Craig Gentry is one of the most experienced freediving professionals in the United States, with a career spanning nearly two decades at the forefront of high-performance breath-hold training and underwater exploration. He was among the earliest instructors certified by Performance Freediving International (PFI), and he has served as President of USA Freediving, a U.S. National Freediving Champion, and a two-time Captain of the U.S. National Freediving Team.

Since 2007, Craig has provided specialized freediving and breath-hold training to a wide range of elite clients and organizations, including DARPA, NOAA, elite military units, professional big-wave surfers, outrigger canoe teams, and the America’s Cup Sailing Team (Oracle/Red Bull).

Craig's passion for freediving began in his teenage years after watching The Big Blue, a cult film loosely based on the lives of two competitive freedivers. Living in Italy at the time, he couldn’t have foreseen how deeply the movie would shape the course of his life.

In 2005, Craig moved to the Bahamas, where he immersed himself in the technical and performance aspects of freediving. After taking PFI’s Level 2 course in Miami, he quickly became involved with the PFI Team, supporting a major AIDA world record event in the Cayman Islands. That experience inspired Craig to enter his first AIDA-sanctioned depth competition soon afterward.

Despite a serious injury to both ears during training—one that limited his ability to dive for nearly a year—Craig persevered. In 2006, while still recovering, he competed in the U.S. National Freediving Championships in Hawai‘i and won the title of U.S. National Champion. (Competing while injured is strongly discouraged and serves as a cautionary reminder of the importance of conservative training practices—something Craig now emphasizes in his coaching.)

Craig later captained the U.S. National Team at the AIDA World Championships in 2006 and 2008, held in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, respectively. His personal experience with injury has profoundly shaped his approach to teaching, leading him to adopt a conservative, safety-first philosophy when coaching students and developing training methods.

As President of USA Freediving, Craig championed the safe progression of the sport, its community, and the creation of accessible, high-quality training opportunities. His leadership emphasized safety, education, and the long-term growth of the freediving world.

In 2007, Craig officially joined Performance Freediving International’s instructor training team, where he contributed significantly to course content, structure, manuals, and program development.

In 2010, he founded Ocean Freediving International (formerly Hawai‘i Freedivers), a training and charter operation based on O‘ahu. The company continues to serve Hawai‘i’s freediving community with education, safety-focused instruction, and blue-water line diving excursions.

Craig is also a skilled underwater photographer and videographer, using his art to raise awareness of ocean conservation and to celebrate the beauty of the underwater world. He studied Multimedia Cinematic Production at Hawai‘i Pacific University in Honolulu, merging his love of the ocean with his creative vision.

Craig remains dedicated to the values that launched his journey: safety, community, and passion for the ocean. Whether training elite athletes, military teams, or recreational divers, his goal is the same—to help others experience the underwater world with greater skill, awareness, and respect.