Inspirational 8: Women’s Day diver nominees

Inspirational
Gador Muntaner (Rafa Fernandez)

Today (8 March) is International Women’s Day, and training agency PADI has chosen to celebrate the occasion by highlighting eight “inspirational” divers. Some of them it says have had to overcome societal norms, adversity and discrimination to follow their passion for protecting and promoting the ocean.

Originally from Spain, Gador Muntaner started snorkelling at the age of three, qualified as a scuba diver at 16 and by 22 was an Open Water Scuba Instructor. In 2016 she moved to La Paz in Mexico to study sharks, with her research project focused on silvertip movements in the Revillagigedos.

Also read: Falmouth is UK hotspot for Women’s Dive Day

Inspirational
Gador Muntaner (Rafael Fernandez)

She is now pursuing a master’s degree on contamination in great white shark tissues around Guadalupe island, and recently ran a scientific study in Spain on sustainable shark tourism. Her mission to save sharks can be followed on Instagram.

Zandile Ndhlovu, South Africa’s first black African freediving instructor, founded the Black Mermaid Foundation. The organisation seeks to diversify marine conservation and sports and to encourage young people of any race, gender or religion to experience the ocean.

Inspirational
Zandile Ndhlovu (Samantha Hunter)

Mermaiding is seen by PADI as a powerful new way of encouraging a new wave of women (and men) to appreciate the ocean, and the pursuit already has a number of influencers. Brandee Anthony has more than 1.7m online followers of her life as a professional mermaid, photo- and videographer and PADI Mermaid instructor, based in Vero Beach, Florida. 

Three years ago she started Mermaid Freedive so that guests could aim for PADI Freedive and Mermaid certification while staying in an all-inclusive retreat. 

Inspirational
Brandee Anthony
Inspirational
Mermaid Elle

Meanwhile another instructor, Mermaid Elle, is said now to be the most popular mermaid on TikTok. “Becoming a mermaid is really just being yourself in your most powerful form,” she says. “We call ourselves mer-sisters and mer-brothers because mermaids are one species, one family, one school of fish!” She believes it is the mer-persons’ role to speak up for marine conservation.

Julia Aveline Rabenjoro from Sabah, Borneo is earlier in her diving development. Training began on her eighth birthday, and she was a Junior Open Water Diver by 10 and a Junior AOWD at 12.

Inspirational
Julia Aveline Rabenjoro

Now 14 she is a Basic Freediver and has just taken her Junior Rescue Diver course. PADI says that her passion for conserving the ocean led her to create the Seed of Hope Facebook page to raise awareness and funds for ocean causes, and inspire other young ocean advocates.

Cody Unser was also looking to inspire others from an early age. At 13 she founded the Cody Unser First Step Foundation to raise awareness of the autoimmune condition transverse myelitis, which had left her suddenly paralysed in 1999. 

Unser believes in the power of adaptive scuba diving as a valuable therapeutic and and psychological tool, regardless of injury or condition, and her foundation’s focus on bringing this into the mainstream is “creating a buzz” in the medical and dive industries, says PADI. 

Inspirational
Cody Unser (centre) with other adaptive scuba divers.

Unser’s documentary Sea of Change explores the effects of adaptive scuba on paralysed veterans, and she now spends much of her time travelling across the USA to further her mission.

Completing the eight are PADI Divemaster Elise Gibbins and Mia Stawinski, underwater and topside film-makers and photographers who are said to be using their skills to drive positive environmental change, particularly around endangered ecosystems. They say they want to encourage more divers of any gender to explore and protect the ocean.

Inspirational
Elise Gibbins
Inspirational
Mia Stawinski

All the divers can be followed on their Instagram, Facebook and TikTok pages or podcasts.

How Do You Attach a Jon Line? @BrentHollett #askmark #scuba

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