdown.It's also OK to be not OK and even a bit lazy during lockdown!Plans for the future in terms of diving.Adam's recommended book is Handbook to Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes.Why Adam freedives. Adam's Links:Pressure Project WebsiteInstagramFacebook Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Samo Jeranko Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Samo Jeranko is from Slovenia. He is a freediving vice-world champion with more than a decade in the elite-level freediving community. He dives to 110m in Constant Weight and has overcome serious obstacles to reach the top levels in the sport.Together with Matt Malina he runs freedive-training.com, an online freediving training platform. In this episode we discuss:The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana.Samo has a background in swimming.Samo got big into spearfishing at a young age.Slovenia DOES have a coastline... about 43km worth.The progression from spearfishing to 'pure' freediving.An early and positive influence from Natalia Molchanova.The movement from pool into depth disciplines.First trip to Dahab to learn advanced equalisation under Linda Paganelli.A difficult history with squeezing and how Samo overcame it.The slow realisations that led to understanding why he was hurting himself.80% of adaptation can be done in the pool before the depth season begins.The ups and downs of Samo's progression since VB 2013.A blackout experience in Kaş.A new perspective on what's important.What does Samo's typical daily schedule look like now and what is he doing for work and training?Thoughts on diet and nutrition, and the importance of recovery.The importance of sleep for recovery.The future of freediving as a sport and what 'high-performance' freediving is.The new online project in partnership with Matt Malina.Samo and Matt's new site is HERE.Samo's interests outside of freediving.Samo's recommended books are Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Richard Kiyosaki, and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and recommends the books of Yuval Noah Harari. Samo's Links:Facebook Athlete PageFreedive Training WebsiteInstagramEmail: samo.jeranko@apnea.si Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Mateusz Malina #2 Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSIONFREEDIVING.COMUSE DISCOUNT CODE FREEDIVECAFE Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Mateusz Malina started diving in late 2008, but already knew that it would become his destiny seven years earlier after trying it in a pool with his friends.His achievements are too numerous to list them all, he has set multiple world records in dynamic with fins (DYN) and without fins (DNF).In his own words, he loves training more than competition, the process of bettering himself, discovering his limits and his weakest spots and overcoming them. Curiosity of the potential of the human body is his driving force.His motto is 'limits are only in our heads'.This is Matt's second interview, the first can be heard in Episode #38 and Episode #39. In this episode we discuss:Matt first appeared on a double episode special back in 2018, Episodes #38 and #39.Matt is currently in lockdown in Poland.Highlights of the last two years.The funny events leading up to Matt's 316m DYNM world-record.LINK to Matt's video of his 316m dive.Could he do it again? Even further?A Patreon question from Nick Broome about pool training without facial equipment.Not wearing facial equipment stimulates a stronger dive response.Matt's thoughts about the AIDA 2019 WC in Nice.Dreaming about going back to Vertical Blue.A Patreon question from Gregor about cold-water conditions.Consistency is the key in freediving.Matt's thoughts on supplements, recovery and nutrition.Supplements are mainly to aid in recovery.Matt is fully plant-based.A Patreon question from Roger.For statics Matt and all other top level freedivers use some kind of hyperventilation.The reasons for hyperventilating before statics.All about the BOLT test and Matt's BOLT results.Patrick McKeown's Episode #54A Patreon question from Marius about dealing with expectations and disappointments.Suggestions for dry training at home during the Age of Corona.Online freediving training offered by Matt and Samo Jeranko through their website freedive-training.comMatt's recommended book is The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown. Matt's Links:Matt's WebsiteMatt's Facebook Athlete PageFreedive Training Online CoachingFreedive Training InstagramFreedive Training Facebook Page Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Sheena McNally Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 20% OFF ALL ONLINE COURSES AT IMMERSION FREEDIVING Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Although Sheena McNally hails from a part of Canada over 1,000 km from the ocean, she has always loved being in the water. Growing up, she spent summers on the lake and winters in the pool, becoming certified in lifesaving, rescue, and swimming instruction. As an adult, shedabbled in many activities, including martial arts, circus, and running, but none of them stuck. She eventually took up scuba diving and fell in love with the sea, which led her to leave the chilly prairies and a career in design and communications behind. Her search for sunny weather and good diving brought her to Utila, Honduras, where she enrolled in a beginner freediving course—and got completely hooked!A few years (and a couple of skipped flights) later, Sheena is an Apnea Total Master Instructor and AIDA Instructor who has helped hundreds of students of all levels discover their aquatic potential. Strong and tireless in the water, she has also served as a primary safety diver during the 2017 AIDA World Depth Championships.The 2018 Caribbean Cup International Freediving Competition was Sheena’s first foray into competitive freediving. During the Cup, she broke the long-standing Canadian national record in Free Immersion—twice! With big smiles and a lot of laughter, Sheena became the Female Overall Winner of the Cup.This experience motivated Sheena to continue competing. To date, she has set five national records and one continental record in Free Immersion (FIM), two continental records in Constant Weight with a monofin (CWT), and one national record in Constant Weight with bi-fins (CWTB).While she loves the challenge of diving deep, Sheena believes that freediving is firstly about enjoying your time underwater, be it on the line, in the pool, or on the reef, and she strives to share this mindset—and plenty of smiles—with fellow divers. In this episode we discuss:The Canadian ladies are getting deep!Sheena is from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.Sheena has a background in martial arts.Sheena discovered freediving while on Utila for scuba diving.Initial sinus problems and a long road to master equalisation.Equalisation is the best problem a freediver can have!The best times in Sheena's career so far.A learning experience at the Caribbean Cup with a first samba and blackout.Great experiences in Dominica.The potential benefits of a structured training programme.The true motivation for doing this sport.Thoughts on nutrition.Supplementary training for freediving.Sheena's discovery and development of BTV (hands-free) equalisation.Article on hands-free equalisation.Has Sheena had any experiences with barotrauma?Sheena's recommended books are In Oceans Deep by Bill Streever and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.Shout-outs to important people.Why does Sheena freedive? Sheena's Links:Website Instagram
Federico Mana Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 10% OFF ( and FREE shipping inside Australia)! Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Federico Mana originally wanted to become a professional basketball player but his fragile ankles prevented that from happening!He encountered freediving by chance in 1996, and seven years later moved to Egypt and dedicated himself to teaching freediving, yoga and to record attempts, because he wanted to prove to himself that the training protocols that he had developed actually worked. He achieved many Italian records during his career.In 2013, after seven years of study, trials and errors, he finalized his Handsfree Protocol and started to apply it successfully, even in remote teaching.He has written and co-authored many books on the subject of equalisation and breathing techniques for freediving and now focuses on providing freediving education through online courses at movinglimits.com In this episode we discuss:Federico dreamed of being a pro basketball player when he was younger.He did his first scuba course at university studying to become an optometrist.In 2003 he moved to Sharm el-Sheikh live full time.Early trouble with equalisation and the difficulty of getting help.Developing a method to teach equalisation.Getting the opportunity to pursue a record attempt and going on to the competitive scene.Federico competed until 2011 and became the first Italian to reach 100m in CWT.A blackout after a sickness in Egypt.No more blackouts or samba after that.What kind of training was Federico doing back in his competitive days?Federico is working with many athletes.Big changes in freediving knowledge down the years and big changes in understanding of equalisation techniques.Federico can teach anyone to learn BTV (hands-free) equalisation.His online webinars and courses through Moving Limits at movinglimits.comHow to improve equalisation out of the water.The three kinds of equalisation limitation.Some advice for instructors dealing with trouble-equalisers.What breathing techniques does Federico teach?Hill Taylor's 50m underwater dolphin kick swim VIDEO.Federico's other interests including Crossfit.Shout-outs to Umberto Pelizzari, Davide Carrera, Erik Fattah and Patrick Musimu.Federico's recommended book is Pranayama: The Yoga of Breathing by Andre Van Lysebeth.Plans for the future.Why does Federico freedive? Federico's Links:Moving Limits WebsiteFacebook PageBooks by Federico Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Federico Mana Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 10% OFF ( and FREE shipping inside Australia)! Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Federico Mana originally wanted to become a professional basketball player but his fragile ankles prevented that from happening!He encountered freediving by chance in 1996, and seven years later moved to Egypt and dedicated himself to teaching freediving, yoga and to record attempts, because he wanted to prove to himself that the training protocols that he had developed actually worked. He achieved many Italian records during his career.In 2013, after seven years of study, trials and errors, he finalized his Handsfree Protocol and started to apply it successfully, even in remote teaching.He has written and co-authored many books on the subject of equalisation and breathing techniques for freediving and now focuses on providing freediving education through online courses at movinglimits.com In this episode we discuss:Federico dreamed of being a pro basketball player when he was younger.He did his first scuba course at university studying to become an optometrist.In 2003 he moved to Sharm el-Sheikh live full time.Early trouble with equalisation and the difficulty of getting help.Developing a method to teach equalisation.Getting the opportunity to pursue a record attempt and going on to the competitive scene.Federico competed until 2011 and became the first Italian to reach 100m in CWT.A blackout after a sickness in Egypt.No more blackouts or samba after that.What kind of training was Federico doing back in his competitive days?Federico is working with many athletes.Big changes in freediving knowledge down the years and big changes in understanding of equalisation techniques.Federico can teach anyone to learn BTV (hands-free) equalisation.His online webinars and courses through Moving Limits at movinglimits.comHow to improve equalisation out of the water.The three kinds of equalisation limitation.Some advice for instructors dealing with trouble-equalisers.What breathing techniques does Federico teach?Hill Taylor's 50m underwater dolphin kick swim VIDEO.Federico's other interests including Crossfit.Shout-outs to Umberto Pelizzari, Davide Carrera, Erik Fattah and Patrick Musimu.Federico's recommended book is Pranayama: The Yoga of Breathing by Andre Van Lysebeth.Plans for the future.Why does Federico freedive? Federico's Links:Moving Limits WebsiteFacebook PageBooks by Federico Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Kirk Krack Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 10% OFF ( and FREE shipping inside Australia)! Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Kirk Krack is pioneer in the freediving world, and has been on a quest to make the sport as safe as possible for over two decades. In 1996, he was working as a Trimix Instructor Trainer in Grand Cayman when he was first introduced to the competitive freediving world. Pipin Ferreras and his wife Audrey Mestre were on the island attempting world record dives, and they asked Kirk to set up scuba safety. Although he'd had a lifelong affinity for freediving (or what he'd thought was called skindiving), Kirk became further intrigued by the physiology of the sport and began to learn how freedivers were able to reach such extreme depths on a single breath.Kirk developed the educational philosophy, standards, procedures, and manuals that freediving organisation PFI is built on. To this day, Kirk continues to improve and perfect the PFI system with the newest and most innovative techniques. After training more than 10,000 students, coaching seven athletes to 23 different world records, and setting up world class events, Kirk shares everything he learns with his students in his never-ending journey for more knowledge.He has also been involved training some major celebrities for record attempts and movie parts including Margot Robbie, Tom Cruise, David Blaine, and for the past couple of years has been working on the upcoming Avatar sequels. In this episode we discuss:Kirk is the President and Founder of PFI.He comes from Canada.Kirk had an early start as a waterman.Kirk first became a scuba instructor, then moved into technical gases.175m Trimix dives!An encounter with Pipin Ferreras and Audrey Mestre.Acting as safety for big record attempts.Meeting and working with Tanya Streeter.The inception of PFI.Kirk's involvement in developing freediving education.PFI is now part of ITI.PFA is Perfomance Freediving Academy.All about the Deja Blue competition.Kirk's thoughts on the current state of competitive freediving.Kirk's involvement with big names including David Blaine, Margo Robbie, Tom Cruise and the upcoming Avatar movies.Defending the Vandenberg with Ren and Ashley Chapman.What we know about the new Avatar movies.What is technical freediving?What Kirk does in his free time when he has any...Shout out to some influential people in Kirk's life.Kirk's recommended book is Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols.Kirk's plans for the future, PFI, etc.Why does Kirk freedive? Kirk's Links:PFI and PFA WebsiteInstagram Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Ted Harty #2 Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 10% OFF ( and FREE shipping inside Australia)! Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Ted Harty first appeared on the show on Episode #60.He is the founder of Immersion Freediving and www.freedivingsafety.com. He started his underwater career as a scuba instructor in the Florida Keys in 2005 and took his first freediving class with Performance Freediving in Miami with Kirk Krack and his team.One year later he had become an Instructor for Performance Freediving and was hired by Kirk to help him assist his courses. He taught directly with Kirk and Mandy for 2 years and then he branched out and started his own company Immersion Freediving.He new mission is promoting his website www.freedivingsafety.com which teaches people the risks of the sport, how to minimize chances of a blackout, how to determine if you are overweighted, and what to do if your buddy has a loss of motor control or a blackout. This entire course is provided at no cost to the student. In this episode we discuss:Ted Harty first appeared on Episode #60Catching up and discussing Ted's live streaming shows.What is the start of the coaching process?Training for freediving out of the water.How to safely progress in freediving.Remembering Sara Campbell's coaching.Ted's take on nutrition.What do spearfishermen and women need to take into consideration?How to not spook fish.Advice for instructors and thoughts on the growth of the sport.What online courses does Ted offer?Ted recommends the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. Ted's Links: FacebookInstagramTwitterYoutubeOnline Courses Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com
Vitomir Maričić Use the discount code FREEDIVE CAFE to get 10% off any orders from octopusfreediving.com 10% OFF ( and FREE shipping inside Australia)! Subscribe to PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options Vitomir Maričić is from Rijeka, Croatia. He is an experienced extreme athlete and coach in several sports. This rising star made unofficial WR results in his first competitions, and DNF 3rd place in AIDA WC and CNF 4th place in CMAS EC as his best competition rankings.When not in dive mode, he is a freediving instructor and coach, constantly working on new projects in the field. In this episode we discuss:Vitomir is from Rijeka , Croatia.A very early first foray into freediving.Very promising beginnings in elite freediving with an almost world record!Vitomir's background in exercise science gives him an advantage over many other athletes.Sport climbing and mountaineering is a major part of his life, as was watersports, gymnastics, triathlon and weightlifting.Very exciting to be learning about this newly developing sport of freediving.Highlights of Vitomir's career so far.How and where does he train?A typical week of training.The different phases in a periodised training plan.What are the biggest mistakes made by elite level freedivers.Opinions about supplements...most of them are junk.About Vitomir's research into equalisation and lung injuries.Vitomir's own experience with lung squeezes.Does Vitomir have a tendency to squeeze and does that worry him?Plans for a major international competition in Croatia.What are his competition plans for 2020?His part in developing the Molchanovs freediving system.Vitomir's recommended book is Ocean Sea by Alessandro Barrico.Why does he freedive? Vitomir's Links:InstagramVitomir's Website Become a supporter of the show and get access to exclusive episodes and other content!Visit Patreon DONATE through PAYPAL SEND TO:domhnallus@googlemail.com