Global | The Positive Impact of Freediving with Beth Neale

South African Freediving Champion and Ocean Conservationist Beth Neale talks about how she turned her freediving career into a life-mission to empower local communities and children by teaching them how to freediving and breath-hold.

Beth Neale is the co-founder of the freediving program 'Kids On the Reef' a 2day freediving program in Bermuda in collaboration with the Bermuda Zoological Society and the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo.  This program helps children to learn freediving and at the same time, enables them to learn more about the ocean and become future ocean guardians.

Today Beth Neale is 4x South African Freediving Champion and current African Continental Record Holder (50m without fins) also known as the deepest freedive ever accomplished in Bermudian waters.

In this episode Beth Neale talks about:
- The program Kids On Reef and the impact it had on the community
- Freediving in the Maldives and diving with locals
- The positive changes on adults and children observed over time thanks to her freediving workshops

Follow Beth on Instagram at @onebreathbeth

The host: Dolores Semeraro
www.doloressemeraro.com

Season 1 - Episode 21
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Dolores Semeraro is a sought-after international tourism keynote speaker and sustainable tourism marketing professional.

Dolores actively works in the tourism and travel conference space as a keynote speaker and moderator, gracing the stages of international tourism summits and trade shows.

As a professional keynote speaker, Dolores’ speaking topics encompass sustainable digital marketing for the tourism industry, how to establish digital mastery, and learn how to identify today’s traveler’s needs.

During the pandemic, Dolores launched her podcast show named ‘Truth Behind Travel Podcast’ where she regularly interviews tourism and travel industry leaders and representatives on how to rebuild the future of travel.

In the recent years, Dolores has continued to work and live on beautiful islands such as Mauritius, where she started her tourism and hospitality marketing consultancy working closely with the Mauritian luxury hospitality sector as corporate trainer.

According to her international clients, Dolores is a gifted trainer and intuitive workshop facilitator.

She is now based in Europe where she actively works as keynote speaker and corporate trainer in the tourism industry.

www.doloressemeraro.com

dolores@doloressemeraro.com

Instagram @dolores_semeraro

LinkedIn @dolores.sem

Transcript

Dolores Semeraro  0:00 
Welcome to Truth Behind Travel podcast, the world's first podcast dedicated to travel recovery. I am Dolores Semeraro, and I am on a mission to help tourism organizations and travel professionals to lead a business that restores confidence in travel. If you are looking for a travel podcast that gives you more than just wanderlust and will help you travel better tomorrow, you found the right one. Every week, my travel and tourism industry guests will share with you their stories and insights to help you travel smarter, better and more conscious of the impact you have when traveling.
Subscribe to the show to receive a new episode every Thursday straight to your inbox together with travel tips and best practices directly from my podcast guests.

Hello, and welcome to the podcast we often talk about the impact we have on the planet and the local communities when we travel. So for today's episode, I called in somebody very special, a person that has made having a positive impact on local communities, her life mission. She's a 4x South African freediving champion, an ocean conservationist and a master freediving instructor. She's also a global leader in teaching children freediving and the founder of Aqua Souls. Her story today is going to change the way you think about the underwater world. And the next time you dive into the sea. Also, she literally dropped major news towards the end of the podcast. Let's get started.

Today I have the incredible pleasure to have a dear friend on the podcast and a freediver, a sport, I would say that I'm also passionate about Beth Neale, thank you for being here today.

Beth Neale
hello Dolores, so happy to be chatting with you and connecting with you. It's amazing, especially with travel, our shared passion.

Dolores Semeraro
Oh yeah. Traveling beneath the surface, and that's how we first met I believe, probably six or seven years ago in the Maldives. It was an incredible experience because you as a free diver, you were visiting the resort where I was working. And I just wanted to connect back with you on the podcast.
Why don't you give us an overview and on your background, who you are and what you do and, and why you do it.

Beth Neale
freediving is my greatest passion. I feel at home underwater. So you know, I travel to all these amazing destinations to freedive. But as soon as I go underwater, it feels like I'm home. My background is in wildlife filmmaking actually. So my goal when I was younger, my dream, was to use the power of film to tell amazing stories to inspire people to love the environment, more, and especially the ocean more. And through film, I then transformed into sonic freediving just over 10 years ago now. And that's when I found my purpose. I realized, you know, my role on this planet, which I feel is very lucky.
A lot of people don't realize that for a very long time, or they seek out their entire lives.
So I started freediving realized that was what I was meant to be doing. I became an instructor so that I could share that passion with other people. And I started filming underwater so I could keep sharing laughter with other people visually as well.
When I first met you, you know freediving was my hobby from them that I went on to break 4 South African freediving records. But the record that I currently have is 50 meters constant weight and no fins. So that's breaststroke down and breaststroke up to 50 meters. And it's also the African continental record. That record actually did raise funds for the ocean conservation program that I work on in Bermuda. So all the records that I've done have been to help raise funds to be able to introduce children to the underwater world, which I think is you know, so so, important.

Dolores Semeraro
Tell us a little bit more about the project in Bermuda because that was a project that really connected you with the local communities there.

Beth Neale  5:00 
The program's called kids on the reef. The whole idea is that people come from all over the world to go scuba diving, diving Bermuda, Bermuda is in a beautiful place. Conditions are amazing. Lots of shipwrecks, the outer reefs, extremely beautiful reefs to dive and experience. And yet, you know, unless you see in a lot of places a surprising amount of coastal communities, where the local population has no connection to the underwater world. So the goal of the kids on the reef program is to teach children free diving so as to take them free diving, snorkeling, first, it's a two day program, they go snorkeling on the first day and learn all about the fish. I teach them free diving theory, I teach them how to breathe, how to hold their breath, we do some stretching and yoga, and then they go snorkeling for a lot of them for the first time. And then the second day, they go freediving they start to hold their breath and go down a line. And then they get to practice over a Beautiful, beautiful reef. And the goal there is that you take them into the water, and show them how beautiful the underwater world is, they'll be more inspired to grow up to undertake care of it. So the record that I did all fans when two kids on the reef, which is amazing, and we raised over $20,000

Dolores Semeraro  6:25 
is any one of them, got back to you with a story that has impacted their life and has impacted them in a good way out of the experience of freediving with you?

Beth Neale  6:39 
Because they're getting so big now because I've been teaching in Bermuda for six years. And I was at one of the local beaches were on the south shore of Bermuda. It's really amazing, because you can just do a short entry, some art, and then the reef right there. So I had just come out from freediving and saw a group of kids and they're all holding masks and snorkels. And when they do the program, they get to keep their masks and snorkels. But they look so big. So I thought, Oh, you know, I wonder if it's the older siblings of people, you know, kids have done kids on the reef, and they're letting their brothers or their sisters using masks, you know, as I was walking past them, and I just said, Oh, Coach mermaid coach, Mermaid, Mermaid, and they're like, Oh, we going freediving coach Mermaid? So that was, you know, really, really special. Because to know that they're still continuing to do it, it's so rewarding, because you know that that connection has been made, and that they, they've had that positive experience and the water, and then they were still making use of it. And still having fun out there was really special to see, it'd be interesting to see how many of them, you know, do marine biology, become, you know, maybe go into government and become policy policymakers, where they're helping them, you know, the ocean, whether it be through preventing overfishing, and all things like that. So, through the program, we also, you know, a very powerful thing we teach is also the challenges facing the oceans, and how as individuals, of course, they can make a positive difference,

Dolores Semeraro  8:18 
You have empowered them to believe that this is possible. And this, in a way is having an impact on the local communities. You know, when we travel, we get in touch with the local communities, because at the end of the day, these are the people that are there to welcome us whatever we choose to travel to. And we it's obviously an enriching experience when we connect with those communities, but we have an impact on them. And we can't underestimate that impact. So how could we be more responsible and more conscious about the impact that we have on the local communities when we travel based on your experiences?

Beth Neale  9:04 
As you say,  it's a very brief connection that we have with local communities. So I think there's a huge movement now towards a more conscious way of traveling, and people are aware of their impact in local communities and in their environment or the destination that they visit. I think I think the way you know, we can make a more positive difference when we travel. It's just to spend more time with those local communities and with those people, and it's the local people in these destinations who are the custodians of these destinations. They're the most passionate about it, it's their home. And to have that experience as a traveler is extremely profound. You know, that sounds so much more authentic. I experienced that extremely profoundly recently and loudly as I went to a local island in the Maldives. So there's no room

on that island and it's called fo'mula spelled fuva moolah, but it's a very very, very special Island, not only because it's a local Island and there are no resorts so you having this amazing authentic experience where you really truly connecting with Maldivians and supporting Maldivians by being there. And it's also so special because of the diving and especially the tiger shark diving. So it is insane. You go to the harbor, you go out on the beautiful local dive site and I had the privilege of diving with pelagic divers and the owner Inna is the most passionate ocean and one of the most passionate ocean men I've ever met. And he takes it out on the Dow one minute on the Dow you reach the mouth of the harbor, you get in and there's a tiger sharks swimming and seven meters of water, crystal clear water. It's amazing to be able to support that and be a part of that because that is you know, you're directly supporting local people from that island. And to experience that with we know, through traveling is rarely amazing. And in the Maldives. It's really incredible because Maldivians are such good ocean divers their natural freedivers. But what's amazing about it is we really connected with another passion of mine is empowering women and empowering young girls. Because a lot of times, especially diving, it's a very male-dominated world, women are often you know, not able to dive me and you see that and Maldives, for example. And Muslim culture, they might not feel comfortable going out and diving and doing things like that. In South Africa, Mozambique, for example, in the rural community is still very much traditional, the angles and the woman staying at home looking after the family or looking after the household. Whereas the boys and the men are able to go out and play in the rivers and some emotion and go to the beach. And they have more, you know that experience swimming and being in the water than the woman do. So inna is is taking on one or two women, you know is encouraging women to join him and is going to tip teach them to be divemasters and dive instructors. So there can be some of the first Maldivian women there's very few of them teaching scuba diving and diving, 

Dolores Semeraro  12:30  
I think that the change that comes with tourism, yes can be a disruptive, disruptive change. But it can also be a constructive change. I think constructive change, it's something that doesn't just happen. When you're there when you are connecting with locals as such, I think constructive change starts the moment you plan your holiday, the moment you plan your travel, whether you're traveling with a specific focus on going there to dive with Tiger sharks, or I'm going there just to sit back and relax and read my book on the beach, whatever travel it is the constructive change that we can carry forward. It really starts when we plan that travel, when we look at travel restriction, when you're in 20, the travel industry sort of came to a halt. And those who were still somebody call them brave to travel or adventures that are Oh my god, are you traveling? Are you sure? Why can you just not travel? And a lot of people said, Look, if you do that responsibly, you can still travel, and you can still support this industry. But what I think has happened that a lot of people had time in the industry to reflect Where is my money going? Who and where is my What is my money helping with? Or is it? Is it supporting something do they have? Do they have an extra focus? What is the impact that I'm having on the local community? is the place where I'm going made of 90% of foreigners working there? Or are we supporting the local communities and hiring them? So a lot of people setting asking these questions. So what do you think is the best way to support the local community? before, during, and after traveling? 

Beth Neale  14:22  
Yes, and I think that searchers have become a lot more conscious about that and taking the time to think about it. And as we move from, you know, from what's been happening with the virus of the pandemic is it's the local communities that have been hit the hardest, they are the ones who are suffering the most. And people realize that and I think people naturally want to if they can make a positive difference through traveling, they will do that. So I think what as you say, what people are doing is they're choosing local, a lot more now and are choosing to be at part of their money and their travel going into something positive that can directly impact somebody's life and their family. And I think I saw that, you know, extremely. It was, it was quite devastating to see traveling through Mozambique. My man and I, my partner and I miles. We traveled through Mozambique for seven weeks, four by four up the coast. And people were so happy to see us because I had not seen any tourists and mussels last year, November, December, we hadn't seen tourists for months and months, we will make a point of staying local places and supporting local businesses. 

Dolores Semeraro  15:43  
Yeah, do you think we have the social responsibility? So let's call it social because I'm aiming at talking at them, the social media side of that communication? So let's say you you've experienced this across your road trip in Mozambique, and you've seen places that have been heavily affected by the lack of tourism, do you think it's almost like everybody's responsibility today, whenever we travel, again, to share online, whether that is on social media or on a blog, on their website, or on podcasting, for example, whatever medium, but to share about these local communities, because back in the before COVID, we used to talk about, okay, this is a hidden gem. Okay, nobody knows about this place. And we wanted to stay that way. Because we don't want it to make it like mass tourism. But now we have, I feel we have the responsibility to share the reality of what it means to travel again, and how do we help? Because if we don't do that, how would people then know, the real stories behind you know, the truth behind travel? 

Beth Neale  16:56  
I think that's become a very prominent kind of virtual traveling world. You know, and I've been a part of that, where people travel virtually through what I put out on social media and through what I film in South Africa, in one of our that we have, you know, all the levels as people do. But what happened is in level four, which is one of the strictest levels, the film industry opened up. So there was this amazing opportunity where, you know, the country realized, of course, you have to have cameras out there documenting this historical time. So there was an amazing loophole for us where, as filmmakers, we could go out and get permission to go diving and document know the impact of the virus on coastal communities and the underwater world. And I just run them and I started to realize how powerful that is because people could travel through me. So I do think we have a responsibility to share our experiences, because that, that helps to promote those experiences. But it also helps people to know about them so that they can book them and go, you know, an experience that for themselves. And that's done so powerfully through social media. But also through film, I'm able to showcase the work of local people, at local organizations that are making a very positive difference. I also want to share the stories of others. 

Dolores Semeraro  18:29  
When I saw that you were recently in the Maldives, and you were showcasing many of the freediving sites of this beautiful country that really is about the underwater world. I immediately felt, First of all, I felt connected to the Maldives. And because you were taking me there, and I felt that through you, I was getting to know places of the Maldives that I didn't know existed. So you have made your sport and the work that you do underwater, you've made that a vessel of change, you brought people with you into a new passion. I personally discovered freediving about 10 years ago. And I loved it. But I did I realized that that time that it wasn't a sport that I was practicing, because I wanted to go deeper or I wanted to swim faster or stay underwater longer. I was practicing it because it would make me feel safe in the water. So that is the impact that freediving had on me personally, at that time. So what are the activities that you have conducted that you think have made the biggest impact on the people you've worked with, or the communities you've met? 

Beth Neale  19:45  
I think fundamentally, for me, the most important thing I've realized about what I do and sharing freediving with people is it gives them their own passport to a whole new world. And it's so powerful like for you to feel safe Underwater so if you can go out there in the law Do you feel safe underwater, you're going to have a matter of positive experience. And if you feel fear, and you know, I work with people from those who are terrified to put their face in the water, you know, to those who want to break records and go deeper, and rarely take, you know, push the limits, freediving is amazing. And then it allows you to connect to nature. But it also allows you to connect to yourself and have a better understanding of who you are, how your mind works. You have to be in the present moment to be able to hold your breath and stay underwater. freediving is extremely mental. And, you know, as as an instructor, I'm a master freediving instructor. So I've worked with a lot of people and one of the leaders in teaching children freediving in the world. And so through those experiences, I can see exactly when people they in their head, but they convinced themselves that the physical thing that they cannot do, and therefore they cannot do. Whereas when you work with children, they just do it, they just go ahead. And my goal is more to empower local people so that I can leave and step back, and then they can continue to do that work themselves. 

Dolores Semeraro  21:15  
I think when I look at the ratio of the balance between what do we see of an island destination, out and about in the advertising, you know, in the social media on in general in communication, what's the ratio between the overwater versus the underwater. So when I think about more of these, as I have personally lived and worked there for quite a number of years, I think about the Maldives, my visual memories of Maldives are very much underwater. And then, of course, the majority of them are underwater. But when I look at this kind of destination and their strategies to restore that travel confidence, you know, to work towards travel recovery, they are now looking into any possible experience that would entice the travelers to travel there again. And I think what the Maldives is doing right now is enticing people to experience the underwater world not just, in diving, because Molly's is a world-class diving destination. But finally, at the destination level, to encourage people to consider free diving, we've come from a place of passion for the water. You've started freediving as a hobby. Going through it, learn it through it. And you know nothing really stopped you along your journey you just kept going look where you are right now, probably more than 10 years after, 

Beth Neale  22:55  
You know, for me at the time, I learned freediving, which was when I was the most out of shape I've ever been in depression. And I did a half-day course at a gym in London. So let's dive into London's and I remember, I was really out of shape. As I said, I wasn't in a good space at all. There, there was a group of triathletes who were there they were super fit super strong. And they could not understand how someone like me could hold my breath for so much longer than them. And it was because I was just having fun, but they had turned it into a competition. You know, I could hold my breath for far longer than the super athletes could. And and and that's I think what's so special about freediving, but for me to go from learning freediving at a German London to recently now being in the last few years and teaching people freediving for the first time, the first adult workshop that I did in the Maldives at Lux South Ari, we were on you know we had the float of the Lamb. So we first practice going up and down the line so we can get body position correct, literally a whale. So I came out of the blue because he freedive on a wall and it drops down to quite deep. It's really beautiful. We also get a whale shark from the blue came and said hello and then swam away. And you know, we believed freediving and all around us is about 30 boats looking for whale sharks. And there we are and when to say comes in says hello and then leaves again. I mean, that's their first freediving experience if I wasn't having that. Okay, that's incredible. And it's just very interesting for me because I serve on the side of the mountains is a world-class diving destination. And I would say, you know, for freediving the Maldives is a perfect, perfect, perfect place. 

Dolores Semeraro  24:54  
You just came back at the time of this recording. You just come back from nearly a month. Freedom In the Maldives and teaching free diving and exploring the country, with the Tourist Board and with the hotel operators. So in this in this way, you know, you've, you've really brought your passion and you know what you're passionate about into, you turn it into a mission, not just a job, but really a mission. And that is really pushing you forward. And it's making you become your own agent of change. When I look at the travel industry and the hospitality and tourism industries and how they have been heavily affected, I think that the work that you're doing is instrumental to restart tourism. And under a different light on a different note, perhaps with a little bit more intention, being a little bit more conscious about who we are when we go somewhere. In this case, we want to go underwater, actually, when you look at your monitor your time head, what's next for you? What is your next project,

Beth Neale  25:57  
it's been a great success. What I'm going to do is use that success to carry that momentum forward. Yes, of course, I have to do some office work. So now what you're currently doing is all this content that we've we've been doing and been shooting, and we filming for a TV series. So it started editing the TV series on a channel that's in southern Africa. And it should be licensed International. And it just seems to be growing from strength to strength, and the travel will continue and through filming. But what I'm also focusing on and putting my energy into is going back again, as soon as people are feeling more comfortable to be able to join workshops and be in groups and things like that is to go back to you know what is fundamental, one of my great goals and passions is working with people, and especially working with children. I've developed a certification system for children. So as implementing that in a more formal level, which I'll be able to do, once you can start working with kids again,

Dolores Semeraro  27:11  
you've seen so many local communities deeply, deeply changed now, like impacted in a positive way. But the work that you do, whether you continue doing it, or you're just there for the first step of the journey, and then you know, but it's regenerative. So they kind of can continues moving forward, keep doing it. And then you can focus on other projects. And I think you're doing remarkable work, everybody grab the phone and follow Beth on Instagram. @OnebreathBeth, I'm going to put the link in the show notes of the podcast. It's an incredible channel. If that doesn't make you go freediving or entice you to experience the underwater world, then I don't know what we'll do that. Thank you so much for joining me today. It's been a wonderful conversation. I know you've been very busy, you will be even busier in the weeks ahead.

Beth Neale  28:05  
And that is also because I am going to be a mom! And I found out just before crossing the Mozambican border that I was pregnant. 

Dolores Semeraro  28:23  
Breaking News, breaking news on the podcast. Congratulations! 
Well, thank you so much for sharing all these incredible stories today for sharing a bit of your a bit of your life a bit of a bit of the work that you do so inspiring and also for sharing this amazing news. Congratulations. And I wish you all the best you'll be busy surely. 

Beth Neale  28:51  
Thank you. I can't wait to see where we're gonna be meeting up next. Where in the world? 

Dolores Semeraro  28:57  
Wow, what a conversation we had today. I lived six years in the Maldives and the whole underwater game for me changed when I discovered freediving. Today, thanks to inspiring people like back this sport is not only becoming more accessible and known to even more people, but she champions the sport as a vessel of change, positive impact and resilience. This I believe should be the pillars of restarting healthy tourism. Thank you for joining me today and do share your feedback with a review on Apple Podcasts. I can't wait to read from you. Thank you and see you all next week.