Jacques Mayoi was dubbed the “dolphin man” – and not only for the bond he formed with a dolphin named Clown at the Seaquarium in Miami, Florida. Mayoi developed an uncanny ability to descend to extraordinary depths under the water without the aid of any breathing equipment. A native of China, he used the Eastern philosophy, as well as rigorous scientific research, descending to ever-lower depths into the water.

On this day, November 23, in 1976 Jacques Mayoi became the first man to reach a depth of 100m (330 feet), without the use of any equipment to help him breath.

Mayoi launched the sport of freediving. Its practitioners, like those of any other sport, see it as a matter of training, of learning how to expand lung capacity and letting the body relax and lower the metabolic processes for longer underwater stays. Freedivers can still use weights or fins for faster descent and inflated balloons to speed up surfacing.