Alexey Molchanov and Sonya McVay (Using Freediving for Performance, Overcoming Grief and Training Firefighters) - Episode 1143

Alexey Molchanov is a world champion free diver, holding records in numerous disciplines. Sonya McVay is the founder of The Six and a previous guest. They have combined forces to bring the incredible physical and mental training principles of freediving to the fire service.

Alexey Molchanov has loved freediving since he was five, exploring the sea and discovering the magic of holding his breath underwater. Since 2004, he has set 40 World Records—10 of them in 2023 alone—and won more than 20 gold medals, mastering not just depth but the art of breath control. His current records include 136m in monofin, 126m in bifins, and 156m in variable weight, all on a single breath. For Alexey, breathwork has always been at the heart of his training—expanding lung capacity, mastering stress, and finding calm in every dive.

Beyond the ocean, Alexey is the CEO & Founder of Molchanovs, a global freediving and breathwork community spanning 40+ countries, with over 2,000 instructors and 100,000 members. As a Global Breathwork Coach, he leads more than 100,000 active participants through programs designed to enhance performance, resilience, and wellness. His expertise has also made him a sought-after Keynote Speaker, delivering sessions for leading corporations in business and media—such as Everest and Picturestart—on resilience, stress mastery, leadership, and peak performance.

Alexey’s story and philosophy have reached global audiences through appearances in Paramount’s Freediver (2024), Netflix’s Religion of Sports (2018), and features in the New York Times, GQ, and other international lifestyle and performance media. Redefining what it means to be human at the edge of performance, Alexey brings his philosophy of mastery, resilience, and calm not only to freediving but to everyday wellness, sport, and style.

Sonya McVay-Straub, MP, is a certified ART (Active Release Techniques), NKT (NeuroKinetic Therapy), AiM (Anatomy in Motion), PMT (Performance Movement Taping by RockTape), KABUKI integrated Power Lifting, and ICT (Integrated Cranial Therapy) provider. She is also a certified master Pilates Instructor and a PMA (Pilates Method Alliance) and NKT credentialing author and continuing education provider. ART is a clinical soft tissue therapy system used to treat pathologies and/or movement restriction with muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves.

Alongside manual therapy, she specializes in Neuro-Gate, functional/movement assessment, sports injuries, spinal pathologies, "special-populations" and post-treatment exercise. Her practice combines multiple methods and provides incredible results.

Her clients include internationally competitive athletes (Ferrari's Racing team), professional baseball players, both pro golfers and tennis players, triathletes, cyclists, PTSD patients, competitive marathoners, UFC fighters, IronMan/ToughMudder and Spartan athletes, avid and competitive CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, business executives, chronic pain patients, senior citizens, and youth. Sonya has personally treated hundreds of First Responders and Military Personnel over the last ten years. It is her life’s mission to demand NFL quality health care to these populations.