I've always been drawn to places where discomfort lives. It's become my compass—the signal that I'm standing at the edge of growth, about to push boundaries and take things to the next level.
As a child, as I grew up in Turkiye that meant the ocean. Freediving—holding a single breath and descending into depths no human has been to—became my obsession. With no real infrastructure or coaching available, I relied on discipline, math-like problem solving, and sought out the best trainer in the world. I went on to set eight world records down to 400 feet, becoming the first female world champion in Turkiye and the fourth in the sport worldwide.
The sport gave me global headlines—televised dives, a wax figure at Madame Tussauds, and appearances in even Oxford published schoolbooks. But the true gift was learning how to solve impossible problems calmly, under extreme pressure. That lesson shaped everything that came next.
