1975 – TERRY MAAS (CALIFORNIA)
Terry Maas is a veteran freediver. He started diving when he was 14 years old and has been
freediving steadily for the last 58 years. In his early years Terry won the individual U.S.
National Spearfishing championships 4 times. His team won 10 championships. In 1982, his
interests turned to blue water hunting. For the next 10 years he captured 3 world records
for yellowfin and bluefin tuna. His 398-lb Pacific bluefin tuna record still stands. In 1995,
Terry published his first book, BlueWater Hunting and Freediving. The landmark book has
sold over 20,000 copies and is considered the “bible” for spearfishing. This book is richly
illustrated with pictures and stories from Mexico. He is currently re-writing the book in
digital format to include slides and videos to enhance the text. Terry studied marine
biology in his undergraduate work at the University of California. He holds 3 advanced
degrees, Doctor of Dental Science from University of the Pacific, Resident in Oral Surgery
from the University of Southern California and Masters of Business Administration from
Pepperdine University. He has been an instrumented pilot for 20 years and has logged over
7,500 hours as pilot in command. His 1992 video, Bluewater Hunters for PBS has been
viewed by over 25 million people and has helped introduce the sport of bluewater
spearfishing to the world. His diving has been featured in such publications as Sports
Illustrated, American Airlines magazine, The Miami Herald and the Los Angeles Times. He
lectures nationally using his slides and video presentations to educate those interested in
the adventure of bluewater hunting and marine resource conservation. Terry is the
director of the International Blue Water Spearfishing Records Committee an organization
that documents and maintains world records for blue water species taken freediving. It is
affiliated with the Underwater Society of America. Maas is an accomplished videographer.
His rare footage of wild yellowfin tuna taken at Socorro Island is displayed in two sections
of the Monterey Bay Aquarium open water exhibit. He has produced two commercial
videos, The Joy of Freediving and Freediving Made Easy. November 08, Terry captured
video of marlin, sea-lions and whales all attacking bait balls of sardines off the coast of Baja
California, Mexico. The footage is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2kQF7eWkIs . This production won the first place in
the 2009 amature video competition at the Our World Underwater film expo 2009 and was
featured at the Boston Sea Rovers Evening film exposition. Terry loves to document the
underwater world on still film and in magazine articles. His article documenting the natural
history of manta rays was the featured as the front-cover exhibit in Mexico Desconocido
(July 2002). His articles and photographs have been featured in such US magazines as Sport
Diver, Skin Diver, Scuba Times, Western Diver and California Diving News. Internationally,
his articles appear in Sterne (Germany), Focus (Italy), Dive New Zealand and Australian
Freediving and Spearfishing News. In 2000, he was inducted as a fellow into the Explorers’
Club of New York. Terry was the principal under water videographer and co-host for the TV
series SPEARGUN HUNTER on the Outdoor Channel where he filmed 23 consecutive
episodes. Terry’s most recent documentation project is a recreation of the marine
environment off the Channel Islands of California. He was commissioned by the National
Parks Service to create a mural demonstrating biodiversity at the islands. Using his
painting of white seabass in a kelp forest, Terry incorporated many other photographs of
reef and pelagic animals frequenting the islands. While Terry remains an avid hunter, he is
very selective in his take and is deeply concerned with conservation of the ocean’s bounty.
He shares his underwater images of sea creatures captured in commercial poaching nets
and on hooks with many environmental organizations. He is an active supporter of Sea
Watch an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. In
California, he served on the committee to fashion marine reserves. He remains active in
preserving the rights of spearfishers through his work on the Watermens Alliance. He is an
active participant and trip leader for Diving for a Cause, an organization that spends effort
in improving the local coastal communities they visit for spearfishing. Terry is an expert
witness for speargun and blackout related injuries. Having lost too many close to him from
freediver blackout, Terry’s mission is to create a safer diving environment through his
teachings and by the development of the Freedivers Recovery Vest (FRV.)Maas is currently
working with a broad coalition of national and international freedivers to develop a vest for
the management of freediver blackout. This device is analogous to a biker’s helmet, a
skydiver’s back-up safety chute, and the car driver’s airbag. Visit FRV site here:
www.oceanicss.com. The Navy SEALS are currently testing a military adaptation to protect
their troops in over-water operations. The divers who have impacted him to most are: Jerry
Stugen, his first teacher and Carl Krupansky, and Don Barthman, his first Cen-Cal
teammates. Later he joined John and Bill Ernst who together won 12 national spearfishing
titles. Bill, who he has been diving with for over half-a-century remains a close friend and
dive buddy. Al Schenppershoff ignited his interest in blue water hunting and was an
excellent teacher. Terry’s ever-present Ventura buddy diver Jim Mabry joined him in the
ground breaking trips to Guadalupe Island and the Revillagigedo Islands. Besides the birth
of his three children, some of his most memorable events were winning the
indivinduvidual National Spearfishing Championships in Miami beach at the age of 21, and
the landilanding of his 398-pound bluefin tuna at Guadalupe Island at age 38.
