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Hi Kirk & Mandy,
I was looking at your website and saw that most of the testimonials are from students who were already somewhat experienced at the course onset. Before the Malibu class last June my prior water experience was mostly the bathtub with a little splashing in the pool or beach while on vacation.
PFI Testimonial:
An easy customer testimonial from me would be this: Before signing up for the PFI Intermediate class last year I had worn snorkel and fins only twice; had never been deeper under water than a 3 meter pool; and had probably never held my breath more than a minute. After the class those limitations had disappeared.
The longer customer testimonial goes much deeper: I came to the course newly fascinated with snorkeling and wanting some safety training. A few months prior on a trip to Baja California I borrowed a mask and snorkel for the first time ever (at age 40) and discovered that there is something below the water's surface! That had me hooked and I decided to take up 'snorkeling'.
After researching on the web I learned that snorkeling on the surface and breath hold diving are completely different things. I didn't want to just float on top and look down- I wanted to explore under water. I also wanted to live and tell about it, so I looked for some sort of 'skin dive 101' class. Nothing. Hundreds of places in LA to learn SCUBA but nothing for skin diving. I found only about 1/2 dozen English speaking skin diving or freediving training programs in the world. Luckily what appeared the best was also offering classes in my area (Los Angeles, California) just a month later.
I contacted Mandy Rae at Performance Freediving about their two day "Basic" class. After discussing my goals- even with my lack of experience- she suggested the four day "Intermediate" class instead. She was quite helpful in suggesting what I should look for in equipment and got me started doing some breath hold exercises.
When I arrived at the PFI Intermediate class I was somewhat apprehensive- even more so after meeting my fellow students and learning that most of them were quite experienced divers. I figured at least I would learn good safety protocols. The training did that but much more. My perceptions of the possible were exploded. I had never been much of a swimmer or all that comfortable in water. Many would consider a freedive class overkill for someone just wanting to get into snorkeling- but I wanted good safety instruction and this was the place.
The class was a perfect meld of scientifically founded theory with practical experience. I was amazed how a world class coach and world record holding athlete were able to present material in a way that a novice could easily comprehend. After the first pool session my nervousness disappeared. The emphasis on safety above all else was very comforting reassuring.
The ocean sessions were a bit tougher- with the cold green water and surface chop giving me a bit of nausea. The prior instruction and practice helped a lot and although I didn't set any records I definitely stretched my own limits.
A few weeks after class I went diving with a classmate who is a very experienced diver. After the dive my classmate mentioned that if he didn't know better he would have assumed that I had been diving for years due to my apparent ease and comfort in the water. That says a lot about the quality of training I received.
By the way- At class' end I had done a five minute static breath hold and dove to 20 meters below the ocean surface.
Please feel free to let any prospective students contact me for a referral.
Jim White - Long Beach California
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