Krapanj make their living by diving forcoral and natural sea sponges. The first written document on sponge diving in Croatia dates back to 1522, when sponge diving began on Krapanj. Kike grew up among divers, immersed in their traditions. His first meeting with the sea very nearly resulted in tragedy. At the age of four, while playing along the pier, he lost his footing and fell into the sea. He was fortunately spotted lying on the bottom by an old man who rescued him from certain death, by pulling him out of the water and bringing him back to life. To this day, they remain close friends. Soon after the accident, Kike began swimming lessons; this was the start of a loving relationship between the young boy and the sea. He quickly discovered that swimming beneath the waves was far easier and more fun than swimming at the surface. At the age of five, Kike received his first mask and fins from his mother, and by the age of ten he could hold his breath for more than 3 minutes diving to a depth of 15 meters. From this point in his life, all his available spare time was spent in the water diving deeper and deeper.
At the age of eleven, Kike and his mother moved to Oslo. This was a difficult time for the young boy who was separated from his friends and the sea. He continued holding his breath, dreaming of the holidays in Krapanj where he would freedive again. By the time Kike reached the age of fourteen, the old divers at Krapanj realized that their island had fostered a diver of extraordinary talent, he was able to hold his breath for over 4 minutes and dive to depths of 20 meters.

with the anchor.Stopping at a depth of 50 meters, he felt something so strong that he forgot everything around him… He felt he had become one with the sea... with no urge to breathe. He realized there and then that despite the fact that he was deeper than he had ever been, the dive was easy, and that his path in life would be to go deeper on one breath than any man in history.
Even the icy winter waters of Norway could not keep Kike from freediving. He soon discovered that freediving through a hole in the ice in sub-zero temperatures, wearing a thin wet suit is good training. Not only physically, but maybe more so mentally. To ignore the cold, keeping his pulse rate low as he sinks down into the icy blackness, knowing that loosing sight of the guide line will mean missing the hole in the ice and certain death.
Kike has set 3 consecutive world records in freediving under ice. He is determined to be the best freediver in the world and his goal is to break all freediving records.