From Water To Screen: How Freediving Influences Mainstream Culture

Culture is created by our behaviors, our beliefs, and our values. Although freediving was once an obscure practice, it has now become an integral part of the complex tapestry of human existence.

By Jeremy Storton
Editor Deena Lynch

Photo credit © Woonjin Kim

We humans have always seemed to be curious about the next frontier. This curiosity has fueled voyages to faraway lands, outer space, and the bottom of the ocean. This wanderlust has also led us inward into the mind and the potential of human performance. Perhaps this is why we have begun to see freediving slowly work its way into mainstream culture over the past few decades. What began as a mysterious practice of coastal tribes and extreme water people now manifests in Hollywood movies, documentaries, TV shows, fashion, and art. Even if the general public didn’t recognize it at first, freediving has become a part of the collective cultural consciousness.

“Freediving silently flowed into modern culture like a tide that raises ships in the middle of the night. It emerged through film, myth, and legend and appealed to our deep desire for peace, mindfulness, and connection.”

American TV shows like Flipper in the 1960s and the ill-fated Man From Atlantis in the 1970s seemed to support the notion formed by Jacques Cousteau that we were meant for the ocean. Every episode of Flipper was a new adventure for a water-based, diving family and their faithful dolphin friend. Man From Atlantis was about the last survivor of an underwater race and lasted only one season. But the protagonist successfully taught millions how to dolphin kick. Both shows planted seeds in the mainstream for harvesting decades later.

Photo credit © @andac.kazar

When a freediver steps on deck, long blades or monofin in hand, they command attention. © @oliferalina.

How The Big Blue Became A Cult Movie

It wasn’t until 1988 when freediving made its boldest cultural statement in the form of a fictional story of real freedivers, Jacques Mayol and Enzo Molinari, who was based on Enzo Maiorca, in the film Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue). Audiences became enraptured by a beautiful and esoteric version of European culture. The film's aesthetic combined a dreamy foreign film with campy '80s sequencing and humor. For the first time, the general public was exposed to the intense beauty and emotional depth of competitive freediving. It mesmerized not just divers, but anyone who wanted to explore themselves and the aquatic environment. Meanwhile, The Big Blue didn’t just portray the world of freediving, it mythologized it.

Hollywood Holds Its Breath

More recently, A-list movie stars have trained in freediving to achieve authenticity in movies such as Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Suicide Squad (2016), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Tom Cruise, famous for performing his own incredible stunts, is said to have held his breath for over six minutes, while Kate Winslet beat Tom Cruise’s time with an oxygen-assisted breath hold of over seven minutes while filming Avatar. Even world-renowned magician David Blaine broke the oxygen-assisted breath-hold record in 2008 with a time of 17 minutes and 4 seconds… on the Oprah Winfrey show.

*We must make the point that none of these movies or shows depict a realistic view of freediving, as this is, after all, Hollywood. To learn effective and safe freediving techniques, sign up for a course. You can also watch this video of Vitomir Maričić, World Record Holder and Molchanovs Instructor Trainer Developer, explaining the freedive scene in Mission: Impossible.

Long ago, in the coastal areas where I grew up, stories floated around like wisps of vapor, of people who would spearfish and dive without SCUBA gear. Everyone heard about these people, yet no one seemed to know any of them personally. Eventually, freedivers began to emerge and amass their own following. In the early 2000s, our own Natalia Molchanova began freediving, ultimately bringing freediver education to the world. Legendary freediver Tanya Streeter, culled public interest in her 2012 TED Talk, which revealed the intense mental athleticism of freedivers.

Freefalling into the big blue. © @below.the.wave.

Freediving form follows the function. © @oliferalina.

Social media has enabled freedivers to share visual stories that inspire audiences worldwide. Some of these freedivers include Guillaume Néry, William Trubridge, Julie Gautier, Kimi Werner, Allesia Zecchini, and our founders, Natalia Molchanova and Alexey Molchanov. Netflix (and other platforms) have released movies and documentaries that revolve solely around the world of freediving, inspiring the next generation of competitive freedivers.



Besides the movies, freediving has manifested in new cultural expressions with the rise of mermaiding, underwater dancing, and the photographers and fashion designers who accommodate both. However, freediving didn’t gain public attention through a popular celebrity; that’s not its style. Freediving silently flowed into modern culture like a tide that raises ships in the middle of the night. It emerged through film, myth, and legend and appealed to our deep desire for peace, mindfulness, and connection.

Freediving become works of art. ©

Today, freediving is taught in most major cities, both on the coasts and inland areas. It is featured in the wellness and tourism industries, and promoted by elite and weekend warriors, as well as mothers and fathers. What was once considered fringe is now familiar. Freediving has, in one way or another, infiltrated our lives, and it has done so not from the shallowness of a trend but rather from its depth of experience.

Take your freediving to the next level and check out a Molchanovs freediving course near you. Stay connected – with Molchanovs and the best training methods! Subscribe to our magazine for the latest news.