Small classes, taught properly — by one instructor who cares how you learn

I'm Jeffrey Nerona, the instructor behind Mabini Freediving Club. I'm a software engineer by trade, and I came to freediving the way a lot of people do — out of curiosity, just to try it for fun. What I didn't expect was how much I'd come to need it. Between the screens and the deadlines, freediving became my way to switch off: a few quiet meters underwater turned out to be the best stress release I'd found.

The deeper I went, the more I respected it as a discipline — physical, technical, and mental all at once — and that challenge is exactly what made it stick. I started teaching to share that quiet I found underwater, and to help people through the same things I struggled with when I was learning: the equalization that wouldn't click, the nerves, the urge to rush. Helping someone relax and take their first real dive never gets old.

I keep my classes deliberately small. I prefer one-on-one whenever I can, and I cap group sessions at three students — where many schools run four or five. Fewer people in the water means more attention on you, more coaching per dive, and a safer session. For me, that trade-off is the whole point.