Exploring Life's Different Possibilities — What Freediving Taught Me: Audrey Lee

On a midsummer afternoon in 2019, bursts of laughter echoed through the pool at Liugong Junior High School in Taipei, punctuated by the steady, determined voice of a young woman calling out: "Alright, we swim across, then finish with a mermaid tail turn at the end." Pushing open the heavy door of the pool, the scene that greeted visitors was a row of little boys wearing mermaid tails, diligently practicing a range of challenging mermaid movements. The coach leading these adorable young boys was none other than the star of this story — Audrey Lee.

The Old Audrey

The tanned, confident young woman in front of the camera goes by Audrey — and it's hard to imagine that eight years ago she was a seasoned player in the public relations and marketing world. True to the industry's stereotype, her wardrobe overflowed with high heels and glamorous outfits, and her after-work social life grew more vibrant with every passing year. Yet the relentless pressure that came with the job was slowly suffocating her.

Taiwan's PR and marketing industry operates in a particularly demanding way. To meet client expectations, agencies typically offer an end-to-end service — covering business development, strategy, execution, and even sitting in editing suites to supervise video cuts. Finishing work at 9 or 10 p.m. was the norm, and weekends were routinely sacrificed to run events. Under that kind of pressure-cooker environment, her body began to send warning signals. After eight years in the industry, Audrey gave herself a gift: a Gap Year adventure in Canada. Before she set off, she had no idea how profoundly that decision would reshape the rest of her life.

For the first ten years of my career, I fought just to survive. Now, I'm learning how to live well.

The Gap Year in Canada had all the expected ingredients — language study, road trips, and more — but the change that affected her most was meeting a group of outdoor enthusiasts during her travels. Back in Taiwan, their invitations drew her into hiking, surfing, snowboarding, and scuba diving, none of which she had ever imagined trying in the first half of her life. Watching these friends engage with the outdoors, she noticed they had a fundamentally different way of experiencing life — and quietly, her own perspective began to shift.

Having already earned her scuba diving Divemaster certification, Audrey had once considered becoming a scuba diving instructor. But while interning at a dive shop in Kenting, she discovered freediving — and it touched something deep within her. The simple act of slipping beneath the surface with just a mask and long fins, and experiencing that fleeting moment of silence within a single breath, made her suddenly realize that life could be lived in an entirely different way.

So, two years ago, she walked away from her high-profile career and polished image in Taipei and headed to Keelung to begin her life as an "ocean woman." We asked whether such a decisive change brought financial pressure — after all, she was giving up a stable income and a decade's worth of career foundations in Taipei.

She answered with quiet resolve: "In the stillness of the night, I still miss it sometimes. But if you want to truly master a professional skill, you need to give yourself the time to train in it properly."

Already a PADI (certification agency) freediving instructor, Audrey was preparing to head to the Philippines to pursue her AIDA (freediving agency) instructor certification. For her, earning the certification is about validating her own professional competence — not simply about gaining the qualification to teach. After two years of building toward it, finally challenging the AIDA (freediving agency) instructor exam represents a major milestone in her personal journey.

Looking Ahead

When we asked Audrey about her vision for the future, she answered directly: "Ocean education at the grassroots level matters enormously!" Most people in Taiwan are already aware of the state of the sea — overfishing, plastic pollution, and decades of policies that kept people away from the ocean. None of these issues can be solved by one person alone. But if more people pay attention to ocean problems, there is a chance things can change. She laughed and said: "If one of the little mermaids I've taught grows up to hold public office ten years from now, maybe they'll draft policies that are kinder to the ocean."

Freediving Wetsuits

Audrey also shared some thoughts on gear: a good wetsuit is absolutely essential for freediving training, she explained, because freedivers spend extended periods submerged and a comfortable, form-fitting wetsuit makes a real difference in keeping warm. The God Style wetsuit she wore for this feature uses an Open Cell lining and is made from YAMAMOTO# 39 material, while the outer surface employs YAMAMOTO SCS (Super Composite Skin) — a patented technology that applies a titanium alloy coating 70 microns thick to the exterior, dramatically boosting warmth and comfort.

This kind of construction is typically favored for competition and training. The snug, body-hugging fit delivers outstanding thermal performance, and the low-drag exterior material makes movement in the water noticeably smoother. One caveat: the material is more susceptible to scratching, so lubricant is a must when putting it on or taking it off, and fingernails are the wetsuit's worst enemy during that process. This particular model has been designed with East Asian women's body proportions in mind — a high waist that accentuates curves, and a cut that avoids compressing the chest, making it especially comfortable for freediving.

Finally, Audrey left a special message for all her female friends: she hopes to encourage every woman to embrace independence — to take control of her own life, finances, and future. Before she discovered outdoor sports, she never imagined she could accomplish so many things on her own: signing up for a freediving course solo, lugging 10 kg of gear by herself, taking the bus alone to the beach, and eventually — as an instructor — independently leading students while managing all the associated risks.

Because when you cannot stand on your own, your life becomes limited. But once you are independent, you open up a world of new possibilities.

Further reading:

• Mermaid Ocean Facebook Page

• God Style Facebook Page

• Illustrated Guide to Freediving Equalization: Valsalva vs. Frenzel