Nick Pelios Freediver, Creator
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Meet Asaki Okada, an Alchemy Athlete and Founder of Freedive Irabu. Growing up in the middle of Japan, Asaki first developed skills in different sports like snowboarding, tennis and skiing besides other artistic skills like violin and piano lessons, quickly learning and moving on to the next challenge. Seasonally Asaki would spend time at Gifu, where she would help her family’s beekeeping activities. After University, she moved to Okinawa and eventually left Japan to travel for several years, going in deep into Balinese, Indian, Thai, Malaysian and all kinds of Asian cultures and traditions, eventually discovering freediving in one of her travels in the Philippines, she felt a big call from the sea.

Asaki developed advanced underwater skills soon, and dedicated her life to guide people around Okinawa’s pristine islands. Eventually Asaki became a freediving instructor and decided to spent her life training and teaching in Irabujima (Irabu Island), Okinawa, where she founded her freediving school, Freedive Irabu.


Meet Asaki

 

"My name is Asaki Okada, I'm 30 years old, I was born in Japan and i've been traveling the world for 10 years. Seven years ago in Okinawa, I saw a freediver diving in the reefs. So I started freediving by myself, diving down to 20 meters, before taking any proper course. I just had a snorkeling kit and I wanted to stay under the water, as long as I could. One time I witnessed a blackout in the Philippines. This made me want to do it professionally and safely. When I dive down, there is a strong connection between my body and my mind. This is something that helps me to be present and makes me feel like i'm part of the sea. My Alchemy fins, keep me strong and efficient in my target dives, I feel i'm saving a lot of oxygen and power every time. My future plans are going back to Irabu island in Okinawa to keep teaching my students and locals. I love teaching freediving in a fun and safe way. I also wanna train for myself and go back to Mexico, because I fell in love with cenotes".



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