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Last year I joined Donny at The Freedive Cafe for an interview about my journey as a freediver. Donny describes himself as an AIDA Freediving Instructor, Yogi, Freedom Lover, Plant-based Lifestyle Advocate, but it is his podcast that is really grabbing all the attention.

What is The Freedive Cafe?

32 Emma Farrell The Freedive Cafe (1)

For those of you who have not heard of The Freedive Cafe before, this is an amazing site where Donny interviews anyone and everyone about freediving. Here is how he describes the site:

Welcome to The Freedive Café, a pure freediving podcast.

At The Freedive Café Donny sits down with freedivers great and small. He goes really deep with some of the deepest humans on Earth and discovers the personal stories, the inspirations, the techniques and training, the routines and passions of freedivers from all walks of life, from competitive athletes, instructors and trainers, underwater photographers, ocean conservationists and many more.

http://freedivecafe.com/2017/11/17/a-bit-about-your-host-donny/Who visits The Freedive Cafe?

Just looking through the roll call of interviewees you can see the broad range of freedivers who have stopped by to share insights into their personal experiences in the freediving world. Freedivers such as Anna von BoetticherDavide Carrera and Thibault Guignés amongst many, many others have opened up and shared stories that can be listened to over and over whether for inspiration, understanding or simple delight.

When did you visit The Freedive Cafe?

I visited (this means enjoyed a wonderful Skype call) The Freedive Cafe in May of this year. The interview was conducted in one sitting – but I had LOADS to talk about so there was never going to be any shortage of things to say! Donny asked a heap of really interesting questions – as you will see at the end of the article, and I really believe I gave great insight into what made me the freediver I am today, and why I place such emphasis on the teaching methods I use at Go Freediving.

What did you discuss at The Freedive Cafe?

So, many things! Here is a list of topics:

  • An introduction from Mr David Mellor, Hello David!
  • How freediving got on Emma’s radar.
  • The Submarine Escape Training Tank (SETT), Gosport.
  • Training with Aharon and MT Solomons in Paxos, Greece.
  • Serious equalisation issues for Emma in the beginning.
  • Aspirations for competition?
  • Where Emma teaches and what form her teaching takes.
  • All about Vobster Quay in the Mendips.
  • The part Emma played in writing the education materials for AIDA.
  • Is Emma the only IC for three agencies?
  • Which agency is best?!
  • Making freediving accessible to all people including the disabled.
  • Yoga and freediving for paralympic athletes.
  • Emma’s take on the Spirotiger.
  • What the hell is cranial osteopathy and how does it benefit freedivers?
  • Emma’s view on diet and nutrition.
  • How young can children start freediving?
  • Emma’s interests besides freediving.
  • Emma’s recommended books are One Breath: A reflection on Freediving, by…Emma! And The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs by Nicolas Pineault.
  • What are Emma’s plans and why did she choose to stay in the UK!?

See? Lots of things!

Where can I listen to your podcast at The Freedive Cafe?

My podcast interview with The Freedive Cafe can be found here.

Will you be returning to The Freedive Cafe?

Most definitely, I have so much more to say about freediving – but then, so does everyone, don’t they?! But I can confirm I was indeed invited back, watch out for that blog coming soon!

Learn to freedive with Go Freediving

Go Freediving is the longest established, most experienced and friendliest freediving course provider in the UK, led by world class freediving instructor trainer Emma Farrell, and her team of personally trained instructors. No other course provider has such a good instructor to student ratio, safety record and personal touch.

Whether you’re a beginner dipping your toes into the world of freediving, a seasoned pro looking to turn professional, or simply a freediver of any level who wants the best freediving holiday in the world, we’re here for you!

Also check out our online guide, The Beginners Guide to Freediving by clicking here!

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