CONTACT ME
Tanner@depthwishfreediving.com
(704) 681-0633
TANNER PEDERSEN
owner / lead instructor
My journey with freediving started with a complete overhaul of my life. At the time, I was working a 9-5 sales job making great money, but my life did not feel fulfilled. I was constantly struggling with anxiety, depression, and addiction. My mind was always racing and there was nothing I could do to quiet it, until I put my head underwater for the first time. When I took my first freediving course with Kenzie, I was seeking a way to connect with a deeper part of myself. Immediately, I was enamored with the peace and stillness that I found myself in during my first few dives of my level 1 course. It was then that I knew I was right where I needed to be, and I felt whole for the first time. Upon returning home to NC after the course, I quit my job and told my friends and family that I was leaving to move to Florida to start a new life; an underwater life. From there I burnt through all of my savings, working up to become an instructor and learning all I could about freediving. Freediving challenged me to become healthier outside of the water so that I could perform better in it. I grappled with my mental health and addiction, facing it head on, so that I could grow to be a better diver and the best instructor I could be. Freediving was my saving grace; it helped me accept myself, get sober, and fulfilled my life in a way I never knew I was searching for. I found that not only was freediving opening doors no other sport had before, but that there was a certain “enlightenment through apnea” approach that I could embody with each dive.
From there, I took my training another step further by traveling around the globe to train under world champion freedivers and several other coaches. Through their training, I learned about the importance of diet, strategy, and technique, as well as physical and mental training, that makes for some of the best freedivers in the world.
I have also competed in 7 different international freediving competitions and am a certified competition safety diver.
Now I pass on my knowledge and passion for freediving through my company, Depth Wish Freediving. My goal is to share my meditative approach to freediving by tuning in to the body and tuning out the outside world with each student.
When I am not freediving, I spend my time practicing different art hobbies, writing music and exploring wherever I can.
CERTIFICATIONS:
PADI Master Freediver Instructor
AIDA 3 Instructor
AIDA Freediving Competitor
AIDA Competition Safety Diver
Emergency First Response Instructor
CONTACT ME
Kenzie@depthwishfreediving.com
(704) 743-3020
KENZIE MILCAREK
OPERATIONS
My love for nature and water started in the mountains of Pennsylvania, on the Youghiogheny River, taking my first whitewater rafting trip when I was just a toddler. Even though my family and I moved away, we always lived super close to a body of water. Over time I found that being outside, on or near the water, was my escape, my happy place; whether it was on the beach listening to the waves, or in a kayak exploring the rivers and lakes, I always found peace with the water. However, swimming had always made me nervous, and after spending several years working in the whitewater industry, those nerves grew into a healthy fear and respect for the water. That is, until my first trip to Florida with Tanner, when we discovered the springs and freediving. It was like fitting the final piece of a puzzle and seeing the big picture. That peace I had always found before became something so much deeper, powerful, and more freeing than I had ever previously felt. Deciding to let go of everything back home and chasing the freediving dream was one of the easiest decisions I had ever made.
Since starting that journey, I have learned that freediving is a very personal journey for each person that dives. For me, my past had to learn to work with my new present. Through freediving, I learned how to let go of old fears and truly trust in myself. Now adays, I like to say that I don’t chase numbers, I chase turtles; meaning I don’t dive for depth, but for the experience of being closer to nature and seeing parts of the world few others do, and in a way that feels so natural, I feel I become one with the world again.
Outside of freediving, you can find me in my kayak, hiking, exploring nature, crafting, nose deep in a good book, or hanging out with my four legged children.
CERTIFICATIONS:
PADI Freediver
Florida Master Naturalist & Restoration Specialist
CHRISTINA SOURS
DEPTH WISH SPONSORED ATHLETE
I was raised as a California cold water native, living on the beach. As a kid, I was on the swim team and got scuba certified when I was 14, but it wasn't until over a decade later that I found freediving. When I took a trip to finish my Rescue Diver cert, I made some local freediver friends, and ended up staying for a little longer. When I came out to dive with them, I closed my eyes on a 25M FIM dive and let myself fall. That was the moment the whole world fell away. The stress I'd built up from my job, the need to push harder, all the need to be "good at this and that" just went away. When something clicks you can "see the stars in their eyes" as my old coach, Benoit, used to say. Freediving connected me with everything in my own brain and in my own body. I found patience. I found it in me to "let go." And I just felt happy!
Shortly after my time training in Mexico, my job sent me to Australia, and I spent pretty much every weekend there assisting any freediving instructors who would have me; Adam Stern, Bella Massey and Jack Hatfield to name a few. Once I got home, I knew I wanted to be an instructor. Since then, I quit my full time VFX job, and I've been running my own freediving school, called SpitSea, out of Redondo Beach for over 2 years now.
In 2021 I competed for the very first time at the Azul Freediving Challenge. Turns out, it was the start of another journey for me. Since that start, I've competed and won Women's Overall podiums twice now: at California's very first Vertical Green 2022 with a CWTB 45M and FIM 42M, and the Azul Freediving Challenge Spring 2023, where I won a gold medal 62M FIM, silver 63M CWTB and bronze 41M CNF. Now I've got another label to add to the mix: Competitive Freediver and member of Team USA!
When I am not freediving, I run another business as a wedding photographer, and I tell people I spend my free time playing with my cats, going on walks along the beach and mixing cocktails, which may sound like a joke, but is pretty true!