And for 24-year-old Low Kai Xing, who recently received a Malaysia Book of Records for being the youngest technical diver to reach a 150-metre depth, it was the call of the sea that once upon a time saved him from deep melancholy and despair.

“Diving was a distraction for me. At that point, I was having personal issues and bad thoughts. Diving made me escape the weight of my own thoughts,” Low, who works in sales and marketing, shared with FMT Lifestyle.

“When I looked at the fishes, the corals, and just the ocean itself, it really calmed me down and healed me. The feeling that you get when you’re underwater is just … special.”

Low’s oceanic journey started rather accidentally during the pandemic.

“It was not really out of passion … more out of curiosity,” the youngest of four siblings admitted.

Together with his college mates, Low embarked on a carefree trip to Pulau Redang. They spotted a group of divers, and signed up on a whim. Low suddenly found himself in an open-water course he wasn’t prepared for.

Since then, Low, who co-owns a scuba gear shop, has explored the seas of Pulau Tioman, Pulau Perhentian, Rompin, Bali, Acheh, the Philippines, and Thailand.

His most frightening moment came in the flooded mines of Sungai Lembing, where a rotting beam crashed onto him, stirring up mud and plunging him into total darkness.

Blinded and knocked off the only guideline out, he panicked. “There’s a really high chance you die because you don’t know where the exit is,” he said.

By sheer luck, he found the line again and aborted the dive, calling it the closest he’s ever come to losing his life underwater.

But after about two years of recreational diving, he found himself hitting a wall. Even with a deep diver specialty, 40 metres was the cap – and that limit nagged at him.

“I had a thought ‘how can I stay here longer, and how can I go deeper?’” Technical diving, he realised, was the key to breaking past those limits.

The desire to break limits eventually led him to seek the guidance of Sabahan native Roihan Ang, who holds the Malaysia Book of Records for the deepest scuba dive (164 metres), for a 150-metre dive in Sipadan.

Under Roihan’s supervision, Low gradually increased the depths he reached, with each dive requiring intense planning.

But the preparation for the dive never started at sunrise – it started the night before when he would mentally rehearse every detail.

“I always start to think about what’s going to happen tomorrow. How do I react when this happens? I visualise every detail before the dive.”

The day of the dive began at 4.30am. By 5am, he was already at the jetty, and by 7am, he was in the water. The entire dive lasted about three hours – but not because of the descent.

“Dropping to 150 metres is quick,” he said. “Where it takes time… the longest part… is ascending. That’s the real challenge because anything can happen.”

But Low stressed MBR’s recognition wasn’t his crowning jewel. It was the process of getting there.

“This was more of a journey for me. And I know my journey is far from over. I’m still committed to improving myself and pushing my limits. There’s still so much for me to learn,” he said.

Ultimately, Low hopes more Malaysians, young and old, will discover what he found beneath the surface.

“Diving is a really fun sport,” he said. “It really helps to heal your mental health… I’ve been through that, and I know.”

So if life feels heavy, he urges one to strap on a tank, and slip into the water. Because sometimes the best way to rise again… is to dive deep.