Biography
Born and raised in the Canadian Pacific Northwest in the sixties, William Winram is a one-of-a-kind storyteller who holds several world records in the sport of freediving (breath-hold diving).
His years as a nationally ranked competitive swimmer came to an abrupt halt following an injury in his late teens, which eventually led him to pursue a professional career in the field of orthopedic rehabilitation as well as a passion for the internal martial arts which he has been practicing since 1980 and teaching since 1990.
On June 1, 2007 he set a historic world record by diving the Arch in the Blue Hole of Dahab, Egypt. A natural geological occurrence, the Arch is a submerged 30-meter long passage connecting the Blue Hole with the Red Sea at a mere 60 meters of depth. William dove it breast-stroke style down 60 meters (197 feet), 30 meters (98 feet) through and up 60 meters (197 feet) on the other side, without the use of fins or other propulsive equipment. The total dive time for this historical feat was 2 minutes and 36 seconds, all on a breath-hold.
Over his freediving career, William broke countless Pan-American records and in 2013, he broke two world records: 94 meters (308 feet) using a pair of fins in a discipline called classic constant weight and 145 meters (476 feet) in the discipline of variable weight (weighted sled down, swim up on his own power).
As far back as he can remember, Winram has always been fascinated by sharks. Since 2008, Winram has turned his unique athletic diving skills and knowledge of sharks to provide direct environmental work by tagging, photographing, filming and taking tissue samples of various species of sharks.
Today he's considered an expert in shark behavior, and as a natural evolution, in January 2012, he founded the Watermen Project (www.watermenproject.org), an NPO where breath-hold diving is at the service of ocean conservation. Scientists are assisted in their research to understand sharks which are savagely slaughtered in the number of 100 million individuals every year.
Since 2012 William has been sharing his stories of ocean exploration, research, passion and conservation with the young generation from various parts of the globe, ranging from kindergarten to university level.
As featured in the IMAX film Great White Shark 3D which was released in May 2013, Winram is comfortable diving and working with great white sharks outside of a cage and without the use of protective equipment.
In October 2013, William Winram was appointed Oceans Ambassador for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the oldest and largest environmental membership-based organization in the world.
In August 2017, William embarked on what he believes could be one of the most engaging ways to use new technologies in an effort to inspire people to protect our oceans. He co-produced a long form Virtual Reality documentary shot on location in Komodo National Park, highlighting the impact that plastic is having on this marine ecosystem. William was involved in many aspects of the production including filming many of the underwater sequences. He was able to use his years of expertise diving with large marine apex predators to navigate the encounters with the infamous Komodo Dragons.
In February 2018, William was given a tremendous honor when he became Fellow International of The Explorers Club.
In October 2021, William set two new world records in the discipline of Variable Weight Bifins, at 120 meters (394 feet) followed a few days later by 130 meters (426 feet) of depth, under the helm of the CMAS freediving federation.
Today, William gives talks and teaches on topics ranging from risk and stress management to optimized breathing and breath-hold diving. He provides group and one-on-one coaching. When he is called in to support ocean research, he lends his time for ocean conservation projects around the world, as well as his commitments as Oceans Ambassador. He has been exploring the underwater world and sharing stories of his endeavors on a single breath of air for more than four decades.
"I have been diving for over forty years and I am unfortunately witness to the decline of our oceans, the reduction in biodiversity and the loss of many species. I capture underwater images to share with people the true nature, the beauty, the magnificence and the importance of our oceans so that they replace their irrational fears with respect and their lack of knowledge with facts. We only protect what we know and what we connect with." ~ William Winram
