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I still remember the first time I saw Brett diving. I was very impressed to say the least. Watching someone dive down and disappear into the depths for a couple of minutes without a tank is an unusual sight for most. As for me, it was like getting a step closer to a dream that had until then only existed in my imagination.
I was raised in France, and like many there I have watched Luc Besson's "Big Blue" over and over again; visually, the film is beautiful-a window into an unknown world, where humans dive into the sea as effortlessly as dolphins. Watching Brett dive, it was like witnessing those images coming to life. He projected such a different energy, that of a deep connection with the sea and himself.
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It was in 1995 that Brett fulfilled his lifelong dream of living by the sea. Selling everything he had, he moved from New Mexico to the Caribbean to start an entirely new life in and on the water, where he spent 5 years teaching SCUBA and free diving. He reached the level of Master scuba diver trainer with specialties in deep diving, wreck diving and night diving, as well as underwater naturalist, and equipment specialist.
It was during this time that he discovered his passion for breath hold diving. After a one-year training, he set the North American record for the deepest unassisted dive to a depth of -70 m, in a single breath.
The following year he set the World Record in the same discipline to a depth of -81m, which he held for two years. He was then part of the U.S. Free Diving Team, traveling and competing all over the world.
He moved to Hawaii in 2000, where he is pursuing his new passion for underwater video and photography.
I "moved to Hawaii to teach free diving and to inspire others to fall in love with the sea as I did, so that they may understand and develop a deep respect for it. We are all children of the sea, as she is the mother of us all.
Sometimes when you look into the abyss, she looks back and you loose yourself in that gaze. I went to the sea for adventure and mystery. Although I experienced both, I also came upon something much deeper- I found peace, but ultimately I found myself."
Over the last 12 years Brett has spent most of his time underwater. Throughout this journey, he has accumulated over 5000 scuba dives, 2 major records in the free diving world, and has become an expert in the marine life of the Hawaiian Islands.
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I moved to Hawaii when I was 15, in 2001.
I was born in Tokyo, and raised in Paris, France. Although I am originally Japanese, I speak English and French the best, and my origins are somewhat blurred. I do not feel tied to one particular country, but if I had to choose one place I loved most, I would probably say the ocean (although French fashion and bread do have an undeniable attraction!)
I had the chance of traveling to many corners of the globe until now, and consequentially dive in many oceans. As a result of that, I have developed a strong bond with the ocean, which only deepened when I moved to the Big Island.
As I look back, I realize now that the ocean greatly triggered the journey back to myself. When diving, or swimming amidst a pod of dolphins, I feel a deep sense of connection with myself, and all that surrounds me. It is a very familiar feeling, which resonates with my essence, and never fails to remind me how infinite and unbounded I am.
Swimming with the spinner dolphins in Hawaii, or with Humpback Whales in Tonga- all these experiences have amounted to a genuine connection with the sea and its creatures. I would like to continue to deepen this relationship by exploring as many facets of our planet’s oceans as possible, and share this beauty with the public.
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