Nataliia Zharkova

Process over destination.

Blackout underwater sounds terrifying… until you understand what it actually is.
Someone once asked me what a blackout feels like while freediving.

Honestly? You don’t really “experience” it.
For me it felt like: I turned into a tea bag and was being pulled out of a hot water mug (the surface was really warm that day 😁). But the next thing I knew, someone was holding me up 🙂
No pain, no horror, no drama.

Have you ever felt dizzy or fainted on land? Because of low blood sugar or something similar. It’s actually very close to that.

The only critical difference is that this happens in water.
And that’s exactly what can become dangerous when you’re not able to control yourself. That’s why freediving is built around safety, training, and having people around you who know exactly what to do. And that’s also why practicing safety drills matters so much in freediving: the bigger your PBs, the bigger your responsibility, as you dive with divers as deep as you are.

That’s also why EVERY freediving course puts a huge emphasis on safety.
In safe and controlled conditions, we practice rescue techniques step by step starting from the very first course and repeated at every next level, increasing the difficulty. Beginners learn to rescue at the surface, confident beginners - from 7 meters, advanced - from 15. And so on. All in hope of never actually needing to apply that skill 🤞🏼

The next camp where you can learn to dive safely and comfortably with me will be in Tenerife.
Send me a DM if you want the details 🙂

Ph: .kazar

I don’t know where time is flying, but somehow we’ve already crossed the middle of spring.😱
And the plans I made for summer are getting closer and closer.

So I need to share something important with my Dubai mermaids:
❗️Starting in May, I’ll be on a summer break from training in Dubai. During this time, Davide will be running the sessions. I’ll be back for a short period in June — and the rest of the time I’ll stay available for online support and coaching.

And now it’s time to hit the road!
Here are the main stops along the way:

▪️May - Egypt
May 1-9: camp with Deep Division and Natalia Rusak
May 20-24: competition in Sharm El Sheikh
▪️June - back in Dubai
▪️July - Greece, Kalamata
▪️August - Honduras
Aug 15–26: CMAS Championship in Roatan

Join me for training at any of these spots ⬆️
👉And I’d like to remind you about Tenerife camp, October 15–24.
If you’ve been dreaming of diving with me in this world of black sand and ocean depths, it’s time to plan your trip, your flights, and definitely time to book your spot.

“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” - said the rabbit, running into the hole that led him into the Wonderland.
And here I am, already turning the clock in my hands, impatiently waiting to jump into a completely new phase of this year - with competitions, camps, suitcases, and finally, meeting all of you.

If you’d like to share any part of this journey with me:
Follow the rabbit. 🐇

I got tired of my own long reads. So today I’ll be just a girl, who wants to be pretty sometimes 😁
Happy Wednesday!

Today would have been my granddad’s birthday. He would have turned 91.

In every athlete’s story, there is someone behind the scenes. For me, it was him.

Grandpa met me after school with my swim bag and a homemade sandwich, walked me to the pool, waited for hours while I was in the water almost every day until I turned 12.

Later, when I entered sports school and we had a designated bus driving the whole team to school and back between trainings, he still was there at every competition taking notes and tracking every result. He even learned how to use a PC and Excel to keep my records 😁.
I still have those somewhere, btw.

I didn’t realize then how much all that mattered.

I do now.

Happy birthday. And thank you 🤍

It still feels a bit strange to even explain this…
But clearly, it needs to be said.

Since I started coaching again with Goran Čolak, one question keeps coming up:

“Why train pool if I want depth?”
“Why do static if my goal is deep dives?”

⚠️Short answer: because depth is not built only at depth.

Long answer in the slides 👆🏼

#фрідайвінг

Available courses and training programs.

📍 Training sessions take place at Deep Dive Dubai and Wellfit Academy Pool.
ℹ️ More information and details are available via DM.
📅 The group training schedule for the current week is available in the “Calendar” highlight.

Do you know what day it is today?

It’s the Day of Sport 🥳 definitely something worth celebrating. Although for me that is every day 😁

Sport has always been part of my life. It connected me to people, cultures, places… to seas I would have never seen otherwise.

From being a little girl just trying to stay afloat, to now — when water feels like home — sport has been my lifeline. Connecting past and present, and quietly leading me forward. Breaking barriers and building bridges.

Whenever I feel like I could have done better in life, I remind myself where I came from… and who I could have become without sport. It broke the barriers before I knew they existed. It lead me away from trouble before I stuck in one. It became my language where no words would matter.

So I’ll celebrate today. By another dive or maybe a nice gym session 🤗. Hope you’ll do the same!

*Wanna see 8 years old me with my first ever medal? 😁👉