Founder of Azul Freediving

RAID Freediving Instructor | Underwater Filmmaker/Photographer| Freediving Pioneer | Ocean Advocate | Brand Ambassador

Valerie Faye Bautista, known as Val, is the founder of Azul Freediving and one of the early pioneers of the modern Philippine freediving community. She is also recognized as the first Filipina freediving instructor to establish and teach freediving professionally in Mabini, Batangas, one of the country’s most important diving destinations.

Her freediving journey began in 2015, when the sport was still developing its community in the Philippines. Her passion for freediving grew alongside her work in underwater photography and filmmaking, eventually leading her to professional instructor training and the establishment of Azul Freediving in 2017.

Over the years, Val has built a career around freediving instruction, underwater photography and filmmaking, destination diving, aquatic experiences, marine travel, and ocean advocacy. Her work has taken her from Philippine reefs to international destinations, while her collaborations have connected her with diving, outdoor, camera, resort, airline, and conservation brands.

From Freediver to Founder

Freediving Photography & Competition Documentation

Val began freediving in 2015 and quickly became involved in documenting freediving locations, underwater experiences, and the growth of the sport in the Philippines through photography and video. During these early years, she collaborated with brands including Beuchat and Philippine Airlines to help promote freediving and Philippine dive destinations.

In 2016, she began developing destination-based freediving experiences, including Apo Reef, combining freediving with travel and marine exploration.

She established Azul Freediving in 2017, creating a professional freediving school focused on safety, personalized instruction, relaxation, and confidence in the water.

The following year, she expanded her destination freediving experiences to Coron in 2018.

In 2019, Azul's first international freediving trip took the community to Taiwan, marking the beginning of its international destination program.

These early experiences helped shape what would become one of Azul's defining programs: freediving retreats that combine structured training with the opportunity to explore exceptional marine destinations.

Beuchat Freediving Ambasadress

Freediving in Amanpulo

Beuchat Freediving Ambasadress

Building a Philippine Freediving Community

Since its establishment, Azul Freediving has grown into an established freediving school serving Manila, Batangas, and students from across the Philippines and abroad.

The school offers:

Beginner freediving courses
Private freediving instruction
Certification courses
Pool and open-water training
Line training
Freediving for beginners and non-swimmers
Destination freediving trips
International retreats
Aquatic and water-based experiences

Val's approach emphasizes relaxation, technique, safety, body awareness, and confidence, rather than treating depth or breath-hold time as the only measures of progress.

Destination Freediving

Destination freediving has remained an important part of Val's work.

Azul's destination program began in the Philippines with Apo Reef in 2016, followed by Coron in 2018 and its first international trip to Taiwan in 2019.

The program continued with Cebu in 2021 and expanded internationally to the Maldives in 2022.

These trips brought together freediving, marine exploration, travel, and community, giving students and experienced divers opportunities to experience destinations through the water.

Amanpulo

Val became the Head Freediving Instructor at Amanpulo, where she designed the resort's freediving programs, developed its training experiences, and mapped the island's freediving sites. Through Azul Freediving, she developed and conducts freediving workshops, training sessions, and certification courses for Amanpulo guests, while helping identify and establish suitable locations around the island for freediving activities.

Her role goes beyond instruction, combining program development, site mapping, safety planning, and professional freediving education to create a structured freediving experience within Amanpulo's marine environment.

Freediving in the Maldives

Freediving in Taiwan

Freediving in Apo Reef

Freediving in Coron

Freediving in Cebu

Freediving in Batangas

Underwater Photography, Filmmaking & Action Cameras

Alongside freediving instruction, Val has built a strong presence in underwater photography and filmmaking.

In 2017, Val was the photographer and videographer during Guillaume Néry’s Philippine freediving visit, documenting the French world champion during his activities and workshops in Cebu.

She has also documented AIDA freediving competitions in the Philippines, including the AIDA Asian Freediving Cup (AFC) in Bohol, photographing competitive freedivers and the development of the sport’s local competition scene.

In 2023, she was one of the photographers covering the AIDA Oceanquest Philippines in Camotes, Cebu, an international depth competition featuring elite athletes including Alessia Zecchini, Alexey Molchanov, Vincenzo Ferri, Michelle Ooi, Antonio Mogarevo, and Thibault Guignes. The competition included world-record performances by Alessia Zecchini at 123 meters CWT and Alexey Molchanov at 121 meters CWTB. Val’s photograph of Zecchini during her world-record dive was later published by Camotes Freediving with photo credit to Val Bautista.

Beyond documentary work, Val’s underwater photographs have been featured in and selected as finalists in several underwater photography competitions. Her personal work often explores the relationship between people and water, portraying humans as a small part of an immense underwater world. Many of her images emphasize the scale and vastness of the ocean in contrast to the human figure, reflecting her view of people not as separate from the water, but as part of the same environment.

During the early development of consumer action cameras and 360° cameras, she worked as an ambassador for DJI and Insta360, using emerging camera technology to document freediving, underwater environments, travel, and marine life. Her work helped showcase how compact cameras and new imaging technology could be used to capture freediving and underwater experiences from a diver's perspective.

Her work with international brands later expanded into diving equipment, technology, tourism, and conservation campaigns.

Brand Ambassadorships & Major Campaigns

Val's career has included collaborations and ambassador roles with brands in the diving, outdoor, technology, travel, and underwater imaging industries.

Beuchat

Val was a Beuchat Ambassador from 2015, making it one of her earliest major brand partnerships in freediving. Her collaboration with Beuchat included representing the brand through freediving, underwater photography, and marine exploration, during the early development of her career in the Philippine freediving community.

Garmin & LAMAVE

Val was a Garmin Ambassador beginning in 2018, representing the brand through her work as a freediving instructor, underwater photographer, filmmaker, and ocean explorer.

In 2021, Garmin featured Val as one of the diving personalities in its #DiveForPurpose campaign with LAMAVE, supporting marine megafauna research. The campaign brought together divers and underwater personalities from across Asia and highlighted Val's work in Philippine freediving, underwater photography, and filmmaking.

DJI & Insta360

During the early growth of action-camera and 360° imaging technology, Val also served as an ambassador for DJI and Insta360, using emerging camera technology to document freediving, underwater environments, marine life, and travel.

These early partnerships placed Val at the intersection of freediving, underwater content creation, and new-generation imaging technology, at a time when action cameras were becoming an increasingly important tool for divers and underwater creators.

Professional Freediving Instructors

In 2024, Val was selected as a PFI Ambassador, representing the Professional Freediving Instructors community alongside other international freediving professionals.

Philippine Airlines

In 2016, Val was featured as part of a Philippine Airlines campaign promoting freediving in Cebu, bringing Philippine freediving and Cebu's underwater experiences to a wider travel audience.

The campaign reflects another important part of Val's work: using freediving to promote the Philippines not only as a diving destination, but as a place where travelers can experience the country's marine environment in a more immersive way.

Her ambassador roles and brand campaigns have positioned her at the intersection of freediving, underwater media, tourism, travel, and ocean experiences.

Diving Industry Speaker

Val has also contributed to the Philippine diving industry through speaking engagements and industry events.

In 2019, she was a VIP Speaker at DRT Show Philippines, one of the country's major diving and marine tourism exhibitions.

Her industry involvement has included discussions and activities related to freediving, underwater photography and filmmaking, Philippine diving, marine experiences, destination travel, and the development of the local freediving community. She has also participated in water-related initiatives beyond traditional freediving instruction, including aquatic activities and events connected to the wider water-sports community.

Contribution to Philippine Freediving Regulation

Since 2021, Val has also contributed her industry experience to the Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD) in discussions and work related to refining and developing regulations for freediving in the Philippines.

Her contribution has drawn from her experience as a professional freediving instructor, school founder, and operator working directly with students and freediving professionals. This work has included providing practical input toward policies, standards, and regulatory frameworks for freediving, helping ensure that regulations reflect the realities of teaching, training, safety, and professional freediving operations in the Philippines.

This involvement represents another aspect of Val's contribution to the sport: not only teaching freedivers and developing a school, but also participating in the broader effort to professionalize and establish clearer standards for freediving in the Philippines.

Beyond Freediving: Encounters That Shaped Val's Advocacy

Some of Val Bautista’s most memorable freediving experiences have been encounters with marine megafauna. She has freedived alongside tiger sharks, nurse sharks, and hundreds of spinner sharks, as well as experienced unforgettable encounters with hundreds of manta rays. These encounters have shaped the way she understands the ocean—not simply as a place to dive, but as an ecosystem worth protecting.

Sharks, in particular, have become an important part of Val’s advocacy. Through freediving, underwater photography, and education, she hopes to help people see sharks beyond their reputation as dangerous animals. Seeing them in their natural environment offers a very different perspective: they are an essential part of healthy marine ecosystems and deserve protection rather than fear.

Her advocacy focuses on shark awareness, responsible ocean recreation, and developing a deeper appreciation for marine life. By bringing students and divers into the water safely and responsibly, Val hopes that more people will experience the ocean firsthand and become advocates for the animals and ecosystems they encounter.

Awards & Recognition

The work developed through Azul Freediving has received recognition from travel and diving organizations.

Documented awards include:

Best Diving & Travel Company — LTG Asia & Australasia Awards, 2019
Best Diving School in CALABARZON — Travel & Hospitality Awards, 2019
Best Diving School in CALABARZON — Travel & Hospitality Awards, 2020
Philippines' Best Group Travel Company — International Travel Awards, 2020
Diving Company of the Year — LTG Awards, 2021–2022

These recognitions reflect Azul's development from a young freediving school into an established Philippine diving and travel company.

Her teaching philosophy remains straightforward:

Relax. Trust. Dive.

Val believes freediving is not simply about going deeper or holding a breath longer. It is about learning to relax, understanding the body, moving efficiently, and becoming comfortable in the water.

Today, she continues to lead Azul Freediving's training programs, destination trips, retreats, and water-based experiences in the Philippines and internationally.

Her work is rooted in a simple idea: the ocean should be experienced, not just observed.