Top-Tier Talent 6: Maria Millan and Isa Lassinaro on exploring the ocean world, one breath at a time!

July 15, 2023 Ian Dawson Mackay ALL PODCAST EPISODES, LEVEL UP YOUR SKILLS, LEVEL UP YOUR SPORTS PLAYING, REAL-LIFE INSPIRING, TOP-TIER TALENT 1:08:13 0 Comments

TODAY's GUEST are Maria Millan and Isa Lassinaro!

Today’s guest are Maria Millan and Isa Lassinaro!

Maria and Isa, aka ‘Oceangalz’ are free-divers who share their breath-taking videos exploring the depths of the ocean, highlighting the awe inspiring wildlife and beautiful ecosystem below the surface, in the hope to inspire, educate and motivate for changes and protection for the oceans.

In this interview, we discuss topics like free-diving, overcoming fear, wildlife interactions, conservation methods, and how you can make a difference to the oceans in your own life.

#freediving #oceangalz #MariaMillan #IsaLassinaro #ocean #holdyourbrethe #wildlife #conservation #singleuseplastic #pickupyourtrash #recycle #overcomefear #oceanexpedition #exploretheworld

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KEY POINTS, Links & Actions

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

  • The girls were enjoying their hobby anyway, and decided to share their content with others on social media, where it blew up. they now have a loyal following which is growing all the time. Imagine what would happen if you did the same thing with your hobbies? Who knows where it could lead!
  • The girls put their videos out on social media without knowing the in’s and outs on how to do it, and learnt as they went along. You can do the same, you don’t need to know it all, but find training or mentors to help with the skills and knowledge gaps.

  • “So for example for tuna around 60% of all the catch that they get is by catch waste. They throw it away most of it dies most of it doesn’t survive the 60% of what they catch dies and they toss it back in the Ocean. So to catch that little bit of tuna for you to eat over twice. The amount will die for your little piece of Tuna. So that is the thing I love eating fish but the best thing to do is not to buy it at a grocery store. Because it is very very hard to trust any of those labels that say they are sustainably fished. That’s one of the papers that I actually wrote was about sustainable fishing and how it doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, It’s a nice idea but to get those labels. The companies can buy them.. It’s about money not about actions.”

  • “I think number one is know your body know your limits and the only way to do that is to dive more and if you can necessarily dive at first if you don’t have the gear or you maybe don’t have a friend who can dive with you go swimming, go surfing. Do whatever you can do in the ocean or if you don’t have the ocean in the pool just to know your limits so you know how far you can swim so you know you can handle the waves you can kind of get to know your body and how buoyant you are and everything like that just the more time you spend in the ocean. Um, the more you know your body.”
  • Don’t do your sport for the likes or comments, or because someone else demands or expects it, do it because you enjoy it and what you get from it. Keep it fun, don’t over think it, enjy the journey and taking part and you will never lose your way.

  • “Go explore, go in the ocean, if you are not by the ocean because I know not everyone is, the next trip you make maybe make sure to go swim. Maybe go out on one of those Ocean Safaris and do it responsibly … Just find that that thing you can do whether it is giving up commercial fish or if it is maybe checking the person you’re voting for in the next election, checking that wheir values are when it comes to the ocean or environment. Yeah, or seeing how else you can help like different foundations, everyone can help little by little.”

@oceangalzz Did you make it? #challenge #holdyourbreath #shark #savetheocean #explore #deepblue #thalassophobia #foryoupage #apnea #freediving #fyp ♬ original sound – Oceangalz

  • “… we free dive all the time and free diving means we dive without any air. So just one breath and we go down.”
  • The channel is a great highlight of the true beauty and wonder of the ocean, but it is terrifying how we are damaging the waters, over fishing etc species and causing damage throughout. 
  • Don’t be a dick, take your trash when you have been to the beach, in the water etc!

  • “Do not leave your trash behind but I feel like every adult knows not to leave their trash behind. They know it’s bad. The big problem is single use plastic and especially here in America we see it a lot There’s everything is packaged singularly like if you go on to get takeout. It’s in a plastic box and all that plastic has to go somewhere. Sadly, not all of it ends up in the landfills. Some of it ends up in the ocean in the nature. So I think policy change is what needs to be needs to happen so in the bigger higher level. We need to ban all single use plastic because that is very easy to replace. You could just put carbon cardboard instead and they’ve done it in Europe. Um, I’m from Finland and there you barely ever get a plastic box from anywhere. It does not exist even here when I go to the school cafeteria. Everything is packed in plastic in Finland you go to school cafeteria. They give you a plate and you wash the plate.”

  • Enjoy the journey as you grow and learn in the sport. Skills and techniques at the start will seem difficult but as you train, what seemed hard will become your new starting point and eventually you work towards being a master!
  • You should consider completing a Scuba certification course, to learn the skills to keep safe and dive effectively. 
  • “And just opening people’s eyes as much as we can and I’m a strong believer that people don’t do anything unless they care about it and they don’t care. If you’ve never been in the ocean. if you’re scared of swimming. if you don’t scuba dive, if you don’t free dive … you’re not going to care if the ocean is healthy or Not. Of course you would prefer it to be healthy, but you don’t actually do anything about it unless you know about it or unless you see and experience it and that’s why I think our page is important because we have a very, very, wide audience.”
  • It is important to dive with a diving buddy, so if something bad happens, you have someone there to help you get out of a dangerous situation. “The first course was actually focused on what can you do if someone blacks out underwater. So if I’m holding my breath then kind of trying to push myself. I know Isa will be there to go and save me and that’s what it kind of allows me to be comfortable going through shipwrecks and kind of push myself.”
  • Never take a chance when diving, try new challenges when you feel physically able to, mentally prepared and skilled enough, and have safeguards in place, so you are never at risk when you push your skill set and try new experiences. 
  • Do you research when looking at dive schools. The cheapest is not always the best, or safest. Look at the options, and consider supporting the locals over the bigger companies, support companies that help the local ecosystems etc. 
@oceangalzz

An absolute dream 💙

♬ Part of Your World – From “The Little Mermaid” – Halle

  • “… when Isa and I met in the water they were doing cave diving which I’ve never heard of without a without like a regulator or anything. So then we just started going through caves and you just start realizing like ‘Wow, my body can really hold my breath and I’m not dying and I’m going through these caves I’m holding my breath and that’s kind of what made me fall in love with this sport, it’s just you and the water nothing else … you’re kind of pushing yourself and learning about your body as well.”
  • Nature is beautiful and amazing, but like mentioned in the video, it is not a plaything, or something that should be forced to take pictures and interact with. You need to show respect to the animals and not interfere or upset the animals in any way. 

  • “We’re far from the Animal. We stay on the bottom with the animal and that’s where breath hold comes in because we are so comfortable being down there for a while that we just lay on the Bottom. We stay super still. We give the animal its space. And it’s comfortable and that way we can get those zoomed in shots of the animals if we would just go ramen right into the animal and try to get as close as Possible. You would never get that shot then he would be Gone. He would be distressed and then he would be gone in an instance.”

  • The girls develop their skills out of the water, practicing holding their breath, go swimming, surfing etc, building their confidence in their abilities and in the environment they will be working in, so they know what to expect, are physically and mentally prepared and able to enjoy the activity but remain safe throughout! 
  • “…there is very little research on free diving so we don’t really know what our bodies are doing especially those pro divers the best in the world who go to one hundred meters on one breath. We don’t know what is happening to their bodies so that would be amazing to learn about and to put more money into it because freediving doesn’t have money in the sport at all such a new sport.”

LEVEL UP Time WITH THIS KEY LESSON!

“Go explore, go in the ocean, if you are not by the ocean because I know not everyone is, the next trip you make maybe make sure to go swim. Maybe go out on one of those Ocean Safaris and do it responsibly … Just find that that thing you can do whether it is giving up commercial fish or if it is maybe checking the person you’re voting for in the next election, checking that wheir values are when it comes to the ocean or environment. Yeah, or seeing how else you can help like different foundations, everyone can help little by little.” Don’t be a dick, pick up your trash! Don’t scare or injure animals for a photo! Look to reduce plastic use! Enjoy the girl’s videos! 

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About the Author
I’m a podcaster who interviews great examples of people to discuss and highlight the methods, hacks, tips and procedures you can use in your own life to help you develop and better your life. I would definitely not consider myself an expert, so to improve, I ask them and action it in my own life! My personal journey has been marked by awkwardness and awesomeness, OCD and ‘OMG’. I have suffered with depression, shyness, unhappiness and lack of focus and motivation so I know what’s it like to feel lost and hopeless. Back then, I wished I had a podcast to listen to and find actual fixes and concrete action steps and not just unobtainable suggestions and promotion of their products but couldn’t find it … so I made my own!

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