Surf Apnea Course: Building Confidence in the Water, One Breath at a Time

From beginner surfers to professional athletes, Deep Sensations Freediving is helping surfers across Sydney and Wollongong build confidence, manage stress and feel more prepared when things don't go to plan in the surf.

Anyone who surfs knows the feeling. You've just taken a wave on the head, you're being tossed around underwater, and you're not entirely sure which way is up. Your heart rate increases, your mind starts racing, and suddenly those few seconds underwater feel a whole lot longer.

It's a situation almost every surfer will experience at some point, regardless of their ability.

But what if you could train yourself to respond differently?

That's exactly what we're working towards with our Surf Survival Apnea Courses, now running monthly across Sydney and Wollongong.

Why Surf Survival Apnea?

Surfing is an unpredictable sport. No matter how experienced you are, there will always be situations where the ocean catches you off guard.

A bigger-than-expected set, a heavy wipeout, an extended hold-down or simply finding yourself in conditions outside your comfort zone.

While we spend plenty of time improving our surfing technique, fitness and wave knowledge, one area that's often overlooked is how we respond when we're underwater.

Our Surf Survival Apnea Course is designed to help bridge that gap.

By combining breath-hold training, relaxation techniques, surf-specific exercises and practical education, we help surfers develop the skills to better manage uncomfortable situations in the water.

The goal isn't to see how long you can hold your breath. It's to help you stay calmer, make better decisions and understand how your body responds under pressure.

What Are the Benefits of Surf Apnea Training?

1. Staying Calm Under Pressure

When we're suddenly held underwater, our natural response can be to panic, tense up and fight against what's happening.

Unfortunately, unnecessary movement and stress can increase oxygen consumption, making an already uncomfortable situation feel even worse.

One of the biggest focuses of our training is learning how to recognise those responses and better manage them.

Through controlled, supervised exercises, we introduce surfers to uncomfortable sensations in a safe environment and teach them practical techniques to remain more relaxed.

The more familiar you become with these sensations, the better equipped you may be to manage them when they happen unexpectedly.

2. Developing Breath-Hold Confidence

You might be surprised how capable your body already is when it comes to holding your breath.

For many surfers, the biggest limitation isn't necessarily their physical breath-hold ability, but their understanding of what's happening inside their body.

We explore the physiology behind breath-holding, including the role of carbon dioxide, oxygen and the urge to breathe.

Understanding these responses can help take some of the fear out of being underwater.

And importantly, we teach surfers how to approach breath-holding safely, rather than simply encouraging longer and longer holds.

3. Managing Wipeouts and Hold-Downs

Being held underwater is rarely a comfortable experience, particularly when you're being pushed around by turbulent water.

We use surf-specific exercises to help participants practise managing movement, disorientation and discomfort in controlled conditions.

Our training focuses on conserving energy, managing stress and developing an understanding of how to respond during challenging situations.

While no course can eliminate the risks associated with heavy surf, developing these skills can help surfers feel better prepared.

4. Building Mental Resilience

There's a lot of crossover between freediving and surfing.

Both require an ability to remain focused, understand your limits and manage the relationship between physical discomfort and your mental response.

In freediving, we spend a huge amount of time developing relaxation and awareness, particularly when things become challenging.

These same principles can be incredibly valuable for surfers.

By learning how to regulate your response to stress in a controlled environment, you can develop skills that extend beyond breath-holding and into your wider surfing experience.

5. Greater Confidence in the Ocean

Ultimately, this is what we're most passionate about.

Whether you're surfing small waves at your local beach or preparing for a bigger swell, feeling comfortable in the water makes a huge difference to your experience.

Confidence isn't about believing nothing will go wrong. It's about having a better understanding of your capabilities, recognising your limitations and knowing how to respond when something unexpected happens.

Built by a Surfer, for Surfers

Deep Sensations Freediving founder and head instructor Curtis Tredway has spent most of his life surfing and exploring the ocean.

Alongside his passion for surfing, Curtis has spent years working professionally in freediving, underwater safety, rescue and breath-hold education.

Having taught more than 2,000 students, supported international freediving competitions as a safety diver and worked across a range of aquatic environments, he's developed a pretty comprehensive understanding of how the body and mind respond underwater.

The Surf Survival Apnea program brings all of that experience together.

By blending his background in surfing with professional freediving instruction, breath-hold physiology, underwater safety and mental training, Curtis has developed a course that focuses on the situations surfers actually encounter.

It's not a freediving course repackaged for surfers. The exercises, theory and practical components are selected specifically for their application to surfing.

And whether you're just getting comfortable in the ocean or pushing into more challenging conditions, there's something valuable to take away.

From Beginners to Professional Surfers

One of the things we've loved most about delivering these programs is the variety of surfers we've had come through.

We've welcomed complete beginners who simply want to feel more confident in the water, recreational surfers looking to progress into bigger conditions, and professional athletes wanting to further develop their breath-hold and mental skills.

We've also had the pleasure of working with surfers including Alice Hodgson and big-wave bodyboarder Sophie Jayne.

While everyone's experience and objectives are different, the fundamentals remain remarkably similar.

Understanding your body, managing stress, conserving energy and learning to stay composed under pressure are valuable skills regardless of how big the waves you're surfing are.

Our courses are designed to accommodate that range of abilities, with exercises adapted to participants' experience and comfort levels.

Teaming Up With Feral Femme Surfers

More recently, we had an awesome opportunity to team up with the Feral Femme Surf crew for a dedicated Surf Survival Apnea session.

It was such a great group to have in the water, with everyone getting involved, challenging themselves and supporting each other throughout the course.

One of the highlights of running group sessions like this is seeing the difference in people's confidence as they begin to understand what their bodies are capable of.

It's also a great reminder that surf progression isn't always about catching bigger waves or improving your technique on a board.

Sometimes, developing confidence in the situations between waves can be just as valuable.

We're looking forward to working with more surf communities, clubs and groups like Feral Femme in the future.

Monthly Surf Survival Apnea Courses in Sydney and Wollongong

With growing interest from surfers of all abilities, we're now running monthly Surf Survival Apnea programs across Sydney and Wollongong.

Each course combines practical education with supervised pool-based exercises designed to develop greater breath-hold awareness, relaxation and confidence under pressure.

What you'll learn:

• Breath-hold physiology and how your body responds to rising CO₂ and decreasing oxygen.

• Practical relaxation and breathing techniques.

• Strategies for managing stress, discomfort and the urge to breathe.

• Surf-specific breath-hold exercises and controlled simulations.

• How to conserve energy and manage your response during wipeouts and hold-downs.

• Breath-hold safety, recognising your limits and the importance of appropriate supervision.

All underwater breath-hold exercises are conducted under direct supervision with appropriate safety procedures. We never encourage surfers to practise breath-holding alone or deliberately push their limits in uncontrolled environments.

Who Is the Course For?

You don't need to be a big-wave surfer or an experienced athlete to benefit.

Our programs are suitable for beginner surfers, recreational surfers, experienced surfers, bodyboarders and ocean enthusiasts who want to develop their understanding of breath-holding and feel more confident in the water.

We also offer opportunities for surf clubs, community groups and teams wanting to organise dedicated sessions.

What Our Surfers Are Saying

One of the best parts of running these courses is hearing what people take away from the experience. Whether it's feeling more confident in bigger surf, understanding their bodies better or simply realising what they're capable of, the feedback has been incredible.

Here's what some of our recent participants had to say:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The Surf Apnea course was hectic! Great balance of informative and practical. Skills that translate across life. Curtis was a great facilitator, super knowledgeable and engaging, would recommend!!"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Curtis was awesome, did an amazing session with a group of chicks for Feral Femme, learnt techniques on how to regulate breathing in relation to surfing and big wave hold downs, we all pushed eachother and learnt how capable our bodies are. Great course so much knowledge that’s so relevant for surfing and everyday life. Would highly recommend no matter what level your at."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "So much fun!!!! Curtis is great! Very knowledgeable and supportive. Couldn’t recommend more whether you are freediving, surfing, or just building confidence. Worth every cent"

What we love about this feedback is that everyone comes into the course with different goals, but so many leave with something they can apply both in and out of the water.

And that's exactly what we're trying to achieve. Not just better breath-holds, but greater confidence, awareness and practical skills that stick with you long after the session finishes.

Join Our Next Surf Survival Apnea Course

If you've ever come up from a wipeout feeling rattled, found yourself anxious about bigger surf, or simply wanted to understand how your body responds underwater, this course is for you.

Our aim is simple: to help you become a calmer, more confident and better-informed surfer.

With monthly courses running across Sydney and Wollongong, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.

Course Price: $200 per person

Ready to develop your confidence in the water?

Book your next Surf Survival Apnea Course with Deep Sensations Freediving, or get in touch to organise a private session for your surf club, community or crew.

See you in the water! 🤙