Ambassadors


Luc Besson, Director and Producer

An award-winning film director and producer from Paris, Luc Besson is best known for his late 80s smash hit, the Big Blue. Besson was raised on compressed air by parents who spent much of their professional lives underwater. Despite a rollercoaster career that has earned him the title of "French Steven Spielberg", he has never lost his love for the simple pleasures of the sea. When he heard about the Changing Oceans Expedition, he didn't hesitate to give us a boost.
Maria Mettral, TV Meteorologist

Through her thorough knowledge winds and the weather, she cultivates an indirect link with the sailing world.

 
Dominique Wavre, Sailor

Swiss yachtsman, he is considered, at the age of 49, to be one of the most experienced sailors in the world. With one Vendée Globe trophy, four Whitbread trophies and 250,000 miles of sailing, Dominique is one of Switzerland’s top Swiss ocean racing specialists. He excels in shorter racing events, for which he already has 8 “Tour de France à la Voile” and four “Solitaire du Figaro” races under his belt. The pragmatic skipper, well known for his Swiss precision, is brimming over with talent. Continuing with single-handed sailing, it was his participation in the last edition of the Vendée Globe, for which he built the well-designed powerful Finot-Conq,  that paved the way for his entry into Open 60 racing.

www.dominiquewavre.com

 
Guillaume Nery, triple world record holder in constant weight apnea

24 years old Guillaume Nery, triple world record man in freediving, reached the depth of 109 meters on September 6th 2006, relying only on his “mono-fin”.

He started practicing his skills in apnea on... the school bus! “I was 14 and spent nearly an hour in the school bus to get back home from college. With my best friend, we started challenging one another to kill time. One day, the challenge was to stop breathing for as long as possible. My friend won and that really upset me. As soon as I got home, I started training to hold my breath.

By 2000, Guillaume dedicated all of his time to freediving. He broke all kind of records and trained by biking and swimming with his mono-fin. It is, of course, deep down that the sensations are the most extreme. “It’s hard to describe... a sort of inner journey”, explains Guillaume. When my eyes are shut, I start feeling this incredible awareness of my own body. I become part of the aquatic element. I remain still for a moment and leaving this state of serenity is not always easy.

Guillaume wishes to get personally involved with Antinea, in order to sensitize the greater number of persons to the beauty of the element who fulfils so many of his dreams. He will be performing an apnea exhibition decent from the “Fleur de Passion”, giving the Foundation an additional way of stepping forward.

 
Coralie Imbert, European kitesurf champion

June 2005, 4 pm. Coralie has already been is the water for a couple of hours, in Almanarre, her home town. If the swell is there, nothing and no one will get her out of the sea before nightfall. Her evenings will then be dedicated to arrange meetings, advertisement shootings and other invitations, necessary to enable her to surf and travel more. Model for the French agency “Sport Models”, Coralie is not only beautiful, she is also generous and puts her popularity to the service of social causes as often as she can. Although she is not concerned about her own future, surfing being her only passion at the moment, this 19 year old little lady adopts a very mature position when it gets to children’s right watch or defending equality between men and women.

Coralie’s surfing skills are longer to be proved! Her natural talent and state of mind are undoubtedly the keys to her great success.

Former windsurfer, Coralie started kiting at the end of 2002 and became the European junior champion 6 months later! She then attended the European contest in Turkey and the Northern Sea Open in 2004. She recently won the golden trophy for the “world wind kitecross”, showing therefore her ability to compete in any new discipline (?).

Simply happy while kiting, Coralie’s talent and determination will no doubt take her surfing far into the future on a wave of success.

Eager to share her experience and her love for the seas, Coralie will be participating in educational projects  the Foundation.

 
Aurélien Ducroz, world vice-champion freeride skier

Born in 1982 in Chamonix, Aurélien began competitive ski jumping at an early age and with two titles as Junior French champion, the urge for new sensations got stronger than ever. He experimented with snowboarding and very quickly reached a high level, doubling for the main actor in the movie "Snowboard". After a month and a half of skiing alone on the most beautiful slopes in the Alps he decided to become a freerider. Starting from scratch, he arrived at the age of 21 on the world cup circuit.

His instinct, qualities and talent allowed him to arrive in 3rd position in Whistler, Canada, for his first competition. And that was only the beginning! Aurélien continued his ascension and won the title of world vice champion, the Engadine snow and even the “Xtrême de Verbier” in 2006, the most important competition in the world.

Oceans and mountains are his two elements of predilection. He learned from his father, a famous mountain guide, to respect nature, its immense force but also its fragility. His desire is now to convince all the young people from his generation to preserve nature and our planet.

Today, Aurélien found in Antinea a platform from which convincing the public of the need to preserve these vast expanses of for the dreams and liberty of future generations.

 
Zep, cartoonist creator of Titeuf

Born in Switzerland on January 1st 1967, under the name of Philippe Chappuis, he adopted the pen-name Zep as a tribute to his favourite band, Led Zeppelin. It was also the name of a « fanzine » he created at the age of 12.

He received a degree from the Decorative Arts School in Geneva and started publishing small stories for the Spirou Magazine. Thanks to his publications in various Swiss newspapers and the now famous fanzine "Sauve qui peut!" Zep was noticed by Glénat Editions in 1992. His character “Titeuf” was then published in his own series of books.

The series covers the life of Titeuf, a primary school kid, his questions and his candid thoughts often with reference to current issues, both light and serious. Success came almost immediately: publications went from 10,000 to 600,000 copies within just a few years and the latest edition (volume 9) has sold more than 1,400,000 copies; an incredible success for the little hero!

For city kids, finding themselves sailing across the Oceans is surely a great way to better understand our place as human beings on this great planet, and maybe to define one’s mission, as one of protecting our earth . I approve!