NSP:317 5 spearos learning to be freediving instructors in Ahmed, Bali | Matty and Liv, Noffs, Rhys (No Viz) and Chiz

NSP:317 5 spearos learning to be freediving instructors in Ahmed, Bali | Matty and Liv, Noffs, Rhys (No Viz) and Chiz

A false-positive drug swab on the podcast recorder, a speargun declared at the airport, a phone lost forever somewhere up a Balinese hill — and that’s all before anyone gets wet. This one’s a proper fly-on-the-wall: no Shrek behind the desk, just five of the Noob Spearo crew — Matty, Liv, Noffs, Rhys (No Viz Adventures) and Chiz — handing the mic around in Amed while they work through their freediving instructor course with Adam Sellars at The Pressure Project. You’ll hear Rhys talk through his first-ever LMC on day one (and why his ego put him there), the mouthfill “great mystery” that throws every spearo sideways at 15 metres, Adam’s nana-voice-and-poo-emoji trick for shutting up the negative voice on a breathe-up, and the quietly massive idea of diving with no plan B. It’s Full Froth, No Ego in the flesh — blokes and a legend coming up short, laughing about it, and getting better the next day. If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens on an instructor course, or you’ve thought about crossing from spearo into proper freediving, this is your backstage pass. (Quick caveat, straight from Shrek: these guys are learning in live time, so take the technical stuff with a grain of salt.)

Matty, Liv, Noffs, Rhys @novizadventures and Chiz Spearfishing Gallery

Important Timestamps

  • 00:00:50 — Shrek sets the scene: five spearos off to Amed to become freediving instructors with Adam Sellars, and why this one’s a fly-on-the-wall.
  • 00:01:00 — A heavy shout-out: three Australian spearos lost to sharks in recent months, and a hint that future shark episodes are coming.
  • 00:01:40 — Happier news — Shrek and Krystal welcome Grace Evelyn, their first girl after four boys.
  • 00:04:40 — The travel saga begins: Liv’s “just checking in” phone call the night before saves Noffs’s whole trip.
  • 00:06:00 — How an auto-generated “Ryan James James Noffke” nearly stopped Noffs boarding before he even left Mackay.
  • 00:06:30 — The golden rule of flying with a speargun (never say the G-word) — and how Noffs couldn’t lie to the officer and ended up declaring it.
  • 00:08:00 — The podcast recorder gets swabbed and lights up positive — a full security debacle that turned out to be a false positive.
  • 00:09:30 — Rhys loses his phone somewhere on the drive up and never sees it again.
  • 00:13:00 — The big one: Rhys walks through his first-ever LMC during a static, including the strange out-of-body feeling.
  • 00:17:30 — “You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the levels of your training” — why drilling recovery breaths matters.
  • 00:18:00 — Rhys on ego vs froth, and knowing when to push mentally and when to stop physically.
  • 00:23:30 — The instructor requirements laid out: 3:30 static, 75m dynamic, 32–40m on the line, plus an assignment and a 30-minute presentation.
  • 00:36:00 — Adam’s mental tricks for intrusive thoughts on a breathe-up: the nana voice and the poo emoji.
  • 00:37:30 — Depth contractions explained — why they’re not the CO2 contractions you think they are.
  • 00:39:30 — Rhys’s streamlining tip: hands up on the ascent, then ride the buoyancy.
  • 00:43:30 — Mouthfill, explained from scratch by people who’d never heard of it 48 hours earlier — the M-sound, the glottis lock, and why it throws everyone off.
  • 00:48:00 — Adam’s breathe-up routine that gave Noffs his most comfortable diving in ages.
  • 00:51:00 — The two keys to freediving, per Adam: equalisation and relaxation.
  • 00:53:00 — Adam’s three-day silent retreat story, and the roommate made physically sick by his own thoughts.
  • 00:55:00 — Diving with “no plan B” — the most hard-hitting idea of the trip, and how it bumps against listening to your body.
  • 00:57:30 — Why free immersion “feels like cheating” to a spearo (and why a bunch of them PB’d it anyway).
  • 01:00:00 — Instructor lessons learned: don’t be afraid to speak up and tell people what they need to do to pass.
  • 01:02:00 — Honest Amed travel advice: arrive 3–4 days early, and the night noises (geckos, dog fights, roosters, prayers over the speakers).
  • 01:09:00 — Why Liv and Matty did a CPR, first aid and oxygen course — including the mate who put a dive knife into an artery.
  • 01:10:30 — Oxygen tickets, the green whistle and restocking the first aid kit for remote trips.
  • 01:13:00 — Shrek’s outro: these legends are teaching and assisting on Noob Spearo courses, and a tease for the next episode out on the rumpongs.

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The crew:

Mentioned in the episode:

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Audio Engineering by James Paterson

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