(VIDEO) Adventure Junkies: Freediving Maui, Hawaii - Escape to the Blue World

Adventure Junkie: Jordan Costa
Homebase: Haiku, Maui, Hawai'i

For as long as I've known him, my friend Jordan Costa has always been an adventure drifting junkie.
 
Born and raised on the island of Maui, Hawai'i, he has traveled around the globe in search of any adventure he can get his hands on. 

He has gone snowboarding, bungee jumping, diving, racing, dog sledding and so on in places like Oregon, Texas, Canada, Mexico and more.

As a Hawai'i born local boy, the water is Jordan's second home. 

A couple of weeks ago I caught up with Jordan for a quick interview on what it's like for an adventure junkie like him to have the beaches of Hawai'i as his backyard. We talked about one of his favorite past times, spearfishing. 

Here are just a few of things he shared with me...

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How often do you go spearfishing?

At least once a week when the water is calm.

What do you enjoy about it?

I love to do this because it's an escape from the world above, and it's where REAL everyday adventures begin. I have a lot of respect for the dangers of the ocean, but I also really believe that if you respect the ocean and understand it, it will give you back so much more in return, enough future adventures that most people will never be able see first hand in their life. 

What are some of the challenges?

The purpose of spearfishing is to hunt game in as traditional a way as possible, and one of the biggest challenges in doing this is having to hold your breath to catch big game the way it has always been done in the past.

As a freediver, you try to use the least amount of modern technology as possible. Why?

Of course, modern technology has provided a much easier and more efficient means of catching fish, but this has resulted in over fishing and pollution, which eventually effects us all. 

Besides, when you free dive for your food, then bragging rights is all yours.

Longshot here, I know, but just wondering... Can you share any of your secret Maui spots with us?

Sorry, but I can't share all of the secret spots. It's nothing selfish, it's just that over populated and over fished places have drastically changed the marine life in the Hawaiian islands. 

So as far as suggestions on where to go, I'm gonna keep it general and just say that if you wanna see a variety of marine life, stick to the northern shores.

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Fair enough. Last of all, do you have any advice for new learners?

1. KNOW THE OCEAN AND ITS CURRENTS! The ocean is extremely dangerous to people who don't know the currents and who underestimate the power of the ocean.
2. NEVER dive alone. 
3. And ALWAYS respect the marine life, you have no idea how fast things can change the moment just one person decides to do otherwise in the underwater marine world. 

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If you haven't had a chance to freedive yet and you're curious what it's like to be down in the depths of the blue world, below is a diving video shot by Jordan himself while out freediving in Makena, Maui. He used a GoPro Hero with the new dive housing to get this amazing underwater footage. 

Oh, and just in case you were wondering what's the difference between 'freediving' and 'spearfishing'... freediving is pretty much the same flipping thing as spearfishing, the only difference is that you go in the water without a spear or spear gun. 

Check out Jordan's freediving footage below:

What do you think? Is this something you would like to do?

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This is the first in a series of adventure travel videos shot by Jordan Costa. 

If you are interested in seeing his other upcoming videos of him and his friends dog sledding, snowboarding and riding, please be sure to SUBSCRIBE!

And now we'd like to ask you: Have you ever been freediving? What did you think of your experience?

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