Underwater risk management, stunt breath-hold coaching, actor conditioning, and on-set apnea logistics.
15+ years on-set experience (BBC, Channel 4, ITV) combined with a BSc in Multimedia Technology to bridge technical broadcast requirements with aquatic safety.
Custom breath-hold panic management, Resilience training , hypoxic conditioning, and high-stress aquatic confidence programs.
Resiliance training, breath work coaching, nervous system reset and team building.
Program design and delivery for UK Special Forces ATC groups.
Reset your nervous system and build quiet confidence. Through simple, science-backed breathing mechanics and practical mindfulness, learn how to lower stress, improve sleep, and bring lasting clarity to everyday life. Local full-day sessions and 1-on-1 coaching availablel.
Tailored 1-on-1 and paired performance coaching, deep equalization troubleshooting, AIDA certifications, and bespoke foraging clinics.
AIDA Instructor Trainer rating (highest global tier) and author of the #1 bestseller Underwater Foraging – Freediving for food.
Ian Donald’s best selling book, Underwater foraging – Freediving for food is a go to resource for thousands of divers and has been the starting point for generation of freedivers and spearfishers, he has also been a consultant for landmark documentaries and has been onscreen and behind the scenes in dozens of TV shows and adverts.
After teaching thousands how to freedive, Ian now focuses on private freediving instruction (for all levels) or safety oversight for film and tv.
Ian Donald offers a private training experience unlike any other. Forget group classes and generic programs. This is your opportunity to receive 1-on-1 instruction tailored to your unique physiology, goals, and challenges. Whether you’re a beginner focused on safety and form, or an athlete refining your technique, Ian’s world-class expertise is the key to unlocking your new personal best.
When people want to improve breath-hold times, they immediately look at CO2 tables, diaphragm stretches, and water technique. While those are obviously fundamental, almost everyone ignores what happens before training even begins. If your baseline physiology is already stressed out by what you just ate, you are fighting an uphill battle before you even start […]
Most people think that to hold their breath longer, they need to spend more time in a pool. Getting comfortable with carbon dioxide, however, is something you can do safely and efficiently right on your sofa. The urge to breathe is actually caused by the level of CO2 in the blood, rather than a lack […]
Rethinking Progression: Why Private Remote Training is the Secret to Better Freediving and Stress Control When people think about learning to freedive, they naturally picture the ocean. They picture squeezing into a wetsuit, dealing with weights, and spending hours in the water trying to perfect their breath-hold or equalization. For a long time, that was […]
One of the best aspects of freediving, and to a lesser extent spearfishing, is that you dont need much kit to get started. If you take it down to the absolute basics, all you need is a mask, fins, snorkel and possibly a gun or spear. Of course then there are things that then make […]