With Avatar 2 being in theatres with lots of underwater scenes and actors performing while freediving, let’s dispel some rumors and learn more about freediving. I am a freediving instructor, Ask Me Anything!

Are any of us really "free" diving, or are we just "struggling against the cruel hand of fate" diving?

🤣 it depends, doesn’t it? If you take your time and go into it slowly, then you are freediving, not struggling as much 😊

I believe Kant would disagree and that there must be an absolute-free-dive.

There is, when you are equalizing without effort etc etc

But is the effort absolute or is it the equalization that is absolute?

The equalization is effortless, that is the absolute freedive, when the whole dive is effortless, the ideal dive!

What is the creepiest or eeriest experience you have had in a free dive?

One time I was around 30m deep and heard a loud bang like an explosion, nearly shat myself! Went up to the surface, nothing in sight, no boats, even at a distance. That was super creepy! Only thing it might have been is a distant earthquake.

Whale fart?

This is now my story for what it was!

Glad you like it. Thanks for the AMA!

Thank you! 😊

Follow-up-- have you ever seen someone shat themselves while in free dive?

Not during a dive, but the pressure does have its effects, we had a dude years ago that after the first few dives would have to swim a bit further away and take a dump 🤣

The open ocean can be dangerous.. you may find yourself in a shart attack :)

🤣🤣🤣

In the water?!

Yep, it’s actually pretty easy and clean 😅

Apparently some fish would eat it? Is that true? Lol

Probably 😅

Did he wipe with a clam?

3 shells obv

This is the way.

Sounds similar to exploding head syndrome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome
This is mostly sleep related, but the cause is unknown and one theory is that it might be an ear dysfunction, which could easily happen while diving.

Interesting! I don’t think that’s what it was but it’s cool to know and think about this, thank you 😊

Were you near where those pistol shrimp things live?

We don’t have those on my island I’m afraid 😊

Does the human mind cause a panic during breath holding before the limits of the human body to be deprived of oxygen, after it or at the correct time?

I'm basically asking if staying underwater longer is just forcing yourself to trust that you can hold your breath longer, or something else.

Good question!

As a beginner, the urge to breathe would come super early, which is a good thing, keeps you super safe.

As you progress you get a more fine tuned sense of your body and its reactions and your brain adapts to lower O2 / higher CO2, as well as the feeling of freediving itself.

So ideally you don’t get a panic or urge to breathe, you just intuitively know when to turn.

I find this even when just starting back at it from scratch. Takes me about 20 minutes to settle back in and get a decent breath hold again...

Not that I'm a professional or anything. Just a former Navy Diver with a 4 minute breath hold (long time ago) that enjoys snorkeling for fun now.

Yeh that makes sense, need some time to adapt again 😊

Thanks!

Does long term high levels of CO2 cause any health effects in divers? All hobbies come with some health risks. (Pilots, my own hobby poison of choice have increased rates of skin cancer from spending a lot of their life above most of the atmosphere, for instance)

Do you find yourself not really needing to breathe as much as a normie above water?

There aren’t any studies on high CO2, i’d suspect it’s not an issue as gases get rebalanced pretty quickly with proper recovery breaths.

I take the same surface intervals when I dive as I teach my students to, sometimes even longer, just to be comfortable 😊

It must feel amazing to spend minutes underwater and having that ability to hold your breath I'm sure provides a unique freedom. How long is a normal casual freedive vs one where you are pushing the limit of your body?

Normal casual dive is probably around a minute, pushing would be around 3 minutes or more, always depending on what kind of diving you’re doing (freediving with / without fins, spearfishing etc) and your skill level of course.

Have you ever had sex while free diving?

Don’t threaten me with a good time! (No, I haven’t)

It would not be a good time. As I’ve had to tell many girlfriends in the shower: water is not a lubricant

Yep, add salt to that and you have a recipe for a not fun time!

Shower sex is fun though!

whats the worst diving rumor avatar has contributed to?

Not aware of something specific to Avatar (although I am suspicious that the actors may have been breathing pure O2 to help them do longer times), but NatGeo of all places has posted some really bad sensationalized crap about the Bajau, that they can hold their breaths for 10 minutes etc 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

There was a mention on an ABC show that they did use "modified air" but they also seriously trained. Kate Winslet apparently got up 6+ minutes in one breath. The guy who plays Jake was the worst at it. He couldn't get the hang of it and didn't like it.

Yeh, breath hold times on pure O2 are monstrous, world record is like 25 minutes!

How do you mitigate blood acidification from C02 buildup holding that long?

That is a static hold, meaning no movement whatsoever, just floating, so muscles aren’t moving much.

But acidosis is an issue with freediving so we have to take care of our diet to balance it 😊

That diet sounds kinda basic

Yeh I mean you can get very detailed with it but in the end if you eat well, have enough protein in your diet, veggies, fruit etc, easily digestible stuff and you rest enough (suuuper important for us), you’ll be fine 😊

I think the poster was making an acid vs. base joke. Took me a second...

Seriously though, basically just a healthy diet and plenty of rest?

Ah shit, missed it 😅🤣

Yes, basically that 😊

About that, how much of an impact does ones diet affect and, what kind of diet is recommended for going into freediving?

There has been some talk of having a more alkaline diet but i don’t know if there’s proof for that.

But protein is important because freediving tends to destroy muscle somewhat.

Although not before diving because it needs a lot of water to process.

Coffee is a no no because it affects heart rate and blood pressure.

Some juices may be acidic and cause reflux so not great before diving.

Etc etc 😊

On Marc Maron's podcast Sigourney Weaver said she used enhanced or enriched air (I'd have to go back and listen to exactly what she called it). She was pretty matter of fact about it - no attempt to hide it or act as if it was something to hide. If anyone from the movie is now acting like that didn't happen she certainly didn't get the memo.

Yeh they for sure must have used enriched 😊

To be fair, Sigourney Weaver is 73 years old and was playing a teenager. I don't hold her using enriched air against her -- the fact that she was able to dive and perform (act) at her age is incredible no matter what!

Holy fuck, she’s 73?!

Excuse me while I have an existential crisis 😅

Yeh I’m not holding it against them either, it just would be best if they talk about it openly 😊

I'm a man of action, a swashbuckler, a rogue, a wanderer. A man who can hold his breath for ten minutes!

Flo?

Did the actor really free diving? I thought they were not under water, it was all CGI. Saw a video where they explained it a bit and how they made the effect so that it looked like they are under water. Guess just for safety reason that would make sense.

No, they did shoot while freediving 😊

Is there an issue with using pure O2 or you just mean it's less impressive because of that?

No real issue, they’re actors with safeties around them etc etc, it just makes it seem like they’re superhuman when in reality getting to a 6 minute breath hold usually takes quite some time and training 😊

So You're saying the bajau thing was all untrue? Genuinely curious because I've seen that docu

Yeh the reported numbers are whack, I’ve linked the paper elsewhere, their actual dive times are at less than a minute, what’s impressive about them is that they can do it for hours on end with very short surface intervals.

National Geographic is a pretty well respected publication. What evidence do you have to offer against their claim other than holding breathe for 10 minutes sounds kinda unbelievable for a general population?

The actual paper by the scientist who went there to study the Bajau, it’s here.

Which organization certified you?

What do you teach students that wouldn't be obvious to someone who already knows scuba and snorkeling?

Apnea Academy, I took the instructor course in Tenerife under Umberto Pelizzari.

A lot of fine tuned equalization stuff for sure, a lot of bodily awareness stuff too, we only have one breath so you have to be super aware and make sure you are conscious and relaxed enough to use it well 😊

How do freedivers avoid decompression issues when there's no time to pause? Is it just that you spend so little time at depth that it doesn't matter?

Decompression meaning the bends etc?

Not so much of an issue because you don’t breathe pressurized recycled air, you take a breath of atmospheric air and take that down and back up.

DCS can be an issue though with very deep very fast dives or lots of dives with short surface intervals (ideally they should be min 3-4x the dive time).

Ah ok didn't know you stay at the surface to reacclimate in between dives. Thank you. Follow up: what's the deepest you can dive as a freediver?

The deepest anyone has ever gone under their own power is 132m, assisted by a sled was around 210m.

That's incredible. Did they prebreathe oxygen to reduce nitrogen concentration and extend their breath to do it?

Nope, just a regular normal breath of 21% oxygen air 😊

Do you hyper ventilate or attempt expel as much gas out of your lungs before taking a breath and diving?

No because that can lower your CO2 which can lead to a blackout because your O2 is too low by the time you realize it.

As a certified recreational scuba diver I don't go anything like that deep without special mixtures and such (which I'm neither trained nor certified on) but I stick to air and don't normally go below 30m but did a training dive to 55m.

So, when freedivers go to 50m+, it freaks me out.

Haha yeh i can imagine seeing some dude without any gear just gliding past you 😅

Any advice on how to get over a phobia of water? I get nervous just thinking about swimming and once water gets above my chest I start to panic.

I really wish I didn’t have this phobia. People have so much fun in the water and I want to be able to experience it.

You need to find an instructor that is kind and patient with you and can ease you into it. Take it slow, go at your own pace and explore with comfort little by little. It’s a beautiful otherworldly environment, I’m sure you’ll do great and enjoy it soon! 💙

What is the best exercise to increase how long I can hold my breath underwater?

Definitely pranayama I would say, easy to get into and can benefit you greatly in everyday life too!

And just water time, as much as possible 😊

What about "packing" or whatever forcing extra air in is called, I heard this can lead to surface blackouts. Is this a technique a beginner should avoid?

This is a technique many people should avoid. We don’t know the long term effects of continuous packing (at the very least it could mess up the elasticity of the lungs), it can lead to surface BOs like you said and also you’re using precious breath hold time and muscles to do it so not really that great. It’s also a shortcut many people use in place of learning to take a proper full breath and utilizing their air effectively.

Surface BO can be remedied easily with a product called Degree. Or Brūt.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

When you watch movies with people holding their breath under water do you also hold your breath? Any movies made you think: ok they're faking it?

Hahaha yeh I sometimes do! That one mission impossible movie definitely felt odd but then i watched behind the scenes etc and it seems to have been legit.

Can people who have once had an epileptic episode freedive?

Thank you

That’s a doozy but personally I would say yes, although I would need clearance from a doctor and you to sign a typical waiver.

As I teach first aid too, a one time episode does not necessarily mean there is an underlying condition but best make sure to be safe.

How far would I have to dive to not have to hear anything else about a movie I don’t care about at all?

About tree fiddy

So, all the way back to 1999? 🤔

😅 Let’s say about 5-10m is enough to experience a different world 😊

What about with rice?

Freediving - 10 Freediving with rice - 7

Rice really does go with everything.

This guy rices!

How do you help students that struggle with equalization? Assuming some do and it's not just my personal 3-4m struggle.

Patience. A lot do, i do too just deeper than most. I try to make sure they’re relaxed and aware first and then try as many ways as i can think of to make them realize what they have to do. But yeh, patience 😊

I can not equalize for the life of me. I suspect that I have very messed up sinus cavities and I get horrible and allergies and frequent debilitating sinus infections if I’m not incredibly mindful. And even then I still get them several times a year.

Do some people just lack the physical sinus cavity structure to equalize properly?

You might actually be able to equalize handsfree but the best thing would be to approach a freediving instructor and have them work with you in a pool setting, much more controlled, safe and comfortable for you. And remember to drink lots of liquids throughout the day 😊

What's your favorite memory made while freediving?

Oh man, just being in the water makes me happy, but one of my favorites is seeing the sun rays moving around like waves as I’m coming up from a dive, so magical!

What's the common mistake rookies make the most?

Hm, technique is the obvious one but I’d say thinking they have to go deep rather than focusing on diving well in a relaxed way. I’d be much happier if someone dives well to 5m and comes up with a smile than if they go to 10m messily and come up stressed.

Do you SCUBA dive as well, or are you exclusively a free-diver?

If you have SCUBA dived, what would you say the difference in experience is like? Obviously you can stay under longer with SCUBA, but maybe you've noticed some other interesting differences.

I have the Open Water certification in Scuba as well, it was a lot of fun cause you can take your time and look around but moving around is super clunky, I basically sat on a rock and looked around the whole time 😅

Ahhh ... so you're the one they based the game Abzu on. Thank you!!

Guilty! 🤪 Haven’t played it actually but from what I’ve seen it looks hella cool!

Speaking of such, played Subnautica?

No, don’t really game much anymore 😅

Happy cake day!

I've always wanted to try Scuba. Unfortunately the ocean by me has awful visibility and nothing much to see when visibility is good, so it kinda feels pointless to get certified since I'll never really get to use it.

Wish I lived somewhere with a reef or something.

Come to Greece!

Techniques to clear your ears while diving down? I don't have any issues when SCUBA diving but I can tilt my head upright which helps.

We use an equalization technique called Frenzel for the most part, it has lots of different variations depending on depth etc, it’s a huge topic!

Thanks, looks like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frenzel_maneuver is a good place to start.

And this

This is an incredibly helpful video! If the goal is to just dive 3-5m, to escape the snorkeling surface, what other beginner things should we know to be safe and relaxed?

Also, I'm always a little afraid of ear-infection, with water getting trapped there for a while. Are there precautions to take for that?

Aharon is the GOAT, I love him to bits!

I would really recommend taking a course with a certified instructor 😊

As far as ear infections go, there are over the counter products you can use to clean your ears from the outside and you can try jala neti to clean up on the inside.

Can you freedive longer when the water is colder and conversely, is your freedive limit shorter when the water is warm?

I had a dive instructor in Indonesia try and explain something like that to me but I don't think I understood it well. There was a significant language barrier.

That depends on the temperature, but when the water is really warm, like above 30C, you kinda get the opposite effects that you usually do when freediving which can be detrimental.

On the other hand, water too cold (<15C) is a bitch to dive in, tenses you up and makes equalization nigh on impossible.

What was your instructor talking about specifically?

We had been diving in Padang Bai where the water was very warm (27c) and headed over to Lombok to dive with the whalesharks where it was 19C above thermocline and like 12C beneath it.

Our dive master, back on the boat, told a story where he'd had his weight belt on but not his fins or bcd while he was working on the boat. He hopped in the water to help with something and sank straight down. By the time he'd released the weights it was a significant swim up even for an EXTREMELY experienced freediver. But it seemed like he was saying it was easier because the water was super cold.

Wait, bcd and freediving don’t go hand in hand, I’m confused a bit 😅

It was an unintentional freedive. He is a very experienced freediver who did a lot of stuff including freediving with our friend including a liveaboard around PNG/Komodo and Rajah Ampat for several months so I don't doubt it. He described his survival due to being an experienced freediver and then explained the cold water helped him survive and I was wondering if he was possibly saying something else, bullshitting me or something.

Huh, can’t really see the reasoning behind it 🤔

Temperature affects buoyancy but it would be negligible in these conditions.

Maybe the colder water kept his heart rate low so he didn’t use more O2?

Not sure.

I distinctly remember when I was a kid, I could hold my breathe underwater for upwards of a minute to a minute and a half no problem. Now as an adult, I am lucky if I can hold for 15 seconds. In your experience, is it possible for someone like me (an admittedly unhealthy adult male) to ever get back to that minute or is it a once you're too far gone there's no going back, thing?

You can do far more than a minute and a half if you take a course with a certified instructor 😊

What are some advantages to free diving over scuba diving?

First off, both are cool cause you’re in the water 😍

I would say freediving is more intimate, meditative, physical and needs much less and much cheaper gear.

Do you also like SCUBA diving? Personally my favorite activity.

Yes, it’s also fun!

Ive always had intolerable pain in my ears beyond 3 or 4 meters. I've tried everything my friends tell me works for them.

One day I tried scuba, against my desires. I thought it would be a waste of money. Boy, was I wrong. Absolutely no pain at all. It was wonderful being able to relax and look at things.

Do you have any pro tips so I can use a snorkel and dive deeper? I would really like to participate more when my friends go abalone fishing.

That’s probably cause you didn’t equalize at all.

Try this video and let me know how it goes 😊

So what happens if you don't turn back up soon enough and your mind (and body) is screaming for air? How can you force yourself not to reflexively try to get oxygen by opening your mouth or breathing in water?

By training and increasing your comfort and depth gradually, you learn to recognize signs and how to keep holding your breath until you surface.

Can you explain that last bit, about how you hold your breath until you surface? Doesn't your mind go into a panic, maybe entirely out of your control, and tell your body to breathe?

Have you ever had an experience in which you did try to breathe in before you could surface?

I have never had that experience because that means certain death basically.

At some point you get contractions, which is your breathing muscles moving to take an inhale, you obviously resist this urge. You become aware of these first in the pool where it’s safe. Then slowly you build your tolerance to them, it just takes time 😊

How deep can you dive without your ear-drums breaking?

Me personally is around 60 m but overall the world record is over 200

Can you hold your breath until you pass out (above the water)? Is it dangerous to try?

You can yes and it can be dangerous so don’t try 😅

Huh. I've always wondered. Thanks.

Do you know what makes it dangerous?

It might take some time for systems to start up again, causing injury. Also not great to purposefully starve your brain of oxygen to the point or blacking out 😅

Do you wear a weight belt ? When I’ve tried without a belt or fins I use far too much energy trying to fight my buoyancy

Yes, you have to wear a weight belt, the amount of weight that you have on the belt depends on your body composition and the thickness of the wetsuit you’re wearing, as well as the water you’re in.

Opinion / thoughts on Pipin Ferreras? Thoughts on Audrey Mestre‘s death?

Oooh man, that’s a subject everyone tries not to touch as everyone in the community kinda knows someone who knew someone who is friends with etc etc.

I have no inside info on that one but given the inside info I have from other accidents, I would say that there definitely must have been tomfoolery at play, negligence at the very least.

Do you know any jokes?

No but google gave me this:

"How do freedivers gain enlightenment?"

"By dropping their weightbelts."

Sooo... when you're freediving, because you're not working with compressed air, you can just go up without stopping from, say, 30m deep? To me that sounds amazing. I can hold my breath (normally) for about 2 minutes (without hyperventilating or anything special) and I'd love to get into freediving.

Also: Do freedivers take a tiny hand-carried breathing device just in case?

Correct, you go down and come straight back up 😊

You should get into it, find an instructor near you!

We don’t take any extra air, no, that is dangerous. If we breathe in air at depth, that air will expand on the way up and might rupture our lungs.

Is it easier to train in shallow or deeper water?

I would say for a beginner it’s nicer to start shallow is better because it’s comfortable to see the bottom and have the bottom of the rope be at the bottom of the sea, it gives you a nicer feeling to actually touch down and it’s also safer cause you can’t go deeper. With increased comfort, you can increase the depth 😊

Is there a way to dive/free dive without being able to equalise properly? I have a medical issue that means I can lose hearing and ability to equalise with it and am worried I can’t dive again

No, you need to be able to equalize.

What is your medical issue?

I know you might of been asked this many times, but how long can you hold your farts?

A very long time!!🤣

What does your skin care routine look like? Do you get dry and painful a lot due to being in the water?

Yeh my skin looks like scales from the salt, sun, chlorine etc 😅

I got an expensive body cream and use that daily after showering.

One of my all time favourite movies is The Big Blue, have you seen it and if so what did you think of it? Edit: a word

The Big Blue is like the freediving bible for us freedivers 😅

I went to Amorgos where some of it was shot to pay pilgrimage 🤣

It’s a horrible depiction of what freediving should be but a kinda realistic one of what it actually is 😁

Do you know of other movies that you could recommend?

There is this old russian movie which is probably the oldest to feature actual freediving, although not as we know it now 😅

have you dived with whales/dolphins/sharks? what are each of them like? how responsive are they to humans?

Nope but I’ve dived with loggerhead sea turtles, each has their temperament, if you move very slowly and keep a distance they are usually pretty chill.

Oh, I saw a seal once recently too, super cool!

Do you ever breath out a bit of CO2 during your longer dives? Someone had told me that Freedivers do this during longer dives to extend time by relieving the feeling of needing to breath a bit, but I had always heard that it’s not worth it due to losing precious O2 along with the CO2.

Definitely not, you do not exhale until you breach the surface! And you cantaloupe exhale just CO2 anyway.

A parenting account on IG just lost a husband to shallow water drowning. Any suggestions on prevention? (Speech sisters IG)

Comfort in the water, lots of water time, don’t push your limits and always dive with someone else who can recognize the signs and perform first aid if need be.

This is the part so many freedivers & spearos miss. Having another person watching at all times who you know can get down to your depth & competently 'rescue' you in case of shallow water blackout.

I'm training with an experienced freediver & this was one of the first things we practiced. I had to dive to 10m, bring him up & perform safety/revive protocols. We now know we are safe at 10m.

Well done, dude!

Is the danger of shallow water blackout ONLY from hyperventilating before a free dive, or can it also be from over exertion while at depth?

Shallow water blackout is caused mainly because the partial pressure of already low O2 drops suddenly during the last 10m of the ascent, hyperventilation makes this even worse.

Ever experience the squeezes?

Yep, I’ve had my share unfortunately! Trying to iron out the details so that it never happens again! And it’s a great lesson to use to help students not get them 😊

I have no idea what the squeezes are. Could you explain? Big fan of this ama by the way. Will definitely try to make a stop at your place on my next Greece vacation. Supercurious about freediving since I went snorkeling around Milos two years ago. Can't wait to get back.

Milos is beautiful indeed!

Would be great to meet you, dude 😊

A squeeze is a pressure related injury, like mentioned by the other friendo below.

It can happen to the lungs or trachea and is usually caused by bad body position or lack of relaxation.

There is some blood in the sputum etc and it can be from mild to serious, depends.

I couldn't hold my breathe and dive deeper than 2m before i experienced pain behind my eye. Any recommendations to overcome this condition? It has been an obstacle for me since I was a kid.

Pain behind the eye is a sinus issue, do you have frequent issues with your sinuses?

Were you equalizing?

There's a 2nd Avatar?

A what?

Avatar 2? Did not know there was an avatar 1. How does that make you feel?

No feelings towards your statement whatsoever, you don’t have to know or like these movies.

This just gives me a nice excuse to talk about freediving 🥰