Twenty one years ago I attended the Freedive World Championships in Kona, HI. I told myself, “One day Rick, pursue this dream.” Less than three years ago, at the peak of the pandemic 😷, I was turning 50, and the world was in chaos. I finally told myself, if you don’t do this now, you will never do it.
Read more: US Freediving- National Team
I remember my @freediveohana instructors asking me what my goals were in the AIDA 2 Star class. I gave the generic answer. Hold my breath longer and dive deeper. In the back of my mind, the real answer was to compete one day. It was a long standing dream I had all but given up on. It was one of the reasons why I wanted to move to Maui 26 years ago.
I barely passed the depth requirement in that class, getting a mask squeeze along the way to 15m. Seven months later I took my AIDA 3 Star certification. I remember asking how deep could I go. The line was set at 30m, the max for the class. But the line stretched a little, I reached a little, 😉 and passed the coveted 100ft barrier. In 2023 I completed my AIDA 4 Star to become a Master Freediver.
Back in December of 2022, the opportunity to apply for the @usfreediving team presented itself. I was selected for the Masters (50+) team. And now I am less than a month away from this dream. It’s a beyond amazing feeling. I have spent the last three months training like I was in HS wrestling again.
Since this journey began I have had my head under water over 50 hours and have done over 3000 dives. To all my dive buddies and safeties that have been on this journey with me, Thank You is an understatement.
Thanks @usfreediving for the opportunity to compete at this CMAS event.
