Our Team

Our Instructor Trainer, Thomas, is originally from France. He first fell in love with freediving in the crystal waters of Nusa Penida, Indonesia. Knowing immediately that he had found his true vocation, he dedicated himself to becoming a freediving instructor. In a few short years, Thomas was managing the largest freediving school in Thailand, as Instructor Trainer. Since then, he has been teaching freediving all over the world developing the next generations of instructors. Though a teacher first and a diver second, Thomas still has an impressive athletic record, diving to depths of over 60m and able to hold his breath for over 7 minutes!

Colleen, hailing from the USA, is converted Freediving instructor. Several years of working in SCUBA led to her taking a deeper plunge – sans tank – et voila! She has never looked back. These days, Colleen is found alternating summer stints in Alaska’s Bristol Bay salmon fishery with ‘off-season’ months basking in the Nicaraguan sun.

For Judith, it was love at first sight. Right after completing her level 1 with us, she cancelled her flight back to Quebec’s icy winter and enrolled herself in our Zero to Hero program. Now part of our team of instructors, her calm and patience always help her students feel comfortable while trying to reach new depths or experiencing their first static session! And since she is also our social media content creator, don’t be surprised if you see her wandering around the Laguna camera in hand!

A hard-working and broadly skilled family man, Edwin is always a few steps ahead of the rest of us. A Laguna de Apoyo native and major player in keeping the wheels turning, he has been invaluable in helping to establish the school. From groundskeeping and equipment maintenance to monitoring the school’s water consumption and managing construction projects, the real question is : what does Edwin not do?

Another Laguna de Apoyo native, we can thank María José for keeping the property spotless and dedicatedly feeding our students. Using her experience working in resorts, she will be sure to keep you caffeinated in the morning and well fed between dives! Calm, humble, and always ready to help, María José is behind the scenes making the school a comfortable place to learn and relax.

Our Instructor Trainer, Thomas, is originally from France. He first fell in love with freediving in the crystal waters of Nusa Penida, Indonesia. Knowing immediately that he had found his true vocation, he dedicated himself to becoming a freediving instructor. In a few short years, Thomas was managing the largest freediving school in Thailand, as Instructor Trainer. Since then, he has been teaching freediving all over the world developing the next generations of instructors. Though a teacher first and a diver second, Thomas still has an impressive athletic record, diving to depths of over 60m and able to hold his breath for over 7 minutes!

Colleen, hailing from the USA, is converted Freediving instructor. Several years of working in SCUBA led to her taking a deeper plunge – sans tank – et voila! She has never looked back. These days, Colleen is found alternating summer stints in Alaska’s commercial salmon fishery with ‘off-season’ months basking in the Nicaraguan sun.

Our School

Situated less than an hour from Managua’s international airport, on the shore of Laguna de Apoyo, Freediving Nicaragua exists as Nicaragua’s first freediving school. Freediving Nicaragua also stands out as the only school in the Americas offering the full range of beginner to professional SSI Freediving certifications.

Tucked into the lush dry forest of Apoyo’s natural reserve, the day-time weather ranges from 25-34 degree Celsius, cooling down at night for a pleasant reprieve from the near-constant sunshine. Similarly, the water temperature, which rests consistently around 28-29 C, boasts a unique absence of thermocline, allowing divers of all levels to profit from the pool-like conditions. Our open-air classrooms and stretching areas, integrated diving platform (soon!), and emphasis on quality equipment strike the perfect balance to learn and train freediving in a relaxed and professional haven, close to nature and the local community.

Freediving Nicaragua guarantees instruction by only highly qualified instructors in whom we place our complete confidence.

As such, we aim to offer the highest standard of education on every level – a long freediving career is built on the foundation of safety, competence, and fun.

Environmental Impact

Freediving closely parallels many of the values emphasized in today’s fight for the environment. At Freediving Nicaragua, we strive to do our part in making the planet a greener place – an onsite rainwater collection system and solar power are just some of the ways that we will be working towards this movement in our day to day. Additionally, we have partnered with local community projects in an effort to raise environmental awareness among both tourists and local communities, all while keeping our shores clean.