Teaching the joy of diving is Marco's passion. © atmosphereresorts.com Diving isn’t an extreme sport The classic newbie misunderstanding is thinking that diving is an extreme sport. Often they think it’s a very physical sport, but the opposite is true; diving is a very relaxed activity. Water is much denser than air, and that’s why we need to move slowly and be streamlined all the time. Once I taught a yoga teacher and after the dive she said, “being underwater is similar to a yoga class”. Different strokes for different folks Every person is different. One person, for example, needs much more time to get the buoyancy right, while another needs less (buoyancy is difficult in the beginning, but gets easier with practice). It’s important to be patient and to find an instructor you’re comfortable with so you can relax. © Bo Mancao Get in shape You don’t need to train specifically to become a diver, but it’s helpful to be in good physical shape and a strong swimmer. Before you start your course, you need to sign a medical questionnaire to make sure you are fit to dive. One step at a time Don’t rush in and buy all the gear immediately. Give it time to make sure you really want to commit to diving. I highly recommend buying your own dive mask, however, because every face shape is different and it’s important to be comfortable. You can use it for snorkeling, too. If you decide diving is for you, then it makes sense to buy your personal dive gear. But go step by step. © Bo Mancao Follow the stars Choosing the right dive center to learn at is important. It’s best to find a five star PADI center. Taking an online diving course is a great idea too so when you finish your studies online you can focus on the practical side of things. Dive into open water So, you’re 100% into diving! Time to complete an open water diving course! If you finish the theory online beforehand, an open water diving course can be completed in two to three days. With the theory included, it takes between three to four days. Don’t rush it. The instructor needs to make sure the students are ready. Following this is the advanced open water diver course. Click to see the new Suunto Zoop Novo Blue*! © Bo Mancao Find a dive buddy You should never dive alone. It’s safer and more fun to have a dive buddy, someone you trust, and whose equipment you’re familiar with. Diving is a very social activity so finding a buddy won’t be hard. You usually dive with someone you meet on a boat, at a resort, or in a dive shop. It’s important you speak about the dive and equipment before you take the plunge together. Working with fear Experiencing some level of fear is a very common experience for newbie divers. I was really afraid when I did my open water course. That’s when a good instructor can make all the difference. If the instructor is calm and gives the student time to adjust – because his or her brain is overloaded with new information – they usually work through it. Marco won't be giving up his day job anytime soon. © atmosphereresorts.com Keep diving! Most people dive just for fun so they mainly dive when they’re on vacation. How often you dive depends on your personal goals, but diving once or twice every six months or year is a good idea so you avoid losing skills and familiarity. *Suunto has just released the Zoop Novo Blue, a dive watch perfect for beginner divers or people seeking new adventures. Click here for more info about this simple to use dive computer.

Pierre Bouchard began cycle touring in 1990 and has since travelled all over the world, covering the distance of four loops of the planet. In this first of three instalments* about the “Nomads” we asked him what he’s learned. © nomadesxnomades.com Pierre Bouchard’s life on the road began with sage advice from a philosophy professor; “the ideal would be to travel the world and account for it,” the professor suggested during a lecture. Then a philosophy student, Pierre says as soon as he heard this his “mind flew right out the window”. Shortly after, he dropped out of university and set out to study what René Descartes called “the great book of the world”. He pedalled more than 71,000 km through 18 countries in the following seven years. His partner Janick Lemieux joined him on the road in 1997 and together they’ve cycled through more than 60 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania – and currently Africa. Their expeditions are about far more than seeing sites and sampling foreign food, however. The couple approach their journeys as acts to build understanding and solidarity between distant cultures. They are particularly interested in remote and nomadic cultures and have given hundreds of lectures about their findings and experiences. © nomadesxnomades.com “By sharing what we learn, and by informing our hosts on the road about our own culture, we contribute to a sense of humanhood which is the basis for genuine solidarity!” Pierre says. “We‘ve learned that we all have the same needs and are all subjected to the same existential conditions, so why not help one another?” “People are very curious and somehow don’t feel threatened by strangers on loaded bikes. They come close, greet us and inquire about the obvious journey we’re on which often triggers a reflex of human solidarity where invitations for a drink, meal, shower and shelter fuse.” © nomadesxnomades.com Through 1999 to 2009, the couple circumnavigated the Pacific Rim, riding along its tectonic faults and ridges, pedalling from one active volcano to the next. Travelling clockwise from Vancouver, they cycled about 60,000 km in six years, using 300 volcanoes to create their itinerary and hiking to, around or to the summit of around 60. “One of the advantages of having a theme to explore is that they take you to places you would never imagine – you don't usually think of Vanuatu or the Solomon Islands as your typical bike touring destinations, but they rock,” Pierre says. “The Ring of Fire quest took us to some of our planet's wildest spots and warmest people.” © nomadesxnomades.com Pierre and Janick are currently cycling through Tanzania, having made it more than half way through their 35,000 km NOMADS² cycle tour. The three-year expedition is focused on deepening their understanding of the nomadic way of life. Starting in Norway, they cycled north to Lapland, and then south down through Eastern Europe, the Middle-East and the east of Africa. Along the way they have contacted various nomadic peoples, such as the Sami in Scandinavia, the Roma in Europe, and other tribes, seasonal herders and hunter-gatherers. After cycling 21,000 km in 21 months, they’re pausing their journey shortly in Tanzania, and will return after a 15 month break to complete the journey north up the west of Africa to Morocco. © nomadesxnomades.com “We have learned that being a nomad is becoming more and more difficult because, due to the population explosion, the world is getting crowded,” Pierre says. “The race to exploit natural resources by the more powerful often pushes nomads out of their natural territories to which they often have no legal deeds. There is also development playing a role, with new school-going nomad generations often not willing to continue to live simply like their parents and ancestors. For now, nomadism is fast disappearing.” “Nomads are in symbiosis with nature and for this reason, it would be good for the planet if more of us were to adopt the way of the nomads. They definitely inspire us to have a lower and sustainable impact on the environment and its resources!” *Stay tuned for our second and third stories about the Nomads, and find out which countries in the world are the most cycle-friendly!

The famous Scuba Diving Girls Margo Sanchez and Stephanie Adamson are long-time champions of exploring the ocean. The Californians constantly share images and clips of themselves diving with playful seals, baby rays, turtles and sharks. Who better to ask how to start scuba diving? © scubadivergirls.com What do you say to someone thinking about diving for the first time?Just go for it. There is so much to see and experience with scuba diving. Don’t be afraid of all the gear, you will quickly get used to it and be empowered by it. There is really nothing that compares to this experience and you will not only love scuba diving, but also you will fall in love with a world unknown to you now. “When you find a connection with the ocean and its inhabitants, it is a feeling you cannot ignore.” What do you wish every newbie diver knew? Have fun! Diving will bring so much joy to your life so remember to enjoy it. Make sure you find dive buddies who enjoy the experience and enhance your experience. It is important to follow your instincts and don’t let others intimidate you. Click to see the new Suunto Zoop Novo Blue*! © scubadivergirls.comWhat path do you recommend?Depending on your experience in the water, it may be good to try out scuba first. There is a class offered by most dive shops and independent instructors called Discover Scuba. This allows you to get in and get some instruction and try out the equipment before committing to a full certification class. But if you know you are ready, then it is time to sign up for an open water diving course. “There’s nothing more memorizing than watching a shark glide by silently and unexpectedly or a seal who comes to pull on your fin as you frog kick your way through a kelp forest.” What are the key steps to becoming a diver? Finding a good instructor that you feel comfortable and safe with is the first step. Learn the skills and safety procedures during class and practice as often as possible. Even after you are certified, you should continue to practice the skills on a regular basis, as this will make you a better diver. Get as much time in the water as possible. Find buddies who are more advanced than you so that you can learn from their techniques. Don’t be lazy when it comes to your equipment care and maintenance. Your equipment is your lifeline. © scubadivergirls.comWhat are the important things to remember? Safety should always be your first priority. It takes many dives before you are skilled enough to deal with the many issues you can experience under the surface. Understand your limits and never dive beyond these limits. If you want to do more advanced dives, take the classes to certify in that discipline first and even then be sure the diving is within your physical capabilities. When diving a new place find a local dive expert to guide you. Be sure you understand your gear. Diving should be super fun but always be sure safety is your primary focus. *Suunto has just released the Zoop Novo Blue, a dive watch perfect for beginner divers or people seeking new adventures. Click here for more info about this simple to use dive computer.

High school teacher Dave Williams is attempting to become the first person to scale the highest summits of the seven continents by starting at sea level and running to each mountain. Dave on his hike from the Black Sea to Mt Elbrus in Russia. © www.sea2summit7.comWhen Dave Williams isn’t teaching at a high school in Auckland, New Zealand, he’s doing one of two things: running or eating. “I run a half marathon in morning and a half marathon in the evening, which has made the necessary training feasible while working full time,” Dave says. “Keeping the weight on has been hard even though I eat eight meals a day.” On the summit of Kilamanjaro. © www.sea2summit7.comDave has completed sea to summits on the highest mountains of four continents – Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and Kosciuszko – and is about to set off to Alaska for a five-week expedition to make his attempt on Denali – the highest mountain in North America. Starting on April 19, he will run 350 km from Anchorage to the road end. “It will take five marathons to run to the road end, then a three day trek to the base of the glacier, then a nine day trek up the glacier to the base camp, then another two weeks to the summit,” he says. “One of the biggest challenges I've faced during preparation is to build the required fat and muscle stores while simultaneously increasing my fitness and running over 100 km per week. I predict I will lose up to 10 kg during the five weeks of adventuring.” On the way to the summit of Aconcagua. © www.sea2summit7.comLater this year he will be heading to Antarctica to make a sea to summit attempt on Mt Vinson. He’s saving the best to last, however. In 2018 he will begin running from Kolkata, India, doing 32 marathons in 30 days, to Everest base camp and then climb the highest mountain in the world. “I enjoy climbing more than the running,” he says. “Running is more repetitive. “When I start running I know I’ve got the best to look forward to. The finale is the climb.” The 30-year-old outdoor education teacher began his Sea2Summit7 project in 2013 after two friends committed suicide due to long battles with depression. The loss got him thinking about depression and what he could do to help. “I had an epiphany while doing a sea to summit adventure in New Zealand,” Dave says. “I thought I could do same thing on the 7 Summits and raise money for the Mental Health Foundation.” Success at last! © www.sea2summit7.comHe’s raised $5,400USD so far and, incredibly, has paid for most of the project out of his own pocket, investing $50,000NZD ($34,000USD) until now. The first mountain of the project, Aconcagua, was the most difficult. He failed twice. On the first attempt in July 2014, a storm hit on his summit attempt and climbers he had met earlier died on the mountain. On the second attempt his body gave out on the climb and he had to call it off. Finally, in January 2016, everything came together and he summited Aconcagua. “The thing that always keeps me going is receiving personal messages from people who have been following the project and who say I’ve inspired them to get off the couch,” he says. Dave hopes he has to run to Denali only the once. “Sea2Summit7 is all about never giving up and calling on friends to help when you are feeling fragile," Dave says. “This time I have an awesome expedition team of five who will be fulfilling specific roles along this journey so it is feasible and safe.”

As a diver you have probably seen some pretty amazing places. But have you been able to share your excitement with your non-diving friends? Explaining the experience certainly isn’t always easy. To overcome this you now have a chance to invite your friend, who is not yet familiar with diving, on a diving trip to the Philippines to explore the underwater world with you! To get a chance to invite your friend on a diving trip post a picture of an unforgettable diving moment and tag your new-to-diving friend to the post. The winner of the contest will win a week-long trip for two to Atmosphere Resorts in the Philippines with flights included. The resort is beautifully situated on a beachfront location on the island of Negros Oriental near Dumaguete. Your friend will have a chance to participate on a four-day open water diving course at the resort. Share a photo on Facebook or Instagram and tag it with your non-diving friend and #DiveWithMe and @suuntodive. The most inviting entry will be selected as the winner by Suunto and the Scuba Diver Girls. In addition to the main prize five Suunto Zoop Novo dive computers and PADI Open Water Touch e-learning packages will be raffled amongst all participants.  The contest period is March 17th – April 10th 2016.   See the full terms and conditions here  

You don’t have to be an extreme rock climber or cliff diver to experience the adventure mindset – and reap its rewards. You just have to say yes more, finds Tarquin Cooper. © www.davecornthwaite.comDave Cornthwaite was once a graphic designer in Swansea, Wales, a bad one, he freely admits. Then in 2005 he decided to try something radically different – and so he boarded a flight to Australia with a skateboard in his luggage and a crazy idea in his mind. Several pairs of shoes, approximately 2,911,500 pushes, and 5,822 km later, he successfully made it across the continent. It was the start of new beginning. “To many, this was a bizarre notion even to consider, let alone practice, but personally I had never been faced with a larger opportunity. It wasn't crazy, it couldn't have felt more sane. For the first time in my life, I felt I had purpose.” Cornthwaite has never looked back. He’s currently 11 journeys into Expedition 1,000, a mission to undertake 25 journeys of 1,000 miles (1,600 km). These have included swimming the Missouri, descending the Mississippi by SUP and crossing the Atacama desert by ‘whike’, a sail and pedal-powered recumbent tricycle. Over 500 people came out on 20 different camps, some had never camped before. He says he doesn’t see himself as ‘an adventurer’ or particularly brave. “I just made a decision to being open to more things. My curiosity has just grown and grown,” he says. Unsurprisingly, Cornthwaite is a massive advocate for adventure as a means of ‘facing Mondays with a smile’ as he puts it, helping to organise social projects, events, workshops and encourage others to find their adventurous spirit. © www.davecornthwaite.com This summer for example he decided to get to know his Facebook friends in person, inviting them to go camping with him over various weekends. The result was amazing, he says. “Over 500 people came out on 20 different camps, some had never camped before.” Such was the success, they formed their own tribe, the Yes Tribe and organized their first ‘Yestival’ in October. The idea is to encourage people to share ideas, whether adventurers or entrepreneurs and then learn how to take the steps to make things happen.” He says we have so much to gain from embracing our adventurous spirit and taking that leap into the unknown, and not just for the obvious benefits being in the outdoors brings. “As I meet more and more people I feel that curiosity. It needs to be brewed,” he says. “The human race is designed to evolve: curiosity and adventure – they’re both part of moving forward.” It’s the embodiment of the 7R gene spirit. © www.davecornthwaite.comSomeone else who lives by the adventure maxim is executive coach Matt Walker who believes the adventure mindset is not just a tool for adventure sports but as a way of facing life, and all that entails. “My life revolves around adventure,” he says. “It is my livelihood: Adventure in the classic sense of scaling high mountains in remote regions of the world and adventure in the mindful sense of living each day, each project, and in each relationship with intention, focus, and humor.” Adventure is the willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart. He says it’s hard to live out the philosophy of adventure in our day-to-day lives. “It is the hardest thing I have ever attempted,” he says. “Bringing adventure into the core being of my life has been fraught with challenge and learning. The reward though is a level of engagement and awareness that is deeply satisfying and joyous.” And what is the elusive essence of adventure? “At the core, adventure is the willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart and a willingness to learn and engage,” he says. “It is the ability to take a leap into the unknown with mindfulness and grace. Framed this way, opportunity for adventure presents itself to us everyday.” © www.davecornthwaite.com He says there are five key components of adventure: ‘high endeavor', the ability to think big; ‘total commitment’, the willingness to embrace challenge; ‘an uncertain outcome’, a necessity to keep us engaged and aware; ‘tolerance for adversity’, the ability to remain resilient; ‘great companionship’ to make the journey not just possible but also worthwhile. He adds: “Adventure is not reserved for the extreme athlete or the daredevil. It is an attitude and lifestyle choice. It is an expression of your heart's intention and passion for life.” Adventure is not reserved for the extreme athlete or the daredevil. It’s a view echoed by by psychologist, leadership coach and adventurer Sarah Fenwick who also says adventure doesn’t have to be climbing Mt Everest. “It all depends on the personality,” she says. “Some people are happy to ski to the North Pole who’ve never skied before, while others might want to at least complete a ski journey in Norway for example before going.” It’s all about getting out of your comfort zone, but by the right margin, she says. “I like to think of fear and excitement as different ends of the same continuum. When you do a challenge which you perceive as just outside your comfort zone, where your skill set is just below or 90% of what’s required, that’s when you get that little bit of excitement. Then, when you do achieve it, you get that great feel good factor. I think everyone should experience that fear-excitement zone!” © www.davecornthwaite.comFenwick has plenty of personal experience herself of that fear-excitement zone; in a sail boat on many expeditions around the world, including to Antarctica; in the air as a record-breaking paraglider pilot which included becoming the first person to launch from the true summit of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. The secret to embracing your inner adventurous spirit, she says, ‘is making sure that when you stretch, it doesn’t become a negative experience’. “For some people it might only be 5% or 2% out of their comfort zone. But it’s a positive thing. There are so many stories of how people have grown and gone on to do bigger and better things. The more people who do that the more we’ll have an aspirational and achieving society.” Some people just wanted to go hiking while others talk about climbing Everest and cycling across continents. Cornthwaite is used to listening to his audience’s own goals after the motivational talks he gives. “I was at an event last night,” he says. “Some people just wanted to go hiking while others talk about climbing Everest and cycling across continents.” © www.davecornthwaite.comHis advice for taking that first step? “Find a group or an event that echoes your passion or go along to a talk. Surround yourself with people who share that passion. Then naturally, having that support and encouragement helps you make the next step.” And one more thing he says: “Just say yes more!” Walker has a word of caution however: “Adventure is work – but the pay-off is well worth the commitment. Your summits await.” Lead image: © www.davecornthwaite.com