A WORLD record holder who spent 120 days underwater – without a shower – revealed the first thing he did when he came back to land.
German aerospace engineer Rudiger Koch, 59, subjected himself to four months in a 320-square-foot capsule.
Koch started his shock adventure on September 26, 2024, just off Puerto Lindo in Panama.
The engineer’s underwater residence, known as the SeaPod Alpha Deep, had a stark appearance. Despite this, he skillfully incorporated necessary elements into his living quarters.
Koch managed to fit a TV, computer, exercise bike, portable toilet, and fans in the tight space.
Despite living underwater in the Caribbean Sea, the engineer was able to use internet through satellites.
Solar panels and a backup generator supplied electricity into the space.
It was linked to an upper chamber above the water by means of a vertical tube. This setup facilitated the delivery of food to him while he resided below the surface.
He even had his family, doctor, and journalists come into the special home to visit him.
Koch joked about this in December when he said: “The last time I checked, I was still married.”
On Friday he reached 120 days in the steel pod, setting a new world record for the longest time living underwater without depressurisation.
The first thing he did was celebrate with a bottle of champagne and a cigar before leaping into the Caribbean Sea.
During his time underwater, Koch revealed he missed having a real shower.
While underwater, he said he would be jumping in for a good wash when back on the ground.
Koch was met outside of his temporary home by Guinness World Records adjudicator Susana Reyes to confirm his astonishing achievement.
The record was previously held by American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days living in an underwater lodge in a Florida lagoon.
When he left the capsule, Koch said: “It was a great adventure and now it’s over there’s almost a sense of regret actually.
“I enjoyed my time here very much.”
His chamber has several circle windows that gave the record-holder a view into the sea.
He revealed the beauty of this feature in his tiny but temporary home.
He said: “It is beautiful when things calm down and it gets dark and the sea is glowing.
“It is impossible to describe, you have to experience that yourself.”
He added: “In the night, you can hear all the crustaceans.”
“There’s the fish out there, and there’s all that stuff, and that wasn’t here before we came.”
