Danish Freediver Opens Up About Facing His Fears

In the inspiring short documentary entitled “Screw the Box” by photographer Daan Verhoeven, champion Danish freediver Stig Pryds talks about being put in a box by what he fears and his need to push right through it in order to understand where he needs to go from there.

It sometimes feels like life is trying to fit you in a box, school is putting you in a box…maybe you don’t fit in this box, maybe you don’t want to be in this box at all. Their job is putting you in a box
and the only way out is the dark world. It’s not an easy decision to make. It’s not an easy road to walk but the feeling of being trapped in a box is just… so you enter into the dark and it turns out the dark doesn’t hurt. Your eyes adjust and you see where the road is leading. It often leads to a point where you have to take a leap of faith or go back to the box…

Previously Pryds had sunk himself down to the bottom of a 33-meter pool on a single breath. Prior to this and other amazing feats, Pryds had been suffering from the effect of psoriatic arthritis. He changed his diet and exercise plan, discovered freediving and has been symptom-free. Now his greatest challenge is coming from his insurance plan, which is causing so much stress that his symptoms and his pain are coming back.

Despite the argument that he’s only healthy because he can do these travels and training, the insurance company threatened to sue him for lying -he’d have to pay back all the disability checks plus a fee. With the help from his doctors, Stig managed to convince them his disease is real, just that he manages it well, but the insurance company decided to stop paying him his disability. The stress this whole procedure caused was enormous and Stig relapsed into severe pain. …Stig has decided to focus on his new breathing program, in which he teaches people how to breathe properly to deal with stress and disease, together with yoga and diet. He might not be able to compete much this year, but he’s getting back up and doing his best to be of use to others