Joey Zuber

Joey Zuber is the man whos bringing the thrill seeking sport Cliff Diving into the mainstream international arena. At age seven he began with traditional platform diving and with in a few years he embarked upon an intensive training regime with Olympic aspirations. In his later teens, Joey took a step left field and left the diving boards behind in favour of cliff tops and bridges.

Joey became hooked on the adrenaline, the fear, and the unparalleled thrill of competitive sport. With intensive and methodical training he won the Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships in Hawaii, which is considered the spiritual homeland of cliff diving.

It was during a Cliff Diving exhibition in a remote region of Colombia that Joey was put through his most feared facings. The revulsion of all great divers suddenly became Joey's cruel reality. He took the leap with full knowledge of the shallow water depth. The dive was beautiful and the entry was textbook, but Joey felt sand on the outside of his leg and immediately realised that he had hit the bottom...too hard, too fast. He hadn't reacted in time and his injuries were horrific.

With his femur (thigh bone) at an unimaginably unrealistic angle, he barely managed to swim to the rescue boat and his crestfallen friend. The pair attempted to scramble a helicopter to the remote region, but it was impossible to arrange, due the risk of anti aircraft fire from the cocaine guerrillas. With no painkillers, Joey endured a nine-hour off-road van trek to the nearest hospital.

Eight hours of surgery in Bogota was filled with terrifying complications, and Joeys recovery was riddled with life-threatening setbacks including acute kidney failure. Six further surgeries on his leg, and ultimately a complete recovery testify to Joeys strength of mind, sense of humour and determination to return to Colombia to thank his medical staff, and to to dive from the same bridge where the accident took place.

Its a unique and emotional story of sheer determination, grit and stamina, combined with Joeys invaluable messages of facing fear, overcoming adversity, perseverance and methodical preparation. Joey is currently the only cliff diver in the world on the motivational speaking circuit, and his emotive talks deliver compelling accounts of his adventures with clear take home messages for the audience.

Joey's story has been transformed into a documentary called Dive Into Fear, and he is the official TV host for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, which is broadcasted internationally. He also acts as a cliff diving consultant for feature films such as The Mechanic Resurrection featuring Jason Statham.