Interview

You might expect a doctor to walk in wearing a crisp white coat, a slightly austere look, tortoiseshell glasses, and a stream of technical jargon. Instead, you meet Marie Hechtermans: a bright and unconventional figure in modern academia, driven by insatiable curiosity. A sharp mind, a great sense of humour, and a contagious passion for the mysteries of the human body underwater — as well as for sport and arts in all their forms. A young sports physician specialising in divin

"Once you’ve tasted that feeling of unity with the water, with yourself, freed from the ‘how many’, you are in presence." Spoken with calm clarity, these words encapsulate an entire philosophy. Far from the race for numbers, we met David, freediver and AIDA Belgium instructor, to whom the discipline is above all an inner journey — a reconnection to self through the “freediving bubbles” of childhood. Background and journey: from finance to inner depths Who could have guessed

Jean-Pol François (JP), founder of AIDA Belgium and a key figure in the French-speaking freediving world, embodies a life where passion becomes purpose, and breath becomes commitment.