About
Blueback Freediving & Yoga acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land, the Whadjuk people. We pay our respects to their elders, knowledge-holders and continuing culture, and their deep connections to land and sea country.
Based in the Boorloo-Perth area, we offer freedive courses in the Derbal Nara-Cockburn Sound and the Derbal Yerrigan-Swan River, private coaching, pool squad training and ocean charters around Wadjemup-Rottnest Island, and to the Lena Shipwreck (Goomburrup-Bunbury). Our nature-based retreats connect you to sea country across Western Australia's southwest, northwest and offshore regions.
Who We Are
Tania Douthwaite
Founder • Freedive & Yoga Instructor • Senior Coach
Credentials: Internationally Recognized Freedive Instructor • PADI Professional • Master Instructor • Emergency First Response Instructor • Yoga-Meditation Teacher
Tania is a certified freedive instructor, yoga teacher and marine scientist with over 15 years' experience. She brings a caring, calm and patient approach to guiding others into the underwater world.
A passionate advocate for freediving safety and marine conservation, Tania founded the Fremantle Underwater Film Festival and OceanLife Festival, and co-created "Mermantle Men" — the world's first mental health and freediving program — with FremantleMind Inc. She's also the creator of Blueback's signature 'Learn to Freedive' Wellbeing programs, drawing on 8+ years of research into freediving's wellbeing benefits delivered with a person-centred, trauma-informed approach.​​​​​​​​​
​
Blueback is an Act-Belong-Commit (Mentally Healthy WA) partner, reflecting Tania's commitment to community wellness and nature-connectedness.​​
With her abiding respect for ocean life, Tania combines her scientific background with a meditative, student-centred teaching style.
Meet the Team
Dan is a Blueback Freedive Instructor and Squad Coach.
With a passion for the water and a patient, supportive approach to teaching, Dan is a favourite with our beginner students.
When he’s not freediving, you’ll find him trail running or climbing.
Daniel
Gaunt
Blueback Freedive Instructor & Squad Coach
Iain is a Blueback Freedive Coach with a genuine love of freediving and an enthusiastic approach to teaching.
When he’s not in the water coaching, he enjoys catching and cooking fresh seafood, running and renovating his home.
Iain
Youngson
Blueback Freedive Coach
Kanae is a Blueback Coach and Yoga Teacher with a background in remedial massage and a strong understanding of anatomy.
Her deep love of the ocean, combined with her knowledge of the body, brings an inspiring and thoughtful approach to freediving and yoga.
Kanae Hasegawa
Blueback Freedive Coach & Yoga Teacher
David is a Blueback Freedive Guide with a PhD in Public Health and extensive experience in health research and computer science.
A lover of the West Australian coast, he balances his time in the water with trail running ultramarathons and exploring the outdoors.
David
Hendrickx
Freedive Guide & Tech Support
Cam is a Blueback Freedive Coach with a deep love of the ocean and a passion for sustainable spearfishing.
He’s happiest in the water, sharing his knowledge and helping others become confident, capable and respectful ocean users.
Cameron
Blyth
Blueback Freedive Coach
​
Niraj is a Yoga & Yogic Breathwork (Pranayama) Instructor from India, the birthplace of yoga.
A passionate freediver and breath-training practitioner, he brings a gentle, authentic approach to helping students connect with their breath and find balance in body and mind.
Niraj
Dave
Yoga & Yogic Breathwork (Pranayama) Instructor
What We Stand For
MISSION
To provide high-quality freediving and yoga education that promotes health, wellness and connection — delivered with warmth, calm and patience. We're building a safety-conscious, adventure-loving community passionate about the ocean.
VISION
Breathing better in a biodiverse world is living our best life. We believe freediving and yoga should be safe, enjoyable and accessible for every body. We use our business to support marine conservation — because a passion for the ocean demands action to protect it.
VALUES
We value all life on earth. Safety comes first — we champion the buddy system for all breath-holding activities and train our students in the highest standards of self-mastery and ocean awareness.
For Love Of Our Ocean
At Blueback, we believe it's only through regular connection with the sea that we come to care for it.
Western Australia's coastline is world-class — from the temperate shores of Esperance and Albany to the tropical wonder of Ningaloo Reef and Cape Leveque. We're privileged to share these waters with humpback whales, playful seals, dolphins and extraordinary marine life.
With one of the most captivating places in the world to freedive, we are so fortunate to share our underwater world with so many magnificent sea creatures.
​
With a single practiced breath of air, a trained freediver can venture beneath the waves, enjoying peaceful interactions with a broad variety of underwater wildlife. The sea has the power to draw you away from the busy hustle and bustle of your working life, to immediately engage you in present moment awareness of the remarkable unity and beauty of aquatic life.
​​
Become one with the sea and commune with underwater wildlife as a safety-trained Blueback Freediver or PADI certified freediver with Blueback Freediving & Yoga today. It will unlock unforgettable experiences to fill you with joy – memories that will last a lifetime.
To noiselessly dive into the sea, is to invite in a connection with nature not possible without the underwater confidence and grace of the freediver.
Marine Science and Conservation
The richness and abundance of our most cherished ocean experiences would not exist without considerable efforts to protect and conserve the life that underpins the health of the marine ecosystem. Blueback Freediving & Yoga supports marine conservation for the preservation and protection of marine life.
At Blueback Freediving & Yoga we believe in the importance of wild nature, sustainable recreational fishing and protecting ocean and coastal habitats.
Initiatives supported by Blueback
Blueback is proud to support three marine science and conservation projects that are close to our hearts.
​
The Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF) is a grassroots, not-for-profit movement that brings ocean stories and marine science into people's lives through short underwater films, with 100% of ticket sales going to marine biodiversity conservation. It was founded by Blueback owner, Tania, to provide a platform to give back to the ocean and the local community through ocean health initiatives and saltwater wellbeing projects.
​
Protect Ningaloo is a community-led campaign working to safeguard Exmouth Gulf — a globally significant humpback whale nursery and marine wonderland — from the threat of industrialisation.
​
The Hammerhead Hub, developed by the Marine Futures Lab, is a citizen science app that connects ocean lovers with researchers by turning every verified hammerhead shark sighting into data that supports the conservation of one of the world's most endangered groups of animals. Blueback is a sponsor of this project.
