There are some places on earth where the human body is not meant to go. 1,000 feet below sea level is one of those places. South African deep diver, Nuno Gomes, disregards those limits.

In 2005, Gomes set what is still today the official deepest SCUBA dive ever, descending 1,044 feet into the depths of the Red Sea, and improbably, making it to the surface alive.

For context, at depths of 100 feet, symptoms of nitrogen narcosis begin, with the toxic gas bubbling into a diver’s tissues and brain, causing motor coordination problems and symptoms of drunkeness. At 165 feet, hallucinations and feelings of terror can kick in. At 230 feet a diver can brown out. At 300 feet, unconsciousness and death can occur.

With the help of a helium gas mix called Trimix and a lifetime of experience training his body to function where most bodies fail, Gomes completed his record dive succumbing to only mild decompression sickness.

Nobody has gone deeper on a self contained breathing apparatus since.