‘What drives us to dive ever deeper?’ - This is one of the most frequently-asked questions I hear in interviews – ‘what drives you?’. Invariably people think I get my kicks from living on the edge with a constant death-wish or at the very least a complete disregard for my safety or longevity, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth. The look of surprise on the psychologist’s face when going through my psychological profile and finding out that I’m actually ‘risk-averse’ and ‘conservative’ was priceless. It didn’t fit with her – or indeed most of the general public’s perception - of freedivers as either stupid or fearless or reckless risk-takers, or a combination of all three.

So, if I’m not hoping to die every time I plunge to the depths, what is it that drives me to continue exploring my limits? I can’t speak for every, or indeed any other freediver, but for me this year 2011 has been a journey of deep discovery. And I’m not just talking about the meters.

Most people know that my mother died in 2008 seven months after I stormed onto the international freediving scene with three World Records in as many days. Great things were expected after Triple Depth 07 and I certainly felt the pressure from within to continue my spectacular trajectory and smash the 100m and continue surprising the freediving world and myself. But things don’t always go to plan. Thank goodness.