The Freedive Cafe Podcast

Jack Webb is an up and coming deep freediver from Far North Queensland in Australia. He recently dived 113m in competition in Dominica.
In this episode we discuss:
Jack just wrapped up a retreat up in Far North Queensland.
Jack has been spearfishing since he was a kid.
Jack’s school Freediving Far North Queensland is doing its depth sessions in two 65m deep lakes, Lake Eachem and Lake Barrine.
About the crocodile in the lake.
Jack and Donny met in Dahab in 2022 when there were both diving in the 70m range.
How Jack got stopped by a squeeze and other health issues and how he overcame them.
Shout out to Julia Mouse in at Apnea Bali.
Pepsin, silent reflux, Costochondritis.
Shout out to Jack’s coach Dean Chaouche who appeared on episode #95 of the podcast.
Journey to the nineties and his first national records. 
Shout out to Federico Mana who appeared on episode #84 of the podcast.
Shout out to Matt Yang from China.
How was the  first 100m dive?
Jack’s transformational trip to Dominica where he dived 113m.
How does his training routine work?
How he structures his deep dive routine and his deep dive sessions.
Has he had any trouble with hypoxia so far?
What does he do for his mental game?
Jack’s nutrition and supplement strategy.
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Why does Jack freedive? 

For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.com

To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe

Martin McPhilimey is a respiratory and sleep scientist by background and the founder of The School of Breath Science.
In this episode we discuss:
Martin joined me from Western Australia where he is based.He is originally from Coventry in England.
Martin is a respiratory and sleep scientist by background and the founder of The School of Breath Science.
Breath Science Certification 
Breathing, Nervous system, Sleep, Breath-work, Psychology and Human behaviour.
Research on max sprints and lactate clearing capacity of the diaphragm.
Diaphragm is type 1 muscle fibre. Type 1 muscle fibres uses a lot of lactate as a fuel source.
Adaptations that the diaphragm creates from inspiratory muscle training improves it’s ability to use lactate as a fuel.
About CO2 tolerance and air hunger/urge to breath.
Breathing rate is driven by emotion
What are chemoreceptors?
Martin has an eight litre lung capacity and held his breath for 3:30 on his first attempt.
What can someone do if their nervous system is stressed?
What benefits do hyperventilation style practices have for general health?
On intermittent hypoxic training and high altitude training.
How to improve sport performance with a sleep protocol.
What breathing techniques calm us down before big performances?
The magic of the controlled exhalation.
Yogic breathwork/pranayama.
How to address traumatic experiences that happen during freediving.Trauma may be more likely to impact on a person who is more hypercapnic.
HRV measurements and their real-life use.
Interoception and those who struggle with it.
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For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.com

To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe

Pedro Tapia is a Mexican freediving athlete and the deepest unassisted freediver in the Americas, diving almost 120m with the mono fin and 88m in No Fins.
In this episode we discuss:
Pedro was training for a pool competition at the time of recording.
Pedro won Vertical Blue in 2023.
Pedro has a history of alcohol abuse and is now in recovery.
He has been sober for 6 years.
He was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico.
He is now based in Playa Del Carmen.
He was working as an entertainer in resorts.
Donny discusses similar issues from his past.
Quitting a destructive addiction is never easy. If you need help, reach out to someone and ask.We mentioned r/stopdrinking on Reddit, Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART and Narcotics Anonymous.
Discovering freediving through Tinder!
All about the Cenotes, fresh water sink-holes in Mexico.
Shout out to Pranamaya and the Azul Freediving Challenge.
Pedro is essentially self-taught in freediving and doesn’t have a coach.
Pedro progressed very quickly.He is now struggling with the mental game in dynamic freediving.
Shout out to Samo Jeranko and his latest interview on the podcast (#157).
How Pedro periodises through the year and what a typical week of training looks like.
Pedro is also working as a coach and instructor as well as training at the same time.
Is Pedro using partial or fully empty lung dives?
Pedro has a background in gymnastics during his teenage years.
How does Pedro maintain his strength training when he is training?
Pedro is actively doing cardiovascular exercises.
On the benefits of sauna and possibly ice bath.
Pedro eats a plant-based diet with added eggs.
What supplementation does Pedro take (creatine, beetroot powder, omega 3 from algae, protein).
On the topic of doping/use of performance enhancing drugs in freediving.
Shout out to the Deep Water podcast from the Observer newspaper/Tortoise media/Lydia Gard.
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What does Pedro do for fun when he’s not freediving?
For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.com

To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe

Lisa Davidsson is a psychologist and hypnotherapist from Sweden, now based in Bali. Known as the surf psychologist, Lisa works with clients from all over the world guiding them through their psychological challenges with therapy and mental training, especially in the context of surfing and being in the water.
In this episode we discuss:
Lisa is from Sweden, she is a psychologist and therapist and is known as The Surf Psychologist.
She is now based in Bali.
Donny’s surf story with Mickie.
Psychological challenges shared between freedivers and surfers.
Strategies for the diver suffering from performance anxiety.
Lisa strongly recommends hypnotherapy for the deeper work.
What is hypnotherapy exactly?
How is a hypnotic state induced?
How to use hypnotherapy to help heal trauma related to hypoxic episodes and injuries.
On using visualisation and how to visualise effectively.
On using positive self-talk, mantras, etc.
Discussing comparison with others, ego and ego-driven performances.
Hemi-sync, Gateway Tapes and binaural beats.
Yoga, and yoga meditation.
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Why does Lisa surf?

For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.com

To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe

Nataliia Zharkova is a Ukrainian competitive freediver who this year (2025), returned to the competition scene after a four year break and won overall silver in the CMAS World Championships, diving deeper than 100m in three disciplines.
She first appeared on the podcast on episode #66
In this episode we discuss:
Nataliia’s first appearance  on the podcast was episode #66.
Nataliia was in Dubai at the rime of recording.
Nataliia took a four year break from high-level freediving competitions.
Nataliia won overall silver during the recent CMAS World Championships in 2025.
Her opinions on the incident around Andrey Matveenko’s accident in training before this competition.
How long was the preparatory period for the World Championships?
A breakdown of the year long period of training.
How does she do her tabata workout?
How did taking time off from training benefit Nataliia?
Is OnlyFans getting in to feeediving?
How does she balance training and coaching?
What kind of strength training regimen does she have?
Why did Nataliia not do CNF this year in the World Championships?
Working on tweaking equalisation for the deeper dives and tweaking neutral buoyancy.
Experiences with narcosis
Attitude towards diet and nutrition.
The joys of quitting coffee.
We discuss the doping scandal in freediving in depth.
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What does representing Ukraine mean for her?
Why does she freedive?

For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.com

To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe