The Submergence

Gents, meet Carlos Coste, the fish man who has broken many records under the sea without oxygen. He knows a thing or two about how to survive fatal accidents. by AARON MARTÍNEZ

- Aaron MartÍNez

CARLOS COSTE IS IN CONSTANT TRAINING; he is currently practising for the next free diving challenge—a sports test where the ability to be in the deep sea with free lungs is measured. In his last test, last July he descended 126 m at a speed of 1.6 m per second. At that distance, the volume of his body was compressed to 14 times compared to the surface.

A day ahead of the dive, Carlos visualises every step in his mind. “I make my own mental movie and watch it constantly, and I programme myself to succeed. To that, I add background music for stimulation,” he explains.

When the moment comes he slides down, inspired by his passion and guided by experience. It’s not easy: He must have a privileged lung capacity, a lot of concentration and coordinate a lot of techniques and sequences. For example, he uses two or three alarms synchronised in his diving computer. “Timing is key. I have to have control of every part of my day, before and after the dive.” A couple of seconds that are not calculated could finish everything.