"It's practice, it's training, and experimenting while pushing through the pain to be the best that I can be. That's what magic is to me." ~ David Blaine
David Blaine attempting to break the static apnea world record in Lincoln Center.
What separates David Blaine from other elite magicians is his dedicated exploration of the uncharted realms of human potential. Experimenting with the unknown is precisely what drives the well-known Brooklyn magician. This fact becomes obvious if you simply look at his list of attempts at human insanity—you might even expand your understanding of what you thought was humanly possible in the process:
- Buried alive in NYC for 7 days in a coffin with nothing but water. (This fun underground experiment piqued Blaine's interest in the practice of extreme aestheticism.)
- Froze himself in a block of ice for 3 days. (A freezing feat much more difficult than he originally expected.)
- Balanced himself on top of a 100-foot pillar for 36 hours. (The Brooklyn magician claims he hallucinated so hard he felt as if the buildings were transforming into big animal heads.)
- Lived in a small glass box suspended over London for 44 days with nothing but water. (Blaine claims this was the most beautiful experience of his life.)
Blaine completing a 44 Day fast while living in a glass cube.
These boundary-dissolving experiential explorations opened new doors for the magician. He successfully deprived himself of life's non-negotiable essentials: food, water, sleep, light, companionship, equilibrium, security and comfort. After his Jesus-like 44 day fast, Blaine reached a point where the only thing left he felt he needed to forgo was the luxurious element of air. How long could the magician go without the most valuable human resource in the world?
As a teenager Blaine was able to hold his breath under water for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, only to later discover that that was Harry Houdini's personal breath-holding record. At a consultation a neurosurgeon buddy of Blaine explained to him that holding his breath for over 6 minutes will put him at serious risk of cerebral hypoxia (brain damage). Instead of heeding the warning, as most normal folks would do, Blaine took this neurosurgeon's statement as a challenge and began researching ways of expanding his breath-holding capacity to surpass the brain-damaging 6 minute mark.
In the TED Talk, Blaine recalled an incredible article he came across describing an 11 year-old boy falling into a frozen river and being rescued after spending 45 minutes under water. Although the boy's body temperature was 77 degrees, the doctors were not able to find any sign of brain damage. How was this phenomenon biologically possible? There were no illusions or tricks involved in this underwater spectacle, only the will of the boy to survive in a freezing, airless underwater world for almost an hour. "As a magician I think everything is possible, and I think if something is done by one person it can be done by others." Deeply convinced by this belief, Blaine became interested in replicating a similar biological feat. He submerged himself in ice water thinking the cold water might assist him in holding his breath for an extremely long period of time, but the ice water was obviously so cold he could barely stay underwater for a minute.
The Brooklyn native continued his breath-holding research by looking into the world of pearl divers. These peculiar human dolphins are able to dive to the bottom of the sea and hunt for pearls for four minutes at a time equipped with nothing but one gulp of air. It was in the midst of researching pearl divers that Blaine discovered the parallel world of free diving. In the TEDMED Talk Blaine pointed out that, "it was the most amazing thing I've ever discovered, pretty much."
Free diving is a complicated sport divided into many different types of competition. However, it can be simplified into two major categories: depth records and static apnea. Depth records involve divers attempting to dive down as deep as they can, whether they are using weights, no weights, or machine assistance. The current no limit world record is held by the Austrian free diver, Herbert Nitsch at an incomprehensible 831 feet! At the opposite end of free diving competition exists the practice of static apnea, which is the motionless ability to hold your breath for as long as you possibly can—this is what David Blaine began to involve himself in.
There are a few key skills a static apnea practitioner should have developed and refined. For example, the competitor should never move at all because each bodily movement depletes the competitor's ever-so-valuable molecule of oxygen and in turn increases the levels of carbon dioxide in the body. Also, the competitor should never let a bubble of air out. Another key skill is learning to decelerate one's heart rate. A slower heart rate plays a huge part in oxygen retention. Blaine accelerated in this department by having a resting heart rate of 38 beats per minute (equal to most olympic athletes) and by learning out-of-body, meditative techniques he was able to slow his heart rate down to a remarkable 12 beats per minute while under water. Another critical technique is learning the art of "purging." Purging is of utmost importance. It is similar to the psychedelic-inducing practice of Stan Grof's Holotropic Breathing, in that it involves hyperventilation in order to "purge" or rid the body of all signs of carbon dioxide trapped in the practitioner's body. Lastly, one must attempt to relax through all the pain accompanying the art of no breathing. Static apnea surely teaches you to exceed your own delusional limits.
In the months leading up to his attempt at breaking the world record, Blaine synthesized his own static apnea practice by sleeping in a hypoxic (high-altitude) tent and adhering to a morning breath-holding ritual for months at a time. He would begin his morning by holding his breath for 5.5 minutes and "purging" for 1 minute immediately after that; then he would hold his breath for another 5.5 minutes, and "purge" for 1 minute after that. He repeated this routine for a total of 52 minutes every morning, and in that 52 minute span he was only breathing (hyperventilating) for 8 minutes in total. Another one of his unique methods of practice involved holding his breath under extreme duress. Some of these extreme environments involved keeping a breathless calm in cold water and shark tanks. Keep in mind that a slow heart rate is an incredibly important attribute to have in the free diving world.
In the TED Talk, Blaine recalled an incredible article he came across describing an 11 year-old boy falling into a frozen river and being rescued after spending 45 minutes under water. Although the boy's body temperature was 77 degrees, the doctors were not able to find any sign of brain damage. How was this phenomenon biologically possible? There were no illusions or tricks involved in this underwater spectacle, only the will of the boy to survive in a freezing, airless underwater world for almost an hour. "As a magician I think everything is possible, and I think if something is done by one person it can be done by others." Deeply convinced by this belief, Blaine became interested in replicating a similar biological feat. He submerged himself in ice water thinking the cold water might assist him in holding his breath for an extremely long period of time, but the ice water was obviously so cold he could barely stay underwater for a minute.
The Brooklyn native continued his breath-holding research by looking into the world of pearl divers. These peculiar human dolphins are able to dive to the bottom of the sea and hunt for pearls for four minutes at a time equipped with nothing but one gulp of air. It was in the midst of researching pearl divers that Blaine discovered the parallel world of free diving. In the TEDMED Talk Blaine pointed out that, "it was the most amazing thing I've ever discovered, pretty much."
Free diving is a complicated sport divided into many different types of competition. However, it can be simplified into two major categories: depth records and static apnea. Depth records involve divers attempting to dive down as deep as they can, whether they are using weights, no weights, or machine assistance. The current no limit world record is held by the Austrian free diver, Herbert Nitsch at an incomprehensible 831 feet! At the opposite end of free diving competition exists the practice of static apnea, which is the motionless ability to hold your breath for as long as you possibly can—this is what David Blaine began to involve himself in.
There are a few key skills a static apnea practitioner should have developed and refined. For example, the competitor should never move at all because each bodily movement depletes the competitor's ever-so-valuable molecule of oxygen and in turn increases the levels of carbon dioxide in the body. Also, the competitor should never let a bubble of air out. Another key skill is learning to decelerate one's heart rate. A slower heart rate plays a huge part in oxygen retention. Blaine accelerated in this department by having a resting heart rate of 38 beats per minute (equal to most olympic athletes) and by learning out-of-body, meditative techniques he was able to slow his heart rate down to a remarkable 12 beats per minute while under water. Another critical technique is learning the art of "purging." Purging is of utmost importance. It is similar to the psychedelic-inducing practice of Stan Grof's Holotropic Breathing, in that it involves hyperventilation in order to "purge" or rid the body of all signs of carbon dioxide trapped in the practitioner's body. Lastly, one must attempt to relax through all the pain accompanying the art of no breathing. Static apnea surely teaches you to exceed your own delusional limits.
In the months leading up to his attempt at breaking the world record, Blaine synthesized his own static apnea practice by sleeping in a hypoxic (high-altitude) tent and adhering to a morning breath-holding ritual for months at a time. He would begin his morning by holding his breath for 5.5 minutes and "purging" for 1 minute immediately after that; then he would hold his breath for another 5.5 minutes, and "purge" for 1 minute after that. He repeated this routine for a total of 52 minutes every morning, and in that 52 minute span he was only breathing (hyperventilating) for 8 minutes in total. Another one of his unique methods of practice involved holding his breath under extreme duress. Some of these extreme environments involved keeping a breathless calm in cold water and shark tanks. Keep in mind that a slow heart rate is an incredibly important attribute to have in the free diving world.
Blaine relaxing and practicing static apnea in a shark tank.
Blaine's first attempt at breaking the world static apnea record took place at Lincoln Center, after spending an entire week submerged in a big, glass sphere filled with saline water. This 7-day, underwater fast (he spent those 7 days with no food) was poorly calculated because the glass sphere magnified the sun's rays during the day and provided Blaine with painful sun burns and blisters. In addition to this, his hands and feet underwent crippling pain because of the incessant soaking. At the end of the rough week he attempted to break the world record live on television. The producers of this 2-hour television special decided that watching someone hold their breath for over 8 minutes might prove kind of boring so they added a handcuff stunt to the mix. In addition to this, he was not able to assume his standard horizontal position but was forced to stand in a vertical position for the benefit of the television spectacle. In retrospect, Blaine explained that attempting to escape from handcuffs while standing vertically more quickly extinguished the oxygen his body desperately needed because of all of the complicated movement involved in breaking free of the handcuffs.
Blaine blacking out underwater failing to break the world record.
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Just breathe.
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After his failed attempt at breaking the world record at Lincold Center, Blaine turned his attention to Oprah. He decided to up the ante by attempting to break the no-limit static apnea record, which allows breathing in pure O2 before the static apnea attempt. Oxygenating the body this way allows the competitor to hold their breath for a much longer period of time. Again, many things went wrong once the Oprah television special aired. His heart rate, instead of beginning at 38 BPM and gradually dropping, spiked up to 150 BPM due to various unforeseen variables. At the 8 minute mark Blaine knew there was a 0% chance at breaking the world record. He experienced blood shunting at 10 minutes. This is when blood detracts from your extremities to care for your vital organs in order to provide oxygen where it is most needed. At 11 minutes he felt throbbing sensations throughout his body and lips. At 13 minutes he started feeling pain all over his chest, triggering the idea that there might be an oncoming heart attack. At 14 minutes awful contractions, "like an urge to breathe." At 15 minutes he was suffering major O2 deprivation. At minute 16 he began to unstrap himself just in case he were to have a heart attack. Then he began to hear an uproar of screaming, Blaine thought he might've died, but he realized it was the screaming of the crowd as he approached the world record.
Blaine incredibly breaking the 17 minute mark underwater.
David Blaine used that last surge of energy to push through the 17 minute mark and broke the world record live on Oprah in the process. That is extreme aestheticism. Going 17 minutes without a breath of air. Can you begin to imagine how satisfying and appreciative you would be for that breath of air after 17 minutes under water? This is what the world of free diving will teach a person. The value of air and being able to breathe it. Enjoy David Blaine's TEDMED Talk below.
"As a magician I think everything is possible, and I think if something is done by one person it can be done by others."
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