Meet the Team

Growing up next to the Great Barrier Reef in Far North Queensland, Ellie has been freediving since she can remember. In 2019, she discovered spearfishing and was guided by a number of incredible spearos. Applying her freediving skills to spearfishing, and being able to connect to her food in a whole different way, completely changed the trajectory of her life. This all contributed to helping her manage anxiety and stress while giving her a deep sense of meaning and purpose, ultimately leading to a deeper connection to herself and the environment.

Having felt these major shifts from Freediving and Spearfishing, In 2021, Ellie founded Salty Pilgrims Freediving, born from this love for the ocean and a desire to share the transformative power of freediving with others. Since then, she's helped thousands of people discover their potential underwater, guided spearfishing expeditions around the world, and become known for her knack for solving even the trickiest equalisation problems.

Ellie has trained to become one of the highest qualified freediving instructors in Australia and Oceania, certified to teach up to Level 3 Freedivers. She's had the privilege of teaching alongside some of the world's best, including Alexey Molchanov—founder of Molchanovs and the world's deepest human to have ever lived.

Her passion for underwater photography has grown over the years, and she hopes her work inspires more people to get beneath the surface and experience the ocean for themselves. During this time, she also founded East Coast Sea Sisters, Australia's first women's freediving and spearfishing group, after realising how many women felt intimidated by the sport or simply didn't know where to start. The group has now run over 16 national and international retreats and, most importantly, has positively impacted the lives of countless women—Ellie's proudest achievement.

Pouring her heart and soul into each experience, Ellie's goal is to leave every person with a newfound sense of connection—both with themselves and with the natural world.

Whether that's pushing their limits (comfortably), finding calm amongst life's chaos, or simply spending more time beneath the surface, she believes freediving offers a fast-tracked opportunity to rekindle connection to the ocean as well as to a pretty incredible community of people. She's dedicated to making sure everyone feels supported, safe, and inspired throughout their journey.