Ellie Hayden
Ellie Hayden was born in Far North Queensland, Australia, and spent the majority of her younger years on her family's boat on the Great Barrier Reef. Some of her earliest memories are swimming among vibrant coral reefs, going through swim-throughs, and holding onto her mum's back as she would dive down underwater and swim along the reef. Ellie had no idea what she was doing was freediving; rather, for her life up until her early 20s, it was just a way of exploring the underwater world and a fun challenge for herself.
In 2020, Ellie was taught how to spearfish by some really talented spearos, and she soaked up everything she could learn from them. After she shot her first bigger fish, a Yellowtail Kingfish at 24 meters, she was completely hooked, soon after getting her first Australian Women's spearfishing record.
In 2021, Ellie completed her Molchanovs Freediving Instructors course under the guidance of Adam Stern and started a freediving school called Salty Pilgrims Freediving with her business partner. Since then, she has been lucky enough to teach freediving full-time, having taught over 1000 students in three years, run over 15 International and 10 Australian Retreats for Freediving and Spearfishing, and completed her Molchanovs W3 Instructor cert. Also, founding an all-women's freediving & spearfishing community called East Coast Sea Sisters, she is passionate about sharing her knowledge of freediving and spearfishing with women in Australia, helping to bring them together in a safe and fun learning environment.
Although Ellie hasn't had much time away from teaching to really focus on her own diving and push deeper, she has dove to 55 meters CWTB and 35 meters CNF, soon to be competing in her first depth competition in the Philippines. She has many aspirations for both freediving and spearfishing and is excited to see where she can take her diving and continue to help others enhance their lives through this incredible way of life that is freediving.