Meet the real-life mermaid teaching kids to dive for the ocean’s future
Growing up, Beth Neale wanted to be a mermaid. But living in the landlocked city of Johannesburg, it seemed to be nothing more than a childhood fantasy.
It was only after she finished school that she took a deep breath and turned that dream into a reality. Now a four-time South African freediving champion, Neale is giving youth the opportunities she never had.
Neale’s first freedive was in a cloudy quarry in London. Despite the poor conditions, the experience transformed her life. “One breath is all you need to discover a whole new world,” she says. Neale returned to South Africa with her sights set on Sodwana Bay’s pristine coastline and never looked back. Since becoming a PADI advanced scuba diver and freediving instructor, Neale’s love for the ocean has only deepened. In 2019, she broke the South African and African Continental Record, diving to 50 metres with no fins to raise funds for the educational programme, Kids on the Reef.
While Neale relishes in plunging past her limits, nothing compares to sharing her passion with others. Through her organisation, Aqua Souls, she has taught over 3,000 children the joys of freediving in Bermuda, Mozambique, and South Africa. Neale also educates youth on the threats to this ecosystem, encouraging them to conserve it. “It's really important for them to have that experience at a young age so that they will grow up to protect the ocean,” she says. Breathing advocacy into young divers, Neale is developing a future brimming with compassion for the natural world.
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