Episode #214: Becoming The #1 All-Around Female Free Diver in the World and Connecting with Nature and Wild Animals Through Travel with Jessea Lu

Episode Summary

Jessea Lu and Matt chat in person over a bottle of wine in Nairobi Kenya.  Jessea begins by sharing her recent experience on Lamu Island, then reflects on her first trip to Africa, and also talks about her travel priorities around connecting with nature and wild animals.  She then shares the upcoming horseback safari through Maasai Mara that she has booked in Kenya for next summer. Next, Jessea talks about her experience growing up in a mid-size city in China, and then attending college in Beijing and getting into hip-hop music.  She then reflects on coming to the U.S. to do her PhD, why she started traveling the world, how she discovered scuba diving, and highlights from her first liveaboard trip.  Jessea then talks about her move to Hawaii, how she discovered free diving and shares her path to becoming a competitive international free diver.  She explains the mental techniques and benefits of becoming a great free diver, and then reflects on peak performance and shares how she becomes the #1 all-around female free diver in the world.  And, finally, she talks about her experience as an underwater model and how modeling dresses at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by sharks was significantly more scary and difficult than international freediving competitions.  FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.TheMaverickShow.com

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Jessea Lu

Jessea Lu has been ranked the #1 all around female free diver in the world for 3 consecutive years.  Originally from China, she holds a phD in clinical pharmacology, and is now a digital nomad who has been to over 40 countries.  She has particular interest in spending time with wild animals around the world in their natural habitat.  She has broken 1 world record and 37 national records in free diving, and has won 15 gold medals in continental and world championships.  Jessea is able to hold her breath underwater for over 8 minutes and dive down 90+ meters on one breath. She is also a free dive instructor as well as a scuba dive instructor, and an Ambassador for BestDive wetsuits.

What You'll Learn
  • Lessons on Peak Performance from Becoming the World’s #1 All-Around Female Free Diver
  • The Magic of Connecting with Nature and Wild Animals on Your World Travels
  • The Mental Techniques and Benefits of Free Diving vs. Scuba Diving
Links From the Episode

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Time Stamped Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.

[3:53] Lamu Island in Kenya

[5:02] Travel Priorities of Connecting with Nature, Plants, Animals and Food

[7:54] Reflections on her Travels in Africa

[11:23] Horseback Safari During Migration Season in Maasai Mara in Kenya

[15:43] Growing up in China

[20:14] College and Hip Hop Music in Beijing

[23:54] Moving to the U.S. to do her PhD in Indianapolis

[26:46] Traveling the World and Discovering Scuba Diving

[30:00] Liveaboard Scuba Trips

[32:49] Discovering Free Diving

[36:17] Becoming an International Competitive Free Diver

[40:12] The Mental Techniques and Benefits of Free Diving

[45:52] Peak Performance and Becoming the World’s #1 All Around Female Free Diver

[50:58] Underwater Modeling