about 10 years ago, i went on a boat trip with Hayato Maki. we were deep into north sumarta on a boat for 12 days. one evening, i pulled out my spear gun to dive for some sashimi. he pulls one out too and says “look what i bought. how do you use this?” i look at him and say “wow! where did you get that from?” he said “my friend Kamio let me borrow it.” it was a brand new gun, never been used, and i was kind of tripping out. for somebody that never dove before to bring a big speargun like that was interesting. anyway, we jump into the water. i was watching him try to load his speargun but the band was so strong that he couldn’t do it. i help him load his gun for the first time and that day was the start of his new love. no, he didn’t catch anything, but i could see it in his eyes that he was a man determined to catch fish. always trying so hard, never giving up, and hooked on diving. the deepest he dove on that trip was 10′ and held his breath for about 20 seconds. throughout the years, we dove a lot here in hawaii, dove in indonesia, dove in the maldives, and dove in japan. i seen him progress into deeper dives and longer breath holds. i even seen him almost get attacked by a huge tiger shark. haha. just watching his virgin eyes underwater was entertainment for me throughout the years. we laughed, we learned, and we will never forget. free diving is another world. if you can take a spear, jump in the ocean anywhere in the world, and bring home fish for dinner, you are a happy man. it’s amazing!
so when Hayato texted me last night thanking me for getting him into this world, it was one of the most happiest days in my diving life. it really meant a lot to me because i got to see him trying so hard and never giving up. i watched him miss the biggest chances in his life. watched him in complete disappointment and watched him frustrated many times when he missed his chance of landing that huge fish. i always use to tell him “hey, your day will come, and when it does, it will be even sweeter! well, Hayato’s day has come! i’m super proud of you dude!
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