Living in Cape Town, South Africa, Dean Fredericks quickly adapted to the life of a surfer. After moving to Taipei, Taiwan for work in 2009, he was left without the waves and breaks that both characterized his old home and had become an enormous part of his life.

By 2011, he was itching to get back in the water, and so began his hunt for a new hobby that Taipei’s environment would cater to. What he discovered was freediving.

“The freedom of movement and personal challenges that freediving offered were fascinating to me,” 30-year-old Dean said.

Luckily for the recent transplant, Taiwan’s first-ever freediving school had opened a month prior, prompting him to sign up for a summer course.

Now, a mere two years later, Dean is a frequent diver and has become advanced enough in the sport that he takes video of his underwater explorations via GoPro, which are then shared on his YouTube channel.

He said it was freedivers’ abilities to astound people with their feats that drew him in initially.

“When watching freedivers underwater, there is just a sense that defied common perception. This person is underwater, without any gear, without any air, yet moves freely and seems at peace in this high-pressure environment,” he said. “Being underwater without any air can indeed be very stressful, however, as you start to become familiar with the underwater environment, and as you start to master and become confident in your own abilities, it starts to become a very relaxing and enjoyable sport.”

As for the freediving location that has the number one place in his heart, Cape Town takes the lead. Although the cold waters do not make for ideal diving conditions, it’s the reefs that are alive with color, kelp forests and silver fish that keep him coming back. These features combined with the Atlantic Ocean’s dark, cold blue make it one of his favorite places to dive.

The pristine, crystal clear waters and large schools of colorful fish surrounding Okinawa make this location come in at number two on his list. It’s some sort of Japanese tropical paradise, Dean explained.

He made sure to not leave out the Philippines, noting that the cost is relatively low and the weather in association with calm seas makes for great diving.

But above all, his most memorable experience took place at the Yonaguni Monument in Japan. While browsing location photos on Google Earth, Dean came across this ancient underwater structure, but found that its origin was unknown. He said there is a great deal of speculation surrounding what the monument actually is, as well as who made it.

“Is it the work of aliens? Lost civilization? Take your pick. There also wasn’t much online in terms of high resolution photos or video, so it was hard to get a good idea of what the place was actually like,” he went on.

The island is located in Japan’s most western point, which is extremely remote, complete with a population of only about 1,000 people.

The airport runway on the island is too small for any airliner to land, making this an even trickier destination to reach. In 2012, Dean managed to secure a seat on a charter flight headed to Yonaguni.

“It was the chance of a lifetime,” he recalled of his four-day trip. “The island itself was small, rugged and exotic, with almost no people on the streets. We organized a boat to take us out to the ruins. Jumping into the water was incredible. Warm 27-degree (Celsius) water, over 50 meters of crystal clear visibility, and then seeing the ruins below me. I would explain it, but it’s better to just go and watch the video on my YouTube channel.” (included below).

The beauty in the video is evident, and is clearly what draws Dean to freediving, but not all of his experiences have been that flawless.

The diver reminisced about a time when he had pushed himself too hard and too fast into depths that were far beyond what he had ever done, in conditions that were less than fair.

“I was in a deep, dark, flooded quarry. I was diving down deeper and deeper, despite not being able to see where I was going very well. Eventually, I collided with some junk on the bottom at 40 meters down (around 130 feet). It gave me a fright, I panicked. I didn’t want to get tangled in the junk,” he said. “I made a rushed attempt to get back to the surface. Swimming up, I knew I was in trouble.”

When the experienced diver was 10 meters from the surface, he blacked out.

“When I woke up, I was on the surface coughing blood,” he said. “I had given myself a combination of black-out and a lung squeeze (a pressure-related freediving injury). It could have been the end for me. My diving buddy ensured I got back up to the surface and kept my airways out of the water while I was recovering consciousness. This is why freedivers should never dive alone. We always need to watch each other’s backs.”

As for what Dean has planned for the future, he said he is going to do some wreck diving in the Philippines in December, visit Cape Town for cave diving, travel to Guam to see more wrecks and tropical reefs, check out Japanese WWII wrecks in Saipan, a sunken WWII seaplane in Palau, and possibly visit Tahiti to dive at a seaplane wreck. Needless to say, he seems to have a full plate.

Despite the risks that are associated with the sport, Dean’s attraction to it remains.

“There is a great sense of personal accomplishment. As freedivers, we are always improving our personal limits, going deeper down, increasing our bottom time,” he said. “For me, more importantly, is a sense of adventure that comes with being able to travel to exotic locations.”

For more information about Dean and his dives, subscribe to his YouTube channel or visit his Facebook page.