The 5 most challenging records of my career, ranked from 5th to 1st. 5 (photo 1). My first successful record to 81m CNF, in 2007. It took 3 attempts (the first 2 in Egypt in 2006) before I finally succeeded in breaking the world record without fins that had been set by Czech athlete Martin Štěpánek. Those early failures had lead to self-doubt and an empty bank account, and I felt I had one more try left in me, so I did everything possible to make success ‘inevitable’. I’ll always remember the mixture of elation and relief that came when the judges showed the white card on that first record. 4 (photo 2). The Underwater Marathon: 50.5km underwater in a pool in 24 hours. My most recent record, and a major challenge due to the physical and mental endurance required. I think it would be hard enough to do anything for 24 hours straight - even sitting in a chair - and although 25m underwater laps are normally quite relaxing, they do start to wear you down in those wee hours after midnight. Like with #2 and #1 in this list, I couldn’t have done it purely for myself, and this Guinness record was for mental health and to promote the #MentalImmuneSystem 3 (photo 3). The #Steinlager ‘return to the depths’ attempt at 102m. My deepest unassisted freedive, and still the deepest in history. But the reason it was such a challenge was because after failing in 2014 in an attempt at the same depth that was broadcast live to breakfast TV in NZ, I made the promise that I would be back to break the record, and would dedicate it to everyone who had shown their support back in my homeland. Seemed fine at the time, but when it came round to the next attempt those words would come back to haunt me, as it meant this time failure was not an option. In the end 3 years of specific training paid off, and I was able to make good on my promise. ...continued in comments