Executive Chronicles | Best Freedive Training Center in Asia Built by Freedive World Champion Thibault Guignés in Cebu | Seasoned freedivers travel the world to claim stake to the best freediving spots. One such freediver is Thibault Guignés, who opened Camotes Freediving Center in Cebu in June 2022.
Freediving, also known as breath-holding, skin diving, or apnea, is a safe sport that consists of holding your breath underwater, in a pool, or in open water. Its rising popularity as a recreational and competitive sport can also be attributed to the increasing demand for meditation, relaxation, and mindfulness practices. Freediving, after all, is not just a skills-oriented sport, but also an addictive mindset game.
It was love at first breath-hold for Guignés, and he has since planned his life around the sport. He moved to Cebu, Philippines in 2015, and entered his very first freediving competition in the country. He moved on to compete internationally and now, Guignes is one of the best in the world, holding the French national record for his 117-meter Free Immersion, an open-sea category wherein the freediver does not use swimming fins. He naturally progressed to be a freediving instructor, with his students noting his calm disposition, infectious passion, and sincerity in sharing his knowledge. He does not mind missing out on this year’s competitions, as he trains freedivers who aspire to challenge their own depth records.
Guignés explored the country for the best freedive training location, and found Camotes Island, a 1 and 1/2 hour speedboat commute from Cebu City. “It is one of the best locations I have experienced,” he explains, “it has calm currents, zero drift, visibility of 25 meters, and a depth of 150 meters”.
Camotes Freediving Center opened its doors in June of this year and can accommodate freedivers almost all year round. “Weather conditions are perfect 350 days a year”, says Guignés.
Camotes Freediving Center is arguably the best in Asia, it offers world-class facilities and is headed by Guignés, who incidentally heads the educational board of the Molchanovs, a growing freediving agency because of its personalized training approach.
Now that travel is possible again, it’s an exciting time to put freedive training on your next-level adventure bucket list, with Camotes Freediving Center as the destination.
