Guillaume Néry: The exhilarating peace of freediving
Guillaume Néry: De spannende vredigheid van het vrijduiken
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!
Guillaume Néry! Nationaal record!
thanks for the warm welcome.
tussen twee keer ademen --
between two breaths --
bij het weer boven komen.
coming back to the surface.
van wat een mens kan.
to the very limits of human possibility,
een reis naar je innerlijk,
an inner journey,
and to take you along with me.
met de laatste keer ademhalen.
langzaam, diep en intens is.
in is slow, deep and intense.
die 'de karper' heet,
called the carp,
twee liter lucht extra
extra liters of air in my lungs
10 liter lucht in mijn longen.
I have about 10 liters of air in my lungs.
treedt het eerste effect op:
the first mechanism kicks in:
is het verlagen van je hartslag.
is make your heart rate drop.
from about 60-70 per minute
almost immediately.
is het immersie-effect.
peripheral vasoconstriction,
will leave the body's extremities
even if you've never done it before,
share this characteristic.
die eigenschap ook hebben --
with marine mammals --
walvissen, zeeleeuwen, enzovoort.
dolphins, whales, sea lions, etc.
these mechanisms become activated,
much better for them.
natuurlijk veel beter.
in the right direction,
steeds meer samen.
to squeeze my lungs.
zorgt dat ik drijf.
in my lungs that makes me float,
op mijn longen komt,
the more pressure there is on my lungs,
en hoe makkelijker ik daal.
and the easier it is for my body to fall.
around 35 or 40 meters down,
om vanzelf de diepte in te vallen.
to fall into the depths by itself,
fase van de vrije val.
the free fall phase.
van het vrijduiken.
is the best part of the dive.
you're being pulled down
naar beneden wordt getrokken.
naar 123 meter zakken.
without making a single movement.
en heb het gevoel of ik vlieg.
an extraordinary feeling of freedom.
sliding to the bottom.
a second physiological response kicks in.
treedt het tweede fysieke effect op.
samengedrukt kunnen worden.
to be compressed, in theory.
heet het 'bloodshift-effect',
is called blood shift,
(Gelach)
become engorged with blood --
zuigen zich vol met bloed --
tegen platdrukken,
from being crushed.
of dat de de longen samenkleven.
of the lungs from collapsing,
dat zeezoogdieren ook hebben,
which we also share with marine mammals,
I keep falling, faster and faster,
my body more and more.
steeds meer samendrukt.
aan mijn lichaam te voelen.
not pretty at all.
de ribbenkast trekt naar binnen.
the rib cage is squeezed in,
going on as well.
"This doesn't look enjoyable.
when there's a problem?
kunnen je longen scheuren,
you might tear your lungs,
for a good amount of time.
is to tell yourself
sterker dan jou zijn.
are stronger than you.
door het water samendrukken.
en laat het gebeuren.
receives this information,
and relax completely.
maar dat voelt helemaal niet verkeerd.
and it doesn't feel bad at all.
in een beschermende cocon zit.
I'm in a cocoon, protected.
maar ook voor ons, vrijduikers.
and also for us, free divers,
to be able to get to 100 meters.
die 100 meter diepte halen.
doctors and physiologists did their math,
fysiologen hebben uitgerekend en voorspeld
would not be able to go below 100 meters.
niet dieper dan 100 m zou kunnen gaan.
the human body would implode.
-- de held van 'Le grand bleu' -- langs
in "The Big Blue" --
en een ballon om te stijgen,
and come back up with a balloon,
in no limit free diving.
by simply using muscle strength.
because he challenged known facts,
omdat hij aannames betwistte.
got rid of the theoretical beliefs
die we onszelf mentaal oplegden.
that we like to impose on ourselves.
zich oneindig kan aanpassen.
has an infinite ability to adapt.
and put yourself in my place.
en je in mij verplaatst.
when I'm down there.
feeling of well-being.
released all tensions
zonder de behoefte om te ademen.
dat ik me zorgen moet maken.
I should be worried.
a little drop of water,
een druppeltje
hetzelfde plaatje voor me.
dat stipje waar de pijl naar wijst.
the arrow is pointing to.
door de Voyager-sonde,
by the Voyager probe,
op dat stipje daar wonen,
is that small dot over there,
in the immensity of space.
de oneindige ruimte.
voor me, achter me,
left, right, in front, behind,
the infinite deep blue.
de eindeloze blauwe diepte.
waar je dat zo ervaart.
you can experience this --
en overal hetzelfde zien.
and seeing the same thing.
dat ik dan altijd krijg --
building up inside of me --
voel ik me erg nietig --
I feel very humble --
omdat ik niets voorstel.
down at the bottom --
verloren in tijd en ruimte.
lost in all of time and space.
steeds weer fantastisch.
want ik hoor hier niet.
because this is not where I belong.
dat ik besluit terug te gaan,
to tear yourself away from the bottom.
weg te rukken van de bodem.
naar beneden getrokken,
dat narcose heet.
phenomenon known as narcosis.
met flessen, maar ook vrijduikers.
to scuba divers,
die in je bloed oplost,
dissolving in the blood,
and unconscious mind.
door je hoofd te draaien.
through your head.
en dat moet je ook niet proberen.
and you shouldn't try to --
hoe erger het wordt.
the harder it is to manage.
herinnert me daaraan.
reminds me of that fact.
in de hand kunnen houden
"Where's the surface?
en ook niet in gedachte.
picture yourself up there.
leading me back to the surface.
dat me terug omhoog leidt.
on the present moment.
raak ik in paniek.
about the surface, I panic.
engelen, begeleiden me.
my guardian angels, join me.
en ik zie ze op 30 meter,
we meet at 30 meters,
for the final few meters,
my team, that I'm here.
het gevoel van nederigheid.
zonder al die mensen om me heen,
the people around me,
de diepte onmogelijk zijn.
would be impossible.
boven alles een groepsprestatie.
is above all a group effort.
mijn reis met hen te eindigen.
my journey with them,
als het niet voor hen was.
if it weren't for them.
hun normale volume.
to their normal volume.
begin ik uit te ademen,
I start to breathe out,
to the surface all I do is breathe in.
alleen nog inadem.
een bevrijding.
zuurstofmoleculen mijn lijf kracht geven.
oxygen molecules fueling my body.
maar tegelijk traumatiserend.
but at the same time it's traumatizing.
as you can you imagine.
naar daglicht,
to the light of day,
naar de onrust boven.
to the commotion up top.
velvety feeling of the water,
nog samengeperst,
just 90 seconds ago,
quite a lot of things.
om terug te komen,
om mijn prestatie te beoordelen.
to verify my performance;
dat mijn fysieke conditie optimaal is.
I'm in perfect physical condition.
een zogeheten exit-protocol deed.
I was doing a so-called exit protocol.
om mijn neusklem af te doen,
to take off my nose clip,
en te zeggen: "I am OK."
(English) "I am OK."
trekt de jury een witte kaart.
the judges show me a white card,
wat er zojuist is gebeurd.
what has just happened.
kant van het vrijduiken te laten zien,
another side of free diving,
over wedstrijden en records.
about competitions and records.
very poetic and artistic.
erg poëtisch en kunstzinnig.
besloten dat te filmen,
het water in te laten gaan.
to go into the water.
om mee te eindigen.
to finish my story.
you try to stop breathing,
te stoppen met ademen,
when you stop breathing,
zijn we gestrest.
we're under so much pressure.
we denken met 100 km per uur.
we think at a million miles an hour,
je gedachten even rusten.
lets you, just for a moment,
to experience weightlessness.
gewichtloos te zijn.
letting go of all your tensions.
everything hurts,
gestrest en gespannen zijn.
and tense all the time.
laat je je zweven,
as if you were in space.
met je lichaam en geest,
with your body, mind and spirit.
about learning to breathe correctly.
at birth, up until our last one.
is learning how to live better.
niet per se op 100 meter,
not necessarily at 100 meters,
met een bril op en zwemvliezen,
a pair of flippers,
anders kan gaan zien,
the flora and fauna,
en weer omhoog gaan,
and coming back to the surface,
to become one with nature like that.
om een met de natuur te worden.
finding this underwater world --
deze onderwaterwereld ontdekken --
about the body's memory
over het geheugen van het lichaam
to our marine origins.
naar onze zee-'roots'.
for a few seconds,
met die oorsprong.
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