Man eager to prove humans can live inside the ocean breaks record for longest underwater stay in a seapod

On January 5, aerospace engineer Rüdiger "Rudy" Koch set a new record by living 101 days in an underwater room 11 meters below the Caribbean Sea, off Linton Bay, Panama. Koch achieved this milestone to demonstrate the viability of his company Ocean Builders' floating deepwater seapods, which offer a unique alternative to conventional underwater habitats.

Rudy's entire journey was documented on Ocean Builders' social media, featuring several live streams with his co-founder and CEO, Grant Romundt. On the 100th day, they went live from the deepwater seapod, sharing the moment on Instagram with the caption, "New Guinness World record is set for living underwater! Congratulations Rudy for 100 days living underwater!"

With nearly eleven minutes remaining to complete 100 days inside, Rudy and Romundt expressed both excitement and nervousness about reaching the milestone. They brought in a bottle of rum to mark the occasion, waiting eagerly for the clock to hit zero. As the time came, they raised their glasses, saying, "Cheers, congratulations!" while photographers captured the celebratory moment.

The congratulatory messages poured in the comment section, with fans and supporters celebrating Rudy's achievement. @phelipe.bf wished Rudy and Romundt, "Congratulations on this new achievement." Another follower, @edgarwilliams117, echoed, "I've just learned about your company, product and attempt at the record. This is incredible! Best of luck to make it to 120 days, congrats on making 100!" 

Meanwhile, the duo discussed their achievement with Bored Panda, explaining how they built the seapod deepwater model—a floating human habitat designed for the open ocean. "A lot of times you don't even feel the movement on my SeaPod," reassured Romundt with pride, highlighting the seapod's stability as its biggest selling point. Additionally, the habitat is equipped with all the necessary amenities to support human life.

The seapod is fully equipped with all the essentials of a home, including a kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom and even a furnished balcony. It also boasts appliances like a refrigerator and a temperature-controlled bed, all powered by solar energy and managed by an internal liquid-cooled computer. Spanning 830 square feet of living space, the seapod offers ample room, though Rudy’s personal quarters are a bit more cramped at just 300 square feet. Despite the limited space, Rudy made it through the challenge and was surprised by how quickly the time passed.

Rudy's 101-day underwater record surpasses the previous milestone set by Dr. Joseph Dituri, a scientist who embarked on a mission to spend 100 days underwater in March 2023 to study the effects on the human body. The Independent reported that Dituri made an extraordinary discovery during his time underwater. "We found a single-cell ciliate, a single-celled organism that we believe is a brand new species to science," he said. He also noted that although the species had been prevalent, it had never been identified before.

Dr. Dituri also documented his underwater journey on his Instagram account @drdeepsea. In a video post from September 2023, he wrote, "#TBT to my time undersea! I went for a dive every single day during my 100-day mission — if only it was as easy to do while living on land!" 

You can follow Ocean Builders(@ocean_builders) on Instagram for more of their underwater expeditions.