William Trubridge
on Zen and Freediving
“Do you remember what it was like to hold your breath underwater, in complete darkness and for what it seemed like forever? It was your first breath hold and had no real beginning. It ended with your birth and your first breath.”
It seems we forget that we came into this world holding our breath. To William Trubridge, this is simply unforgettable.
His special relationship with the depths began in his childhood, sailing on a boat with his family from the UK to Aotearoa. Water was his playground. Competing with his brother, they would snorkel deeper and deeper, trying to see who the “diving” champion was. The uniqueness of these underwater sensations remained imprinted in his soul, so he decided to pursue this mesmerizing activity that became his calling.
He started reading his mother’s yoga books, using bandhas to control the energy in the body, learning to harness the mammalian “dive reflex”. Studying with Umberto Pellizari and the Apnea Academy, he followed the world's most Zen extreme sport - freediving.
William Trubridge became the first freediver to dive at Dean's Blue Hole, the site of the Vertical Blue event he initiated. In the same spot, he broke his first world record and, since then, another 17 followed. He is the first human to descend to 102m and the first one to complete an underwater crossing of a major channel, swimming only underwater between New Zealand's North and South Islands.
In his memoir, “Oxygen”, William writes about how “freediving strips away everything extraneous to your consciousness which takes away your senses, thoughts, sensations of having a body, and your idea of the future and past. These are like pieces added to us as we exist on the surface. They melt or fall away when we're underwater, so it reveals to us our true nature, which is just pure consciousness." Freediving is the only fully aquatic sport and a way you can completely be "immersed in the medium of liquid, an extraordinary experience, a way to discover more about yourself!”
As a TED Speaker, William talks about “Smiling Into the Abyss”, about how the body and mind’s nuanced functions, once unlocked, can be used to maintain a state of calm that can be regenerated continuously: “Just as we can dive beneath the surface of the ocean, so we can dive into the subconscious, to access greater powers of problem-solving and creativity.”
Read William Trubridge’s answers for Inspirators and remember, “the less of yourself you take down, the lighter the load”!
Thank you, William, for being a Zen Freediver!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: William Trubridge
Company / Institution: Vertical Blue
Title: Founder; Speaker
Website: https://www.williamtrubridge.com/ ; https://verticalblue.net/
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-trubridge-5706746/
Country of origin: UK; New Zealand
Country you currently live in: Japan; The Bahamas
Your definition of Regeneration: To me, regeneration means occupying a state of what’s called in Zen “a beginner’s mind.” Assuming you know very little and that there’s still a lot to learn. Through that process, you become more open. You keep on growing, on developing, compared to someone who assumes that they’re already at the point of arrival. It’s a constant regeneration of the idea of “being a beginner”, on always taking first steps.
Main business challenge you face: Marketing and Sales. I am aware that, in our age, it’s something you cannot necessarily escape. I have a system that supports people when it comes to stress relief and anxiety and I know that it can solve many problems. I also have a freediving platform where I publish great content. But, long story short, I am not good at “selling” them and I honestly don’t like doing it!
Main driver that keeps you going: In business? In training? In life? Not sure, it’s a question I never pondered on. Most probably, the answers would be different in all three cases. In business, it’s the need to take care of my family. In training, it’s my love for exploration and defining what “potential” means, what we, as human beings, are capable of doing underwater. It’s the urge to discover what we can do in this regard as a species. In life, in general, it’s probably the desire to be the best version of myself!
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Another thing I have not necessarily thought of. I don’t think there is much utility in dwelling on your successes. I am more interested in thinking about my weaker points and about the ways of turning them into strengths!
The traits you most value in others: Honesty. Integrity, in so many ways, having values and ethical standards. Discipline. Hard work. Compassion. Empathy.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Being around my kids, eating and playing together, putting them to sleep! Also, every moment I get to explore a new stretch of water is always exciting!
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you:
“Sustainability”, the word itself, when it is used as an adjective.
It’s something that my father, David Trubridge, lectures on as well: “Are you? Or are you not sustainable?” Being sustainable can be funnily compared to being pregnant: you cannot be less or more pregnant. You either are or you aren’t. Gradations can be confusing!
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: We are living in a fast-changing world, and there is massive potential for rapid solutions. I have been very interested in studying and learning more about the impactful effects of AI. I used to be more concerned about environmental issues, but now I feel more troubled by this one because I find it harder to solve.
The younger generation should be putting their intelligence and hope in this direction. It is a pretty overwhelming topic, but they have all the resources to fix it!
Books that had a great impact on you: Herman Hesse and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s books.
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again: Thin Red Line; All Quiet on the Western Front; Deer Hunter, 2001: A Space Odyssey; Cowspiracy; Seaspiracy.
Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently:
Website: Tim Urban’s “Wait but Why?”
Podcasts: Sam Harris, Lex Fridman, Steven Bartlett, Chris Williamson, Andrew Huberman, Tom Bilyeu.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Everything that’s good! From classical to contemporary, and electronic. Asaf Avidan, Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds are amazing artists!
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: All 71 places I visited have left a mark on me in different ways, but most probably the ones that are dear to my heart are the ones that have connotations around the sea and the ocean and what I can do in it!
I have fond memories from Tahiti, Tonga, Vanuatu (where I started freediving at the age of 8), Japan (the roots of my partner and children), Honduras and the Bahamas (where I currently live).
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow:
David Trubridge – my father, who speaks eloquently and valuably about these regeneration and sustainability issues.
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: We need to learn more about anything related to "plastic pollution in oceans"! It’s increasing at a rate that’s out of control!
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: The smartest people who work on fixing AI "problems". If we solve this issue, it will solve all our issues!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Technology, once again. It’s one of the most complicated, difficult things we’ve ever worked on as a human species.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today:
Adaptability. The pace of change is so quick at the moment that leaders need to be continuously updating themselves and learning on the go.
Balance, especially between empathy and a sense of authority. We can go too far in both directions. If you are heading too much in the direction of authority, it becomes a dictatorship. You are not leading by example, but dictating, giving orders. If you are heading too much in the direction of empathy, it can be tricky, as you might start trying to please everyone and you are no longer a leader because you will cater for everyone and that is always impossible. Balance helps leaders walk on this high tightrope.
The Inspirators you are endorsing for a future edition are:
David Trubridge
Kilian Jornet Burgada
The quote that inspires you:
“If you don’t practice, you don’t deserve to dream!” (Andre Agassi)
“Confidence without evidence is delusion. You don't become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror, but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are. Give yourself so much goddamn proof that you are the version of yourself want to be, and you'll become them. Outwork your self-doubt.” (Alex Hormozi)
Your quote that will inspire us:
