David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 min...

www.ted.com... In this highly personal talk from TEDMED, magician and stuntman David Blaine describes what it took to hold his breath underwater for 17 minutes -- a world record (only two minutes shorter than this entire talk!) -- and what his often death-defying work means to him. Warning: do NOT try this at home.

I can hit a minute thirty seconds... I'm not even close.

reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE


This is a great find, extremely interesting.
He talks about blood testing post-record...my suspicious mind made me think of erythropoietin, like tour-de-francistas use...wouldn't that work like the hypoxic-tent training, to boost RBC (and I think you can time that, as I recall, right, so you get the benefit and test clean at a later point) and then I would wonder about vinpocetine, to preferentially induce brain oxygenation + help prevent ischemic brain damage...bet no test was done for that...
but this is a super-interesting clip, hell yes...

Would you be able to tell us a little on how he does it? I am not able to watch the video right now but would like to know as I am sure those who dont have sound or video issues would like to know. He does things that I always wonder about how he does them. Thanks

Great video!! Very interesting!!

What a focused talent.

Thanks for posting

I once held my breath under water, floating on my back in a swimming pool with my head wedged under a dividing line, for 3 minutes, and thought that must be some kind of record. Obviously I upset the life saver who thought I needed saving all for nothing.

I thought Blaine was just tricks. I read stories of a curtain being put around his glass cube at night while he was fed. But this breath-holding under water seems quite genuine.

Blaine seems very different to what he used to be. I wonder how much these experiences in pushing the limits have changed him.

[edit on 8-3-2010 by walking_virus]

He is tapping into another form of human consciousness.
He has probably had encounters with interdimensional beings at some point, as a result.

Another great TED video, thanks.

The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland’s Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.

Before he entered the sphere, Blaine inhaled pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood and flush out carbon dioxide. Guinness says up to 30 minutes of so-called “oxygen hyperventilation” is allowed under its guidelines


Less than 2 years ago he went into convulsions during a similar attempt.