Watch Man Break Record For Freediving Under Ice

If you’re one of those people who goes down to the local swimming pool and attempts to swim the length of the pool twice without coming up for a breath, I have news for you:

Stig Severinsen owns you.

In the YouTube video above, the record-holding, freediving Dane (who also casually has a PhD in medicine) shatters the Guinness world record for longest freedive beneath ice on a single breath of air.

Oh yeah, and he’s in a Speedo.

Sure, this happened in March, 2010, but who cares? The concept alone is insane and the video is astonishing and wildly entertaining. Notice that when he successfully pops out of the icy cold water he opts to flash the “OK” sign, speak in English for some unbeknownst reason, and then casually relax with his bare arms on the ice sheet as if it’s a post-massage hot tub session at the resort.

Just for fun, let’s just look at a few more pieces of trivia for the intriguing Dr. Severinsen. According to his Wikipedia page, this 39-year-old human lung enjoyed such childhood pursuits as underwater rugby (in which he competed for the Danish National team), and also dabbled in underwater hockey (where he strangely enough competed for the Spanish National Team).

Combining his love of breath holding with yoga and physiology, the adult Stig set out to redefine the realm of possibility by shattering numerous freediving and Guinness World Records.

Around the same time of this stunt, Stig set a second Guinness record by holding his breath for 20 minutes and 10 seconds in a tropical swimming pool. Oh wait, that’s right. It wasn’t a swimming pool. It was a tropical shark tank. As if being the only human to ever hold his breath underwater for 20 minutes wasn’t enough, he decided to immerse himself in a cauldron of sharks.

Not one to rest on his laurels, however, Stig would break his own record two years later by holding his breath for 22 minutes, and for his efforts he was subsequently declared to be “The Ultimate Superhuman” by the Discovery Channel.

Move over Dos Equis man; Stig Severinsen might just be the most interesting man in the world.