Underwater photographer George Karbus is taking over @suuntodive starting tomorrow, May 26th. Make sure to follow! Who is George Karbus? I'm a wild ocean free soul photographer based on the west coast of Ireland. I love to dive in Ireland with our friendly bottlenose dolphin. Where else do you dive besides Ireland? I follow my favorite marine mammals around the world and have been diving in the Bahamas, Hawaii, Galapagos, Arctic Circle, Maldives, Azores and many more. I'm inspired by dolphin movements, energy, intelligence and social structure. Also the silence of the big blue inspires me. How would you describe your photography style? I always want to capture unleashed raw energy of Mother Nature and its excellence in beautiful light or dramatic clouds. I try to capture beauties of our fragile world and show everyone the real treasures of life. It may inspire people to live in harmony with nature.  Follow @SuuntoDive and @georgekarbus to see more of George’s work. Check out also georgekarbusphotography.com and George Karbus Photography on Facebook.  Main image: George Karbus captured Fernando Stalla diving waves in the Maldives. 

“Scuba diving saved my life,” says cancer survivor Leo Morales. He’s living proof that diving is for everyone.Flying underwater – Leo's happy place. On the shore of Mexico’s Playa del Carmen, 43-year-old Leo Morales does what he lives for: sharing the joy of scuba diving. But his scuba school has a particular focus.“We’re making diving accessible for everyone,” he says. “We focus on teaching people with disabilities, people who use wheelchairs, and also the visually impaired. We want to break the old concept that you have to be tough for scuba, that it’s better for men. “The most incredible reward is the look in their eyes when they discover they’re free from the wheelchair, from the crutches, from having to drag their weight. You show people they are able to fly. They’re always so grateful.”Leo aims to show people with disabilities can do amazing things. Leo’s passion for diving began after a close call with cancer. He was 28 years old, enjoying a successful career as a bank manager. At the office one day he felt a strange pain in his back and went to the doctor. The diagnosis rocked him: he had a cancerous tumor growing on the inside of his right leg and buttock – it weighed 3kg and was two years old. Having the leg amputated was his only chance of survival. And even then, doctors said he would only live for another five years. After 12 hours of surgery, Leo woke up and looked down and saw flat bed sheets where his right leg had once been. Out of hospital he had to learn to walk again, how to use the toilet, get in and out of bed – everything was hard work. After losing his job for simply having a disability, Leo fell into depression. He felt like his life was over. But then a friend invited Leo to join him on a scuba dive. The first dive was “a nightmare”. Leo sunk to the bottom and fought with the water. On the second dive, his friend grabbed him underwater and swam along with Leo until he worked out how to propel himself. “That moment changed my life,” Leo says. “After that experience I became addicted to the ocean.”Now Leo is a dive master, scuba instructor and technical diver. And he also holds two world records: for the deepest dive (125 m) by a person with a disability and the longest dive (16km in 8h16m) for a person with a disability. His next goal is to set a world record for the deepest cave dive by a person with a disability. “The main point is to send a powerful message that people with disabilities are no different than people who are physically normal,” Leo says. “We can achieve amazing things with the proper training and equipment.”

Kate Middleton lives on a tiny island in the Indonesian archipelago and spends her days exploring the ocean and doing yoga. The two “conscious practices” completely changed her life and her relationship with herself. Now she has nothing to prove.Kate teaches yoga and freediving on Gili Trawangan. © Kate Middleton Before visiting the sun-spoilt shores of Indonesia, Kate Middleton was a hard driving overachiever. But there she became a yoga teacher and freediver, and it changed everything. “Before, I had this drive to prove I was worthy enough by achieving different things,” says the 27-year-old. “It was super exhausting and it’s a vicious cycle because even when you do achieve things you always feel it isn’t enough and you need to do more. “Now, I don’t do anything out of force or out of striving.” Most days Kate trains and plays in the ocean. © Kate Middleton With parents from Canada and New Zealand, Kate grew up between the rugged wilderness of Victoria, BC and the peaceful east coast of Auckland. As a teen, she struggled with eating disorders and low self-esteem, which led her to yoga as form of self-therapy. “It was my own secret practice,” she says, “and gave me a connection back to myself.” After finishing high school, Kate went travelling and while in Bali she trained as a yoga teacher. She also trained as a scuba instructor, but soon found scuba didn’t satisfy a longing for a close connection to the ocean.Press play to listen to Kate's poem about why she freedives! While in Bali, she visited Gili Trawangan, a tiny two by three kilometre island 35 km to the east. It was there she discovered freediving – and love. She met her business partner and boyfriend, fellow freediver and 13-time British record holder Mike Board. Kate expected to stay a few weeks, but eight years later they’re still there, running a retreat center, an organic café and a yoga and freediving school.Partner Mike Board is also a competitive freediver. © Kate Middleton Kate likes to think of yoga and freediving as two among a number of “conscious practices” that are growing in popularity, along with an increasing interest in holistic, healthy living. For her, teaching both is a privilege. “When teaching either there is a lot that comes up for students in terms of thoughts, beliefs and emotions, it's very psychological, so it creates an intimate connection between a teacher and a student,” she says. “Helping someone to learn to trust their body is such a special thing.”© Kate MiddletonKate is currently in the Bahamas competing in Suunto Vertical Blue 2016, perhaps the highest profile depth diving competition in the world. This week she set a new national record for New Zealand in the Constant Weight discipline by diving to 85 m, beating her last record by 10 m. In 2015, she won silver at the AIDA Individual Depth World Championships. Hit play to find out more about Suunto Vertical Blue! It might sound like she’s still an overachiever, but her motivation comes from a different place now.“I still enjoy progressing and challenging myself, but I’m also happy with where I’m at now,” she says. “Freediving and yoga are transformational. Both are tools that teach us to observe and return to the simplicity of the here and now, the fact there’s just one breath in this moment and you can always come back to it when you’re stressed. “It’s amazing to witness how they both completely transform people’s lives.”

Underwater photographer Daan Verhoeven specializes in capturing freedivers exploring the boundaries of human potential as they drop into the deep and return on single breath. Under the surface, it’s a quiet, meditative journey freedivers go on and Daan is one of the foremost photographers at bringing this beautiful essence of the sport to the world. We’re proud to announce Daan is taking over the @suuntodive Instagram account starting Monday, April 25. He is documenting the Suunto Vertical Blue 2016 freediving competition in the Bahamas and will share images and stories to give us an inside view. Get to know Daan and make sure to follow @suuntodive this week. It’ll be beautiful and exciting! Daan Verhoeven's underwater selfie Who is Daan Verhoeven? I'm an underwater photographer and freedive instructor from the Netherlands, living in the UK.  Where do you dive? Wherever there is water! I've freedived in tiny pools, medium rivers, big lakes, huge oceans, in a fjord in Sweden, in holes in Dahab and Bahamas. Now that I've moved to Cornwall, I dive a lot there, in beautiful gullies and with fantastic kelp and seals and sharks. What is it about the underwater world that inspires you? The freedom and diversity. I love the sensation of being free of gravity, exploring subjects much more three-dimensionally. And the diversity, as in the countless shades of blue and green and yellow water can become, the wild abundance of fish and creatures that live there, and how people from babies to geriatrics can play in water. Daan Verhoeven's view of Stig Pryds during Vertical Blue training earlier this week. How would you describe your photography style? Wet, mostly. My father was a philosopher and said a wonderful thing about style: "Style is a voluntary restriction of available means." So I chose to photograph while freediving – that's already a restriction that influences my style. I think I frame in a fairly classical way. I like clean compositions with strong leading lines. And I edit to bring back skin colors, which is actually not something you really see at depth, so there's a hyper-reality to it. So wet, classical, hyper-realism? Is there a story you wish to tell with your images? One of the things I love about freediving is how it shows people their aquatic potential – with a bit of knowledge and instruction suddenly they can do things they never thought possible. It's not just the realm of some super humans – humans ARE super. With my photography I like to celebrate the beauty and the joy of people in water, and document the grace and poetry of freediving.      Follow @SuuntoDive and @daanverhoevenfreediver to see more of Daan’s work. Check out also daanverhoeven.com and go dive with him at Aqua City Freediving  All images: ©Daan Verhoeven  MORE TO READ   FREEDIVERS READY TO TAKE THE PLUNGE AT SUUNTO VERTICAL BLUE 2016 BRAD HOLLAND TAKES OVER @SUUNTODIVE FOR A WEEK COMPETITION FREEDIVING: THE SECRET TO DOING WELL

36 freedivers from 20 countries are preparing for Vertical Blue 2016, the elite freediving competition held at the world’s deepest blue hole in the Bahamas. It starts on April 22 and runs for 11 days. Get a view from the inside here. Dean's Blue Hole has a depth of 202 m. © samovidic.com/ zooom.at On the white sandy shores surrounding the deep, still waters of Dean’s Blue Hole waves of activity come and go. Under the warm tropical sun, freedivers, competition judges, safety staff, photographers, media and organizers are preparing for Suunto Vertical Blue 2016, the most important depth diving competition of the year. The athletes are putting the finishing touches on their training, or resting up and preparing their bodies with yoga and relaxation exercises. Diving down into the murky depths on a single breath requires total relaxation, which is more difficult to maintain under competition conditions. Click here to learn about the different disciplines of competition freediving Spectators look on as the competition gets underway. © samovidic.com/ zooom.at Safety staff are busy finalizing protocols. Organisers are testing underwater cameras, including a new underwater drone that will follow each diver down and back again – a world first for a freediving competition. We caught up with some of the players to give you a sneak peak behind the scenes. The world champ William is the first and only person to freedive to 101 m with no assistance. © samovidic.com/ zooom.at Suunto athlete, world champion freediver, and competition host William Trubridge usually wins the top spot, which is more likely this year as his friend and rival Alex Molchanov isn’t competing this year. The competition might still prove challenging for William. “I've had a lot of recent injuries and sickness, so I am still not in top form,” he explains. “I'm treating this more as a warm-up competition for the season, but if I start doing good dives during the 11 days of the event then who knows?”    How deep do they dive? Click for a visual guide! The island yogi Kate runs a freediving and yoga school on an island near Bali. © katemiddletonyoga.com Four weeks ago New Zealand record-holding freediver and yoga teacher Kate Middleton travelled from her tiny island home in Indonesia to tiny Long Island, the home of Dean’s Blue Hole, to focus on training for Vertical Blue 2016. The 27-year-old ocean lover is satisfied with her preparation. “I’ve done all of the training that I can do beforehand,” she says. “Now I will benefit most from staying dry and resting up.” For Kate, the competition is the pinnacle of the world’s freediving competitions. The professional organization, the robust safety system, the media attention and the level of competition make it special, she says. With no individual depth world championship in 2016, Vertical Blue is the most important competition of the year. Read: The secret to freediving – relaxation. Yoga helps freedivers to move fluidly and efficiently. © katemiddletonyoga.com “All the activity is centred around the blue hole,” Kate says. “Pre- dive, most people are very quiet and focused. Post-dive everyone is really social and chatty. Everyone understands each other in that way. There's a lot of respect for where someone is at.” Achieving her personal goals for the competition is one thing, but for Kate one of the main reasons she attends is for the community it offers. “Freediving is a small sport so it’s rare that you're around so many people who have also devoted their life to this and to share something like that you really develop strong friendships quickly. Freediving brings everyone together.” The judges CarlaSue Hanson says its going to be a big 11 days. © Francesca Koe President of AIDA International (Association for the Development of Apnea) CarlaSue Hanson is one of the judges at this year’s competition. To be a judge requires completing a specific AIDA course. Competition organizers pick judges according to their level of experience, something CarlaSue has in spades. “The main responsibility of the judge is to ensure that all requirements of the rules of AIDA International are upheld,” she explains. “Safety is the main concern above all else.” As AIDA president, CarlaSue knows many of the competitors. “It does help to know the divers when tracking the results and also watching for any indications of stress or possible injury. I have a little record in my head about the past dives and it gives me some indication of what I might expect to see.”  Click to learn how to become a freediver!William Trubridge resting before a dive. © samovidic.com/ zooom.at Like Kate, CarlaSue sees Vertical Blue as a prestigious event that attracts the world’s best freedivers. “The unique setting and calm water of the lagoon provide for consistent conditions without excessive wind and current,” she says. “It’s also easier for all of us, as the competition site is so close to the shore so we don’t have to take a boat out to the venue. “It is also one of the only competitions where we have spectators. The other athletes can watch their friends and rivals dive and we also have locals and tourists coming out to cheer and enjoy the competition.” Chief of safety Stephen Keenan runs a freediving school in Dahab, Egypt. © Francesca Koe Competitive freediver and freediving instructor trainer Stephen Keenan is chief of safety this year. In previous years he has performed the role of platform coordinator so he knows well how to run a tight operation. “My role is crucial to keep things running smoothly and to create a comfortable environment for the athletes to do their best,” he says. Freedivers to watch CarlaSue knows who’s who in the freediving world. She says there’s a lot of talent at this year’s event that she expects to do well. Sayuri Kinoshita, Japan “She won the overall women's gold medal at Vertical Blue 2015 and was also CNF gold medallist at the AIDA World Championship.” Sofia Gomez, Columbia At last year's competition she earned national records in the sport’s three disciplines: FIM, CNF, CWT. Marianna Krupnitskaya, Russia In 2014, Marianna was the world's number one ranked female freediver. Last year she became the Russian national depth champion. Johnny Sunnex, New Zealand Johnny won bronze at the AIDA World Depth Championship in 2013. He served as chief of safety at Vertical Blue 2014. New to Vertical Blue “We have some other athletes that are big names in freediving but are new to Vertical Blue: Aolin Wang and Jessea Lu of China, Italian Homar Leuci, Camilla Jaber from Mexico, Stephane Tourreau from France, American Ashleigh Baird and a local Bahamian Luke Maillis.” CarlaSue expects many national freediving records to fall. At last year's competition 29 national records were broken by 12 freedivers.  Click here to read about last year's results and here to see this year's athletes.

After a big response, we’re pleased to announce the winner of our #DiveWithMe contest – 24-year-old diver Theresa Torp! When she found out she’d won, her currently non-diving friend Anna immediately came to mind. The two have good times ahead! Theresa's dream is to swim with a whale shark. © Theresa Torp#DiveWithMe winner Theresa Torp and her friend Anna Sofie Starup have won an all-paid week-long trip to Atmosphere Resorts & Spa in the Philippines. The resort has a beautiful beachfront location on the island of Negros Oriental near Dumaguete. Anna will have the opportunity to complete a four-day open water diving course at the resort, and join her friend on some incredible dives. We asked Theresa about diving and why she picked Anna to join her. Congratulations! Feeling excited? I can’t wait to experience the Philippines! The country has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and experience my first meeting with a whale shark as well!Theresa (left) and Anna (right) will travel to the Philippines this summer. © Theresa TorpSo, who is Theresa Torp? I’m an occupational-therapy student and live in Denmark. When I’m not studying, I’m working my ass off as a sales assistant to save money for scuba diving and exploring the world whenever school “lets us off the hook”. When did your journey as a diver begin? Four years ago while travelling in Brazil I met the most amazing and inspiring people; a marine-biologist and a dive-instructor who didn’t consider scuba diving as just a hobby, but as a whole lifestyle and a big part of who they are. I was extremely fascinated about their way of living, and I’m pretty sure they’re the reason that scuba diving has become such a big part of who I am today.© Ulrika Kroon / Atmosphere Resorts & SpaYour most incredible dive experiences? Every dive has it’s own story and it’s own memories, but some of my most memorable have been exploring the Cancún Underwater Museum, playing chicken with a huge and scary tiger shark at Cocos Island, rubbing a playful manatee’s belly in Crystal River, exploring enormous shipwrecks at Key Largo and kissing dolphins in the Bahamas. My greatest dream come true was diving side by side with hundreds of schooling hammerhead sharks at Cocos Island, about 550 km from the shore of Costa Rica. © Bo Mancao Who is the lucky friend joining you? I met Anna Sofie at the first day of high school and we quickly became inseparable! A couple of years ago she moved to the other side of the country, but we stay in-touch and I still consider her as one of my dearest friends. When I heard about this amazing #DiveWithMe competition, she was the first and only person who crossed my mind! Not only will we get an opportunity to catch up in the most magical setting, I will introduce her to scuba diving, my biggest obsession. Even though I’ve experienced a lot of incredible dives, I’m certain that nothing could ever be compared to sharing it with her! © Bo Mancao What would you like to show her underwater? That’s a difficult question as I’m looking forward to show her everything the ocean has to offer! I’m also really looking forward to show her the stunningly beautiful colours of the Coral Triangle and who knows, maybe I will get to share my first meeting with a whale shark with her – that would be a big dream come true. Is she excited about the trip and learning to dive? I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen her more excited! Anna is one of the most joyful and adventurous people I’ve ever known and I’m sure that she’ll turn out to be an amazing scuba diver and dive buddy. Just as I’m sure that this trip to the Philippines will turn out to be an adventure of a lifetime!Lead image: © Ulrika Kroon / Atmosphere Resorts & Spa