Guillaume Néry: The exhilarating peace of freediving
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! National record!
thanks for the warm welcome.
between two breaths --
coming back to the surface.
to the very limits of human possibility,
an inner journey,
and to take you along with me.
in is slow, deep and intense.
called the carp,
extra liters of air in my lungs
I have about 10 liters of air in my lungs.
the first mechanism kicks in:
is make your heart rate drop.
from about 60-70 per minute
almost immediately.
peripheral vasoconstriction,
will leave the body's extremities
even if you've never done it before,
share this characteristic.
with marine mammals --
dolphins, whales, sea lions, etc.
these mechanisms become activated,
much better for them.
in the right direction,
to squeeze my lungs.
in my lungs that makes me float,
the more pressure there is on my lungs,
and the easier it is for my body to fall.
around 35 or 40 meters down,
to fall into the depths by itself,
the free fall phase.
is the best part of the dive.
you're being pulled down
without making a single movement.
an extraordinary feeling of freedom.
sliding to the bottom.
a second physiological response kicks in.
to be compressed, in theory.
is called blood shift,
become engorged with blood --
from being crushed.
of the lungs from collapsing,
which we also share with marine mammals,
I keep falling, faster and faster,
my body more and more.
not pretty at all.
the rib cage is squeezed in,
going on as well.
"This doesn't look enjoyable.
when there's a problem?
you might tear your lungs,
for a good amount of time.
is to tell yourself
are stronger than you.
receives this information,
and relax completely.
and it doesn't feel bad at all.
I'm in a cocoon, protected.
and also for us, free divers,
to be able to get to 100 meters.
doctors and physiologists did their math,
would not be able to go below 100 meters.
the human body would implode.
in "The Big Blue" --
and come back up with a balloon,
in no limit free diving.
by simply using muscle strength.
because he challenged known facts,
got rid of the theoretical beliefs
that we like to impose on ourselves.
has an infinite ability to adapt.
and put yourself in my place.
when I'm down there.
feeling of well-being.
released all tensions
I should be worried.
a little drop of water,
the arrow is pointing to.
by the Voyager probe,
is that small dot over there,
in the immensity of space.
left, right, in front, behind,
the infinite deep blue.
you can experience this --
and seeing the same thing.
building up inside of me --
I feel very humble --
down at the bottom --
lost in all of time and space.
because this is not where I belong.
to tear yourself away from the bottom.
phenomenon known as narcosis.
to scuba divers,
dissolving in the blood,
and unconscious mind.
through your head.
and you shouldn't try to --
the harder it is to manage.
reminds me of that fact.
"Where's the surface?
picture yourself up there.
leading me back to the surface.
on the present moment.
about the surface, I panic.
my guardian angels, join me.
we meet at 30 meters,
for the final few meters,
my team, that I'm here.
the people around me,
would be impossible.
is above all a group effort.
my journey with them,
if it weren't for them.
to their normal volume.
I start to breathe out,
to the surface all I do is breathe in.
oxygen molecules fueling my body.
but at the same time it's traumatizing.
as you can you imagine.
to the light of day,
to the commotion up top.
velvety feeling of the water,
just 90 seconds ago,
quite a lot of things.
to verify my performance;
I'm in perfect physical condition.
I was doing a so-called exit protocol.
to take off my nose clip,
(English) "I am OK."
the judges show me a white card,
what has just happened.
another side of free diving,
about competitions and records.
very poetic and artistic.
to go into the water.
to finish my story.
you try to stop breathing,
when you stop breathing,
we're under so much pressure.
we think at a million miles an hour,
lets you, just for a moment,
to experience weightlessness.
letting go of all your tensions.
everything hurts,
and tense all the time.
as if you were in space.
with your body, mind and spirit.
about learning to breathe correctly.
at birth, up until our last one.
is learning how to live better.
not necessarily at 100 meters,
a pair of flippers,
the flora and fauna,
and coming back to the surface,
to become one with nature like that.
finding this underwater world --
about the body's memory
to our marine origins.
for a few seconds,
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