Women in Diving: Beth Neale, Aqua soul of freediving

Beth Neale also, known as @onebreathbeth on Instagram is originally from Johannesburg and grew up as a landlocked mermaid! She is currently based down the South Coast of Durban in the beautiful town of Clansthal. She is a Pure Apnea Master Freediving Instructor and also a qualified PADI Advanced Scuba Diver. She tells us about her diving, conservation experiences and diving life.

"I learnt to scuba dive many years before I took my first freediving course. I wanted to learn to scuba dive because I loved being underwater. I was really lucky that I did both my open water and advanced in Ponta do Ouro. It was then that I truly fell in love with the underwater world. I also swam with dolphins and whale sharks for the first time, which changed my life forever."

It was almost 10 years later while living in London when she did her first freediving course. Despite her first real freedive experience being in a freezing quarry with zero visibility, she loved it! When she moved back home to South Africa, she fell more deeply in love with the underwater world, one breath at a time.

"I have so many favourite dive sites! But if I had to choose, my best place to dive, is Sodwana Bay, South Africa. I love that you can dive with dolphins, rays, turtles, sharks and a huge variety of fish, all on one dive! There are also magical swim-throughs and so many different reefs to explore. It’s also where I have achieved 3 of my 4 freediving records, so I have a ‘deep’ connection to it! I have been on only two scuba dives in the last 5 years and much prefer freediving!"

Through her company Aqua Souls, she can share her greatest passion with other people and help them experience, connect and transform with freediving. She says she does this through social media and teaching courses. Freediving is your passport to a whole new world! Aqua Souls run outreach programs in communities like Sodwana Bay.

“We taught a group of adults in the first year, and in the second year with their help, we went into a school to all present and gave those children a pool and ocean experience over two days, she explained. Since the lockdown, they have been working to promote tourism through Freediving with iSimangaliso and other tourism organisations in South Africa.

“I have been working in Bermuda seasonally for the last 5 years teaching children ocean conservation and freediving. This work has been extremely successful through two freediving ocean conservation programs. I also held the world’s first freediving camps for children aged 8-15. The Camps run over 5 days and she coaches the kids to discover their freediving abilities and this inspires them to become Ocean Guardians for Bermuda and the World.

It’s been truly incredible to see, especially with the children’s courses, how being underwater can create such happiness and confidence. To see their underwater smiles, reflect the “falling in love” she experienced so many years ago, is deeply satisfying and creates a new generation of ocean ambassadors.

With more than 100 000 followers on Instagram and with great success with filming the ocean and sea life that she encounters while freediving her most popular videos show people a unique perspective of the underwater world. “I have a background is in Wildlife filmmaking where I directed and produced films for Nat Geo Wild, Smithsonian Institute and others. Since I left the film industry 5 years ago to focus on conservation and freediving, I always have a GoPro with me in the water! My advice to aspiring filmmakers is to get an action camera and just start filming! Get creative too.

50 METERS WITHOUT FINS ON ONE BREATH

In August 2019 Beth broke the South African and African Continental Record by diving to 50m without fins. It was also the deepest freedive ever in Bermudian waters. The motivation was to raise funds for the Bermuda Zoological Society Ocean Education Programs. She raised over $20,000 through generous donations and with the support of an incredible team. The Record Fundraiser helped to raise awareness about their pioneering freediving ocean conservation work with children in Bermuda and it also put the Island on the global stage as a freediving destination.

“I am a DAN member. As a Master Instructor and South African Champion, I can only teach at such a high level through DAN. It is so important to have peace of mind and to know that if something goes wrong, I have the best to assist me! I can also explore greater depth thanks to DAN keeping me safe and I hope to experience many more record-breaking depths.”

TRAINING & DIVE BUCKET LIST

Beth says, practice is the best training and she stays in shape by teaching and having fun diving. “I don’t have a structured or formal training regime. And luckily, I always have access to the ocean, so you’ll probably never see me at the pool!”

Her dive bucket list is very long and is continually growing! “I seek out marine interactions, rather than places,” she said. The number one item on her list right now is an expedition up the coast of Mozambique to find the elusive Dugong. All other bucket list items are large ocean animals. By capturing these experiences on-camera she hopes to help raise awareness of these amazing animals so they can work to protect them for future generations.

You can connect and stay updated of Beth's activities and freediving on Instagram on @onebreathbeth