Guillaume Néry: The exhilarating peace of freediving
Guillaume Néry: A emocionante paz do mergulho livre
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! Recorde nacional!
thanks for the warm welcome.
obrigado pela calorosa recepção.
de ver é uma jornada.
between two breaths --
entre duas respiradas:
coming back to the surface.
to the very limits of human possibility,
aos limites da capacidade humana,
an inner journey,
and to take you along with me.
com vocês e levá-los comigo.
in is slow, deep and intense.
é lenta, profunda e intensa.
called the carp,
chamada a carpa,
extra liters of air in my lungs
extras de ar nos pulmões
I have about 10 liters of air in my lungs.
cerca de 10 litros de ar nos meus pulmões
the first mechanism kicks in:
o primeiro mecanismo é ativado:
is make your heart rate drop.
é uma queda do ritmo cardíaco.
from about 60-70 per minute
cai de 60-70 por minuto
almost immediately.
quase imediatamente.
peripheral vasoconstriction,
vasoconstrição periférica,
will leave the body's extremities
sai das extremidades do corpo
even if you've never done it before,
mesmo se for sua primeira vez,
share this characteristic.
têm essa característica.
with marine mammals --
com mamíferos marinhos
dolphins, whales, sea lions, etc.
golfinhos, baleias, leões marinhos, etc.
these mechanisms become activated,
esses mecanismos se ativam,
much better for them.
in the right direction,
na direção certa,
to squeeze my lungs.
meus pulmões lentamente.
in my lungs that makes me float,
nos meus pulmões que me faz flutuar,
the more pressure there is on my lungs,
maior a pressão nos meus pulmões,
and the easier it is for my body to fall.
e fácil é para que eu desmaie.
around 35 or 40 meters down,
a cerca de 35 ou 40 metros,
to fall into the depths by itself,
para afundar sozinho,
the free fall phase.
is the best part of the dive.
é a melhor parte do mergulho;
you're being pulled down
sendo puxado para baixo
without making a single movement.
sem fazer nenhum movimento.
de voar debaixo d'água
an extraordinary feeling of freedom.
uma incrível sensação de liberdade.
sliding to the bottom.
a descer lentamente até o fundo.
a second physiological response kicks in.
uma segunda reação fisiológica é ativada.
to be compressed, in theory.
ser comprimidos, em teoria.
is called blood shift,
se chama "blood shift"
become engorged with blood --
from being crushed.
torácica seja esmagada.
of the lungs from collapsing,
dos pulmões desmoronem,
which we also share with marine mammals,
compartilhamos com os mamíferos marinhos,
I keep falling, faster and faster,
caindo, cada vez mais rápido,
my body more and more.
meu corpo cada vez mais.
not pretty at all.
the rib cage is squeezed in,
a caixa torácica está espremida,
going on as well.
"Isso não parece prazeroso.
"This doesn't look enjoyable.
dos meus reflexos mundanos...
when there's a problem?
quando temos um problema?
pode romper seus pulmões,
you might tear your lungs,
for a good amount of time.
por um bom tempo.
is to tell yourself
mentalmente, é convencer-se
are stronger than you.
são mais fortes que você.
receives this information,
recebe a informação
and relax completely.
e relaxo completamente.
e não é uma sensação ruim.
and it doesn't feel bad at all.
protegido em um casulo.
I'm in a cocoon, protected.
e também para nós, mergulhadores,
and also for us, free divers,
to be able to get to 100 meters.
um dia aos 100 metros.
doctors and physiologists did their math,
e fisiólogos fizeram os cálculos,
would not be able to go below 100 meters.
não suportaria ir a mais de 100 metros.
o corpo humano implodiria.
the human body would implode.
em "Imensidão Azul",
in "The Big Blue" --
fazendo "sem limites".
and come back up with a balloon,
e subia com um balão,
em mergulho livre sem limites.
in no limit free diving.
by simply using muscle strength.
somente com a força muscular.
because he challenged known facts,
porque ele desafiou fatos conhecidos,
got rid of the theoretical beliefs
se livrou dessas crenças teóricas
de impôr a nós mesmos.
that we like to impose on ourselves.
tem uma habilidade infinita de adaptação.
has an infinite ability to adapt.
and put yourself in my place.
a colocarem-se no meu lugar.
when I'm down there.
feeling of well-being.
extraordinária de bem-estar.
released all tensions
completamente toda tensão
sem a necessidade de respirar.
I should be worried.
que eu deveria me preocupar.
a little drop of water,
uma gotinha de água
the arrow is pointing to.
que a flecha está indicando.
by the Voyager probe,
pela sonda Voyager.
is that small dot over there,
é aquele pontinho ali,
in the immensity of space.
na imensidão do espaço.
left, right, in front, behind,
para cima ou para trás
the infinite deep blue.
a imensidão azul.
you can experience this --
na Terra você vê isso,
and seeing the same thing.
e ver a mesma coisa.
building up inside of me --
se formando dentro de mim,
I feel very humble --
eu me sinto muito humilde,
down at the bottom --
lost in all of time and space.
perdido no tempo e no espaço.
because this is not where I belong.
porque ali não é meu lugar.
to tear yourself away from the bottom.
para se levantar do fundo.
phenomenon known as narcosis.
fenômeno chamado narcose.
com mergulhadores dependentes,
to scuba divers,
dissolving in the blood,
sendo dissolvido no sangue,
and unconscious mind.
through your head.
girando pela sua cabeça.
and you shouldn't try to --
e você nem deveria tentar,
the harder it is to manage.
controlar, mais difícil é.
sou um ser humano,
reminds me of that fact.
me lembra da realidade.
a necessidade de respirar.
"Onde está a superfície?
"Where's the surface?
picture yourself up there.
leading me back to the surface.
me levando de volta à superfície.
on the present moment.
eu entro em pânico.
about the surface, I panic.
meus anjos da guarda, se aproximam.
my guardian angels, join me.
nos encontramos a 30 metros,
we meet at 30 meters,
for the final few meters,
poderá haver problemas.
minha equipe, que estou aqui.
my team, that I'm here.
the people around me,
sem as pessoas ao meu redor,
would be impossible.
is above all a group effort.
um esforço em equipe.
my journey with them,
minha jornada com eles,
if it weren't for them.
se não fosse por eles.
to their normal volume.
voltam ao volume normal.
I start to breathe out,
eu começo a expirar,
to the surface all I do is breathe in.
tudo que faço é inspirar.
ter sido extraordinária,
oxygen molecules fueling my body.
de oxigênio alimentando meu corpo.
but at the same time it's traumatizing.
mas ao mesmo tempo traumatizante.
as you can you imagine.
como podem imaginar.
to the light of day,
to the commotion up top.
à comoção no topo.
velvety feeling of the water,
da sensação suave e aveludada da água,
espremidos um minuto e meio antes,
just 90 seconds ago,
quite a lot of things.
to verify my performance;
para julgar meu desempenho.
estou em perfeita condição física.
I'm in perfect physical condition.
eu fazia o chamado protocolo de saída
I was doing a so-called exit protocol.
to take off my nose clip,
15 segundos para tirar o clipe de nariz,
(English) "I am OK."
me mostram um cartão branco,
the judges show me a white card,
what has just happened.
o que acabou de acontecer.
de descrever a vocês
de mergulho livre.
another side of free diving,
um outro lado do mergulho livre,
about competitions and records.
a competições e recordes.
é mais do que só isso.
very poetic and artistic.
muito poético e artístico.
decidimos filmar
as pessoas a entrar na água.
to go into the water.
to finish my story.
para finalizar minha história.
imagens subaquáticas.
you try to stop breathing,
que se um dia tentar parar de respirar,
when you stop breathing,
quando para de respirar,
we're under so much pressure.
estamos sob tanta pressão.
a milhões de quilômetros por hora,
we think at a million miles an hour,
lets you, just for a moment,
te permite, só por um momento,
to experience weightlessness.
de experimentar a leveza.
letting go of all your tensions.
deixando de lado todas as tensões.
nosso pescoço dói, tudo dói
everything hurts,
e tensos o tempo todo.
and tense all the time.
as if you were in space.
como se estivesse no espaço.
with your body, mind and spirit.
com seu corpo, mente e espírito.
about learning to breathe correctly.
de aprender a respirar corretamente.
at birth, up until our last one.
até nosso último respiro.
is learning how to live better.
é aprender a viver melhor.
not necessarily at 100 meters,
não necessariamente a 100 metros,
um par de pés de pato,
a pair of flippers,
the flora and fauna,
algas, a flora e a fauna,
and coming back to the surface,
e voltando à superfície,
tornar-se um com a natureza assim.
to become one with nature like that.
finding this underwater world --
encontrar esse mundo subaquático,
consigo mesmo.
about the body's memory
sobre a memória do corpo
às nossas origens aquáticas.
to our marine origins.
for a few seconds,
por alguns segundos,
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