Nicholas Mevoli: Freediving, Personal Life & Net Worth
If you follow free-diving sport, you must have heard of Nicholas Mevoli. Nicholas Mevoli was an all-action American freediver daredevil loved by everyone.
Additionally, he set an American record in the Caribbean Cup with a dive of 100 meters.
Nick won two titles at the Deja Blue competition and won bronze in two other championships.
In addition, he even made attempts to create an American record in free-diving.
In the article, we have mentioned the early life of the Icarus of diving, Mevoli, followed by his career as a freediver and his death.
Nicholas Mevoli: Quick Facts
| Full Name | Nicholas Lawrence Mevoli III |
| Date of Birth | August 22, 1981 |
| Nick Name | Nic, Nick, Icarus of the deep |
| Age | 32 years at death (2013) |
| Gender | Male |
| Profession | Prop Technician, Free-diving, Actor |
| Place of Birth | Mease Hospital, Dunedin, Florida, U.S.A |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | American |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Father | Fred Rudzik |
| Mother | Belinda Rudzik |
| Siblings | Jennifer Sharpe, Joe Sharpe, Kristine Rudzik, Katie Rudzik |
| Record | 100 meters in Constant Weight CWT Category in Caribbean Cup |
| Date of Death | November 17, 2013 |
| Place of Death | Long Island Bahamas |
| Cause of Death | Pulmonary edema (drowning) |
| Burial | Calvary Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, Florida, USA |
| Height | In Centimeter: 182 cm In Feet: 6 ft 1 in |
| Weight | In Kilograms: 62 Kg In Pound: 136 lbs |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Zodiac | Leo |
| Records | Deepest Cave Dive (1996) Deepest seawater dive (2005) |
| Social Media | N/A |
| Last Update | April 2024 |
Nicholas Mevoli: Early Life
Nicholas Mevoli was born in the Mease Hospital in Dunedin, Florida. He grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Mevoli did not have a healthy childhood. His parents often argued with each other.
Meanwhile, Nick would jump into the swimming pool in the backyard as an escape.
He jumped into the bottom of the pool as a form of escape from the world. In addition, he felt it was quiet and calm as nobody was yelling and screaming.
Later, Mevoli faced a tragic event at a very young age. His parents went through a divorce when he was five years old.
Since his childhood, Mevoli has been excellent with underwater sport. His childhood escape introduced him to the thing he loved most.
When Nick was nine years old, his uncle in Florida taught him how to hold his breath and drop down 10 or 12 feet.
In addition, his uncle Paul also introduced him to a breathing technique called “equalize” to avoid blackouts while resurfacing.
As a kid, Mevoli was decent at other sports such as baseball, football, soccer, etc., but he truly shined in the water.
Additionally, he had recognition for being the best at holding his breath underwater.
Because of his broken home childhood, Mevoli developed into an all-purpose daredevil as an escape.
In addition, he has even duct-taped his hand to BMX bike handlebars to continue riding after breaking his wrist.
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Nicholas Mevoli: Free-diving
Nicholas was always obsessed with the ocean, scuba diving, and anything related to underwater.
He started gaining interest in free-diving, specifically after watching the movie ‘The Big Blue.’
After that, Mevoli began breath-holding exercises in his bathtub. He later moved to a deep well at Wakulla Springs State Park outside Tallahassee.
The diver also had a near-death experience at the well when he blacked out on his way to the surface at the age of nineteen.
Nicholas saw free-diving as an ideal sport for him where he was offered both spirituality and a feeling of pushing to the limit.
He continued free-diving despite the numerous accidents that occurred to him, such as blackouts, perforated eardrums, lung squeezes, etc.
In addition, he made freestyling his lifestyle. He started eating healthy and sleeping habits along with cleansing of the mind.
Moreover, Mevoli also avoided his daily drinking and stopped smoking cigarettes completely.
He also believed free-diving has helped him think beyond himself and open his mind beyond possibilities.
Competitive Free-Diving
Despite being involved in the underwater sport since a young age, Nick was introduced to proper training only in later years.
But even after getting proper training and reaching the competitive level, he took free diving as a dare and a challenge to prove something.
Nick was passionate and wildly talented but also impatient and every bit reckless in his life and free-diving.
Mevoli started competitive diving in early 2012. Mevoli won the Deja Blue competition twice.
Nick also finished third at the Caribbean Cup in Roatan, Honduras. In addition, he set an American record in the Caribbean Cup.
The diver set the record with a dive of 100 meters in the Constant Weight (CWT) category on May 27, 2013.
In addition, he again finished third in the Constant Weight Without Fins (CNF) category at the world championships in Greece in 2013.
Mevoli attempted to reach the depth of 96 meters in the Free Immersion (FIM) category at Vertical Blue on November 15, 2013.
However, the attempt failed because he suffered an upper respiratory squeeze and turned back at 80 meters.
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Nicholas Mevoli: Record Attempt and Death
On November 17 at the Vertical Blue competition at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, Nick attempted to set an American record.
Nicholes attempted a CNG dive to 72 meters on a single breath without an air tank and fins on his feet.
Nick started to turn back at 68 meters but later changed his mind and dived downward again.
After 3 minutes and 38 seconds underwater, Nick resurfaced and flashed the ‘Okay’ signal.
While trying to complete the protocol to make his attempt official, he said he was okay, but his words were garbled and eyes wide and blank.
He then fell backward into the ocean and lost consciousness. Immediately, the safety divers and even physicians attempted to revive Mevoli.
Nick had already lost his pulse. Later after continuous resuscitation efforts for 90 minutes, they took him to Vid Simms memorial health Center.
At 1:44 p.m., Mevoli was reported dead after suffering from pulmonary edema.
Nick was the first athlete to die in an international free-diving competition.
In addition, he is known as “Icarus of the deep” because of death during record attempts and daredevil nature.
After his death, the competition was immediately canceled by its organizers.
Later his death autopsy showed that he had pulmonary hemorrhage due to barotrauma with blood found inside his alveoli.
In addition, there was evidence of recurrent hemorrhages along with repairs of old damage in the body.
The autopsy showed that his death did not happen because of a single dive. Instead, it was an accumulation of his previous injures.
Nicholas Mevoli: Personal Life
Before his death, Nick lived in Brooklyn, New York, for eight years. There he worked as a prop technician in the film and TV industry.
Before moving to New York, Nick had one of his many short but intense romantic experiences. The diver fell in love with an independent filmmaker.
Later, he became an actor, writer, and crew worker with Rising Sun Performance Company. Finally, he starred in an independent film ‘Exist’ in 2004.
Additionally, he worked as a prop technician on the CW series Gossip Girl and Chappelle’s Show, a Comedy Central series.
He also worked on two other films, Runner Runner and The Harvest, both in 2013.
In his younger days, he fell in with a crowd of vegan activists. In addition, they liberated a truck full of cows in an impulsive gesture outside Gainesville.
Nick was a humble and kind man who inspired his fellow freedivers and many others.
He was a selfless man who loved to help others and enjoyed sharing happiness with people.
He assisted the local churches in Long Island Bahamas during his visits for competitions at the Blue Hole.
At the church, he shuttled elderly and schooled children. In addition, he also helped to rebuild their damaged church roof.
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Nicholas Mevoli: Net Worth
Nicholas has been dead for a while now. And there are also no records of his net worth before his death.
Hence, there is no estimation of his net worth.
Nicholas Mevoli: Social Media
As Nicholas died in 2013, there is no trace of Nicholas on social media platforms.
Nicholas Mevoli: FAQs
What is One Breath?
One Breath is a book written by New York Times bestselling author Adam Skolnick. The book follows the life of Nicholas Mevoli as a subject.
Additionally, it includes Nick’s way of viewing life along with other things related to free-diving.
Is breath-holding enough for competitive free-diving?
Different breathing techniques are crucial to free-diving in general.
However, freedivers also have to deal with a massive force of water pressure underwater.
In addition, the diver’s heart rate also slows along with compression of lungs and shrinking of blood vessels.
What kind of a person was Nicholas Mevoli outside the sport?
Nicholas was a compassionate and profound person with an incredible passion.
However, Nick was harsh on himself and always focused on pushing himself to the limit.
In addition, he lived in the moment, wearing his heart on his sleeve with balance.
