One breath, one dive, 60-feet beneath the surface in the silent beauty of the ocean. Stealthily calculating, quietly stalking, spear in hand, until he finds his prize. Mike Pooler thrives in the benthic lifestyle.
Born and raised in the Florida Keys, Mike Pooler of Benthic Ocean Sports said the ocean has always been his first love. From the tender age of six, Mike was freediving, pushing his limits to see how long he could hold his breath and how deep he could go. By nine years old he speared his first hogfish using a primitive pole spear. Now Mike has made his lifelong passion into his day-to-day lifestyle.
“I started really getting into freediving and spearfishing more when I was in high school but was limited in doing it when I joined the army,” he said. "When I got out of the military in 2008, I was finally able to pursue it passionately and one day I just decided to turn it into my dream job."
This year marks the tenth anniversary since Mike opened his store and training facility in Destin and his passion must be contagious as the popularity of both freediving and spearfishing have risen tremendously in the Destin area over the past decade.
"It is night and day, a completely different community here than when I first opened up,” he said. “Ten years ago, people would look at me crazy when I told them I got a huge red snapper freediving, but now there are local Facebook groups and boats going freediving all the time. It’s changed in such a good way.”
Freediving has even begun to attract visitors to the area and has made Destin one of the most sought-after locations for freediving certification in the continental US. Even on rough sea days, dive students can earn their certifications by visiting the area’s freshwater springs just an hour north of Destin.
“We are still actively supporting and equipping people in our area, but now people are traveling from all over the US to train at Benthic,” Mike said. “Our shop has the perfect set-up to learn to freedive with a classroom within it, access to Emerald Coast Scuba’s 14-foot-deep saltwater pool next door, and our boat slip across the street.”
Of course, Mike said he wouldn't be where he is today if it wasn't for Joe D'Agostino, his second in command and the Director of Education for Benthic. Joe got his start in freediving and spearfishing almost 30 years ago in New Jersey.
"Joe has become one of the best freediving instructors in the nation," Mike said. "The growth in freediving in the Destin area can be directly linked to Joe's training. At the shop, you can train with Joe and I together; we often joke and call it the Mike and Joe show."
Freediving is just that, diving freely in the open ocean without air tanks. Lightweight wetsuits allow for more flexibility than traditional wetsuits and also grant natural body movement in the water. Long thin fins allow for more natural water flow.
“Scuba diving is a great tool, but freediving is for people who want a little bit more of a challenge, a little more purity in the activity,” Mike said. “Freediving is for those who don’t want to be encumbered by equipment. Freedive equipment is built for efficiency, for one tank; our lungs. The gear is not as important as the technique or training, but you do have to have the right gear, so it doesn’t hold you back.”
Freedom, flexibility, mobility and tapping into our own human instincts are where diving lessons begin their focus at Benthic.
“We are all built to do this,” Mike said. “We all have a biological response called the mammalian diver reflex built to protect us in the water. It helps us hold our breath longer and dive deeper, and when you take one of our training courses that natural response starts to kick in very quickly. In one weekend you will get decades worth of experience, your ability to dive safely will increase. That one single class is the key to your world getting larger.”
As Benthic Ocean Sports celebrates 10 years in Destin, Mike can’t help but look back and rejoice at how his passion has really inspired others to join the freedive and spearfishing movement.
“Whenever I first opened Benthic, you could probably count on one hand how many people were freedive spearfishing between Pensacola and Tallahassee,” Mike chuckled. It’s been a long uphill battle to convince people that freedive spearfishing is not only more effective and safer but also a more rewarding way of fishing."