A life on, in and around the water has always been a part of William’s heritage. He started this life with his father, a scuba instructor and Search & Rescue diver, teaching him how to hold his breath, first in the pool and later in the ocean. By the age of ten, he was diving to twelve meters on a single breath of air. For the next ten years, he would spend most of his time swimming laps in a pool as a competitive swimmer. Occasionally, there was the odd foray to the ocean with his father, but mostly his focus was winning medals in the pool. His next big aquatic venture would be that of surfing. He caught the bug while on a trip to Hawaii, and spent the time pursuing a love for surfing big waves. Between surf sessions, he would go searching for dinner under the ocean with a pole spear. Many years later, he began spending a lot more time spearfishing which led to blue water hunting, and many opportunities to swim with dolphins, whales and sharks. Wanting to be able to hold his breath longer in order to be able to swim with and observe these creatures, William took a half-day freediving course with US-record holder Deron Verbeck. This experience brought him full-circle with his childhood breath-holding sessions. This was early 2005. In May of that year, he immersed himself in the competitive world of freediving. Since that time, he has set numerous panamerican records and has established himself as one of the few freedivers in the world who can excel in all six competitive disciplines.   "Why, you might ask, why do I subject myself to air deprivation and sometimes expose myself to incommensurable pressure exerted by the deep ? I would tell you, there is more to this than meets the eye. First, it is about freedom. Freediving is indeed about the freedom of being unencumbered by bulky equipment; the freedom to explore the underwater world in the most natural way. It is also about the challenge freediving offers. The point of «no return» of the two-minute countdown of a competitive dive during which doubt and fear have no place. Freediving demands focus. There is no turning back. Freediving is about gathering oneself in preparation for a challenge of conservation; the conservation of air and energy in order to perform and attain the desired distance or depth. At the half way point in my dive, I feel the burn in my limbs, on an inner level I feel good; I know my diving reflex has kicked in. It is at its highest level when I experience shunting of blood from my extremities towards my core, preserving my heart and brain. The muscles of my arms and legs continue to obey my commands and the anaerobic process is now directing energy production. Then, there is the exhilarating sensation of being pushed to the surface by buoyancy on the ascent phase of the dive. Finally, there is the euphoria of the first breath, perhaps the unconscious realization that I am alive, something that most people take for granted. Freediving is truly about expanding the possibilities of human potential."