Freedive Carolina's Channce Baca
Channce moved from Florida to the Greenville just before starting high school at Hillcrest. After graduation, he worked at downtown’s Lululemon (long before it got hit by that car), and in 2019, he moved to New Orleans for work with Johnson & Johnson in medical device sales.
As Fate Would Have It
Little did he know, one freediving course would change his course forever. In 2022, Channce completed a beginner’s class in New Orleans, and it wasn't long before he found himself taking another one in Spain. His passion and knack for the sport stood out to his instructor, and soon Channce began traveling the world, freediving.
During his adventures, Channce finished one of the oldest international freediving programs, located in Thailand. Intent on starting his own freediving company, Channce set his sights on Puerto Rico before heading back to SC for an unrelated visit.
By happenstance, Channce wound up at Lake Jocassee and was stunned to find, even compared to all his experiences elsewhere, the waters offered world class diving conditions, not to mention wreck sites to explore. As a result, Freedive Carolina was born.
So What Is Freediving?
As the name implies, freediving is a sport that allows divers to explore underwater without the hassle of navigating with a scuba tank or the drawback of losing decompression time. Channce calls freediving “all the freedom in the world.” Beyond that, he considers it more of a sport while classifying scuba as a recreational activity.
His company offers beginner and advanced classes as well as athlete coaching. Over the course of 4 days, beginner participants learn the basic skills and techniques needed to successfully dive; that is, they finish the course as freedivers.
Equipment is provided, so all registrants need is a pair of lungs. Ironically, Channce says participants don’t even need to be great swimmers. He explains that you don’t really swim; you only need to dive, pull yourself down using a rope and anchor system, and breathe.
Breathing Is Everything
Actually, that last bit is most important. If you can’t hold your breath, you won’t make it very far down, so breathwork coaching is a huge part of Channce's curriculum. Much of the freediving experience is a meditative practice that requires deep focus. It’s similar to yoga except that it’s underwater.
In fact, Channce equates freediving to a sort of hybrid between yoga and cycling as it’s a great cardio workout without the harsh impacts riding a bike can have on one’s joints. Kroc members are already familiar with this concept thanks to Tina and her aqua fitness classes.
Beyond the functional purpose of learning to breathe mindfully to reach new depths in freediving, Channce’s participants also discover benefits outside of the pool as self-soothing is a transferable stress management skill with endless applications in daily life; imagine, a life hack for finding your calm.
Nature from A New Perspective
Now compound that vision of calm by adding a natural backdrop to the scene. If Freedive Carolina’s underwater photography doesn’t inspire you to join a class, I don’t know what will because between the Gopro shots of Jocassee and professional images taken in Thailand, there’s no denying freediving offers participants the experience of a lifetime!
You might be saying to yourself though, if this is supposed to be an outdoor sport, what is Channce doing at Kroc Greenville’s indoor Aquatics Center? Great question, the answer is weather related; conditions at Jocassee are only conducive to diving from about March to October. In fact, many freedivers, especially in cold climates, train indoors to advance and maintain skills year-round.
In freediving, there’s something called “dynamics” which is essentially training horizontally across something like The Kroc’s lap lanes, instead of vertically. Divers practice the same techniques they would going down, but they’re moving straight across, instead.
Channce’s beginner course allows participants to experience both indoor and outdoor exercises. The class’ structure includes three parts: a self-paced, online theory and test portion, breathwork training and skill building in our indoor lap pool, and 2 days depth diving at Lake Jocassee.
World Class Programing
Have we piqued your interest yet? Well, it gets better. Freedive Carolina is a proud Molchanovs affiliate, so you have the opportunity to train under the world’s most prestigious freediving agency. “You’re not just taking a course- you’re joining the world’s elite diving family.”
Channce follows Molchanovs certified curriculum to guide participants to their goal of diving 60 feet in a single breath! Plus, he’s kind of a cool guy to learn from. Channce describes himself as joyful, loving, and attentive, and those attributes impact his teaching style. He’s known for meeting people where they are, nurturing student interests, and prioritizing enjoyment.
All Dried Off
Speaking of enjoyment, outside of the water, Channce is into visiting local coffee shops (of which there is no shortage), playing banjo and piano, being in nature, and watching movies. His favorite director is Christopher Nolan, so he’s very much looking forward to seeing this summer’s adaptation of The Odyssey.
Channce speaks English and Spanish, and his family has a corgi named Luna.
Joining A Freedive Carolina Course
Are you ready to find your calm, experience underwater movement, and immerse yourself in nature in a whole new way? Contact Channce directly ([email protected]) to join a beginner course, or sign up at freedivecarolina.com.
Courses booked before August 15th receive a 20% off discount, and if you decide to move forward with the sport after your 4 day introduction, later courses build on skills and techniques to help you achieve greater depths.
Not to mention, you’ll get to use the monofin. If you’re thinking mermaid, so was I, but apparently mermaiding is a separate thing that just happens to have overlapping skills.
Regardless, the monofin sounds fun, and if you decide you want to purchase one of your own or any other freediving equipment, Channce has access to a savings code through Molchanovs he’d be happy to share. There are also experts available to help you choose the gear that best fits your ability level and budget.
In summary, if you’re 18 years of age or older, you’ve just found the chance of a lifetime (pun intended), and if swim skills are the thing keeping you on the fence about making this jump, remember that Kroc Greenville instructors offer adult group lessons you could attend together.
Once upon a time, Channce was working shifts at Lululemon, and now he’s the captain of his own ship (sunken at the bottom of Lake Jocassee). Imagine how Freediving could transform your life, and ask yourself, are you ready for a change?