Sebastien Murat—Interview
Posted By Peter Scott on 5 November 2002
Sebastien Murat, a native of Switzerland, divides his time between Bali, Indonesia and Australia, and works as a scuba instructor and underwater consultant for television. His schedule gives him the time to train full-time in his passion: freediving.
PS: I'll start off with the question of your freediving "roots". Talk about what made you choose freediving over the other sports you used to do.
SM: It was purely accidental. My mother, of all people, indirectly introduced me to it after my athletics career came to an abrupt and unfortunate end due to injuries. The first time I tried it I managed to pull out a 6'45" sitting around at home and 7'17" by weeks end which motivated me to switch sports without too much regret. Retrospectively, I don't think I was especially talented for it; I was just extremely fit from all the athletics.
PS: Why do you freedive?
SM: Above all else, there's great joy in being close to nature; it's a revitalizing experience. In truth, I'd be hard pressed to find an activity that would be better suited to my temperamentor that would offer me as many unique, even creative possibilities. Water is such fascinating medium to explore. Apart from that, diving helps clear the head of rubbish thoughts and regain some control. There's a positive spill over to other parts of my life because of it.
PS: I know a lot of freedivers would agree that freediving is a positive force in their lives, the joy of being underwater, shielded from the hubbub of everyday life. For some, it is a hobby; for others it consumes their every waking hour. How does freediving affect your lifestyle?
SM: It's a central part of my life taking most of my time, the remainder shared with family and friends. It fits in relatively well as I'm fortunate enough to be able to train full-time and still put bread on the table.
PS: On your www.amphibious.info website, you promote yourself as a highly accomplished diver. What motivates you to dive deep?
SM: I'm not particularly motivated to dive deep, that's incidental, something that happens when I'm feeling fine. The 'softer' approach to training yields better more lasting and satisfying results. It's no accident that I've kept on improving using such training methods.
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