On Public Speaking

Jono Sunnex, an ex Waipa School student, visited our school in Term One 2015 and spoke to our 340 Year 1-Year 8 students about his diving career, his background, his journey to success and his future aspirations. 
Our students were enthralled, not only in Jono’s video clips, but also in his key message…
‘ Dream big, set goals, work hard and achieve. You can do anything!’ 
This message was referred to and commented on by the majority of our senior students in the thank you letters they wrote to Jono. As part of Jono’s visit, he also worked with our three senior classes at the pool, teaching them some water safety and survival skills. Every child involved in these sessions thoroughly enjoyed the experience and gained valuable, practical skills for life.
We are very thankful to have had Jono in our school. He conducted himself respectfully and interacted positively with students and staff. He is an excellent role model and we appreciate the opportunity to have been able to host him.

Sally Hooker
-Deputy Principle Waipa Primary

Johnny on a visit to Waipa Primary School

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on teaching and coaching

Johnny has been huge a part of my freediving education and has helped us tremendously in our annual Vertical Blue Freediving events. Johnny’s patience and knowledge helped me to grasp some of the more complex scientific subjects behind freediving, and his knowledge and capability has helped our events flow with ease. I highly recommend Johnny for both educational purposes and also as a teammate or leader in larger scale events and competitions. Thank you, Johnny!!!

Brittany Trubridge
-Vertical Blue yoga instructor/event co-ordinator


Johnny is one of the best freedivers in the world and therefore one of the best to learn from. He obviously has natural talent but to also be top three in the world you need to have the best processes, skills, knowledge and understanding of diving and the sport to reach this level. This transfers directly into Johnny's teaching and sessions, meaning you truly are being taught best practices.

Moss Burmester 
-Two time Olympian, Commonwealth games gold medalist, multi-sport athlete 
-Vertical Blue Safety diver


I feel very lucky to have had the chance to train with Johnny. Not only is he an amazing athlete but he is also a great coach! I am very grateful that he trained me during my CMAS world record attempts. In the days leading up to the record attempts I had many problems but Johnnies professional and friendly approach really helped me to overcome these barriers for the record. I trust him a lot. He has great knowledge and he applies it specifically to each student. Thank you for everything and more than anything to be a good friend in my life..

Sahika Ercumen
-Multiple CMAS Freediving and Guinness World record holder

Jonathan Sunnex is the man who taught me freediving. I learnt all basic skills and training techniques from him. I was very lucky to have him as my teacher when I started, because his teaching has always been very clear, enthusiastic and motivating. Being a very good freediver himself, he is extremely experienced and a great coach. My first ever static in the water was with Johnny and turned out to be an amazing experience, which laid the foundation for a deep love for static. His relaxing voice always just guided me right through it and this experience remains unbeaten until this day. 
During this time I also mastered all disciplines of freediving under Johnny’s guidance. He made for gradual, safe progress, always urging me to be safe. His training techniques for depth have definitely helped me get where I am today. He is a great motivator, convincing me to go competitive. If it hadn’t been for Johnny, after my first freediving course I might have left it at that. Instead, more than once, he went through a lot of effort to set me on a path that’s led to some of the best experiences of my life. Not unimportantly, Johnny is also super kind and very likely one of the most passionate freedivers you’ll ever get to meet. 

Jeanine Grasmeijer 
-World Champion FIM 2015
-Women's World record 91m FIM, 2013
-6 x Dutch Women's National record holder

Brittany Trubridge, Vertical Blue

Moss Burmester, Champion swimmer

Sahika and Johnny, CMAS WR 2014

Jeanine Grasmeijer, World Record freediver

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On training camps

I took a week off my training with Oracle Team USA to join Johnny and the crew in Antigua and we all had a blast! Johnny works well with all students from beginners to experienced divers, unlocking potential while keeping you in your comfort zone. Before this course I didn't think I could go deeper than 130 feet, after 4 days in the water with Johnny I reached 177 feet without feeling like I had pushed my limits. These are improvements you can only get from training in the water with a professional athlete like Johnny. 
Johnny's freediving Training camps are great for anyone wanting to relieve some stress in the Caribbean while taking their diving to the next level. 

Louis Sinclair
-Team Oracle America's Cup yahtsman

Louis Sinclair, Team Oracle

I went to Johnny for a training camp because I had heard that he really got the best out of people, and I wasn't disappointed. I had only been freediving for a year, but having done only training courses up to that point, I found myself at a bit of a loss as to how to train myself autonomously. Johnny's camp was not only very personalized – he wanted to know my experience, aims and goals, and interests in freediving before we started – but also very thorough. We trained both pool and depth, looking at improving technique as well as confidence before progressing further. For me, I think that Johnny's experience allows him to know what each person is capable of, and that confidence he had in me, was what enabled me to achieve what I didn't think I could. I felt in very safe hands, and I knew I wasn't being pushed beyond my capabilities. On the contrary, he was showing me what I was capable of and more. The result of that for me was that I joined the UK team to compete in the Individual Depth World Championships, which was something I had never even contemplated would be possible!

Louisa Collyns
-UK National Freediving Team
-Vertical Blue Safety Diver

Johnny and Louisa, Vertical Blue 2014

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On Courses

“After 2 days of intensive but enjoyable training Johnny got us to depths we would never have thought possible previously, and this is just the beginning! In the end he offered us the opportunity for an extra half hour of training during which he said if he couldn't get us to hold our breath underwater for at least 3minutes then he would give us our money back. Safe bet it seemed! 4+ minutes later was the most magical, almost born again experience I've ever had! 
Now I'm more aware and curious about the true limits of what our species are capable of and the aquatic skills we have forgotten. Throughout the training Johnny was incredibly patient and reassuring as he continually dived with us, guiding us, calming us, encouraging us. There was no ego or adrenaline fuelled showing off, just a deep love and appreciation of the sea and human potential. If you watch carefully you can observe how he continually monitors every reflex and action to insure your safety, never applying undue pressure yet always gently encouraging you to push your boundaries. He really is at home in the big blue and you could not ask for a more sincere and technically sound instructor. Thank you for this most incredible experience!”

Johnny Lawlor & Steffi Heider
-Ireland, Germany

“My girlfriend and I enrolled to do the AIDA ** course lead by Johnny in January 2012. It was our first experience in freediving and combined excitement, fun and interest! We experienced some problems as well :) Distractions caused by unusual gear, tons of new theoretical stuff to master, equalization - well basically problems probably that most of novice freedivers have. In spite of all that Johnny managed to help us and we found confidence to achieve great results. Johnny's professional coaching together with detailed and valuable feedback for both open water sessions and theory classes was invaluable. His personal experience, attitude and professional advice helped us to improve performance and explore amazing world of freediving!”

Victor and Natalya
-Odessa, Ukraine

"I started training with Johnny after about four years of off-and-on training and spearfishing. He immediately motivated me to earn my SSI Freedive Instructor certification. I find his approach to training and coaching very professional. He is easy-going and able to get results from his students. He is consistent and a true pro. I think everyone that knows him wants Johnny on their team.”  

Hunter Haskins
-Owner/Instructor at Freedive Hawaii

“After training for about a week with Johnny (SSI level 1 / 2), I'm quite satisfied with the results. It's a pretty short period and time was surely flying fast, but getting to 25m deep and holding breath over 5:30 was a pleasant surprise.
The important part here wasn't just the performance, but training in unusual environment safely and comfortably. Thanks to the amount of attention and empathy Johnny shows to his students, it was possible. Now I have better understanding of my limits and am ready to continue training.”

Stas Shtin 
-Russia