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#170 | Nataliia Zharkova | Resurgence
Nataliia Zharkova is a Ukrainian competitive freediver who this year (2025), returned to the competition scene after a four year break and won overall silver in the CMAS World Championships, diving deeper than 100m in three disciplines.She first appeared on the podcast on episode #66In this episode we discuss:Nataliia’s first appearance on the podcast was episode #66.Nataliia was in Dubai at the rime of recording.Nataliia took a four year break from high-level freediving competitions.Nataliia won overall silver during the recent CMAS World Championships in 2025.Her opinions on the incident around Andrey Matveenko’s accident in training before this competition.How long was the preparatory period for the World Championships?A breakdown of the year long period of training.How does she do her tabata workout?How did taking time off from training benefit Nataliia?Is OnlyFans getting in to feeediving?How does she balance training and coaching?What kind of strength training regimen does she have?Why did Nataliia not do CNF this year in the World Championships?Working on tweaking equalisation for the deeper dives and tweaking neutral buoyancy.Experiences with narcosisAttitude towards diet and nutrition.The joys of quitting coffee.We discuss the doping scandal in freediving in depth.DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive SectionWhat does representing Ukraine mean for her?Why does she freedive?For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.comTo support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
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#169 | Zsófia Törőcsik | Phenom
Zsófia Törőcsik is a Hungarian freediving athlete who in 2025 became the first female freediving athlete to dive a distance of 300m in the pool and in the same year won gold at the AIDA Depth World Championships; her first ever depth competition.In this episode we discuss:Zsófia’s experience at the CMAS World Championship 2025 and the controversy surrounding the competition and the accident that happened to Andrey Matveenko.Zsófia is from Hungary and credits her family with shaping her childhood in a positive way.She did triathlon for 10 years, also competitively.A first freediving experience in Malta.Joining a pool club in Hungary and focusing on pool training.Zsófia won the AIDA Depth World Championships in 2025.How did a background in triathlon help Zsófia become a world champion in freediving?Zsófia’s complementary training for freediving, including lots of strength training and biking.The joys of living and training for freediving in Budapest.What does a typical week of training look like?A question from Patreon member Marc about the frequency of max and sub-max dives compared to shorter dives.A question from Patreon member Rodrigo about her speed during her world record dive.Zsófia was the first woman to dive 300m in the pool.A question from Patreon member Elena about Zsófia’s mental strategies for performing such big dives.She is completely deaf in her right ear due to a mumps infection.Her natural talent for mouthfill equalisation.A question from Patreon member Tom regarding the current level of freediving athleticism and the future potential of freedivers and freediving as a sport.Zsófia is a 37 years old.The importance of maturity in freediving and why there are less young people in our sport.Her approach to nutrition and supplements.Zsófia works in IT and puts together systems for companies.DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon Exclusive ContentWhy does she freedive?For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.comTo support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
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#168 | Anna-Karina Schmitt | Sweet Water
Anna-Karina Schmitt is a German freediver based in Switzerland. Today we talk about the technicalities of diving in lakes and the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis and how freediving inspires her healthy lifestyle.In this episode we discuss:Anna and I had some real challenges getting the interview done. It took 4 attempts!She was going into have surgery on her ankle the day before the interview.Anna is from Germany, but now lives in Switzerland.Her first forays into freediving in the lake in Switzerland and then with Samo Jeranko.Anna had a world record in the lake in CNF at the time of recording.Optimising life for freediving.What are the advantages and disadvantages of diving in the lake?Question from Patreon supporter Philip about lake safety conditions.How they manage safety in the lake. Torches, depth sounders.Questions from Patreon supporters about higher risk of squeezing in the lake.The interview got stopped! We reconnected a week later after Anna-Karina got out from her ankle surgery.What is multiple sclerosis and how does it affect Anna?Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease.How freediving and the freediving lifestyle support Anna’s challenges with MS.What does a typical week of freediving training look like for Anna?Does she use cold water immersion for dealing with the cold in the lake.A question from Patreon supporter Tony about dive response in the lake.Reference to Episode #62 With Kiki Bosch.Anna’s approach to nutrition and supplementation.DESERT ISALND QUESTIONS - PATREON EXCLUSIVEA dive she will always remember?Why does she freedive?For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.comTo support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
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#167 | Juani Valdivia | Freediving Doctor
Jani Valdivia is from Peru and is based in Tampa, Florida where he works as a neurosurgeon.He is also a member of the AIDA Science and Medical Committee and a competitive freediver himself.Juani also appeared on episodes #99 and #135.In this episode we discuss:Catching up with Juani.Juani was on Long Island, Bahamas at the time of the interview, preparing for Vertical Blue, 2025.Remote assessment of an injured freediver.An example scenario of a remote assessment, using lung squeeze.The Slow Controlled Forced Exhale technique.Assessment for DCI related or DCI-like symptoms.MFSCO2 (Mask - motor memory, Fins - fine motor skills, Snorkel - Speech, C - coordination/balance, O - orientation, 2 - vision, eye sight and eyes)Juani already did a real-world assessment on Donny.What is Telemedicine?A question from Patreon member Jorg about telemedicine.Shout out to Johnny Sunnex.A question from Patreon member Andrew Ferris about what Juani wishes every new freediver knew about their body from the start.On tracking variables such as resting heart rate and heart rate variability, blood pressure, body weight, etc.A question from Patreon member Christian Stein, about how freediving interacts with the nervous system.On over-training and sleep deprivation.Study suggesting ROS (reactive oxygen species) peak, increase after 3 days of diving.Defining what is DCI (Decompression Illness).The importance of being prepared for DCI-like issues.What is PFO and what does it mean for the freediver?An incident Donny experienced after a dive.What is supraventricular tachycardia and can valsalva manoeuvre fix it?Better post-black out care for freedivers.A question from Patreon member Adrian about research on freediving’s effects on brain health and cognitive function.A question from Patreon member Tony Scafidi about fast dive times making a squeeze more likely.Jauni’s non-profit organisation for freediving research and awareness (UNU Freediving Foundation).For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.comTo support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
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#166 | Marco Puliafito | Blue World Freediving
Marco Puliafito is from Sicily, Italy. He left an 18 year career at Pfizer pharmaceutical company to open Italy's first dedicated freediving training centre, Blue World Freediving.In this episode we discuss:Shout out to our interpreter Tony ScafidiIt was Donny’s first time in Sicily and first time in Italy.Marco is from Catania, Sicily.He started freediving as a child, following in the footsteps of his father who was a strong spearfisherman.Spearfishing is a huge part of the culture in Sicily.Marco became a freediving instructor in 2012.Before that he worked for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company for around 18 years.Blue World Freediving’s first location is at Santa Tecla Palace Hotel.Blue World Freediving has a second location at Santa Maria La Scala.Diving from the shore vs diving from the shore.The boat is set up with sonar, counter ballast, etc.Sicily’s water conditions, thermocline, visibility, etc.What facilities and courses do Blue World Freediving offer?Shout out to Nutso!Blue World offer Molchanovs, AIDA, SSI and Apnea Academy courses.They have seven freediving instructors on the team.What is the future of Blue World Freediving? Competitions?What are the main attractions of the island of Sicily?Marco has never seen Le Grand Bleu!DESERT ISLAND QUESTIONS - Patreon exclusive content.Why does Marco freedive?For all episodes of The Freedive Cafe Podcast, information about freediving courses, coaching, workshops and retreats in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.truedepthfreediving.comTo support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe
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