Courses and Coaching
Freediving Classes
Gain a solid freediving foundation with added focus on extended dive time, buddy diving and safety.
Breath Coaching
Coaching sessions are specifically tailored to you, improving your tolerance to CO2, improving your relaxation during breath holds and increasing your overall breath hold time.
Group Coaching
Group coaching is available for those interested in getting the benefits of one-on-one coaching in a group setting.
Adventure Freediving Courses
Adventure Freediver I
R3,000
This is a 2-day freediving course that covers the basics of safe recreational freediving. This course will allow you and your buddy to freedive on reefs and interact with marine animals like dolphins, sharks and turtles. It includes: breathing, relaxation, physiology, equipment, equalization, open water freediving techniques up to 10m and recreational freediving safety procedures.
Adventure Freediver II
R4,250
This 3-day advanced recreational freediving course focuses on the refinement of skills and techniques that will allow you to safely reach the same depths as open water scuba divers. Students will learn to become efficient with each movement of a freedive and to extend their bottom time at depths up to 20m.
Are you interested in exploring a whole new world sitting right on your doorstep? Take an adventure freediving course with me and you will gain a solid freediving foundation with added focus on extended dive time, buddy diving and safety. There is a whole tribe of likeminded people waiting to connect and create ocean adventures.
Sport Freediving Courses
Freediver
R3,000
The Level 1 Freediver is an entry-level sports freediving course, introducing the four main freedive disciplines (static, dynamic apnea, free immersion, constant weight). Sports freediving is for those with a competitive spirit, keen to hold their breath as long, dive as deep and far as their abilities allow. This course provides you with the foundation to start achieving these goals and aspirations by covering breathing, relaxation, physiology, equipment, equalization, freediving techniques on a line up to 20m and freediving safety procedures.
Advanced Freediver
R4,250
This 3-day advanced freediving course builds on the skills learned during the L1 (or equivalent) and is for those wanting to progress to the next level. The emphasis is on creating advanced skills and training techniques required to progress deeper and to overcome the physical and mental barriers experienced at depths of up to 30m.
Want to learn how to dive deep? Like really deep? Then sport diving is for you! These courses are geared towards perfecting the skills and techniques required to successfully reach depth and distance goals, to break national and even world records. As always, safety is paramount and we focus on how to reach amazing depths safely and without injury.
Breath Coaching
One-on-One Coaching
$200 Per Month
I work with you to improve your breath hold with a custom training program built specifically to your needs. We start with setting goals and identifying areas of improvement and then I build a program with at least 3 sessions per week to help you achieve those goals. We also sit down for a weekly call to cover your progress, discuss any modifications we need to make to the plan, and to answer questions. I am also available via text message to discuss during the week.
Contact me to get started with an introductory call!
Group Coaching
Group coaching sessions are available 3 times per week via Patreon. The sessions are available for as little as $1 per session but they are also “pay what you can.” My goal by doing these sessions is to reduce the barrier of entry to the sport by making group coaching available to all. I just ask that you pay what you can or pay what you think the sessions are worth!
Do you want to improve your breath hold times? Want to see what your body is really capable of? Join me for either online or in-person one-on-one or group coaching sessions geared towards improving your tolerance to CO2, improving your relaxation during breath holds and increasing your overall breath hold time.
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Testimonials
“I have been terrified of having my face under water for as far as I can remember. I went ahead anyways because I know that’s a great skill to have when surfing. To my surprise, it was one of the most peaceful & freeing experiences I can remember. Brandon was my third breath-hold instructor and his love for what he does helps me FEEL like I am doing great. He welcomes every question I have and is open to explore what works for ME rather than impose what he thinks is best. I feel validated and encouraged in our sessions, which is gold when I am stretching my comfort zone.”
“Brandon’s clear and focused demeanour have given me an enormous amount of confidence in our static apnea sessions. His uniquely positive approach and spirit always put me at ease, and enable me to push myself and help me to achieve my goals, and make me a far better freediver than I otherwise would have been able to become. All in all, having Brandon as a coach will most definitely help you gain the confidence to meet your desired level of achievement. His experience shines through, and his calm approach makes the journey highly enjoyable, and one’s goals feasible.”
“Thank you,
Brandon I really loved the level 1 training it was very comprehensive, and even though I was already confident in the water I now feel so much safer.
What is freediving?
Freediving is swimming or diving underwater while holding your breath. Unlike scuba diving, freedivers do not use equipment to assist breathing underwater. Freediving can be done recreationally or competitively.
Are courses internationally certified?
Yes they are. We offer the full range of internationally certified Pure Apnea courses. Pure Apnea are one of the top freedive education systems in the world, leading in terms of course quality and teaching standards.
Who can learn to freedive?
Freediving really is for everyone, provided you can swim and are reasonably fit and healthy. Incredibly, humans share some of the physiological traits that fellow oceanic mammals such as whales and dolphins display. This means that humans are capable of spending extended periods of time under the water surface, given the correct technique, safety and body awareness.
What level of fitness is required before learning to freedive?
Being fit has its advantages but does not automatically translate into “good or less good freediver”. The most important aspect, is that you are able to swim comfortably for extended periods of time and that you are in a generally good state of health.
Can my child join me on a freediving course?
Yes with pleasure – provided your children are 14 years and older. We have made exceptions in cases where children are already displaying great confidence and ability in the water. If this is the case, we accept mermaids / mermen from 12 years onwards. It is imperative that your family doctor provided a signed “fit-for-freediving” assessment for extra peace of mind and that at least one parent is part-taking in the course.
I can freedive but have never done a course, can I join an advanced course?
In most cases I would recommend to start at the very beginning. Having a solid freedive foundation is a fundamental part in safely progressing into the deep (and often the reason you are not progressing as desired in the first place). I can guarantee you that, if you have never taken a freediving course, you will come out of the level 1 course a safer and more confident diver. If you still believe you should be in the advanced course, we can talk individually.
What is the difference between adventure and sports freediving?
Traditionally, freediving is taught whilst diving on a dive-line and for the purpose of achieving greater depths, distance or static breath-holds. Freedive courses are geared towards perfecting the skills and techniques required to successfully reach depth and distance goals, to break national and world records. This is sports freediving.
The vast majority of people are wanting to freedive for the purpose of exploring and encountering underwater flora and fauna in our wild and wonderful oceans. This would be recreational freediving and requires a very specific and adjusted skill set, including body awareness, buddy safety and open water diving.
The important question for you to ask is what your personal freedive goals are. Are you wanting to adventure and explore the oceans, or are you focussed on diving deep and working towards becoming a competitive freediver – potentially breaking national and world records.
What ever course direction you choose, we proudly cater for BOTH styles of freediving – taught by our team of natioanl-record-holding, adventure-loving instructors! You are in good hands.
Do I need my own gear during the course?
- Mask
- Snorkel
- Wet suit
- Weight belt (with 6kg of weight, unless you know how much weight you usually use)
- Fins (freediving is preferable but normal would work in a pinch
If you do not own your own gear and would like help finding a place to rent gear from, I can assist you. Just let me know when you inquire about a course that you require gear and we can make a plan!
I have a medical condition, can I still learn to freedive?
Depending on your condition, a medical assessment may be necessary to confirm that you are ‘fit for freediving’. This is to ensure that the physiological changes experienced during freediving don’t cause reason for concern.
In our experience, the vast majority of medical conditions are not restrictive. If anything, freediving has shown to be beneficial to overall physical, emotional and mental health. We provide each student with a medical checklist to be completed before start of the course and for your your doctor to review if this should become necessary.
Do you offer courses for children?
Yes we do. We offer underwater exploration and snorkelling courses (as well as ocean experiences), to our young mermaids and mermen as an introduction to freediving and the ocean world specifically.
A child’s cognitive and physiological development become more adult-like from the age of 12 onwards. Taking into consideration that children are still developing both mentally and physically and that their bodies are not yet operating at the same physiological level as an adult, freediving is restricted to those 14 years and older.
I have been scuba diving for years, do I need to join a beginner freediving course?
Unless you have completed an entry level freediving course in the past, yes. Scuba diving and freediving are both practices under the water surface but this is where the similarities end. Scuba divers have the advantage of knowing what they will find underwater and this adds a whole lot of comfort and confidence whilst learning to freedive. The skills you will be learning and specifically, putting these into practice, are very specific and unique to the sport. The secret to freediving is having a good and solid foundation. Get excited about learning an entirely new way of exploring the underwater world – this time, one breath at a time.
What happens if I am not able to complete the course requirements?
Although this is mostly an exception, some students may experience equalisation issues that may need a little more practice, body-awareness or in rare cases – medical attention to overcome. Whatever the reason, you have 12 months to complete your course and be certified.
Note that we charge extra for course completions to cover our basic costs.