Georgina Miller
George has always been interested in the underwater world and started by taking her scuba diving course in 1998. George then went onto become certified as a PADI MSDT Instructor in 2005.
She has been freediving since 2007 and quickly became a member of the UK National team. George has since been a huge meme her of the team amassing 6 national records, with a personal best of over 7 minutes in static apnea.
George is an SSI instructor trainer and co founded Aquacity freediving school in 2015 with her husband Daan Verhoeven.
George has a strong background in yoga and swimming and believes self awareness and taking things at your own pace is a crucial part of freediving.
She loves competing but also exploring Cornwall’s wild coasts and freediving with wildlife.
Daan Verhoeven
In 2005 Daan did his first basic freediving course after being inspired by a pod of dolphins that were majestically swimming around him. In 2006 he started competing after attending a couple of events as a spectator and really enjoying the atmosphere. He quickly started setting national records and by 2011 he had set national records in 5 of the 6 competitive disciplines. Beast!
Taking a break from competing but still keen to stay involved, daan decided to help out as a safety diver. In 2011 and 2012 he was voted ‘best safety diver’ by AIDA members. 2011 was also the year he became an instructor, and the year a friend lent him a serious underwater camera.
As a trained graphic artist and photographer, Daan was hesitant to see if his passions would combine, but as the camera clicked underwater, so did something in his mind, and now it’s rare to see him underwater without a camera. His work has been published in newspapers, magazines and major websites, and he has shot video for TV programs, commercials and documentaries.
Alex Atkins
Alex learned to freedive in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength. He is a competitive freediver, Level 3 instructor, explorer, ex- marine and a keen Cornish surfer. Alex is the super hero of the team!
Alex won the UK national champion award in 2019, meaning he scored the highest ranking points over all for any man in the UK- with some very tough competition.
Alex is a relaxed and competent instructor, who is extremely knowledgeable, passionate and loves to share his love of the seas and freediving with his students. The feedback he gets from his students is always positive- with his patient and gentle approach.
Luca Anselmi
Luca learned to freedive in 2018 at the tender age of 16, but has been messing about in the water his whole life. He became an instructor in 2020 in order to share his love of Cornish oceans.
He went to his first competition in Cyprus in 2021, being the youngest man ever to compete for the UK- he passed a depth of 50m, which is seriously impressive. He loves nothing more than safety diving for supermodels in shipwrecks at depth, freediving with sharks and exploring the Cornish coastline, and in his spare time works on the family farm.
Luca is a brilliant instructor, who is keen to share his love of the water. He has a great sense of humour and is a wonderful asset to our team.
Emma Harper
Emma Harper- ‘Mischief the mermaid’
Emma comes from a background of competitive swimming. She has been a professional mermaid for a number of years, modelling in places such as Mexico as well as the cold waters of Cornwall. She regularly washes up on our beaches to talk to children and adults alike about the wonders of mermaiding and the importance of ocean conservation and learning to swim. She is a fantastic, passionate instructor, Freediver, model, conservationist, mother and magical creature.
Pssst…. Mermaids are real!
Emma joined our team as a mermaid instructor in 2022, and cant wait to share her ‘mermazing’ stories and love of the seas. She has incredible cold water tolerance and spends hours swimming in her tail.
Ethan Grainger
In a similar vein to those who flocked to the sea after seeing The Big Blue, Ethan first signed up for a course after getting inspired by the documentary ‘My Octopus Teacher’, seeing the potential of this way of getting closer to the world beneath the waves. It very quickly became a regular hobby and means of exploring, before turning into a slight obsession.
From a background of outdoor adventure, including climbing, mountaineering, expeditions and teaching in outdoor education, Ethan has always felt that the more you give in the natural environment the more it gives back. Freediving quickly became the ‘go to’ and using every spare weather window and time available to get in the water, Ethan combined this with his love of teaching and certified as an instructor at the beginning of 2023.
Ethan has yet to find a UK octopus, despite its huge influence on his choice of lifestyle, however he remains hopeful and can often be seen staring longingly at the place one was ‘last sighted’, with absolutely no envy to those who happen across it…