Ruben Onsu's Preparation Series Before Hoisting the Flag in the Shark Pool, Undergoing 9 Training Sessions

"Oh, if, if, yes if diving then my support is already certified. But this is not in a regular pool. Right, it's not in a regular pool, sharks. Just imagine, sharks," said Ruben when met in the Tendean area, South Jakarta, Friday (1/8/2025).

To ensure the success of the event, Ruben is scheduled to undergo nine training sessions, where each session lasts for two full hours without interruption. During this series of training, he is also given a special opportunity to interact directly with sharks three times. He also explained the details of his training schedule.

"Eh, the interaction with sharks is given the opportunity three times. Yes. So there are, there are nine training sessions. Two hours non-stop. So one training session lasts for two full hours," he explained.

This training is designed to alternate between technical diving sessions and interactions with sharks. All of this aims for Ruben to fully adapt to the environment and his new "friends" in the water. He also describes how the flow of each training session goes. "So, uh, after that we have sharks, with sharks, then back again, like that. So it goes back and forth there," he said.

Interestingly, all training sessions must be conducted outside of the operational hours of the tourist site to avoid any visitors. This sometimes becomes a challenge for Ruben, who has a busy schedule, including dropping his child off at school. He has to be smart in managing his time. "And you have to come there when there are no visitors, right, for the training. So, the training has no visitors," said Ruben.

Because it's difficult to practice in the morning, Ruben eventually chose an afternoon schedule after the place closes. He even joked about the shark's sleeping time that might be disturbed if he practices too early. For him, the comfort of the shark is also an important factor.

"Morning, very early, right? In the morning, I also have trouble, sometimes taking the kids. And if it's too early, it seems like the shark is just waking up too. So we wake it up from its sleep and then it gets angry again. So it's better for me to practice in the afternoon, when the place, what, what, what is it called, the operating hours of that place are closed, then I practice," he explained.