Would you be scared or excited? :D

filmed with iPhone 16 pro

Hey everyone,

During strong contractions on deeper dives (relative to myself) to ~45m CWTB dives. During the last 15 metres my glottis starts to leak almost like I am gasping for air.

Why? My dives are clean with no major urge to breathe and I don't struggle with glottis control on the descent.

Do I need to strengthen glottis control?

TIA

My last static air hold record was 5min21, after like 3-4 months without much training neither on the bed or on the water, i wanted to try again to see if i still got it, and i actually managed to do 5min30 exactly. Im really happy that i dont loose these abilities even after months of almost no training.

I am looking for somewhere to dive in January, I’d love to do an open water course as I’ve only done classroom and pool sessions. Does anyone know of a good company that offers a multi-day course? I’d love to see marine wildlife and have some photography done as well at some point during my trip

Hello! I will be in Monteray for a few days mid November and want to do some snorkeling/freediving as its been a while.

My diving experience is limited to the PNW around southern Vancouver island.

I am going to bring my long fins, and 7mm suit so i think temperature will be fine. I am "worried/inexperienced" with sharks as they basically dont exist where I dove.

I just want to dive around 10 to 25 feet deep and see some crabs urchins and kelp, maybe a ling or some rockfish. Anything I should really be concerned about with sharks? Should I do a guided tour or some kind?

I am used to just being 20-100 feet from shore with a friend that just floated around for emergencies.

Would love any advice from locals or experience California divers. Thanks!

I am looking for freedivers in Riyadh who would be interested in doing training pool sessions! I live somewhere with a pool, and I‘m really keen to practice and train, but I don’t know anyone else who freedives, so I’m looking for dive buddies.

Back in highschool I could hold my breath for around 2 minutes underwater. During this time, I was very fit and active, and was outdoors often.

Fastfoward to now... I can hold my breath for around 3 minutes underwater, and can relatively easily get 4 minutes when breath holding after I first wake up. Although now, I am in my room constantly, no longer fit nor active, and as a result am always indoors.

Both times before breath holding - I would relax for a couple minutes, hyperventilate for a couple minutes slowly, then quickly hyperventilate for another minute, then pack before going under.

Personally I think that staying indoors in a high CO2 enviornment was a factor that led to my adaptation to the constant CO2 buildup within my body. Because as we know, it's not the lack of oxygen that forces us to breathe, but this CO2 buildup.

Also, as I am no longer fit nor active, I believe this could have also played a part... but I am much more skeptical about this.

What should I do to improve my breath holding time? Lifestyle factors? Breath holding techniques? I'm willing to hear.

Obviously diving is not an option right now, but should I force myself to train dry static so I wouldn’t lose progress at least? I do have shortness of breath and I do feel weak, but if it’s gonna take me like 2 weeks to recover, I feel like it’s too much

Hi folks, I am looking to buy a freediving mask from Diveinn. I was wondering what the experience was with the products received, and how their return policy was. It's been a rough time finding a mask in person that properly fits my face shape, and the ones that do fit my face aren't as low volume (beauchat maxlux s).

So Im curious on what the experience with Diveinn has been on the product quality (in this case, low volume masks) and their return policy. Thanks everyone :)

Greetings 🤙

I am considering getting my AIDA2 in either Koh Tao (in Thailand) or Ludao (green island in Taiwan) during my Asia trip in Dec - Jan.

Hoping to get some recommendations on this … Thank you 🙏

Hello everyone, the vast stretches of the internet seem to be rather void with regard to this companies carbon fins. Even though they were a main sponsor for this years AIDA world championships. Any reviews for them would be greatly appreciated.

It covers the dive reflex, myoglobin, the Bajau spleen study, the 11:54 static record and why there's no warning before a blackout (the whole story hinges on "never dive alone"). Would love it if actual freedivers told me what I got wrong. https://youtu.be/0ECk5LbJ-mI

Hey everyone!

I’ll be in Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep) from December 3–9, 2026, and I’m looking for recommendations for a good freediving school or instructor.

My flights and inter-island ferries are already booked, so my dates are fixed. I’m hoping to complete both a beginner and an advanced freediving course during my stay.

I’ve come across schools like DIVEIndia and The Dive Master Havelock, but I’d love to hear from people who have actually trained in Havelock.

A few questions:
Which school or instructor would you personally recommend, and why?

What is a reasonable price for both beginner and advanced courses combined?

Which certification systems are available locally — AIDA, Molchanovs, PADI or SSI?

Is it realistic to complete both levels within seven days without rushing the training?
Are there any lesser-known local instructors worth considering?

I’m mainly looking for genuine firsthand experiences rather than generic tourist recommendations.

If you’ve trained with an instructor in Havelock, I’d really appreciate your advice.

Thanks!

Shark attacks are in the news again, and I wanted to share what i've been learning.

Snorkelers and free divers made up 15% of the 65 unprovoked shark bites the International Shark Attack File confirmed in 2025. The risk is still very low, but I went through the actual studies to see what applies to us specifically. (freedivers/spearfishers)

A few findings that stuck with me:

From below, we look like seals. A 2021 Macquarie University study filmed swimmers, surfers and seals from underneath and ran the footage through a model of juvenile white shark vision. At the surface, the silhouettes were indistinguishable. A long, dark wetsuit outline floating at the surface is about as seal-like as it gets.

Crosswise stripes broke the silhouette. In a 2024 follow-up off South Africa, the same team put LED lights on seal-shaped decoys that white sharks were regularly attacking. Stripes of light running across the body stopped the attacks. Stripes running along the body didn’t.

Reef predators avoid banded patterns. A 2022 study towed snake-shaped lures past coral trout, trevally and groupers. Solid black lures were attacked 12 times. Black-and-white banded lures were attacked zero times. No sharks were in that study, though, and tiger sharks are known to eat banded sea snakes, so it’s not a guarantee.

Most deterrents haven’t held up in testing. In a 2018 test of five personal deterrents on white sharks, only one electrical device made a significant difference, and it still failed about 40% of the time. Magnetic bands and scented wax had no measurable effect!

The takeaways for freediving: dive with a buddy who watches you at the surface, skip dawn and dusk, keep speared fish off your body and away from your float line, and get out when seals are around.

Disclosure: I design a striped rashguard inspired by this research, and I say plainly in the write-up that no clothing has been tested as a shark deterrent.

The full article with all the sources is linked in the comments.

I've seen sharks (mostly nurse and black-tip reef) often when diving, (free and SCUBA) but they were always shy.

Has anyone here had a shark show interest when you were at the surface? Curious what you did.

Who still wears black 'seal costumes' these days? :)

Hey everyone, I know this is a long shot, but about 3 weeks ago I was backpacking near Soda Springs at the Royal Gorge, jumping off a cliff into the pool under the waterfall, when I dropped my brand new GoPro into the water and it instantly sank. The good news is it's in a dive case. The bad news is the pool is said to be 47 feet deep. I added a video here to show exactly where I lost it.
I'm hoping someone here is a diver, or knows one, who might be up for a recovery. I'd be happy to pay a reward, cover gas, or buy a few beers. If I can't find anyone to help, I was planning on renting an underwater drone and trying it myself. The footage on it means a lot to me, and I'm honestly heartbroken about it.
I know this is a crazy thing to ask, but it doesn't hurt to ask! If you've got any tips, know someone who can help, or have been to that spot and have an idea where it might have ended up, I'd love to hear from you. Drop a comment or send me a message. Thanks so much!

Hello everyone!
I’ll be moving soon to Porto and I was wondering if any locals knew any freediving clubs that does pool training? I’ve been looking up online but can’t seem to find any in the area.

Thanks!

Hey there,

I am trying to select a good spot where my partner and I could stay for a week to do some freediving and see wildlife in coastal waters

We love macro and the big animals

I was looking at Cornwall and Pembrokshire because i.e. Alchemy mentions those UK locations in their freediving UK blog post because of their diverse underwater environment a few years ago, other than that I know very little about dive spots in the UK and would be open suggestions also regarding time of the year and suit thickness recommendations (maybe it's 7mm all year round lol)

Has anyone been or is located in the area?

Hi, I'm currently in Sharma El-Sheikh and looking to just take the opportunity to do a bit of freediving practice; not a course or any training particularly, I just want to get some time in the water.

Can anyone recommend a good operator to go with?

Hey fellow freedivers!

I'd like to share my rather frustrating freediving journey so far, and perhaps get some advice from those who have experienced something similar.

In April, I travelled to Dahab to complete my AIDA 2 certification. I absolutely loved the experience. My breath-hold was great, I managed 75m DYN, and everything seemed to be going well. Unfortunately, I couldn't complete the depth requirements because of an inflamed Eustachian tube after few attempts (reached 12m FIM), after a week I eventually healed, but the next attempt ended by sinus pain.

About half a year later, I decided to give it another shot in Kalamata, Greece. I was really looking forward to finally finishing what I'd started, but almost immediately the same sinus pain returned, and I had to abandon the attempt again.

It's incredibly frustrating because freediving feels like such a natural fit for me, I love the minimal equipment, to rely on own body and mind, it so zen, so I genuinely don't want to abandon this path.

But at the same time, I've already invested quite a lot of money, travelling, time and emotional energy into these two unsuccessful attempts.

I'm now considering giving it one last chance, but I honestly don't know how to approach it.

My instructor in Kalamata recommended some medication to help clear my sinuses, which I intend to look into. I'm also thinking that perhaps I need a more personalised approach, ideally with an experienced instructor who would be willing to work with me individually, understand my difficulties and help me gradually overcome them rather than simply putting me through another standard course, would you recommend someone in Europe?

Of course, I also want to understand what's actually causing these problems before attempting any more depth training, in Egypt it might have been the dust causing me mild allergy, but in Greece I dunno, perhaps the food day before. AC I always turned off.

I'd love to complete my remaining AIDA 2 requirements before my previous results expire, but more importantly, I'd love to find a way to continue freediving safely and enjoyably.

Has anyone here struggled with similar sinus or Eustachian tube problems and eventually managed to overcome them?

I'd really appreciate any experiences, recommendations or encouragement.

Thanks for reading!