Queensland's international cliff diving champion Joey Zuber typically dives from 24 to 28 metres (79-85ft) above the water, hitting the drink at speeds of over 100kph - and he does an intricate series of somersaults, twists and pikes on the way down.
The element of danger is unavoidable for the professional cliff diver and 28 year-old Zuber recently felt its full force when he snapped his femur in half during a cliff dive in Puerto Gaitan, Columbia. Following a seven-and-a-half hour operation, Zuber went into renal failure which almost killed him. "I was suffering from Rhabdomiolysis which is a complication associated with severe trauma," said Zuber. After many hairy days in ICU, Zuber finally began his long recovery process.
"The good news is that bones heal well and I will be diving again. It will be a long recovery, but I will get there in the end and I am determined to get back!" said Zuber.
High cliffs, deep water
Undisputably one of the top cliff divers in the world, the former Australian Institute Of Sport diver took first in the sport's premier event, the Red Bull Cliff Diving championships in Hawaii in 2002 and is the organiser of the Red Bull Cliff Search in the untested splendor of the Kimberleys."We went in to check on locations, and no-one could give us any accurate information. But then got to the upper Ord and we just nailed it, found all the most perfect locations we could have asked for," said Zuber, days before the event. "High cliffs, deep water in most of the places - six metres deep, eight metres deep, 11 metres deep. It's perfect. In terms of scenery, it's probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."
Paid to leap
A professional high diver, Zuber has just has also done a plethora of stunt work on TV and film, and also in Japan for Universal Studios. As the bad guy in a theme park show based on Kevin Costner's film Waterworld, "Jumpin' Joe" would be set on fire nightly before huge crowds, then plunge off a 13 metre platform into a pool.
The big chill
The warmth of the rugged Australian outback should make a welcome change from the sometimes frigid conditions the sport's multi-national competitor-base endures. Cliff diving's spiritual home is one stop on the professional sport's world circuit, contested by competitors from as far afield as Iceland and Brazil, Acapulco and Hawaii - the sport's spiritual home. "We've had some competitions in Europe where it's summertime but you basically jump into glacial water runoff," he says. "It's nine degrees Celsius and you hit it hard!"
The bridge in Columbia where Joey Zuber had a near-fatal accident
