Born in 2015, ApneaPassion International Web Magazine has become, with effort and Passion, the point of reference in the spearfishing and freediving world. The team has grown and today is complete with champions and experts, dealing with product testing, international competitions and shows reports.
With pleasure we present the entire AP Official Team, motivated, professional and always caring about our first customer, You, our readers, and in any moment led by one main force, PASSION!
Carlo Forni: 48 years old, born in Rome, father from Genoa and mother from Livorno, both cities on the sea, lived in London, Paris, Vienna, Milan and Turin. Mechanical engineer and professional journalist, communication and marketing expert, spearo since he was 12 years of age, he founded ApneaPassion.com in August 2015, and is amazed by the great acceptance and appreciation from all the readers and enthusiast spearos and freedivers around the world. His job is to overview all activities, from international reports, to a careful eye on all product testing. Work never stops, as the aim is to do better and better, presenting and testing spearfishing and freediving products from every company in the world, and covering all the main international events both live and with dedicated reports in the best and most professional way. Spearfishing and freediving are not niche sports as some may say, as on a global scale they include an amazing number of enthusiasts with the same Passion for this sport and respect (no respect = no Passion) for the sea!!!
Valentina Prokic: born in Rijeka, parents from Rijeka, the first part of AP Official Team, together with AP almost from the beginning, met with Carlo in 2016, at the Spearfishing World Championship in Greece, Syros, won by great Champion, Geoge Vasiliou, and since then has been a big part of international reporting for all readers and followers. Valentina planned to be crime investigator, but stopped studying law after two years because in the meantime she started to write for daily newspapers. She was writing for high school journal before. After that she worked for regional TV, radio station, and one of biggest daily newspapers in Croatia. In 1999 she started to follow spearfishing after she went to the traditional New Years’ Cup in Mali Losinj for the TV. After that, bit by bit, spearfishing took a big part in her life, so she followed the Croatian National Team on every major championship, getting to know all people involved in spearfishing around the world. She became a member of the Croatian Spearfishing commission in 2016 and a year later member of CMAS Spearfishing commission. In 2018 she became Director of CMAS Spearfishing Commission. With his colleague journalist Branko Suljic she wrote and published in 2018 the book regarding 60 years of spearfishing in the Adriatic coast, published after two and half years of work. Book is a project of the Croatian National Federation for Sports fishing on the sea. Studying and learning apnea diving at Phorcys school on Cyprus with Nicolas Nicolau, still she doesn’t have any wish to compete or spearfish more than for eat or to enjoy the big blue. In addition to Apneapassion, Valentina writes for a regional web magazine in Rijeka, where she follows all sports, specially football and water polo.
Gabriele Delbene: 53 years old, born in La Spezia where he lives after living 12 years in Rome. Osteopath, graduated in physical education with a dissertation on apnea entitled “Apnea at great depths, new records, new problems”. WORLD RECORD ABYSSAL SPEARFISHING holder st 62.4 m, for eight years athlete of the Italian Spearfishing Team, vice World Champion and European team champion, bronze medal World Cup for Clubs, creator of the Global Ascent Maneuver. An honor to have him in the AP Official Team.
Luciano Morelli: 50 years old, born and resident in Bergamo. Supply Chain at a company that produces and sells technical and medicinal gases. Apnea Academy instructor since 1998 and Indoor agonist since 2010. Starting from 2015 athlete in the Italian Team. Bronze medal in the Dyn Monofin specialty with 250 meters at the 2016 Lignano World Championships, silver medal and two bronze medals in the Dyn Monofin specialty with 267 meters (Italian record). Dyn bi-fins with 234 meters, DNF (Dyaìnaimc No Fins) with 186 meters (Italian record) at the European Championships of Cagliari 2017. Passionate about underwater fishing and open water swimming. Luciano has already brought forward an amazing Super Test on the best apnea indoor wetsuits.
As Apnea Indoor Champion, Luciano is the undiscussed voice for all that concerns Apnea equipment testing. Another amazing Champion in the AP Official Team.
Fabio Mura: 52 years old, of which 40 of activity in the water. Free Diving PSS Instructor (Professional Scuba School), FIPIA Spearfishing Instructor, Founder and Vice-President of ASD Mare di Fuori, freediving sports team coach, Freediving Technical Director Mare di Fuori. Spearfishing agonist since 1986 (last competition in the Sardinian team championship, 2° classified team). The preferred technique is the aspetto to dentex/snappers. Usual fishing area: from Argentiera to Isola Rossa, with deep knowledge of the Gulf of Asinara (North of Sardinia area). He uses mainly pneumatic spearguns for fishing snappers and groupers, while sling guns he prefers in the traditional mono elastic band version for sizes up to the 90 cm. Also engaged as a agonist freediver. Founder of the Facebook group Fanatici della pescasub (6200 members) and related “Mercatino dei Fanatici della pescasub”. His passion goes also beyond spearfishing to windsurfing! Fabio’s total love and deep experience in the use of pneumatic spearguns will make him, as aprt of AP Official Team, focus in particular, but not only, in testing of such products.
Giovanni Metafuni: born in Switzerland in 1971, he returned to Italy, Salento, when he was only 5 years old. The love for the sea began immediately transmitted by his father, a modest freediver with this great passion. At the beginning, like so many childs of that age, his main preys were mullets, octopuses, sea urchins, everything he could shoot with a “Polpone” and with a spring gun built by his father. From 1976 to 1991 he remained in Casarano where he fished, in nearby marinas, mainly in the Summer and a few times in the Winter, since the wetsuits were not as good as today and the cold was king in the few Winter outings. In 1991 he left for Rome for his first work experience as a registered nurse. He moved to Parma in 1994 and started spearfish in the north of Tuscany and most of the coast of Liguria. In 2006 he moved back to Alezio, a town near Gallipoli, Puglia, and his growth in spearfishing has a sudden acceleration. He went fishing every moment he could, he was committed to reaching ever more demanding depths. The era of social media arrived and therefore Facebook, so he decided to create the Facebook group Pesca Apnea Lecce, a reality that still today have a large number of members who, interacting with each other, exchange tales of exciting catches and fishing techniques. Today his favorite technique is deep aspetto, where he mainly threatens snappers/dentex, but he is also very fond of ambush. As equipment, he went from commercial spearguns to well-made wooden ones made by local manufacturers. His experience and attent analysis of deep dives will make him focus in particular, but not only, on fins testing for the AP Official Team.
Massimo De Pascalis: born in Rome in ’62, where he lived until the age of 35, like many others, the passion for spearfishing is stimulated by his father Carlo, who together with his friend Vittorio introduce him to the various hunting techniques. The waters of San Felice Circeo and the Pontine Islands (South of Rome) stimulate him to gain confidence with deeper waters. His youthfulness encourages him to modify diving equipment and to build his first speargun. The search for more interesting places from the spearfishing point of view led him to frequent Greece, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. In Rome he graduated as a dental technician and after a few years opened a laboratory where he specialized in dental restorations and gnathological devices for the recovery of temporo mandibular dysfunctions. In 1996 he moved to Chieti where he opened a commercial activity with his wife Marina and the relationship with spearfishing underwent a profound change, as he had to adapt to the new condition of perpetually turbid waters. In the meantime he continues to cultivate the hobby of self-made spearguns and in 2004 he decides to formalize the activity by creating the MGMsub. Among its spearguns, the best known is the CH90, also known by the nickname of Muletto. The Muletto is a speargun with a simple but minimalist muzzle to which two elastic bands are connected with a titanium bow, but what makes it unique is the PVC membrane that keeps the rod in its position without friction. Thanks to his experience as dental technician, Massimo has already published on AP an article, “The mouthpice“, and his knowledge of sling guns as MGM Sub will make him focus in particular, but not only, on sling guns testing for the AP Official Team.
Ryan Lategan: 38 years old, born in Cape Town, South Africa, to Godfrey and Winnie Lategan. Studied fitting and turning at Westlake Technikon and qualified as a tool, jig and die maker. Currently applying his trade at Habitat Industries specialising in the manufacturing of blow moulds. Started spearfishing at the tender age of 10 years, introduced to him by his father. His passion and love for spearfishing has been never ending. Being a toolmaker he is a keen enthusiast at the idea of the developing some of his own gear and has been fortunate and honored to collaborate with South Africas finest working on a prototype muzzle. His dream is to follow his passion and with hard work and dedication is excited to see where the road takes him. Last arrived in the AP Official Team, his Passion will surely give the opportunitiy for some nice articles and reports from South Africa, with very different techniques and catches compared to the Mediterranean sea.
ApneaPassion is open to collaborate with reporters from Australia, North America, South America, United Arab Emirates, Japan and Russia. For additional info write to carlo.forni@apneapassion.com.
