At 42, the Niçois, a quadruple record holder and double world champion in constant weight apnea (descent and ascent while snorkeling) has become an explorer, speaker, and writer, since he stopped competing in 2015 following a syncope while trying to beat his fifth world record at 129 meters. An implausible organizational negligence took him to 139 m. He shares with us his daily life in Nice and Roubion, in the hinterland of Nice, where he has a pied-a-terre.
What are you doing right now?
I am starting to write a book on the story of the most decorated freediver on the planet, the Russian Natalia Molchanova, who disappeared in 2015, a month before my syncope, during a dive off the coast of the Spanish island of Formentera. Their body was never found. This exceptional athlete, who died at the age of 53, had obtained 41 world records in snorkeling and 23 world championship titles, even though she started freediving at 40. A legend! I am currently investigating her singular destiny with the help of his son Alexey, also a champion freediver, whom I know well because we were rivals and friends. Natalia was very maternal to me. The fact that mother and son were champions at the same time is unique in the history of sport.
Are you still making movies?
I put the director on hold after producing short films that were artistic, poetic and committed to freediving with the director and freediver Julie Gautier, in particular ” Free Fall ”, ” Narcosis ”, the clip Runnin' by Beyoncé, or ” One Breath Around the World ”. This last video, which has exceeded 33 million views, was shot over 8 months in 8 unusual destinations around the world. It shows me walking on the underwater structure of Yonaguni in Japan, dancing with cachalots in Mauritius, and swimming in the freezing waters of Lake Päijänne in Finland. But today the world is saturated with images, I don't want to contribute more to the visual din. I prefer to suggest reading. In addition, filming generates a lot of stress, while writing is more peaceful. I want more simplicity. I have already published several books about my career: ” Depths ” in 2014, ” Breathless ”, with photographs by Franck Séguin in 2019, or ” Aquatic nature ” in 2022. This time, to tell the story of Natalia Molchanova, I am the only author.
How did you discover scuba diving?
I was born in Nice to parents who were very sporty and hikers. They took me with them to our sublime Mercantour, a mythical national park in the Alps. There, I discovered the taste for effort and performance. We weren't traveling, so I was dreaming: I was passionate about exploration, adventures, and astronomy. I read Tintin, Jules Verne, and watched all the sports competitions on television. One day, at the age of 14, I did a freediving competition with a friend by game, and I lost! Offended, I worked out relentlessly in my room. I loved these first sensations. Then I documented myself, I watched a Special Envoy report on the Italian freediver Umberto Pelizzari, and I quickly reached 4 minutes in static apnea, when the record was 6 minutes! Without training, you can't normally hold your breath for more than a minute. I told myself that I had abilities, so I decided to dive with my best friend in the Bay of Angels, in Nice, then I looked for a freediving club. Luckily, one of the best clubs in the world was located a few steps away, in Villefranche-sur-Mer. With its drop-offs over 200 meters deep, it is an El Dorado for freedivers. Claude Chapuis, record holder of static apnea, was the manager of the club, and organizer of the first world freediving championships in 1996. At his side, I learned team spirit, humility, patience, and caution. I progressed through contact with Loïc LeFerme (5 times world record holder in No-Limits), who will become my guide and friend. Unfortunately, he died during a training session. At 19, I became French champion in constant weight apnea, and the youngest world record holder in history the following year at -87 meters. I beat my record in 2015 at -126 meters in Cyprus. In static apnea, my record is 7min 42.
At the beginning, it was the performance that seduced me, to be able to achieve the unthinkable. Depth, exploration, and adventure were also key aspects. The love for the sea came next, when I travelled for competitions and to make my films. Freediving opened the doors to the world for me. I fell in love with Hawaii in the Pacific, where the world below the surface is incredibly rich, and in Mexico, where the water is translucent. I no longer had the impression of being under water, but in a spatial reality. From these trips, I remember all my magical encounters with marine animals: sharks, turtles, cachalots... I also saw the fragility of living beings, the harmful consequences of human activity. With more than 10,000 dives on the clock, I have mostly taken an introspective path, because snorkeling requires exceptional self-control. Diving is above all a dive into yourself.
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What are the effects of apnea?
The Belgian neurologist Steven Laureys studied my brain in static apnea for 7min 15 minutes, measured by an electroencephalogram. He observed an increase in the activity of brain connections, which has similarities to the changes induced by meditation. Deep apnea allows me to access a state of calm, letting go and acceptance, while listening supreme to my body. It is also where I access the rare powers of the present moment, and where I reconnect with nature. I am reaching a state of grace. For deep apneas, I fill my lungs with nearly 10 liters of air (twice the size of a man my age and build) using the carp breathing technique. Beyond 80 meters, the volume of the lungs decreases, I become heavier, caught by the bottom, I am in free fall. A moment of pure happiness where I have the impression of flying, of soaring. I am connected to a cable because otherwise the body would continue to sink. The heart rate slows down, it reaches 20 beats per minute. The water is ice. The pressure of the weight of water is enormous. Blood leaves the extremities of the body to supply the heart and brain. You only see shades of blue, a unique experience in the world, and you travel inside yourself, fully aware of the present moment, so as not to panic in this hostile environment. When I have to go up, I do violence to get out of this state of letting go and I palm to get back up. This is when narcosis occurs, intoxication from the depths, when nitrogen dissolves in the body. Thoughts and behavioral disorders occur, sometimes anxiety-provoking. It is essential to remain serene, so as not to lose control of yourself. I won't see the light from the surface again until the last few meters, when I see the safety divers, and finally breathe out the air before I can breathe in again.
Freediving does not require such an extreme approach. Within the diving club that I created in Villefranche-sur-Mer, the Bluenery Academy, I share the therapeutic powers of breath and apnea to learn to breathe better, to live better. This sport taught me the superpowers of breathing, the only vital function you can take control of. By acting on its rhythm and depth, we can manage our emotions, our states of consciousness, our concentration, our calm... In this world of permanent stress, this knowledge is precious. I am in the process of creating an association to expand the practice to the management of anxiety, to set up research protocols, breathing and apnea exercises in the medical sector and in the company.
What is your daily life on the Riviera?
I love living in Nice, because it is a place that combines my passions for the sea and the mountains. It is quite unique in the world for a city to be at the convergence of natural places with such incredible reliefs. I like this verticality in the extremes, my favorite playgrounds where I draw infinite energy. Apnea on a daily basis has become my lifestyle for better physical and mental health. I work out for at least two hours a day, after waking up with a yoga session. I swim in the sea all year round, even in cold water in my swimsuit in winter. I like going to La Réserve Beach in Nice, whose decor has remained authentic. In winter, the water is at 13 degrees, it puts the body in a state of shock and it's great for blood circulation! I do apnea exercises at my CIPA club in Nice, and I always dive deep into the most beautiful diving spots on the Côte d'Azur such as Pointe de la Cuisse in Villefranche Bay, the pretty drop-offs around the island of Saint Honorat in Nice, and I always dive deep into the most beautiful diving spots on the French Riviera, or even Cap Estel in Èze-sur-Mer. I also do a lot of mountain hikes in summer around my second home in Roubion, in the Nice hinterland, and I ski in winter in Valberg, not far away. I read a lot, it's a way of meditating. I enjoy spending time with my family, with my 13-year-old daughter, and my partner is expecting a baby boy in July. My lifestyle is very healthy, and it is a real pleasure to do good for myself: I eat everything, organic and local if possible, and I enjoy a glass of red wine per week. I love dancing to electronic music, like during the La Crème festival that takes place every summer in Villefranche-sur-Mer, or during the Crossover festival. My favorite places in Nice? The Cyclist's Café and the Massena bookstore!
Cover: Franck Seguin
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