Kia ora everybody, thank you for joining me for another episode. Joe is a good friend of mine and a fellow marine studies student. It’s not uncommon to see Joe walk around in his wetsuit all day. He seems almost half-man, half-fish.

Joe was gracious enough to humour me and my interests in freediving by taking me through a practice session in the pool at Toi Ohomai one day. I will start out by saying Joe isn’t a professional free diver or spear fisher, so we don’t go too deep on the fine details of the sport. I know he would disagree with me here, but from my perspective Joe seems to know what he’s talking about for the most part. His story about getting into spearfishing and freediving genuinely took me by surprise. I thought that this episode could be helpful for anyone wanting to get into spearfishing or freediving, but not knowing much about it or where to start.

Joe and I speak about different freediving concepts such as ‘breathing up’ and negative buoyancy, how he got in to free diving, a few ‘what-not-to-do’s’, how to go about getting gear when you’re starting out, and some exercises you might use if you’re trying to increase your breath hold. Listen to the episode to hear options for learning independently or through a structured program.

From my own experience, I have seen some great improvements by using the Freedive Apnea app and also just practice in the pool (although I haven’t put nearly enough time into it). I can see it being one of those things where you quickly get addicted to seeing improvements. Freediving and spear fishing are a great way to connect with the moana, to use it as a source for food, a great sense of community, and if you throw in the benefits it seems to bring from a meditative lens and I don’t see many downsides!

Check out Joe on Instagram @fins_first

This podcast is bought to you by Zinc or swim – a natural zinc made right here in Aotearoa. Use the code SEACHANGE to get 10% off your order.

Show links –

Back 2 Basics Adventures on Youtube 

Freedive Apnea app 

Ollie Criag – Primal Pursuit Youtube channel

Shallow Water Blackouts, Avoiding Them and Saving Lives | ADRENO

https://www.seachange-podcast.com/guests-1/joe-english