Freediving newb

Question
I want to start freediving but don't have anyone to startup with. And seeing the dangers of shallow water blackout, it seems prudent to never dive alone.  How can I find local people to freedive with?

Answer
The best places to meet freediving buddies are through local dive centers, dive clubs, and the internet. Depending upon your location freediving may be quite popular or non-existent. Generally speaking, spearfishing is a huge draw for freedivers so if your area is popular for spearfishing chances are there are many freedivers around you. States such as California and Rhode Island have large numbers of freedivers within their sport diving populace. Conversely, if you're landlocked in an area with very little diving interest then the chances of finding a freediving buddy are greatly diminished. In any case, asking the staff of any dive centers that are local to you could be helpful. They may already have freediving courses so that you could begin with safe instruction or they may be familiar with the local freediving practitioners or any freediving clubs in your area. Your interest may generate some natural capitalism within local dive centers to contact certified freediving instructors to run courses for them from time to time and build a local following of the sport. If there aren't any local freediving clubs or freedivers, then networking on the internet is the best way to go. There are many websites that cater to both SCUBA divers and freedivers by providing forums and message boards to meet and exchange information with divers who share your interests. Posting to these forums may easily put you in touch with people in your area who freedive or who would also like to start the sport. I also should mention that while it may seem that there is "safety in numbers" that the buddy system for both freedivers and for SCUBA divers isn't as simple as two people diving together. When it comes to dealing with emergencies, a buddy shouldn't just be there, but instead, should be trained to provide whatever help or assistance you mat require. Too many divers have a false sense of security and too much trust in the capabilities of their buddies to respond correctly in an emergency. That's why it is important for freedivers and SCUBA divers to be properly trained and to practice dealing with emergencies. I place a lot of emphasis on emergency and rescue situations in my freediving courses. The difficulties involved are often a big wake up call to the students on the need for the training and to practice periodically after graduation.