How long
Dan:
I can't answer for everyone, but myself and a few others have been doing this most of our lives, just not knowing it was freediving. This is my third season taking it seriously, but I've been certified for scuba since 1979. Although, I haven't had tanks on in 13 years. Even some of the members in the group that are relatively new to this sport, you would think they were doing this for years. We have a lot of fun, and try to be as safe as possible. That was the comforting thing about starting with this group, you can test and realize your limits, under a high degree of safety. One can also learn an incredible amount from this forum. There are some really knowledgeable divers here, and even the ones that aren't yet, share their experiences for others to benefit from.
Hope to see you out there,
Jim U.