Your Name: The Deepest Bear in the World
Nationality: British and proud of it
Age: That would be telling but very young clearly.
Accomplishments in freediving: No Limits and Static Apnea specialist, 35m No Limits, 2 hours Static Apnea (but I only came up as the pool cleaner fished me out)
Why did you become involved in freediving? Summer 2002, just in time to train for the Pacific World Cup in Hawaii
How often do you train??? Whenever my assistant remembers to put me in her bag, usually in the pool twice a week, in the bath once a week, in the SETT tank at HMS Dolphin once a month and sometimes in Nice on the sled with the lovely French boys
What is a typical day for you in your training routine — without divulging any special techniques that you don’t feel comfortable revealing:?? I put on my special monofin even if I am doing static to get used to the feel of it cable tied to my feet. My breath up consists of around half an hour of roaring/yawning and then I just flop into the water and go for it.
["Deepest Bear" right]Do you have any special dietary needs or preferences that you feel helps your training??? Do you have any recommendations regarding this topic??? I am a firm believer in eating as much as possible before a dive, it makes you sink faster. And for static you can think about all the flavours washing around in your tummy which distracts you from the fact that you are going blue. (or in my case more blue)
Where do you mainly train — i.e. pool, open water, etc: In the pool or the sink as I am not so large. When you are only a few inches high I think it is ok to consider a bath Open Water training. My favourite bit of sea is off??Nice as this is where I did my first dives with Francois and Cedric of CIPA who welcomed me on their sled.
What is your favorite discipline in the sport of freediving??? No Limits, No Worries
What is the most memorable dive or attempt that you have had — positive or negative:?? POSITIVE of course — Lying face down in the pool in the warm sun in Hawaii doing 30 minutes of static while teams from all over the world practiced around me, oblivious to the fact that I was better at it than any of them!
What advice would you give to someone who might be interested in the sport of freediving??? Don’t take it too seriously, be proud of your achievements, think of a category in which you are the deepest (e.g. I Am the Deepest Person in This Kitchen). This will give you motivation and spread the word about your sport.
What do you do outside of the sport? Sit around and answer emails mostly.
You can keep up with the exploits of The Deepest Bear on his website http://www.deepestbear.com
