Freediver Herbert Nitsch is one of the most important personalities in freediving. The "deepest person in the world" held and still holds numerous world records in freediving. I met the exceptional talent for an interview in the Maldives and talked to him about his freediving records, the serious accident and new goals and tasks.

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I meet the freediver Herbert Nitsch on the beach of the Maldives island Coco Bodu Hithi. The former airline pilot from Vienna/Austria (born 1970) gradually set 2000 world records in all freediving disciplines as a freediver from the early 33s.

He holds probably the most important one to this day: deep diving with variable weight and any aids (No Limit, NLT). Herbert dove to a depth of 253 meters (831 ft). Since then he has been the "deepest man on earth" - "the deepest man on earth" who managed to dive to such depths with just one breath. With us he has in Interview talked about his life as an exceptional talent.

Video – Herbert Nitsch in portrait

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Freediving. What exactly is that? When are you no longer a snorkeler but a freediver?

Herbert Nitsch: Apnoe diving is Diving with just one breath. As soon as you leave the water surface and dive into the air, you are freediver.

What makes the fascination of this sport for you and why would you prefer the freediving to scuba diving?

Herbert Nitsch: Many people believe that freedivers have fewer options than a bottle diver. That is a mistake. I can as freediver As often as I want to dive down every day - and one must not forget that every fish underwater hears the sounds of the compressed air bottle. In this respect, one only encounters when scuba diving, the creatures that are not shy in principle. Say, as a diver you get only a fraction of what's going on. That's a huge difference in freediving.

As a freediver you are so much more agile underwater. You can move and really feel the three dimensions. Freediving is also less dangerous than scuba diving. Your own body fails much less often than any device. I don't understand how anyone can blindly rely on their equipment. Even if you, as a freediver, have a diving tank with you, there is still a backup system: my own air gives me a time buffer that scuba divers don't have. And anyone can do it. You can double or even triple the amount of time you can hold your breath underwater within a week.

You came by chance to the freediving. What did you say?

Herbert Nitsch: I was on Egypt Air diving Safari and the airline has lost my luggage. In the luggage was my whole scuba diving equipment. I was then snorkeling for a week on the spot and unknowingly trained for freediving without knowing that this sport existed.

A friend of my father then noticed how long I can stay down and he was quite fascinated and tried to persuade me to set an Austrian record. For me the question was: what is freediving? - that was for me snorkeling. He explained to me that it was snorkeling at depth and that the Austrian record at the time was 34 meters. Just two meters more than I dived for fun on holiday. In the end, a year later I set my first freediving record at an international competition.

What influence does your former career as a pilot have on your diving career?

Herbert Nitsch: I used to fly as a pilot for an Austrian airline and in this job you are taught to think analytically and always have a way out. At the crucial moment, you can no longer think about it, but have to call up the plan immediately. Similarly with apnea diving, I tried to go through everything mentally beforehand: going out in the boat, putting on the suit, diving, surfacing. Once you've gone through this in your head, you're no longer so excited.

Because I lived in a landlocked country and worked full-time as a pilot, I never had the luxury of training in the ocean as much as my freediving competitors did. But I've had the time to think about it a lot and have developed my own techniques and devices that focus on efficiency and effectiveness. At first I was often ridiculed for my controversial means and methods, but my success spoke for itself.

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You have broken a whole series of records. Which record was the most important for you?

Herbert Nitsch: None. All records were just for me to see how far I could increase my own limits. I've always been curious about how far and how the game works best between body and mind. One learns to understand, improve and manipulate body mechanisms. That always fascinated me.

“Every time I think I've reached a limit…. there is a door…. it opens…. and the limit is gone. "

Herbert Nitsch

There is no absolute limit, but the deeper you go, the more risks there are.

2012 has caught you in a record attempt a diving accident. What happened and how did that change your life?

Herbert Nitsch: After reaching the planned final depth of 253 meters, I fell asleep 80 to 24 meters before reaching the surface. Sounds strange, I know. But you have to be super relaxed on a dive like this. This relaxation, coupled with the intoxication of depth, caused me to fall asleep and not be able to make the planned deco stop of one minute at 10 meters. You stay at a certain depth so that the gases that have increasingly formed in the blood and tissue due to the pressure can desaturate again - this prevents decompression sickness.

What happened then?

Herbert Nitsch: The sled pulled me up and 24 meters under the surface brought me the security divers. I woke up immediately, but they still brought me to the surface without a deco stop. I knew I had to get down quickly to make up for the deco stop. But the catastrophic consequences, which occurred about 15 minutes after the first appearance, were still not completely preventable.

How was the rescue chain?

Herbert Nitsch: I was flown from Santorin to Athens. But they made the mistake of examining me in the hospital for hours before I got into the pressure chamber.

Today you are successful again as a freediver. How does your daily routine look like? And how do you earn your living with it? What is planned in the future? What will happen to you - and of course the apnea diving?

Herbert Nitsch: Occasionally I am invited for lectures for various companies and interest groups. I'm currently busy with my autobiography, and with the design of my eco-boat.

You get involved with Sea Shepherd. How did that come about and what goals do you pursue in marine conservation?

Herbert Nitsch: As a free diver, I have observed firsthand the poor condition our seas and their inhabitants are in and are treated. You can see how people look at the seas like a trash can and fish them empty. At the most beautiful place at the end of the world you see rubbish. This is madness. And that's why it is important to me to become a member of the Advisory Board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

What does your commitment look like?

Herbert Nitsch: Sea Shepherds are sometimes very radical with their boats. I support this primarily through lectures, but not actively on the ship. I make people aware of the problem.

I would like to thank Herbert Nitsch for the interview and we look forward to seeing you again soon. I have Herbert Nitsch on it Maldives met on the luxury island of Coco Bodu Hithi. The world record holder was there to give one of his rare freediving courses to locals and holidaymakers. I also took part in Herbert's course and gained amazing first insights into freediving. We spent about a week there together.

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Have you ever been freediving or would you like to try it in the future? Share your experiences in the comments.