A Non-Conventional Idea For The Underwater Adrenaline Seekers
Scuba diving is all about running away from the routine and searching for a new world where the water surrounds us from head to toes while we’re fighting with the laws of gravity. It’s the sport that shows us this other part of the world that frightens and amazes us at the same time simply because it seems all too magical to be true. Once you enter the underwater universe, you feel like you’ve disappeared from the face of the Earth and you start this “out of this world” adventure into the unknown.
But for some people this sport is actually not extreme enough. They want to feel frightened, challenged and excited all at the same time in order to feel alive. If scuba diving seems too secure and peaceful sport for some, there are a few variations they can turn to and convert their underwater trip into the most stunningly dreadful experience of their life and one of these variations is called freediving.
Freediving is scuba diving’s little fearless brother who wants to experience everything without worrying about the consequences. This simple but perilous sport consists of diving as deep as you can without any kind of freediving gear to support you. Although it seems unimaginable, there are many people who like exploring the underwater world supported solely by one breath. Before freediving was formalized as an official sport featuring competitions, it simply involved men and women who liked to dive deep in order to find some hidden treasure, collect oysters and pearls or simply experience what the underwater feels like.
Today, freediving is a pleasure sport for those who can hold their breaths for an inhuman length of time. Even though freedivers practically don’t take any kind of equipment with them, there are some basic pieces of freediving gear that usually consists of a mask, fins and in some occasions, a wetsuit.
Freediving is not just a physical, it’s also a philosophical and a mental sport for the bravest. Famous freedivers such as Nick Mevoli and Natalia Molchanova who both died while doing what they loved the most, have said that water accepts us for who we are with all our demons and emotions. That’s why we always have to be true to the water – it knows all of our secrets no matter how dark they are. In one occasion Molchanova said “If we don’t think while we are going down, we will understand that we are whole” and oh boy, that has to be such an incredible experience. They both repeatedly stated that freediving is making them feel alive, happy and overwhelmed with life and that we all should set our fears aside and confront reality without our “protective shields”.
