VisionFree Diving

[armeyer82]

My name is Andrew and I am totally blind and certified by FFESSM as a PESH-20 scuba diver. When I considered scuba diving many years ago, there was not a plethora of information to be found regarding courses and training for blind and visually-impaired people. As such, I am the host of a new podcast called, VisionFree Diving, a podcast to share my passion for scuba diving and raise the awareness of scuba diving for people with disabilities, especially those with visual impairments.
During these podcast episodes, I speak with blind and visually-impaired divers and their instructors to discuss their experiences, challenges and ultimately their triumphs associated with the sport of scuba diving. We highlight the three major organizations that I am aware of that offer adaptive diver training and discuss their various training programs in depth. Our goal is to provide information regarding all of the different associations that offer adaptive diver training thereby enabling people with disabilities to make an educated decision concerning the type and level of adaptive scuba training they will receive. VisionFree Diving is available on Apple podcast, Amazon Music, Spotify and many other platforms.

 

[Eric802]

Welcome, Andrew. If you don't mind I'd like to ask about diving while blind. I was thinking about it the other day - I have a couple eye surgeries coming up and my mind was wandering to worst-case scenarios. Being totally blind, what is it about diving that interests you? To me, the main attraction is being able to see a different world - things I'd never be able to see above water, wrecks and reefs and exotic fish. With the visual component gone, what do you get out of diving?

 

[armeyer82]

Welcome, Andrew. If you don't mind I'd like to ask about diving while blind. I was thinking about it the other day - I have a couple eye surgeries coming up and my mind was wandering to worst-case scenarios. Being totally blind, what is it about diving that interests you? To me, the main attraction is being able to see a different world - things I'd never be able to see above water, wrecks and reefs and exotic fish. With the visual component gone, what do you get out of diving?

Hi there and thanks for your message. For me, and for the other blind and visually-impaired divers I have spoken to, there are several reasons why I scuba dive. First and foremost, I just love the water and being in it. Floating in it brings a sense of peace and tranquility that cannot be found anywhere else on earth. Second, scuba diving gives me a challenge and sense of accomplishment. It's the closest thing to flying or being in space that blind people will ever experience. The feeling of freedom and independence is unsurpassed and through scuba diving, I have met many people like me who are blind or visually-impaired and have been able to socialize with like-minded people. As for not being able to see, I have had the opportunity to touch things that I otherwise would have never been able to touch. I have felt different types of coral reefss and various marine plant and animal life. I truly hope your eye surgeries go well. If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

 

[armeyer82]

I just released the next episode of my podcast entitled, "VisionFree Diving. In this, the third episode, we continue exploring the three major organizations that provide adaptive scuba training. In the last episode, episode 2, we talked about Diveheart. In this episode, we give an overview of Handisub, which is the organization that provides adaptive scuba training to those with disabilities in France.