The Grounded Girl Interview Series Welcomes Vicky Martinez who shares with us her passion and journey in The Ocean

We are so excited to introduce our Grounded Girl for the month of December for Groundedco. Every month we are looking forward to sharing with you these amazing women in our community that are empowering and inspiring others.

I introduce to you Vicky Martinez and her incredible scuba diving journey under the sea!

MEET VICKY

Groundedco: Tell us a little bit about yourself and about your scuba diving journey?

Vicky: Hi my name is Vicky Martinez, I’m a 45-year-old Cuban American from Miami Lakes, FL. I’ve been in the real estate industry since 2001 and continue to love it. I am very proud of the work that I do and have done. Whether it’s assisting buyers in finding what’s very likely their life’s most valuable asset or helping home sellers with the marketing and subsequent sale of their home as they get ready for the next chapter in their life! As a real estate agent, I have a bigger impact on people’s lives than people might think! Definitely not the easiest of responsibilities, but a very rewarding one!

But now after over 2 decades in the real estate business and the pandemic hitting homes across the world and personally knowing several moms and dads that have passed because of Covid, I decided to take a step back and dedicate more time to myself and my family. I did this by getting back to what has always been a passion of mine which is Scuba Diving. I dedicated my time to earning my rescue and dive master certification in under 1 month and now have the privilege to work as a guide & divemaster on charters in the Scuba Diving community. My life has completely changed, and I love it!

Groundedco: How do you keep balanced in everyday life with work, family, and with the time that you have dedicated in the ocean?

Vicky: Balancing work, family and my time in the ocean starts with the right mindset. The most important rule for me to finding balance is to be in-the-moment. When I’m working, being in the moment will make me more productive. When I’m with family, being in the moment helps me feel I’ve spent quality time together. I don’t stress about my career when I’m with my family or when I’m scuba diving. I don’t think about all the chores I need to do at home and what’s for dinner when I’m working. With this practice I have become good at releasing things and focusing on what is in front of me. So, practicing mindfulness and being in the present has always helped me find balance.

Groundedco: Who has been your greatest inspiration and why?

Vicky: I find inspiration in a variety of people and things. I would have to say though that the person who has most greatly inspired me has been my mother. My mom is my inspiration because she taught me to always do my best, be strong in times of struggle, and treat others the way I want to be treated. My mom is not only an amazing mom, but she is an amazing friend and cheerleader. In times where I struggle and feel down about myself, my mom is always encouraging me to dust myself off and keep going. I can only hope to be half the person my mom is one day. She is truly the best.

Groundedco: What is your favorite way to stay active?

Vicky: I stay active by Scuba Diving and free diving of course! Scuba diving and free diving are a whole-body workout. It works out both my arms and legs, every move I make gets my muscles to push against the natural resistance of the water. Wearing fins also provides a great leg work out because I must kick harder to go against with the resistance created by the fins to my legs. It also helps me build a strong heart and lungs. As I scuba dive and free dive my way down into the ocean it increases my heart rate and makes my heart pump more blood. It also enables me to build great lung capacity when I’m free diving as I’m forced to hold my breath underwater for a certain period of time. It also boosts mental health. Scuba diving including free diving, releases endorphins, a feel-good hormone which can relieve stress and anxiety as well. I don’t flash a sweaty face because the water keeps me cool. I also don’t mind spending a lot of time underwater because I am amazed by fish, corals and other bewitching sea creatures around me.

Groundedco: Where did your passion come from in connection to scuba diving and what made you want to get started with this?

Vicky: I will say I have my uncle and dolphins to thank for this endlessly joyful gift.

Yes, my uncle and dolphins. Like a lot of people, I was always fascinated by them (from Flipper to the Discovery channel videos), I knew that one day I would have to swim with them. I got my chance in 1995, when I spent my summer with my uncle and family at his home in the Florida Keys. On an earlier morning my uncle and I went out on is boat and I learned first to snorkel and eventually free dive into the deep sea. On one of our outings, we spotted a pod of dolphins and had the chance to interact with these extraordinary creatures on their own wildly playful terms. Then there were the fish and those amazing corals! Under the water is stillness of a magnitude you can’t imagine. Time stops. The world of noise and stress and distraction falls away. And such ineffable beauty, shimmering blues and yellows that don’t exist on land. Even though most of our time was spent on the water’s surface, my new friends taught me to hold my breath and plunge down 5, 10, 20 or more feet, and to relax enough to spend up to half a minute floating in the blue abyss. “If only there were a way to stay down here!” I thought. Then I remembered a little “secret” 3 million Americans were already in on. By the end of the trip, I knew that when I got back home, my first call would be to a scuba certifying agency.

Groundedco: So, I am going to let the cat out of the bag, you love swimming with Sharks! How exciting! First and foremost, they are so beautiful and incredible! I think it is incredible that you get to do that! A different level of respect all together.

Please tell us what it is like to swim with sharks and how did this become of an interest for you?

Vicky: Let me make one thing perfectly clear before I get started, I have been afraid of getting attacked by a shark since I saw the movie Jaws over 4 decades ago. What I knew about these ocean predators was what I’ve seen on television shows and movies, which could be summed up in a single word, terrifying! To abolish the fear I had, I did a popular cage dive in Jupiter, FL in 2019. It had a surprising impact on me. I found that after doing it, I wanted to learn and experience more. I returned to Jupiter last year and had the opportunity to do just that three miles off the coast of the Jupiter inlet with a marine biologist and shark feeder. Once in the water, believe it or not I started to relax. The cool thing I learned while scuba diving is that when you are underwater, you must breathe regularly and deeply as a necessity (something that I am guilty of not doing on land). Because of the deep breathing, my heart rate slowed in the water. Another reason I relaxed was the fact that the sharks wanted nothing to do with us swimmers or even the other small fish around us. Swimming in a huge deep spiral, with the highest sharks a few feet below us and the surface of the water, the shark’s movements were mesmerizing to watch. I did swim away from the boat and out towards the safety diver, but mostly I just watched and admired these fierce apex predators, totally wild, at home as the rulers of their domain. The water flowing over me and the pacing of my deep breaths with the smooth movements of the sharks below was a truly incredible and unique experience. This experience totally changed my outlook on sharks, and I realized then they are not the monsters portrayed in the media. Today I not only swim with sharks but I also scuba dive and participate in the conservation of sharks.

Groundedco: What is one or some of the biggest challenges you have had and how have you overcome them when diving?

Vicky: The PADI Rescue Diver course has been the most challenging, yet most rewarding course I’ve ever taken. I learned to prevent and manage problems in the water and become more confident in my skills as a diver, knowing that I can help others if needed. During the course, I learn to become a better buddy by practicing problem-solving skills until they become second nature. The course lasted 2 weeks and it was intense but I’m happy I took the course and passed with top scores as I can now help and prevent problems for other divers.

Groundedco: If you could pick any place in the world to be and stay grounded, where would it be and why?

Vicky: Somewhere I haven’t been yet with my family, three fur babies and my scuba gear.

Groundedco: As a dedicated diver what advice can you give a new diver to always remember when under water?

Vicky: As a newly certified diver, you have a lot to remember, and diving can be intimidating especially when you’re surrounded by a bunch of much more experienced divers.

But don’t worry, here are some tips: 1. Breathe continuously and never hold your breath