Guillaume Néry: The exhilarating peace of freediving
Guillaume Néry: Der berauschende Friede des Freitauchens
With just one breath, Guillaume Néry can dive to -125m below the water's surface. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
Guillaume Néry! Nationaler Rekord!
Guillaume Néry! National record!
thanks for the warm welcome.
gesehen haben, ist eine Reise --
between two breaths --
coming back to the surface.
to the very limits of human possibility,
Grenzen menschlicher Möglichkeiten,
an inner journey,
eine innere Reise,
and to take you along with me.
sie mit mir mitzunehmen.
langsam, tief und intensiv.
in is slow, deep and intense.
namens "Karpfen",
called the carp,
Luft in meiner Lunge zu speichern,
extra liters of air in my lungs
habe ich etwa 10 l Luft in meiner Lunge.
I have about 10 liters of air in my lungs.
the first mechanism kicks in:
kommt der erste Mechanismus:
zuerst den Herzschlag.
is make your heart rate drop.
von etwa 60 – 70 pro Minute
from about 60-70 per minute
almost immediately.
peripheral vasoconstriction,
die periphere Gefäßverengung,
die Körperextremitäten verlässt,
will leave the body's extremities
inneren Organe zu versorgen:
even if you've never done it before,
sogar beim allerersten Mal,
share this characteristic.
mit Meeressäugetieren --
with marine mammals --
Delfinen, Walen, Seelöwen, usw.
dolphins, whales, sea lions, etc.
werden diese Mechanismen aktiviert,
these mechanisms become activated,
much better for them.
bei ihnen viel besser.
in die richtige Richtung,
in the right direction,
mit Zuversicht ermöglicht.
to squeeze my lungs.
meine Lunge zu komprimieren.
in my lungs that makes me float,
mir den Auftrieb gibt,
the more pressure there is on my lungs,
höher je tiefer ich tauche,
and the easier it is for my body to fall.
desto leichter fällt mein Körper.
around 35 or 40 meters down,
bei etwa 30 oder 40 m Tiefe,
to fall into the depths by itself,
um selber in die Tiefe zu fallen,
the free fall phase.
sogennante Freifallphase.
is the best part of the dive.
ist der beste Teil des Tauchgangs.
you're being pulled down
als ob man vom Grund angezogen wird
without making a single movement.
ohne eine einzige Bewegung zu machen.
an extraordinary feeling of freedom.
ein außergewöhnliches Freiheitsgefühl.
sliding to the bottom.
weiter auf den Grund.
a second physiological response kicks in.
die zweite physiologische Reaktion.
to be compressed, in theory.
komprimiert werden können, theoretisch.
is called blood shift,
wird "blood shift" genannt,
become engorged with blood --
schwellen mit Blut an --
from being crushed.
eingedrückt zu werden.
of the lungs from collapsing,
vor dem Kollaps,
which we also share with marine mammals,
welches wir mit den Meeressäugern teilen,
I keep falling, faster and faster,
schneller und schneller,
my body more and more.
immer mehr zusammendrückt.
überhaupt nicht schön.
not pretty at all.
der Brustkorb eingedrückt
the rib cage is squeezed in,
going on as well.
"This doesn't look enjoyable.
"Das sieht nicht sehr angenehm aus.
when there's a problem?
wenn es ein Problem gibt?
you might tear your lungs,
einen Lungenriss bekommen,
for a good amount of time.
lange Zeit aufhören.
is to tell yourself
are stronger than you.
stärker als man selbst sind.
und gehe mit ihm mit.
receives this information,
and relax completely.
und entspanne mich komplett.
and it doesn't feel bad at all.
fühlt sich überhaupt nicht schlecht an.
I'm in a cocoon, protected.
wie in einem Kokon.
und auch für uns Freitaucher,
and also for us, free divers,
to be able to get to 100 meters.
100 m zu erreichen.
doctors and physiologists did their math,
und Physiologen errechneten,
would not be able to go below 100 meters.
könnte nicht unter 100 m gehen.
the human body would implode.
Körper implodieren.
in "The Big Blue" --
aus "The Big Blue" --
and come back up with a balloon,
kam nach oben mit einem Ballon,
in no limit free diving.
No-Limit-Freitauchen auf 200 m.
by simply using muscle strength.
rein mit Muskelkraft.
because he challenged known facts,
weil er bekannte Fakten herausforderte,
got rid of the theoretical beliefs
die theoretischen Gesetze verwarf,
that we like to impose on ourselves.
die wir uns gerne auferlegen.
has an infinite ability to adapt.
unbegrenzt anpassbar ist.
and put yourself in my place.
versetzen Sie sich in meine Lage.
when I'm down there.
wenn ich da unten bin.
feeling of well-being.
released all tensions
Spannungen gelöst habe
ohne das Gefühl, atmen zu müssen.
I should be worried.
dass ich besorgt sein sollte.
a little drop of water,
ein Wassertropfen,
auf den der Pfeil zeigt.
the arrow is pointing to.
by the Voyager probe,
von der Voyager Sonde,
is that small dot over there,
den kleinen Punkt dort,
in the immensity of space.
im unermesslichen Raum.
left, right, in front, behind,
links, rechts, vor oder zurück schaue,
the infinite deep blue.
you can experience this --
kann man das erleben --
and seeing the same thing.
siehst man dasselbe.
building up inside of me --
I feel very humble --
fühle ich mich sehr demütig --
down at the bottom --
auf dem Grund bin --
lost in all of time and space.
verloren in Zeit und Raum.
because this is not where I belong.
da ich hier nicht hingehöre.
beschließe, aufzutauchen.
to tear yourself away from the bottom.
sich vom Grund hochzuziehen.
phenomenon known as narcosis.
bekannt als Narkose.
to scuba divers,
dissolving in the blood,
and unconscious mind.
through your head.
von rechts, von links, unkontrollierbar.
and you shouldn't try to --
man soll es nicht probieren --
the harder it is to manage.
desto schwieriger ist es zu kontrollieren.
reminds me of that fact.
erinnert mich daran.
"Where's the surface?
"Wo ist die Oberfläche ?
noch den Gedanken.
picture yourself up there.
dort vorstellen, niemals.
leading me back to the surface.
das mich zur Oberfläche führt.
on the present moment.
jetzt im Augenblick.
about the surface, I panic.
my guardian angels, join me.
Schutzengel, begleiten mich.
we meet at 30 meters,
wir treffen uns bei 30 m,
for the final few meters,
my team, that I'm here.
the people around me,
die Leute um mich,
would be impossible.
is above all a group effort.
ist vor allem eine Gruppenleistung.
my journey with them,
Reise glücklich enden.
if it weren't for them.
to their normal volume.
das Normalvolumen.
zur Oberfläche hoch.
I start to breathe out,
beginne ich auszuatmen,
to the surface all I do is breathe in.
ist Einatmen alles, was ich tue.
oxygen molecules fueling my body.
fühlen, die meinen Körper auftanken.
but at the same time it's traumatizing.
auch traumatisierend.
as you can you imagine.
ist es ein Systemschock.
to the light of day,
ins Licht des Tages,
to the commotion up top.
zur Aufregung an der Oberfläche.
velvety feeling of the water,
samtigen Gefühl des Wassers,
die Luft in meine Lungen.
just 90 seconds ago,
noch vor 90 Sekunden,
quite a lot of things.
um zurückzukommen,
to verify my performance;
Performance überprüfen.
I'm in perfect physical condition.
physisch in Ordnung bin.
I was doing a so-called exit protocol.
ein "Exit-Protokoll" mache.
to take off my nose clip,
um meinen Nasenclip abzunehmen,
(English) "I am OK."
und zu sagen: "I am OK."
the judges show me a white card,
zeigen mir die Richter eine weiße Karte
what has just happened.
was gerade passiert ist.
beschrieben habe,
Form des Freitauchens.
another side of free diving,
des Freitauchens,
about competitions and records.
Wettbewerbe und Rekorde sprechen.
very poetic and artistic.
poetisch und künstlerisch.
to go into the water.
das Wasser näherzubringen.
to finish my story.
um meine Geschichte abzuschließen.
schönen Unterwasserfotos.
you try to stop breathing,
dass wenn man das Atmen stoppt,
when you stop breathing,
we're under so much pressure.
sind wir so stark unter Druck.
we think at a million miles an hour,
wir denken mit 1 Millionen km/h,
lets you, just for a moment,
kann man für einen Moment,
to experience weightlessness.
die Schwerelosigkeit zu erleben.
zu sein, schwebend,
letting go of all your tensions.
alle Anspannungen fallenzulassen.
everything hurts,
alles tut weh,
and tense all the time.
die ganze Zeit.
as if you were in space.
with your body, mind and spirit.
mit deinem Körper, Verstand und Geist.
about learning to breathe correctly.
lernen, richtig zu atmen.
at birth, up until our last one.
bei der Geburt, bis zu unserem letzten.
is learning how to live better.
ist lernen besser zu leben.
not necessarily at 100 meters,
nicht unbedingt bis 100 Meter,
a pair of flippers,
the flora and fauna,
Seetang, die Flora und Fauna,
and coming back to the surface,
und zurückkommend zur Oberfläche,
to become one with nature like that.
so eins mit der Natur zu werden.
finding this underwater world --
diese Unterwasserwelt zu finden --
about the body's memory
das Körpergedächtnis sagen,
to our marine origins.
marinen Ursprungs zurückgeht.
for a few seconds,
ein paar Sekunden anhalten,
verbunden sein.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Guillaume Néry - World champion freediverWith just one breath, Guillaume Néry can dive to -125m below the water's surface.
Why you should listen
Guillaume Néry is a French freediving champion, specializing in deep diving. As a multiple world record holder and the double reigning world champion, Guillaume's goals go well beyond the simple realm of sport. With a perfect combination of aesthetics, performance, films and exploration, Guillaume practices his discipline like an art form — it has become his way of life.
Guillaume grew up by the Mediterranean Sea, in Nice. As a child, he used to go diving every summer with his flippers and mask, accompanied by his father, to discover the wonders of the underwater world. At the age of 14, he and a friend took up a challenge: to hold their breath for as long as possible. The simple game became an obsession and led him one day to meet Claude Chapuis, the founder of the international AIDA federation (Worldwide Federation for breath-hold diving). Claude became Guillaume’s mentor.
True to the Nice school of diving, Guillaume devoted all his time and energy to his passion. He made huge progress when working alongside Loic Leferme (5x No-Limits world record holder), who later became a role model, guide and close friend.
In 2002, he became the youngest ever freedive record holder, by diving to a depth of -87m using the force of his fins alone. That marked the beginning of a great adventure. Guillaume then beat the world record 3 times, became the world team champion in 2008 and the individual world champion in Greece in 2011, diving down to -117m. Nowadays, he dives until -125m of depth, the new French record
Guillaume also teaches deep diving at his school, CIPA (in Nice), conducts training, is involved in business life and sets sail across the world's oceans searching for new areas to explore.
However, it was thanks to the film he produced in 2010 with his partner Julie Gautier, Free Fall, that the Frenchman's career truly took off. One scene shows Guillaume walking on a seabed, towards an underwater chasm: the Deans Blue Hole (Bahamas), the deepest blue hole in the world. Suddenly, he jumps into emptiness and starts his free fall into the chasm. In just a few days, these images had been seen all around the world, revealing a new, artistic and poetic approach to freediving.
Since then, the couple has carried out a number of other film projects, including Narcoses or, recently, Ocean Gravity. They also launched their own website dedicated to all their creations: www.lesfilmsengloutis.com
Guillaume Néry | Speaker | TED.com