Herbert Nitsch - The Deepest Man on Earth World Record Holder Freediver and Lecturer Herbert Nitsch is the current freediving world record holder and “the deepest man on earth”. This prestigious title was given to him when he then set the world record for freediving at an incredible depth of 214 meters (702 feet) in 2007 in the No Limit discipline. On June 6th, 2012, Herbert surpassed his own record with a No Limit dive to 253.2 meters (830.8 feet), but suffered from decompression sickness. Herbert can hold his breath for more than 9 minutes and has set 32 world records in all of the 8 recognized disciplines – unrivaled achievements in the freediving history. He holds an additional world record in the traditional Greek freediving discipline Skandalopetra. Unlike other elite freedivers Herbert is self-taught. He is a pioneer in every way. He developed his own freediving techniques over the years, a methodology that largely differs from the traditional styles. He brought many novel ideas and innovations to the sport, that meanwhile have become common elements in the current freediving scene. High safety standards and detailed planning are always part of every dive Herbert makes. Herbert is a retired airline Captain of the Austrian Airlines Group, a profession where check-lists and worst case scenarios were on his daily schedule. This risk-avoiding and high-security attitude helps him to achieve his ambitious goals within freediving. Furthermore he is keen about every technical detail and design of his equipment. Together with his international technical team he designs and produces highly innovative gear with hydrodynamic shapes and lighter materials. He is currently designing an oceangoing-eco-boat and submarine to further explore the oceans at large. Herbert´s motives are about the unknown, about crossing physiological boundaries, achieving goals that seem beyond the limits; overcoming mental challenges; and exploring, understanding, controlling and fine-tuning his own body and its bodily functions (heart rate, blood pressure, blood distribution, oxygen intake and consumption, understanding energy efficiency, etc.). Herbert is one of the few freediving athletes who cooperates with a scientific advisory board and medical doctors. Very little scientific research has been done so far on the physiological effects of freediving, especially as deep as Herbert is diving. His lung volume has been measured to be 10 Liters, which Herbert can expand to 15 Liters with a special technique called “packing” or “buccal pumping” (healthy adult males have a lung capacity of 6 Liters). In December of 2013, Herbert proudly joined the Ocean Advocacy Advisory Board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a wonderful group of motivated people whose aim is to keep the oceans and its wildlife clean and pristine. Print and TV media world wide have covered Herbert’s freediving adventures. He has graced the pages of Red Bulletin, Men’s Health, GQ, Playboy, ESPN, Spiegel, Apnea, Deep, Tauchen, Stern, Paris Match, L’Equipe, HOME, Profil and others. He has appeared on various TV shows. Documentaries were made for CBS 60 Minutes Sports, and for RedBull/Stern TV. Sponsors included Breitling watches, Canon cameras, Trygons freedive equipment and FilmOne productions, SeaCam cameras, Subal underwater housing, UK-Germany underwater housing, Suunto depth gages, SubaPro freedive equipment, SeaBob scooters. His unique freediving career started with a single coincidence. In the late nineties, while Herbert 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 during the entire vacation. There Herbert discovered his natural talent for freediving very quickly. He was fascinated by the nature of this sport and was progressing fast. After freediving for two weeks only, he was two meters short of the Austrian National record.