The Deepest Man on Earth
Austrian Herbert Nitsch has dived deeper on a single breath than any man. He has explored the boundaries of human ability in the ocean’s depths time and time again, earning multiple world championships and 33 world records across all of the freediving disciplines — a feat unrivaled until today.
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Each time I think I’ve reached a limit…
there is a door…
it opens…
and the limit is gone.
Unlike other elite freedivers Herbert Nitsch is self-taught. He is a pioneer in every way. To advance in the sport, Herbert used the analytical and pragmatic approach of his profession as an airline pilot (captain). He introduced new techniques, innovations, safety measures and insights into the sport, and into his body and mind. Many of these have become common elements in the current freediving scene. No Limit is the ultimate discipline in which by far the greatest depth is achieved with a weighted dive-sled and buoyancy device. Herbert was dubbed “the Deepest Man on Earth” after his No Limit world record to 214m (702ft). Herbert continued his quest to go farther. This pioneering spirit led him to the deepest freedive ever made, in a project called Extreme 800, with a dive to 253m (830ft).
Back from the Abyss
Herbert reahed 253m/830ft, a Guinness World Record, but he suffered severe decompression sickness fifteen minutes after completing the dive. This resulted in multiple strokes, leaving him unable to walk, speak, or care for himself. Not willing to accept his situation, he returned to what he did best: identifying his limits, and overcoming them. Using the same insights into his psychology and physiology that made him a world champion freediver, he was determined to regain his health and independence. His recovery-methods were controversial, and he received little support, yet he continued undeterred. Two years later, against all odds, Herbert is fit and deep-freediving again.
Genesis
Herbert’s unique freediving career started with a single coincidence. In the late nineties, while he was on the way to a scuba dive safari, his diving equipment got lost somewhere in transit. So Herbert went snorkeling instead of scuba diving. There, he discovered his natural talent for freediving. After freediving for ten days only, he was 2m short of the Austrian National record.
He continued to become a multiple world champion, and set 33 world records across all freediving disciplines:
1x WR: Static (9+ min breath-hold), 4x WR: Dynamic Apnea, 2x WR: Dynamic Apnea without Fins, 9x WR: Constant Weight, 4x WR: Constant Weight without Fins, 6x WR: Free immersion, 1x WR: Variable Weight, 5x WR: No Limit, 1x WR: Skandalopetra
Author and Ocean Conservationist
His book Breathing is Overrated, is an autobiography about human potential, a pioneerig spirit, and the deepest dive on a single breath (Amazon). Herbert travels the world, freediving and filming in remote marine areas to raise interest in ocean conservation. He is an Ambassador for Sea Shepherd Global.
On land, Herbert is a well-sought after lecturer and key-note speaker for corporate events, such as: Arrow, AUDI, Bayer, DIGAB, Pfizer, TATA, SwissAir, RAIFEISSEN, PAYPAL, and Geberit. Print and TV media worldwide continue to cover his adventures. Herbert has graced the pages of Red Bulletin, Men’s Health, GQ, Playboy, amond many others. He has also appeared on various radio shows, podcasts, TV shows, and documentaries.
This lecture is about the professional approach of an airline pilot and professional freediver applied to business.
Herbert shares how to book results in areas none have ventured before. He learned that by taking and weighing calculated risks, one can achieve extraordinary goals.
Managing stress is one of the most important factors in achieving exceptional results. Herbert recognized how these mechanisms work within the human body and mind.
This lecture focusses on the deepest and most extreme of all freediving disciplines: No Limit. With a weighted sled without any propulsion, of his own design, Herbert ventured to a new world record depth. This lecture explains what happens to the body and mind at depth and how the deepest dive to 253m/830ft was possible.
He also reveals why this dive was followed by severe decompression sickness, and how he fought back from being a wheelchair-bound patient to becoming an elite freediver again.
There is no limit in achieving anything in life and in business when using innovative ways to be better than the competition. As a freediver Herbert is known to be an independent thinker and pioneer. His background as airline pilot and yachtsman add to his ability to “think out of the box” and to pursue a route that differs from the norm.
Herbert understands what it takes to self-motivate and succeed regardless of the circumstances and environment, and how to outsmart the competition. “When you use methods and techniques that others have applied before, you can only be as good as those others. Therefore change course, learn, listen and innovate.”
Herbert tells his story about freediving, both as a competition discipline and as a hobby for everyone. He explains how anyone can learn to double his breath hold time within a week, and how to efficiently prepare your body to adapt for depth. He explains how he has mastered all of the freediving disciplines, and how he set world records in all of them (an unrivaled accomplishment).
His world wide travels and dives in many oceans made Herbert aware that the ocean deserves more respect than it gets. He follows his passion to conserve the seven seas by being an Advisory Board Member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
As an airline pilot and elite freediver, Herbert learned that there is no place for a weak link, as it may be fatal. Since a team is only as strong as its weakest link, each team-member is an important part of the whole.
It is of great essence to constantly fine-tune a team to function in perfect symbiosis. Putting people in the right position, keeping them alert, trained, and encouraged is the core of a winning team.
By understanding the body’s physiology you can influence its systems and functions, and push physical boundaries further. Herbert can explain how to manipulate body functions, such as blood pressure, heart rate, breath-hold time, and how to instigate the dive reflex prior to a deep dive.
He describes how to increase one’s lung volume substantially, and how to withstand extreme pressure at great depth. Herbert has healed himself of chronic bronchitis and asthma through a self-designed pulmonary depth training. He has overcome severe physical challenges related to decompression sickness incurred after his last No Limit world record to 253m/830ft. He was doomed to remain “a wheelchair bound basket case”, but fought back against all odds, and is now fit and deep freediving in the oceans again.
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