Christopher Funada

A Hawaii raised fisherman, Chris was introduced to shore fishing and spearfishing by his father, Glenn Funada. To further his experiences, Chris joined the East Hawaii Spearfishing and Freediving Club run by Michael Kawamoto and also became good friends with Annabel Edwards and the rest of the Pu’uhonua o Honaunau (Two-Step) Freedivers. It was there at Two-Step Chris had his first shallow water blackout, and experienced the dangers of diving first hand. Not being discouraged, by 2015 Chris and his friends had started the Moist Maninis Dive Team to celebrate the friendships made through diving and to stay connected with those both near and far.

A recent graduate from the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Chris was also an AAUS certified scientific diver during his undergraduate career. During that time he gained valuable skills in ocean safety and a new scientific appreciation of the ocean.

The path from novice fisherman to adept diver has been a taxing, but gratifying journey and Chris Funada is honored to represent America for the AIDA world championships in Greece.

“A special thanks to my mom for all her support even though she worries all the time and to my friends, the maninis and the minorboy productions dive crew who all keep me safe in the water, even that one time when we needed to get rescued by the Coast Guard.”