The Underwater Academy

I recently took a freediving course at The Underwater Academy and I cannot recommend it highly enough. From start to finish, the experience was exceptional. Alan, our instructor, was knowledgeable, patient, and an excellent teacher.

Throughout the course, we learned about the important skills of breath holding, physical and mental relaxation, and safety. Alan took the time to explain everything clearly, even when I was underwater he was able to help when I felt uncomfortable. He made the learning process easy and enjoyable.

The training was top-notch, and I felt completely confident in my abilities by the end of the course.

Overall, I had an incredible experience and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in diving. If you're looking for a skilled instructor and a great learning experience, look no further! It truly deserves a 5-star rating!

AIDA 2 course with Alan—Honestly one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

Prior to this course, I was barely able to snorkel—as soon as my face was in the water I would feel immense panic and really struggle to breath. This resulted in unenjoyable, short and exhausting snorkelling experiences.

The course takes you through each skill separately and step by step, then eventually brings them together. This meant that each step felt achievable while also being able to push yourself as much as you like. You learn enough theory to help to understand what’s happening in practice and to know that you’re safe.

Our instructor, Alan, was incredibly patient, positive, flexible, clear and concise throughout the course in both theory and in the water. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor to help me face my fears.

In the end, I completed a 2 minute breath hold, 45m dynamic swim, 14.5m deep dive and a mock rescue from 6m.

So glad that I did this, I’d highly recommend it to anyone, hence this review.

As a land person with a fear of open water swimming I decided to sign up for the free diving course to prove to myself that anything is possible and what an amazing pair of instructors I've got. Thank you so much to Lucas and Alan for giving me the best experience, your knowledge and kindness is beyond and you made me feel confident and safe. Cannot wait to keep learning more skills at the Underwater Academy. Go team!

The sydney spearfishing course was so much fun. Great teacher and definitely learned what it takes to freedive and hunt underwater. Lucas’s thong copped a flogging

A mate and I who are both 16 years old completed the spearfishing course recently and loved it. There is a lot of information you learn on this course from how to hold your breath safely and hunting techniques. The instructor Lucas is a great guy and has saftey as his number one priority. He pushes you to hold your breathe further the right way and teaches you how to avoid blackouts, what to look out for and what to do if one does occur. The second day in the water is great with you learning diffrent techniques, where to catch lobsters and two styles of dives which increases your chances of catching fish. I would highly reccomend this course to anyone starting or thinking about starting spearfishing.

Amazing experience. Freediving is about so much more than diving as deep as you can. Over the 3 days you learn about physical relaxation, mental relaxation, proper dive technique and the physiology behind diving. Lucas and Allan were great instructors - they explained everything clearly, showed great patience (even when you didn't get things right) and were very encouraging. They created a very relaxed and positive environment where everyone's achievements were celebrated no matter how big or small. If you're a rookie diver and want to push yourself out of your comfort zone with world-class support, or you live for being underwater and just want to perfect your technique, I can't recommend the AIDA courses enough

Lucas and Allan were really knowledgable and helped a lot with improving my (and everyone in the groups) diving techniques. Really friendly and safe environment.

Best freediving course in Sydney. Helpful, informative and better than I thought it would be. Was a fun few days. Went into the course very comfortable in the water and left feeling even more comfortable which I didn’t expect. I had a touch of trouble equalising and Lucas followed up with personalised sessions.

GREAT experience! I did the workshop with a couple of friends and it was completely worth it. Lucas has the experience and knowledge to explain and teach the magic world of freedive. Really interesting breathing theory, safety dives and so much fun.

I done the AIDA level 2 free diving course in Sydney with Lucas and Al and can’t recommend them highly enough!

They were both incredibly knowledgeable, personable and insightful with the theory and science behind freediving and breath holds, and when it came to the practical components they were unbelievably acute in their eye for detail.

With their guidance I comfortably doubled my deepest dive, and the only thing that stopped me going further was the bottom! Thanks for an unreal course guys, love your work!

Excellent freediving course this weekend with the underwater academy! Together, Matt, Allan and Lucas are a dream team. Alongside the skills and course content, which were delivered in a relaxed, fun and informative setting, I was surprised to learn so much about myself as a person, and especially to learn strategies for managing stress both in and out of the water. For me this was a useful mindfulness exercise as well as a dive course, and I highly recommend it!

Did an online zoom class with Lucas Handley with the equalisation, I have been struggling for years about different techniques and things I have seen on youtube and heard from people I know about equalising.
Today Lucas helped me and got me doing it very quickly step by step

Would definitely recommend this for anyone interested, and looking forward to doing my freediving course with him.

I was lucky enough to participate in a Frenzel Technique workshop today. Lucas really is an excellent teacher. He is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about the subject. He was able to help each of us with our own sticking points and gave us numerous exercises to overcome them and improve our Frenzel equalisation. If you ever get the opportunity to train with Lucas, I highly recommend it!
It was also a great break from the monotony of lockdown. Thank you, I really enjoyed the session today!

A thoroughly amazing weekend and we all felt very safe in the hands of our instructor Alan and assistant trainer Artie. Great fun, all in a relaxed jovial environment and they brought out the best in all of us. Highly recommended. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! Lucas, Al and Arty were total legends and made the whole experience incredible. The course tested and challenged us physically and mentally but it was well worth every second. Even in the freezing June water in Sydney! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this course to everyone! Might teach you a thing or two!:)

What a great way to jump into Sydney freediving!

I just completed the AIDA 2 course.
The physical, theoretical and mental learning was challenging - but over the whole 3 days, Alan and Lucas really personalised their approach focusing and developing each student’s specific challenges.
Thanks again, Gents.

We did the team building activity manage stress though apnea with Lucas a couple of months ago, and it was amazing. He was great and gave us really good tips and showed us how to control and know ourselves better, so we can always make rational decisions with the information that we know. By the end of the day and using his tips and knowledge, we were capable of holding our breath much longer! Very interesting and useful team building! Great experience!

I did my AIDA2 with Lucas and Jarred and was shocked at how quickly my ability and performance in the water improved. However, what I really enjoy most from being involved with The Underwater Academy are the weekly pool training sessions. By attending these sessions I continually improve my technique and retain my skills, even when conditions are bad for diving (visibility is always good in the pool and there isn't too much swell!). It is also a fantastic group of people and a great community to be part of.

I’ve been training with Jarred for a couple of sessions and I really enjoyed it. The way they teaching is really progressive, clear and help you to get the best of it. They take their time to give you all the clues, it’s much appreciated especially when you’re a non native english speaker.
Will be back in the water with them as soon as possible!

I took part in an AIDA 2 course back in March 2017 under the watchful guidance of Lucas and Sam. And I’m so grateful I did. These guys along with the rest of the Underwater Academy team are second to none. Their passion for all things free diving, combined knowledge, focus on safety and continual encouragement throughout the courses, and at the weekly squad training sessions. Will have you diving beyond your expectations.
If you’re considering taking the plunge into free diving for the first time or you would like to improve on your current abilities and knowledge. Get on board with The Underwater Academy. I promise you won’t look back. Many thanks to Lucas and Jarred, your enthusiasm is infectious.