She blacked out while underwater, but it didn’t stop her from pursuing her freediving passion

Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there.

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Just seconds before she was about to surface from the depths of the ocean, Lim Anqi felt darkness closing in on her as her body reacted to hypoxia, a condition brought about by a lack of oxygen.

But instead of panic, the experience actually left her feeling at peace.

"It was only two or three seconds, but in my memory, it was a much longer time", maybe at least 10 to 20 seconds, said Anqi of the moment she lost consciousness.

This near-death incident occurred while the Singaporean freediver was preparing for the world championships last year in Honduras, practising for her 51-metre dive (about the height of a 15-storey building).

Freediving is a sport where divers swim vertically into the ocean and up again on a single breath, and the blackout experience was her first in almost five years of practising the sport.

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"It felt like I was transported to another space, it was not a scary experience, even though it looked scary on video," she shared of her experience, prompting her to wonder if "that could be what it's like when death approaches you, a sense of peace before you pass".

Thankfully, safety divers on standby brought her up to the surface quickly, where she regained consciousness.

After the close shave, it was a struggle for Anqi to get over the anxiety and "mental block" when she attempted the same dive again.

But conquer her fears she did.

The 37-year-old went on to set four national records during her time in Honduras, including a national record for 62m in the free immersion discipline (while holding on to a rope).

A few months later in November, she placed third for the 50-metre dive at the Aida Sabang International Freediving Competition in Aceh, Indonesia.

Other than wanting to overcome her fear, Anqi had another impetus to perform well — she had put in $20,000 of her own savings and crowdsourced for additional funds to meet her training and competition needs that year.

Mind over matter

Freediving may seem like a dangerous sport as you are mostly underwater without any external source of oxygen, but Anqi says professionals know the safety precautions to take, such as never to dive alone. "In competition, I believe there's only been one accident where unfortunately, there was a loss of life," she added.

Another common misconception?

"People think it's just about how long you can hold your breath for, but it's more than that. For the record, she can hold her breath for about 2.5 minutes on a 51-metre dive.

"You must be able to withhold the pressures of the ocean, the deeper you dive the more the pressure gets so you need to constantly equalise the airspaces in your body."

It's a sport that requires you to balance your physical ability with your mental focus and "being able to relax" is key, which is why freediving is a form of meditation to her.

"It's probably the only sport where you're not breathing," she remarked pointedly.

After graduating with first class honours from Nanyang Technological University's accountancy course, Anqi worked in marketing at a bank for several years. In 2010, following the global financial crisis, she quit her corporate job to "take a break".

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That break soon extended into a year and then even longer, as she pursued her passion travelling around the world from the Philippines to Mexico, first as a scuba diving instructor, and then a few years later, as a freediver and trainer.

"I wouldn't say I looked at it as a career, it was just something that I really wanted to do. I wanted to explore different countries, I had this goal to go to all the different oceans in the world, and to see what is out there. And teaching diving was just a way for me to fulfil that dream, so that was what I did."

Family acceptance

Though she's been on this journey for a number of years, it was only last year that Anqi felt she gained some acceptance and recognition from her family

"(Initially) my family and friends were of course worried about my financial situation and wondering if it was the right thing to do… because over here, our society is still very concerned about career, about jobs, about financial wealth and stability, so I didn't really get much understanding on their part," shared Anqi.

But she says the turning point came after her wins in the freediving arena last year, when they finally said to her: "Hey, I'm so proud of you, I read about your results and congratulations," she said.

And it was with emotion that she stressed: "I'm not just a beach bum, I'm actually trying to achieve something out of diving.

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"It could be travel and adventure at the beginning, but going into competitions requires a lot of courage, dedication and patience, and the results I achieved last year came only after many years of hard work pouring all this time, money and resources."

Unfortunately with Covid-19 affecting all parts of the world, Anqi has her feet firmly planted in Singapore soil, at least for now.

She returned to Singapore in 2016, after deciding to recalibrate what she wanted in life and "give Singapore another chance", instead of "always running away to dive".

In Singapore, she doesn't freedive because the waters are "too murky". Instead, the ocean enthusiast has thrown herself into other environmental causes. One of them is her Sea Glass Project, where she turns glass pieces picked up from the beach into wearable jewellery.

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In fact, she was supposed to head to the Philippines to expand the project, but plans were curtailed by the pandemic.

"Spreading a negative message is sometimes hard to bring across, but spreading the message of how the ocean can transform trash into something beautiful can hopefully bring about more awareness about ocean conservation," said Anqi.

Not giving up her freediving ways

While the pandemic has disrupted some of her competition plans this year, she doesn't see this putting an end to her freediving lifestyle, despite moments of self-doubt that surface every now and then.

"There were a couple of times I wondered if I wanted to continue, because as with every sport, I plateaued after a while. There were also other occasions where I didn't feel financially stable in terms of earning an income from teaching diving, and I sometimes questioned how long more I can continue doing this.

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"But at the end of the day I know that although I may not continue to do freediving full-time, it will always be an activity that I will probably continue doing late into my life, because of the love I have for the ocean, as an activity, not just competing in terms of how deep I can go."

candicecai@asiaone.com