After breaking world records and training movie stars, B.C. free diver becomes police dispatcher
For as long as Mandy-Rae Krack can recall, the water has inspired wonder.
“I was a water baby!” Mandy-Rae recalls before showing photos of herself as a baby in a pool and as a child wearing flippers and a snorkel by a lake. “I absolutely loved being underwater.”
While she made the most of living in nowhere-near-the-ocean Alberta by competing in synchronized swimming competitions, it was the discovery of a book about scuba diving in her high school library that proved to be a life-changer.
“There you go,” Mandy-Rae recalls thinking. “I’m going to be a dive instructor!”
So, after graduating, Mandy-Rae saved up enough money to by her own scuba equipment, drove out to the West Coast and became a certified instructor. Later, she was introduced to free diving.
“It just clicked,” Mandy-Rae appreciated the possibilities of diving unencumbered by oxygen tanks. “Animals approach you more readily and the world opened up.”
While she relished being able to swim effortlessly alongside humpback whales (with the photos to prove it), Mandy-Rae also realized she could dive deeper than anyone else she knew.
Thanks to a competitive spirit, strong work ethic, and innate talent, Mandy-Rae ended up setting more than a dozen national records and seven world records, including free-diving down 136 meters — deeper than the height of a 43-storey building.
“And you’re like, ‘Wow! I’m at world record depth,’” Mandy-Rae recalls with a laugh. “And then you’re like, ‘OK! I've got to get up!’ And you snap back to reality and start making your way back-up (to the surface) because you’re only halfway there.”
Mandy-Rae’s accomplishments under the sea led her to train Olympic athletes, special ops, and iconic golfers (Tiger Woods).
She was also featured on the Oprah Winfrey show after working with magician David Blaine, and played a pivotal role in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove."
The list of movie stars she’s worked with includes Tom Cruise, who was taught how to hold his breath underwater for six minutes to film a scene for "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation."
“(Tom Cruise) was a very nice guy,” Mandy-Rae says before snapping her fingers. “He picks up stuff like that. Amazing student.”
But after taking time to focus on raising her daughter, Mandy-Rae sold her business and found herself looking for a new career during the pandemic.
“It was frightening trying to get back into the job market,” Mandy-Rae recalls.
Though she had many transferable skills after running her business, employers seemed reluctant to hire a 47-year-old without a diploma, until Mandy-Rae happened upon an online posting for a job that required the sort of skills you can’t teach that she had — stepping up and staying calm during dangerous situations.
“They could see what I could bring to the table and not dock me for being old,” Mandy-Rae says. She was hired to be a 9-1-1 police dispatcher.
After working as a dispatcher for a few years now, Mandy-Rae says it's proving to be just as exciting, challenging, and satisfying as being a diver.
“Teaching free diving was opening somebody up to the possibilities of what they achieve,” Mandy-Rae says. “(Being a dispatcher) I could also make a significant impact in someone’s life by bettering the outcome of a situation.”
And whether you're training to be the world's best or striving to make your community safer, Mandy-Rae says the key is to "dive deep."
“If you have a thought and you want to try something, go full into it and it can happen,” Mandy-Rae smiles.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.