Meet David Spreitz Elings, an AIDA athlete, judge, and event organizer. David not only claimed the title of overall male winner at the 32nd AIDA World Championship but also received the prestigious Molchanova award for his outstanding achievements.

Read on to discover his journey in the world of freediving.

How long have you been freediving?
I have been freediving for about 12 years. I started competing about 4 years ago.

How did you discover freediving and why do you freedive?
I have always loved being underwater.  When I was 22, I was spending some time in the local swimming pool, teaching my step son to swim. I realized once again how much I loved being underwater. At the same time I was looking for some sport/hobby that the whole family could be a part of. I searched around and to my surprise I found out there were several clubs near me practicing freediving in pools. I joined a club and became a freedive instructor, mostly instructing kids/youths.

For 8 years I was instructing kids in this awesome 5m-deep pool, diving in cold and muddy lakes, took some freediving courses and went on a couple freediving trips to Egypt and Malta.

I freedive because I love everything about it. The pressure against my body, the feeling of weightlessness, the calm and silence, playing with the fishes and the crayfishes, sometimes entering a meditative state or having out-of-body experiences, hearing my own heartbeat, and the list goes on and on...

How does freediving help you in developing yourself in other areas of your life?
When I think of freediving I think of being one with nature and the universe, conquering your own body and mind. So I try to make choices in my everyday life that fits best into my view of the ``spirit of freediving``. Basically I try to make freediving a lifestyle for myself, which I believe promotes healthy and wise choices.

What is your favorite discipline and why?
Static apnea has become my favorite discipline. I like it the most because of its focus on the mental aspect, its versatility and its potential to transfer to other disciplines.

Which discipline do you find the most challenging and why?
I have been struggling to reach my goals in DNF for a long time. I think it`s the most demanding discipline in terms of strength and technique. I need to keep working on my technique and my bouyancy/equipment setup.

What freediving goals do you hope to achieve this year?
I hope to achieve 10 min STA, 250m DYN/DYNB and 175m DNF in the coming year or two. I also hope to do some progress in depth disciplines.

What is your best tip for someone who is just starting freediving?
Don`t have expectations, enjoy the ride and progress will come. Also - learn to love static apnea... :)

Do you do any other sports (to complement freediving, out of pure interest, or other reasons)?
Not as often as I would like but I love powerlifting, boxing and throwing discs.