Episodes
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#179 | Harry McCahill | Deep Element
Harry McCahill is co-owner of Blue Element, based in Dominica. When he's not running the school and organising world-class freediving competitions he is an accomplished athlete himself, having surpassed the 100m mark in CWT and the 80m mark in CNF. In this episode we discuss: Harry just attended...
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#178 | Marco Altini | HRV4 Training
Marco Altini is a scientist, developer and athletic coach who’s work centres on the intersection of health, technology, and human performance. In 2012 he founded HRV4 Training, a mobile platform that revolutionised physiological tracking by becoming the first app capable of reliably measuring…
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#177 | Olavi Paananen | Under Ice
Olavi Paananen is a Finnish entrepreneur who recently broke the CMAS World Record for freediving under ice, without a wetsuit. In this episode we discuss: Olavi lives in Espoo and was born in Iisalmi, Finland. Donny also used to live in Finland! Olavi dived 165 metres under ice with bifins to…
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#176 | Nejc & Nikos | Kalamata Freedivers
Kalamata Freedivers is a freediving school and training facility located in Kalamata Greece, run by Nejc Likar and Nikos Gkagkanis. In this episode we discuss: Today we are talking with Nejc Likar from Slovenia and Nikos Gkagkanis from Greece. Nejc was previously in Panglao, The Philippines…
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#175 | William Trubridge | Blue Pearl
William Trubridge is one of the most celebrated freedivers of all time, achieving multiple world records, winning multiple world championships and diving 102m in CNF (No Fins). In this episode we discuss: William appeared first on Episode #69 of The Freedive Cafe Podcast and then again on Episode...
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#174 | Jack Webb | Jungle Freediver
Jack Webb is an up and coming deep freediver from Far North Queensland in Australia. He recently dived 113m in competition in Dominica. In this episode we discuss: Jack just wrapped up a retreat up in Far North Queensland. Jack has been spearfishing since he was a kid. Jack’s school Freediving…
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#173 | Martin McPhilimey | Breath Science
Martin McPhilimey is a respiratory and sleep scientist by background and the founder of The School of Breath Science. In this episode we discuss: Martin joined me from Western Australia where he is based.He is originally from Coventry in England. Martin is a respiratory and sleep scientist by...
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#172 | Pedro Tapia | The Inner Dive
Pedro Tapia is a Mexican freediving athlete and the deepest unassisted freediver in the Americas, diving almost 120m with the mono fin and 88m in No Fins. In this episode we discuss: Pedro was training for a pool competition at the time of recording. Pedro won Vertical Blue in 2023. Pedro has a...
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#171 | Lisa Davidsson | The Surf Psychologist
Lisa Davidsson is a psychologist and hypnotherapist from Sweden, now based in Bali. Known as the surf psychologist, Lisa works with clients from all over the world guiding them through their psychological challenges with therapy and mental training, especially in the context of surfing and being…
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#170 | Nataliia Zharkova | Resurgence
Nataliia Zharkova is a Ukrainian competitive freediver who this year (2025), returned to the competition scene after a four year break and won overall silver in the CMAS World Championships, diving deeper than 100m in three disciplines. She first appeared on the podcast on episode #66 In this...
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#169 | Zsófia Törőcsik | Phenom
Zsófia Törőcsik is a Hungarian freediving athlete who in 2025 became the first female freediving athlete to dive a distance of 300m in the pool and in the same year won gold at the AIDA Depth World Championships; her first ever depth competition. In this episode we discuss: Zsófia’s experience at...
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#168 | Anna-Karina Schmitt | Sweet Water
Anna-Karina Schmitt is a German freediver based in Switzerland. Today we talk about the technicalities of diving in lakes and the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis and how freediving inspires her healthy lifestyle. In this episode we discuss: Anna and I had some real challenges getting...
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#167 | Juani Valdivia | Freediving Doctor
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 Science and Medical Committee and a competitive freediver himself. Juani also appeared on episodes #99 and #135. In this episode we discuss: Catching up with Juani. Juani…
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#166 | Marco Puliafito | Blue World Freediving
Marco Puliafito is from Sicily, Italy. He left an 18 year career at Pfizer pharmaceutical company to open Italy's first dedicated freediving training centre, Blue World Freediving. In this episode we discuss: Shout out to our interpreter Tony Scafidi It was Donny’s first time in Sicily and first...
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#165 | Jeroen MG Van Haudt | Freediving Medic
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...
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#164 | Tea Košnjek | Deep Strength
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...
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#163 | Huang Hua Yang | Spirit of Depth
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,...
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#162 - David Mellor - No Limits
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…
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#161 | Marco Nones | Only One Apnea
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....
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#160 | Enchante Gallardo | Rise and Shine
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...
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#159 | Heike Schwerdtner | Static World Record
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...
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#158 | Lotta Ericson | Freedive Dahab
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…
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#157 | Samo Jeranko | Coaching Deep Dive
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...
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LOST EPISODE #2 | Johnny Sunnex
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...
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#156 | Stéphane Tourreau | Metre by Metre
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…
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#155 | Erika Schagatay | Science Deep Dive
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’...
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#154 | Alenka Artnik | Purpose & Clarity
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…
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LOST EPISODE #1 | Davide Carrera
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...
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#153 | Kateryna Sadurska | Depth And Strength
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...
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#152 | Frank Pernett | Freediving Science & Physiology
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...
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#151 | Davide Carrera | Become Free
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…
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#150 | Alexey Molchanov | Unlimited
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,...
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#149 | Bevin Reynolds | Southern Star
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Bevin Reynolds is a competitive pool freediver with multiple national and African continental records. Despite only coming into the sport 18 months before her first AIDA Indoor World Championships this year, she took home 3 medals and the title of Vice-World...
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#148 | Shadi Türk | From War to Water
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...
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#147 | Khaled ELGammal | Deep In Egypt
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...
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#146 | Gary McGrath | Ascents & Descents
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…
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#145 | Miguel Lozano | Deep Camp
Miguel Lozano is one of the deepest freedivers in the world. He first appeared on episode #67 of The Freedive Cafe podcast! This interview is also available in video format on the Freedive and Thrive Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/XW-Y_zBHixw In this episode we discuss: Miguel and I last spoke...
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#144 | Stefan Randig | Living for Depth
Stefan Randig is a 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...
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#143 | Jordy Duncan | Phoenix Rising
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...
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#142 | Pete Botman | Master's Champion
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…
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#141 | Tito Zappalà | Love & Freediving
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...
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#140 | Ali Okab | Aqua Marina
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…
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#139 | Kateryna Sadurska | Fire And Water
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...
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#138 | Denis Grosmaire | Dancing With Sharks
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...
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#137 | Bizo Silva | Lung Ultrasound, Squeeze and Lung Health
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…
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#136 | Alex Llinas | Evolution
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…
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#135 | Juani Valdivia | Freediving Medicine
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…
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#134 | Carlos Diezel | Dahab Freedivers
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...
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#133 | Rami Bladlav | Static Warrior
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,...
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#132 | Guillaume Néry | Time & Relaxation
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...
About this show
The world's dedicated freediving podcast. Longform interviews with the deepest humans on Earth.
Hosted by
Donny Mac - Freediver
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