One of the best things about this vlog is your complete honesty in reporting your daily encounters.

A great American cowboy once said, "Courage isn't the absence of fear but recognition of fear and saddling up anyways!" Enjoy the dive

well done Matt, takes a brave guy to admit he's scared and ask for help, glad you beat it!

Matt, as a diver for forty years and an instructor of hundreds of students I can tell you that your initial fears and difficulties are very common indeed. The physical forces acting on you underwater are completely different to those on land. It's almost like learning to walk all over again. You have to learn to sense and anticipate your movement in a totally new way. I would say that the average person feels they've really "got the hang of it" after 20-30 dives. Kudos to you for sticking with it and realising it's a learning process. But once you're there, there's nothing like it. Hovering above a reef, completely relaxed and weightless, free to move in three dimensions and controlling your depth to within inches with your breathing. The physical sensation is half the fun of diving!

A video about diving? Or a video about relationships, communication and feelings? That was quite profound. Thank you very much. :-)

To see you face your fears and overcome them, had shed a manly tear. As a man and a diver i understand what you went through. Good on ya for sharing this story.

From someone with over 1,500 dives in conditions ranging from under thick ice to the wonders of tropical reefs, Welcome to the marvellous experience and enjoyment under the sea! 🙌🏻. Good luck & enjoy!

One of the things that make this work for you and for us is your raw honesty, thank you we feel like family. This is one of the best of your filming, the emotions spoken work well with the cinematography and music. The two of you are an inspiration, a pleasure to watch you grow. Thanks.

Hi Matt, it takes courage to admit fear, and even more to face it. Well done, you should be proud of yourself.

As a rather aged diving instructor, I recognised immediately what your discomfort was, a lack of training. It warms my heart to learn that you stuck with it and now feel more comfortable under the water. The best time to be around divers is when they pull the DV out of their mouths, to tell anyone to cares to listen, all about the dive they have just done. Safe Diving to you both, Barnacle Bern BSAC Instructor

You two are fast becoming my new favourite channel. You both are inspirational. One Life, One Search, Peace Out, Shane

I agree with Stuart Brown. I was smitten and touched by Matt’s description of his difficulties on the first dive. I could see myself saying, “yes I’ve got this,” thinking I’d taken it all in and then finding myself in trouble. As Matt has told the story I now will know to make sure I’ve mastered the breathing before moving on with the adventure.

I haven't been diving in more than 40 years. I've thought about doing it again since I enjoyed doing it. A lot about my life changed changing coasts to California and one of them was my relationship with the sea. I grew up around boats, surfed, fished, skiied...moved to California 46 years ago and I've been on a boat twice, never surfed or dived or fished again. I exchanged the water for mountains, forests, and deserts. But I still love the sea. Matt, I'm happy you kept at diving.

Takes a brave man to admit he's scared, braver still to go back and face what scares him. Well done Matt, won't be long and you'll be using any excuse to dive! It's very much like flying, and you just learned how thrilling it is to take off!

Scuba diving makes you very aware of your breathing, something that we rarely consciously think about...that’s why it feels so alien for some people at first. “Feel the fear and do it anyway!” Well done to you 👍🏻

Matt, huge respect for your honesty. Amy, simply a legend.

2 minute chat with the instructor is always a good idea, they know their stuff and have been through all if these issues before. Sometimes turning on your back and making sure your BC is fully purged is worthwhile. Also adding a weight helps. Once you wear a wetsuit you will need more weight to overcome the suit anyway. Not all dives are fun, and finally cuttlefish can be a nuisance during mating season.

The full PADI diving training is vital for safety. The buddy diving system will save your life in time. I fully appreciated this the first time I ran out of air at depth. This does not happen gradually, you breathe out then when you attempt to breathe in there is nothing there,....... Panic. The discipline to swim to your buddy to share their air and go up together is what practice and safe diving is all about. Good on you for having a second go. I’m keen to hear your excitement at your first night dive.

Marco is a terrific scuba diving teacher, and it's a great shared experience that Matt understood that his fear was irrational, but instead of just that macho nonsense of 'man up' and trying to ignore it, or giving up, he told his instructor, who helped him over come it. Brilliant. The vast majority of times someone I've known who's had any resistance at all to a new experience, has just given up, avoided the experience, refused to discuss it or do anything about it. A lot of those people have expressed to me, or to others who've told me later, their resentment towards how easy things are to me. It's not. My first kayaking lesson I think the other students thought I was going to drown because I flipped over so many times: I was first, last and most upside down. My basic premise in life, and experience has supported that I am a complete disaster, but if I keep learning I can eventually figure out just about anything.

Good on you, Matt, being afraid, facing that and proceeding anyway is the very definition of courage. Do it enough and eventually, you’re not afraid. You’ll have to explore other areas of possible fear to concur...smiling. Well done, man. Texas

So glad to hear your more relaxed on that 2nd dive.. I got Padi certified back in 75 ... One thing you will learn right at the beginning is... PLAN YOUR DIVE AND DIVE YOUR PLAN... Words i have never forgotten .. Good luck to you both.. I look forward to your journey..

I'm a dive master, so this is a nice story of how the fear of the unknown and lack of experience can be overcome with the right mindset and determination to embrace challenges, rather than letting these experiences prevent us from growing or developing. We can apply the same mindset to future challenges by remembering that when we choose to make the unknown, the known, the irrational fear we may have initially will often dissolve. This situation wasn't just about dive training, it was about mindset training too.

As a SCUBA diver in southern California I can relate to your experience. Buoyancy control takes practice to master and can be even more difficult if you're underweighted. Great job presenting the story, though! Enjoy your certification experience and many dive adventures to come!

I LOVE scuba diving. I feel so calm and serene afterwards. Sleep amazing after four tanks too. It’s extremely expensive in the Caribbean but I have done it a few times and love it. Wish I could do it in these amazing spots these guys go to! Congratulations!

That was beautiful Matt, thank you for sharing! I am so happy that you were able to try it again and overcome your fear. We are looking so forward to seeing footage of your future dives💖

Yuppie .. finally you both doing scuba diving and seeing you both in the water was like wow ....❤️❤️❤️❤️

Good for you to face this and to try again. Thanks for sharing. Shows us that things can be overcome. Fantastic.

Congratulations Matt on over-coming your fears. As a retired PADI Instructor your concerns are very real. After around 5,000 some dives ironically my greatest fear is that of cold water. It just isn’t enjoyable unless I stay warm. Cheers Matt and Amy. It’s a whole new world to discover!

Such magnificent story telling. Thank you so much for sharing. I will remember this in my future when I learn to dive.

love you honesty Matt - I learned in the UK (BSAC trained) - its a more extreme environment than warm / clear water for sure but you won't find anyone who done a lot of diving who hasn't overcome fear or the spooks as we used to call it. In fact we used to prefer to buddy up with people who knew what this was as they were more likely to stay calm if things went astray. You got back on the horse and I'm sure that took a lot of courage but you will now get the benefit. Getting the right amount of weights on your belt is always a problem when you start out, seems you didn't have enough weight OR you had air in your jacket taking you up - you have to be negatively buoyant, (but not massively so or you sink very quick and speed up as you do), and then add air to the stability jacket to stabilise.

I agree with Stuart Brown’s comments below. Thanks to both of you for sharing the story, emotions and that communication and trust can result in great experiences for both partners. :)

Next to learning how to fly, scuba diving is the greatest experience I have ever had. Once you are competent and comfortable with it you can literally go to sleep on the bottom. I once read a NavySeal’s explanation that he had more than 20,000 hours underwater, days on end. Anything you can do on land, can be done underwater . Learn, be safe, and enjoy !

Thanks for this vid guys. As avid followers of your channel, my partner and I look forward to each vid release from you. For Matt, I completely relate to what you experienced and am very impressed with how you dealt with your fears. Fear is a natural instinct to aid survival. Uncontrolled, it has the opposite effect. The best way to deal with it is to 'get back on the horse' as soon as possible in a less stressful situation than what triggered the fear and then work back to the original conditions whilst reflecting carefully on each step. The progression may not be linear, but by making that first hard step to go back to the activity (diving in this case), you are also creating transferrable experiences that will help you deal with other stressful unrelated situations. One of my great passions for decades has been paragliding, I stepped away from it for a while and lost my nerve as well as motivation to fly, you have just reinspired me to get back into it! Keep up the great vids, in my opinion you two have the best sailing channel on KZfaq.

I remember my first PADI Open Ocean dive as if it was yesterday but in reality it was well over 30 years ago. While preparing for this dive the instructor kept reminding us to put our regulators in your mouth before you start your decent. I’m thinking how stupid is that, who could possibly forget that! Well guess what, I did, we were on the surface and everyone raised their BC valve and started down. My first breath was a good swig of sea water. I cleared myself and continued down. It’s a foreign world down there and if you can overcome your fears and anxiety your air will last longer and you will become aware of your surroundings. Have fun with you knew adventures and remember these to things 1) put your regulator in your mouth before you go under 😳 2) don’t ever hold your breath.

I’m really happy you both enjoyed diving. As a PADI instructor who has trained hundreds of divers, I have mixed feelings about the introduction dives, also known as resort dives and discover scuba diving. I’ve met many people who have been turned on to diving this way, but also many who have been turned off. Buoyancy and equalization are usually the two main reasons for negative experiences. If you took the full certification class, you now know that the class is designed to break down these and other skills and ensure you gain proficiency and comfort. The resort courses are often too abbreviated for many people to work through these problems, and some people walk away thinking scuba is not for them. Kudos for you for being honest with Marco, and kudos to him for taking the time to guide you through your areas of discomfort. I hope you have (had?) fun getting certified and enjoy diving as a lifelong pursuit. In case you are interested, here are some pics I took a couple years ago in Indonesia. www.flickr.com/photos/scubagerry359/albums/72157706411092831. Cheers!

Glad you worked past the fears you were having. Many. many have issues with controlling buoyancy the first few dives. Learning to scuba and getting my open water certification actually help me get over my tremendous fear of being in deep open water. I've never had a fear of being out on the water on a boat or being in a swimming pool but I did have a genuine fear of deep open water! Welcome to a new wonderful expensive love...

Amazing. Well done. And well done to Marco for helping you to deal with the problem. A good teacher is worth his weight in gold!

Concentrate on all the beauty around you then there is no room for fear. Well done.

Oh wow!!!! What a great video! Fear, excitement, courage, beauty. All in one show!!! Can’t wait to see your underwater footages. Well done for embracing fear the way you did. That is what courage is all about. 👍👍👍 Reminds me when I did my first skydive. I became a skydive cameraman after conquering the fear. 😊😊

Another great video, thank you, really admired Matt being honest and open about his experience.

Bravo Matt! This was a surprisingly touching episode. Your vulnerability and honesty were BRAVE of you to share. So glad you gave it another try.

Very vulnerable and real. I to have had a horrible scuba experience. I've never been back, but after seeing you go back, I'll try again. Thanks for taking me along.

I've flown 4,000 hours in USMC attack jets and a variety of training aircraft. No fear (even after having a 500 pound high explosive bomb explode right after releasing it causing massive damage to the jet; it was still flyable). I let a friend talk me into a tandom jump sky diving to celebrate my 45th birthday. I went with a USAF Pararescue Jumper among the best of the best. It was a blast until the chute opened and I then felt as though I was slipping out of the rig. I wasn't, but it felt that way. After we landed my legs were shaking like leaves. I never did it again. Good on you, Matt, for that second dive. You are a better man than me Gunga Din.

I'm so glad you gave it another chance Matt! Looking forward to some amazing under the water video! Love you guys!

👍🏼for your honesty. Thank you

What a wonderful, honest, heartwarming story. Bravo Zulu to Matt for facing and conquering his fears. Keep the videos coming. From Baton Rouge, Louisiana

(Baz) As an SSI certified dive master with close to 350 logged dives I can tell you that it took me about 20 dives before I thought I had it figured out. Each dive is a learning curve. Even with that many dives there are still times when a part of my brain shouts "We've got to get out of here. Get to the surface" and I have a conversation with myself in my head that everything is OK, just breath nice and steady. Eventually the thoughts pass and I enjoy the rest of the dive. Stick with it, the rewards are more than worth it.

Brilliant! Relax and go forward your own fear, on better self controled and confident side; what a great lesson!

Neutral buoyancy takes some practice, when it clicks, it’s a game changer, really glad you persevered! And well done for opening up about your fears.

"Scuba diving lets you stand and stare" My kind of diver. Nothing better than letting the undersea world come to you rather than chase it away by swimming, swimming and swimming.

I'm glad you gave it another try. I haven't dived in years but I'm a SSI Assistant Dive Instructor. It's often tricky for noobies to catch on to proper breathing and buoyancy control. If you're nervous, it causes you to breath shallow and be more buoyant. Practice makes perfect!

You kept at it. Way to go. You two got some great footage.

Great lessons for all of us in anything we do that is new and risky. Thank you Matt and Amy.

Great timing! Myself, my husband and our son will be completing a PADI course very soon. It’s our family goal this year. Can’t wait to see through your eyes what your experience has been like. Well done Matt for overcoming your fear. Often great things lie beyond it. Love your work guys. I’m always excited when your vids drop. My absolute fav sailing channel amongst the many out there.

Incredible story! Thanks for sharing.

Yay. You learned to sprint and do backflips and twists before you knew how to crawl ?! I found your channel whilst looking for a boat I could buy to go diving. Then, I fell in love with sailing. Oh, this lovely unpredictable life !

Nice! Sailing around the world is pretty brave in itself. Nice job sticking with the scuba.

A very strong and honest video. When I first learned to dive and for the first few dives, I would get very anxious at about 10 ft. and had to stop and relax my breathing for just a few minutes. Thank you and I really enjoy your channel.

Beautiful video video!!! Thanks

Congratulations on taking the plunge (literally!) into scuba diving. I am claustrophobic and understand the fear of being under the water, so kudos to Matt for overcoming that natural resistance to being in an alien environment. Being able to film your prolonged time under the water will add a new dimension to your already excellent video production. If there were KZfaq awards you would win all the gold medals!

Great video guys, well done Matt for sharing your fears and then pushing through them. Amy is a natural underwater. Really enjoyed the video. Cheers

Bravo Matt! Well done for subduing your fears, however rational they seem at the time and well done Marco, for your skills and abilities (And your calm professional and non-judgemental demeanour) in helping Matt overcome his fears of buoyancy control (Or rather lack thereof!)..... May you both share a lifetime of enjoyment of your new passion and we hope to reap the vicarious rewards! Thanks for posting another great episode!

What a great guy Marco for giving you a second chance super well done Matt and Amy joyful and beautiful to watch

Well done. Awesome episode, great story telling and openness to share your fears and struggles and managed to overcome them. Hugs from NZ

Well, that was a complete turn of events! I thought everything would change and that would be the end of this water-world lifestyle. So glad it worked out for the better! I tried to get as qualified in SCUBA as I could before I set out sailing back in 1987. I added a salvage dive and a deep water dive to the itinerary. Both were done off the NC coast in 65' and 115' respectfully. The water was "clear enough". We dove on a wreck and brought up a handful of items, each getting progressively larger and heavier and had to raise one larger object as a team sharing our inflatable bags to float it to the surface. The deep dive was on a sunken German sub from WW2, and was just to explore and take pictures as we were not allowed to enter for obvious reasons. It was on this dive that we had a problem with one of the students. He had claimed in the classroom work that he was experienced. Once we got into the water he was frightened and never relaxed. He would breathe like he was running a race. We had a dozen students and everyone couldn't be monitored closely all the time. After about 10 minutes of a leisurely exploration of the hull, I felt a pull on my tank and turned to find him signaling me that he was out of air. He was not the one I was "buddied" up with. I gave him my 'octopus' mouthpiece and took him over to the instructor to ensure he was aware of the problem. He took over and asked me to get everyone else back up to the boat so he wouldn't have to worry about any one else but the one in trouble. Everyone else was rounded up and we slowly rose to the surface and reboarded the boat. I jumped back into the water to help the instructor whose double tanks were still good but the troubled diver had further panicked on the ascent and gulped in a LOT of seawater and was throwing up and thrashing in a panic on the surface. His lips were bluish in color and his face was very pale. The instructor was already applying mouth to mouth in the water. We got him back in the boat and he had already stopped breathing and lost consciousness. The instructor restored his breathing and we headed back in. The USCG sent a boat out to retrieve him and get him to the hospital to be evaluated. It was pretty obvious he was uncomfortable in the water for some reason and was in constant fear causing him to be unable to relax and slow his breathing. He had endangered himself and others on this dive by not confronting this issue with the instructor and resolving it if it could be before hand. So you have done exactly the right thing and it has paid off in safety and enjoyment.

Well done on facing those fears and overcoming them. Great video

Wow. Superb account, and I hope your confidence continues to grow, Matt, and you can genuinely enjoy the dives ahead without having to keep that fear-layer on a leash all the time. Well done, and thank you for your honesty, and especially for being able to talk about it. I love sea swimming, but I'm not a strong swimmer and get to panic stations if there's anything near me in the water - kick out and thrash for the shore - so I'm pretty certain I could not do what you're doing, and my only experience of scuba is going to be what you show us; so thank you again.

Wow what an inspiring video of facing your fears!

Way to go, guys. Scuba is truly a mad experience, if you think about it, it would be odd if something so outlandlish was just as easy as popping a reg in your gob and jumping off a pier. Small point....I would not be taking someone for a try-dive straight into water out of their depth. Horse around in the shallows first until you are comfortable with the kit. Your in-built instincts do not immediately accept that it is possible to breath under water... don't rush them. Secondly, especially for Matt, do the courses. The more you understand the physics of diving the more in control and therefore safer your will be. Both of you please stay safe and don't rush this. There are wonderful experiences to be had but please do your homework and prep first. Enough of my waffle though, thanks for a great movie xx.

Awesome!

I really enjoyed this episode! I have a fear of the water but I race my sailboat! Well done Amy and Matt. Amy for helping Matt face his fear and Matt for facing it! An inspiration, indeed.

In all honesty, the first thing you didn't need was a camera. As a new diver, you've got enough to handle - the new sensations, the dive master's instructions, your emotions, the BC, your body - you didn't need the extra distraction. Second, buoyancy is probably the most difficult skill initially. I remember rocketing up and plummeting down many times during my early dives. And it's really embarrassing to see everyone else 6m below you after an uncontrolled ascent, forcing them to wait while you got your sh!t together, and having the asst. dive instructors surface beside you to check on things. It took me a few dives to master, and now it is second nature. Glad to see you stuck at it and made it through. It opens up a new world of wonder...

Fantastic video ! A great lesson of not being afraid to push the limits! Well done!

Thank you for sharing, brave of you// Pierre (Sweden)

Well done guys, great honest video, there is a lesson for all of us in this one. Take care and stay safe. All the best.

The photography and editing in this video are really very excellent. Especially the sequence leading up to the second dive, and the start of the second dive, are very well put together, cinematic and dramatic story telling.

Absolutely fantastic video, insightful, honest, empathatic relationships, just just fantastic thank you

What an excellent teacher Marko is

Fantastic storytelling in this video. Enjoy the diving!

Great story telling as always. Thanks or sharing.

Well done Matt for facing the fear and being brave enough to admit it - and well done Amy for supporting and encouraging Matt the way you did. Thank you for sharing all of that emotional roller coaster. I'm a PADI Dive Master and for me, SCUBA and being underwater is like being in a state of bliss but I've also seen a lot of students face what you did. I would feel bad if you had left it at the first dive. You've found a good instructor and I wish you many more wonderful dive adventures.

What a way to face your fears! Good job buddy!!

What an awesome achievement! Thanks for sharing guys

What a wonderful video. You both worked together to overcome your fears which really reminded me of agrophobia. You did well to go back and Marco was amazing with those exercises. We loved the vertical fish! What are they? Your videos are truly special. Thank you.🌬⛵⚓😎🦘🙏

Wow, Marco is one awesome man. And well done on facing your fears. Beautiful video guys.

I would like to thank you for this video - Having been 5 times to Cubadak Resort, it allows me to see the place again since with the pandemic, impossible to go there ... Took with my wife our Discovery Dive there, and also got hooked immediately, so we took our PADI Open Water course with Marco ... Can't go wrong with Marco, he is patient, takes the necessary time to make sure that every is right and is demanding (for obvious security reasons) and taking the course in Cubadak in a smaller resort is a completely different experience (more like a private class) than the PADI factories in more touristic places, where you are just a number ... Good luck with the Open Water Course and don't forget to enjoy and disconnect from the world above the surface - That is what diving is all about ... Please do say hi to all the Cubadak crew ;-)

Boyancy control is the hardest thing to master, a weight belt properly weighted helps. DO the PADI Open water Course you will get all the skills you need, being scared is ok a little fear will keep you safe. I learnt and taught in Brighton UK where vis is on a good day five meters.

Always spend the first few minutes and the last few minutes practicing your buoyancy. Don’t rush through the courses. Courses won’t make you a good diver. The more dives you will. Good luck in your ventures.

no worries about scuba diving, you will learn!!! i was the same on my first dive and now finished my scuba open water certification and feel sooo much more confident and relaxed

Thanks for sharing this with us

Every Saturday I look forward to your video. Amazing young couple. Keep enjoying your experience.

Great stuff. Well done.

Great honesty here. Very unique KZfaqrs here. A refreshing change. Bravo!!!!

Learning to overcome rational fear is what makes human beings advance in this world. That you could admit these fears and overcome them is testament to you and your teacher.

Matt I am glad it worked out for you anxiety is no fun.. I am looking forward to seeing more underwater photos in the future.

Great vlog, Matt love the honesty but more admire you facing your fear & beating the gremlins, onwards & upwards, enjoy the diving 👍👍

As the saying goes, courage isn't a lack of fear, but facing your fear. Absolutely amazing job, with the honesty and facing your fear. So much respect from me, not that it matters, but great job!

Well done Matt for giving it another go. Glad it was a better experience second time around. Like you, I was put off learning by the perception that UK waters were cold and gloomy. But with the improvements in kit, particularly dry suits and dive lights , I have really enjoyed diving in the UK. Definitely recommend giving it a go if and when you make it back here,

Scuba diving is a life changing experience, there is nothing like it. Watching my friend try to equalize his suit on the first day was so hilarious that I wanted to laugh underwater. Wasted a lot of air. But after that it was amazing, the colours, the fish, the corals, Breathtaking. Seeing it on camera doesn't do it justice.

Awesome video guys, thanks for sharing this experience... I'll be showing this to my wife, she battle severe fear of water but yet gracious enough to have agreed to do the cruising life with me in the near future god willing.