Global Dive Team - Marc Hillesheim
Marc Hillesheim
Location: Cologne, Germany
Occupation: Professional Underwater Photographer and Filmmaker
Scuba Diving Since: 2000
Favorite Local Dive:Fühlinger See, Cologne, Germany
Favorite Dive Location:French Polynesia
An Interview with Marc Hillesheim
Why did you decide to take the giant stride into the oceans?
I wanted to be a diver since I read my older sister´s Jaques Cousteau books at the age of nine or ten but I always thought that I would literally need a giant stride or all sorts of complicated things to become a dive so it took me almost twenty years to fulfill my childhood dream. But I have been living it ever since.
How has diving changed your life?
Diving has changed my life so profoundly that it is difficult for me to recall the times without it. I always wanted to become an explorer and diving gives me the chance to visit unseen places and to meet fascinating people every day.
What kind of diving do you like to do?
Of course, I like diving with spectacular creatures and everything else every other diver likes but I really love the last minutes of a dive with only sunlight and a lot of blue around me. I love the liberty in free diving too.
Tell us about one of the most amazing experiences you have had underwater?
It was actually not underwater, but I had to dive to get there. I was in an underwater cave on the island of Gozo together with my girlfriend. We could surface inside the cave and the sun was shining in through a crack in the rock, creating a church-like atmosphere. I couldn´t help but asking her to marry me - fortunately she said yes.
Where are some of your favorite places underwater?
The most impressing place I have been to was the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.
What is your advice to someone considering diving?
Diving is fun but the more so if you take it seriously.
What would you tell people about the oceans?
I would tell them that the oceans are not just an empty part of our world where we can dump our garbage. They are full of live and cover three quarters of our planet. We on the fourth quarter should treat them with respect.
What does diving mean to you?
Diving gave me the chance to do things for a living that would define a big part of my life anyway. What could be better?
What's your favorite thing in your dive bag?
My camera and my S620 Ti reg.
Follow Marc on Instagram: @marchillesheim
Follow Marc on Facebook: Liquid Nation Photography
Check Out Marc's Videos: Marque Productions