Free Descent

Updates, updates, updates! Myles finally moved to Spain, dove in the Mediterranean Sea, and is never leaving! Jake hit 400 dives in San Diego and booked a last minute trip to Bonaire! After over a year of FDP, we finally got to sit down with our good friends Walt (@sweendogscuba) and Kelsey (@souldivers_). Walt and Kelsey have to wildly different stories about becoming dive professionals, but they...

Dive 26: Myles and Jake cap off one year of Free Descent by recapping their most recent adventures along with special guest Lydia! Myles and Lydia tell tales of ice diving and the North American Ice Diving Festival, and Jake talks about his adventures in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean. We wrap up with a couple of questions for the listeners, so let us know your thoughts on Instagram at @Fre...

Jake has been MIA for a month and Myles is gearing up to FINALLY get under the ice with Midwest School of Diving. Listen into our special interview with Mark Dugger from Midwest School of Diving, host of the North American Ice Diving Festival. Mark gives us insight into ice diving logistics, how the festival works, who will be there, how to get involved, and how they came to be the largest ice div...

Myles and Jake have dry gills, they NEED to get in the water! Hear all about their upcoming dive plans for February before jumping into an exclusive interview with Alexis Jabbour and Kelsey Elliot from the Buddy app. The Free Descent and Buddy teams have grown up alongside each other this past year, so this interview was a reunion for all of us. Listen in to get the scoop on the app's newest featu...

Saving our oceans has always been cool, but the Force Blue team makes it that much cooler! Jake and Myles interview Steve "Gonzo" Gonzalez on his work to unite Special Operations veterans with marine science and conservation projects. Click the link below to get involved! As promised, the winner of our first ever MERCH contest will be announced at some point in the episode. Listen to hear if you w...

It's a new year, and we are planning the best 12 months yet! We ring in 2024 with goalsetting for not only ourselves, but the pod of course! Our community plays a huge part in our podcast goals, so don't forget to participate in our merchandise competition! To win, you have to:  - Follow us on Instagram - Like and share the post about this show - Comment your goals and tag a friend on the post - S...

Dive 21 is CHOCK FULL of the hottest (and coldest) dive discussions! Women in diving, women in management, social media, Canadian diving, military diving, dos and don'ts of ice diving, GEAR, travel, instructing, community building, AND MORE! Join us as we give Myles a proper send-off into her next adventure (0:00 - 12:45) and we chat with April Weickert, manager at Torpedo Rays Scuba in Halifax, N...

We made it to Dive 20! To celebrate, we share our gift guide for divers and those who love us (00:36-11:30), then chat with our favorite recurring guests, Dani DiLorenzo and Alysha Acosta about their amazing experience in Malaysia competing to become Miss Scuba International (11:30-46:00), and then cap it all off with the First Annual Dive Flag Awards! Jake's photo prints are available at: www.jak...

Jake and Myles just got back from DEMA and are JAZZED (bad New Orleans joke) to tell you about it! Also hear about Myles' most recent GIRL DIVES (she jumped back in the water as soon as she got home). Finally, hear the tell-all about the DEMA show floor, the after parties, and DEMA 2025 HERE! Bonus: listen to short interviews from some of the amazing people and organizations we had the pleasure of...

This week's episode is exclusively about the Modoc, the ship of the Earthrace conservation that ventured among the Chinese Overseas Fleet of squid fishing vessels to film documentary footage highlighting the global overfishing problem.  We interview Jack Bundle and Josh Martin, two crewmembers of the Modoc, about how they got involved with Earthrace, their experiences working on the boat, and what...

Jake is in Hawaii for a wedding and diving all over Oahu! Jake has also been made a Dive with Buddy ambassador. We also talk about Myles' most recent dives, and what we're looking forward to at DEMA! (0:35-13:40) Then, Scuba Queen CA Alysha Acosta joins us to talk about her journey, the importance of bringing equity to diving, and what she's looking forward to as Miss Scuba International kicks off...

Just in time for Sharktober, we chat with David McGuire about the race to save sharks and what sharks mean to our oceans and our above-water world (0:36-24:40). We then sit down with shark attack survivor Maria Korcsmaros, who tells us her story of attack, survival, and advocacy (24:45-53:10).  RESOURCES:  Shark Stewards: www.sharkstewards.org Run4Sharks: www.run4sharks.org Maria's Story: https://...

Jake is back! He shares his thoughts on his amazing liveaboard diving trip to Indonesia's Forgotten Islands, including how he got through some of his jetlag, changing money, the benefits of a liveaboard trip, and how adjusting to time zones is going. If you haven't listened already, this is a great complementary episode to Dives 14 and 15, so check those out as well! ~Reminder~ Free Descent is for...

Jake and Myles have a more casual discussion about how diving makes them feel during fun dives, classes, and solo dives. End of the story, diving probably isn't cheaper than therapy, but it's still our preferred way to process life!  **Reminder** Free Descent is intended as entertainment, and not as a replacement for formal dive instruction. Always follow the instructions of your divemasters and i...

We've crossed the six-month mark of Free Descent, and to celebrate, Myles and Jake talk about the trips they've been on and are planning for. Myles just got back from Hawaii, and Jake is headed for a liveaboard trip in Indonesia. We talk packing, prepping, gear to bring or leave at home, and Myles' tragic tale of woe at the Tijuana Airport. If you've got travel tips, tricks, or stories, share them...

Myles and Jake talk all things dive theory and dive medical knowledge with Seth Tufvesson, a commercial diver, hyperbaric chamber operator, and PADI Course Director. He tells us his favorite dive theory facts, how hyperbaric chambers are used for more than just diving, and why he keeps learning new things! **Reminder** Free Descent is intended only as entertainment, not as a replacement for formal...

Jake and Myles talk everything divemastering - helping out with classes, working on boats/ in dive shops, what we love about DMs, what we wish they'd do better, and why we need them! *Reminder* Free Descent is intended as entertainment only and not to replace formal dive instruction. Always follow the directions of your divemasters and instructors, and dive within the limits of your training and e...

Jake and Myles chat about healthy habits, healthy routines, and how diving fosters both mental and physical health. We also talk about how we prepare for dives physically and mentally, to make sure we stay healthy! Reminder: Free Descent is intended to be entertainment, and is not intended to replace formal dive instruction. Remember to listen to and obey your divemasters and instructors, and alwa...

Join us in welcoming Stream2Sea to the Free Descent community! We interview Autumn Blum and Mike Malterre on their work to improve sustainable cosmetics and bring us truly reef-safe products. **Reminder** Free Descent is not intended to replace formal dive instruction, so always follow the directions of your divemasters and instructors. Remember to dive within the limits of your training and exper...

Welcome to SHARK WEEK with Free Descent! We start by chatting about the dive myths we hear most often, and some submitted by our listeners. Next up to celebrate this very important week, we've got an interview with Fins Attached. Listen with us as we learn about this research organization that is dedicated to preserving and fighting for the existence (and survival) of sharks, turtles, and other en...

The women are taking over for this special Women's Dive Day episode! We chat about recent and upcoming classes and interview 3 amazing women in the dive industry: Scuba Cindy, founder of Scuba Women, Emily Strand, our shop manager and PADI MSDT, and Lydia O'Connor, our colleague and PADI Open Water Instructor. Listen in to hear 4 female perspectives on women in the dive industry and how we can enc...

Jake started teaching classes and asks Myles for tips, tricks, and advise for his ocean dives. We welcome on Jim Elliott and Tina Marie Hernandez from DiveHeart. We learn all about the adaptive diving techniques that he has crafted over the years, and his successes through his time working with divers from all walks of life. Last but not least: What should Jake name his dive float? Tell us in the...

Myles and Jake spent a weekend as volunteers, learning and working with Life Waters (www.lifewaters.org) as they introduced disabled veterans to scuba diving as a way to heal from their injuries and remain active through disability. Teaching adaptive divers was an incredibly motivating and humbling experience, and we want to thank the Life Waters team for having us as part of the weekend. This epi...

Dive 7 is all about independence! Jake is done shadowing and started teaching his first independent classes this week, and Myles is fun-diving with her former students and seeing cool stuff. One of Jake's IDC instructors, Jason Watters, stopped by to talk about running an independent shop and all the pros and cons of working outside of a large dive shop/retail store. **Reminder** Free Descent is i...

Jake went to Scuba Show in Long Beach, CA last weekend to see the latest in greatest in scuba gear and tech, meet new friends and see old ones again! Here are some sneak peeks at the content we've got lined up all summer as we continue the amazing conversations we started at the show! Buddy App - 2:10 to 5:25 Palau - 5:25 to 8:35 Costa Rica - 8:35 to 9:45 Scuba Queen USA 9:45 to 24:00 If you misse...