Welcome to another episode of the Alchemy Podcast.

My name is Luca Malaguti, and in this conversation, we sit down with Christin Gerstorfer, one of the most driven and multidimensional athletes in freediving today.

Christin is an Austrian national record holder, a former world record holder for the deepest underwater photoshoot, and a competitive athlete on the international stage. But this episode is not about titles. It is about everything behind them.

We talk about the pressure of growing up in a high-performance environment, the weight of expectations, and what it means to burn out mentally and physically before the age of 25. Christin opens up about her journey through stress, anxiety, anorexia, and the moment she decided to walk away from the life she was expected to live.

From there, the conversation shifts into something deeper. Breath as a tool. Freediving not as a sport, but as a way back to control, clarity, and resilience. We explore how breathing practices can reshape mental health, why this should be taught in schools and universities, and why even doctors often do not understand their own nervous system.

We also touch on the realities of competitive freediving. World Championships, risk, safety, and the importance of honest conversations in a sport that is still evolving.

This is a conversation about extremes, but not the kind you expect. Not just depth, but pressure. Not just performance, but recovery. Not just holding your breath, but learning how to live with it.

Christin’s message is simple and powerful: no limit is not about how deep you go. It is about what you allow yourself to become.