Alchemy Podcast

We are delighted to present our special guest today, Gary McGrath. Gary is a renowned deep freediver, holding the British National Record and serving as an instructor in this exhilarating sport. In his favorite discipline, monofin (CWT), Gary achieved an astounding record of -112 meters on a single breath. This remarkable feat was accomplished during the summer of 2022 at the prestigious Vertical Blue freediving competition in the Bahamas, often referred to as the Wimbledon of freediving.

In this episode, we delve into profound topics. We engage in an open conversation about mental health issues and depression, subjects rarely discussed among athletes who consistently perform at their peak. Gary's philosophy on deep freediving, characterized by a strong emphasis on safety, has developed over 15 years and is viewed as a lifelong journey. His gradual approach included a leisurely descent to -100 meters to celebrate his 40th birthday last year, preparing his mind for the eventual national record. Now, he stands poised for even greater achievements.

Additionally, we provide valuable training insights, including Gary's preferred supplements to maintain peak physical condition during intense training and effective warm-up techniques you can incorporate into your routine.

It is our honor to introduce you to Gary, a person we deeply respect, a cherished friend, and a guiding mentor. Gary possesses one of the most resilient mental fortitudes in the world of freediving.

In this episode, we sat down with Carlos Diezel in Dahab, Egypt. Yep, pretty awesome name, suits the guy well. A former Brazilian engineer, Carlos turned his life 180 degrees to pursue his dream and take his family with him. Becoming a professional freediver, instructor, and business owner at the famous Dahab Freedivers school, Carlos is an awesome inspiration to many of us looking to dedicate our lives to this sport. We discussed the harsh realities of changing a life, the difficulties of being a family man, and the beauties of pursuing what you love.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Stefan Randig, a renowned German freediver who has lived in various parts of the world, including Egypt and the Philippines. Stefan previously owned the well-known school "Freedive Panglao" in the Philippines, but sold it before the COVID-19 pandemic and relocated to Dahab, Egypt with his family to focus on teaching, training, and spending time with his loved ones.

As an accomplished athlete with multiple German records and an instructor trainer, Stefan recently participated in the Vertical Blue competition and is now training hard to achieve his goal of an 80-meter no fins dive. During our conversation with him in Dahab, we delved into the challenges of balancing family life with the rigorous demands of being a competitive diver and elite athlete. We discussed the necessary level of self-centeredness required for success in athletics and the accompanying feelings of guilt. Stefan's experience can serve as a source of inspiration for any freedivers who are passionate about the sport but also want to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Tune in to the Alchemy Podcast to hear more from Stefan Randig.

Welcome to the Alchemy Podcast. Please be aware that this is not your regular freediving podcast. My name is Luca Malaguti, and I will be your host. I’ll travel the world to meet the top freediving athletes, coaches, trainers, and generally awesome human beings to pick their brains. We’ll sit down one-on-one, grab a beer or two, and dive into topics related to freediving, most people don’t want to discuss. We’ll chat about ego and freediving, sex, relationships, and self-love in the life of this sport and pain, suffering, and loss. We’ll be aiming for topics in conversations most people look to avoid, some are disturbing, yes, and some may disturb you. Freediving is a deeply mental and emotional sport, and so having the most experienced people opening up is incredibly valuable to all.
I’d like to start by first thanking all the people that dedicated their time to joining this podcast. Sitting down with us, opening up on conversations, and just being real about things.

In this first episode, we’ll sit down with Harry Chammas, a well-known freediver, UK national record holder, and much-respect coach based out of Dahab, Egypt. Harry runs his school Freedive Passion from there, where he specializes in teaching students the skills you need for real deep freediving. Make sure to give him a shout if you’re in Dahab.

For the first episode, Harry and I will chat about what is this love, passion, and addiction for narcosis, the feelings of being really deep, and question "Why The F*** Go Deep"? We’ll also chat about psychedelics, out-of-body experiences, and how these are thought to be - by some - beneficially used in performance sports like freediving.

Stay tuned and thanks for joining us.

Welcome to the Alchemy Podcast. We have a very special guest with us today, Mr. Tim Emmett. Tim is a professional ice climber, rock climber, former pro base jumper, author, speaker, and father. He is also a pretty bad-ass freediver himself, we've dove together in freezing waters, beneath icebergs in Iceland and Greenland. Tim has an incredible life story to tell, traveling the world for climbing, from deep water soloing in Vietnam, to climbing remote boulders in Mongolia and ice climbing the hardest route ever seen by humans.
What can we learn from Tim for us in the freediving world? Well, Tim happens to be an elite athlete, a performer at the top of his game. The kind of mind we need to develop when climbing Everest or being hundreds of meters on a rock wall, is very similar to the kind of competitive mind freedivers need to focus. In this podcast, we'll chat about almost dying in base jumping accidents, breathing techniques when ice climbing, a flow state of mind, peak performance concentration, and many more topics in the "extreme sports" world.
Tim and I have been friends and adventures for a few years now, and we are fascinated by the connection between freediving and climbing, the mountains and the sea. Tune in, and find out more.