Interview with sports personality and champion free diver - Daniel Droste

reflects on his record breaking Free Immersion season in Sharm el-Sheikh

Hi Dan. Great to have you here on this platform as part of our no ordinary life segment. Can you give us a quick introduction?

Thanks for having me here Chris! I’m an avid ocean lover and had rather an unconventional upbringing in that I really grew up in Asia, Germany and Australia as a child. Fun fact - I’m fluent in Mandarin. I studied conservation ecology and ended up working in the environmental sphere as an educator and then later as an offshore consultant.

You’ve always loved swimming, how did you fall into free diving?

Swimming was a big part of my youth. I remember waking up very early for training when I was living in Australia and often trained twice a day at the swim club. I enjoyed competing and was selected to represent NSW when I was 15. It was around this time when my mom and I moved to South Africa and my life took a different turn. I turned to Punk Rock and hard partying. Partying and competitive swimming weren’t compatible so one had to give way. Sadly partying won that one and I didn’t swim for many years. In my early 20’s I started spearfishing and the foundation that had been built during swimming training kicked in. I really embraced it completely, being naturally comfortable underwater.

Oh, sounds like you’ve left a lot unsaid about those teenage punk rock years, But, I digress… What lay behind your decision to move to Dahab, Egypt for 3 years?

The easy answer is Covid. I had just moved to Germany to complete my Masters degree but the real answer is that I was searching for something meaningful during a time of personal unfulfillment and upheaval. The year leading up to Dahab was one of the most difficult of my life. I was unhappy and looking to leave South Africa. Dahab, and in particular free diving played a big part in the healing process.

I never planned on staying in Egypt for 3 years. For anyone that’s ever been to Dahab, you’ll know that it just draws some people in and doesn’t let them go until they’ve sorted out their shit.

As you can imagine a lot of my highs revolved around unlocking my freediving potential after being “stuck” in the 70m depth range for about a year and a half. Being able to help others with their diving with my holistic approach has also been a major high for me in my time in Dahab.

In your gripping fictionalised account of your experiences in Egypt Restless in Dahab you touched briefly on the expat community. Tell us a bit about the community you were part of in Dahab.

To understand the community, you need to understand Dahab first. Dahab is a very basic place. There are no malls, no luxuries and no there’s no excess. It attracts a specific kind of person. It’s the kind of place that allows you to focus on what you think is important. It doesn’t matter what that is. It could be freediving, meditation, art or rock climbing. It’s probably the least judgemental place I’ve ever lived in. You’re free to be who you are or who you want to become. That’s also why you get such a wide array of subcultures in Dahab from hippies to kiters to artists. Many people from all backgrounds are finding personal healing in Dahab. That’s what makes it so special. It gives you the space to find that without the limitations we encounter in western societies. I am extremely grateful for having lived there.

Dahab sounds like you’ve found your personal Shangri-La.

As a natural talented swimmer who progressed and excelled in free diving. What about the average Joe. Is the sport accessible to the average bloke.I’m mean, how do you get to hold your breath for 5 mins while exercising? It seems like something out of Riley’s believe it or not?

Yes. Freediving is accessible to all age groups, body types and levels of athleticism. You do not need to dive deep to experience the things free diving can give you. In fact, some of my most pleasurable dives were quite shallow. I definitely believe more people would benefit physically and mentally from trying free diving.

For me, free diving gives me a chance to let go of my thoughts, my body, my worries and my fears. I get to just be. It can be very freeing. I’ve heard many people say that what takes them years to find in therapy, they can obtain quite quickly on a dive.

Freediving can be like therapy if you let it be. I think it’s a vastly underutilised tool that so many people could benefit from. Being in touch with nature and being in the sea also plays a part.  Free diving doesn’t only mean going as deep as possible. Unfortunately, that’s how mainstream media has portrayed it. A dive to 15m can be the most peaceful thing you’ve ever experienced. You don’t need to dive to a 100m to experience that.

Interestingly, I can reach deeper states of relaxation when I release my body and mind and thus dive deeper.

Wise words indeed Dan. I can attest to that as I can still remember my favourite dive in detail, which was over 20 years ago. What has free diving taught you?

Wow! Where to begin? So many valuable lessons.. If I had to identify one, I would say it’s helped me really feel the value of living in the now. I think we all know this to be true, feeling it on the other hand is another story. If you can’t be in the present on your dives, they become very difficult. Be present in the here and now.

Follow Dan @kelpsharkfreediving Subscribers upgrading to paid will receive a free copy of his book, Restless in Dahab. (Thanks Dan!) You could also download it on your favourite e-reader here and see why it got 5 star reviews.

As always, I love receiving your comments and would love it if you shared this article or subscribed.