Spearfisherman and Journalist

Francisco was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he learned to fish. Spearfishing in Rio de Janeiro is a way of life, and his love for the sea and spearfishing has led him to be a proponent of sustainable spearfishing.  He has served as captain of the USA National Spearfishing Team, a nonprofit organization whose members compete internationally. Francisco has won the biggest fish trophy at the Blue Water World Cup three times. In 2013, he won all three trophies of the World Cup: individual, team and biggest fish, the only spearfisher to have accomplished that. In 2015, he was Pan-American champion while competing on Brazil’s national team. In 2018, he shot the biggest fish of the CMAS World Championship for Clubs. 

There is a moment in free diving when one stops being a land animal stuck underwater and becomes instead an underwater creature. The moment other sea beings start perceiving me as one of them is magical!

I lived in Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, my city of birth. When I was 5 years old, I started free diving with my father off the beach next to Sugarloaf Mountain. He did not spearfish, but my passion for seafood took me in this direction. I love SCUBA too, and at age 15, I got my Open Water in San Andres, and at 18, I was already a certified CMAS Instructor working at Rio’s legendary Lighthouse Diving Center.

I was influenced by National Geographic Magazine and I admire spearfishing world champion Stefano Bellani. My high school in Rio had every National Geographic magazine published since 1912, and I read all of them! Stefano is the last Italian to be world champion. He won competing in Chile where diving conditions are completely different from his home diving in Livorno.

I like to eat and cook seafood, so when I am on land, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking for family and friends. That’s actually what got me interested in spearfishing as undoubtedly the best way for me to get fresh ingredients for my dishes is to get them myself!

I love the Cressi Cherokee Ocean speargun! It has an unprecedented balance of precision and power that has helped me land incredible fish.

I was invited to join the Cressi spearfishing team during the World Spearfishing Championship in Peru in 2014.  It was possibly one of the happiest days of my life as I had been fascinated by Team Cressi and its legendary divers since I was a boy. The Cressi Ambassador program gives me a platform to promote healthy practices and share good examples on how to interact with the oceans in a sustainable manner. We need to protect the oceans ASAP! Besides this, I became part of a team of highly skilled and passionate people focused on the ocean and on developing technology to better enjoy it.

facebook.com/francisco.loffredi, instagram.com/franciscoloffredi and youtube.com/franciscoloffredi