Freediving Legends : : Umberto Pelizzari

Umberto truly is one of the top freediving legends of all time - 16 World Records, a student of Jacques Mayol, and founder of freediving school Apnea Academy, his career now spans over 27 years and your shelves may well contain a few of his 14 books. Umberto comes from an era before mouthfill, when progress was considered fast if a diver added 5 metres per year, and it is deeply inspiring and humbling to realise that he managed to equalise to over 100m using 'simply' relaxation and body awareness. This 'old-school' approach teaches us valuable and timely lessons on safety at a time when black-outs and squeezes are considered a natural and unavoidable part of freediving in some parts. As well as being serious in part, I loved this interview as Umberto is just SUCH a lovely, cool guy to hang out with!