A Conversation with High Diver Maria Smirnova

Tell us about where you live now and where you grew up.

I was born in Moscow, Russia where most of my family is from. My dad moved to the states in 1991, while my mom moved after 1995 (when I was born). I grew up in a small suburban town in Massachusetts.

At the moment I am living on the road, jumping from state to state with the company I work for, Watershow Productions Inc., which is owned by the former world high diving champion Dana Kunze.

How did you discover a passion and talent for high-diving?

I started diving competitively during my last 2 years of university. I was a division 1 collegiate diver at the University of Rhode Island where I graduated in 2017. I had watched a red bull cliff diving competition segment at a random sports bar and could not keep my eyes off the screen. From that moment, I knew that I at least wanted to try it. Never in a million years would I have thought that 4 months from that moment I would be up on that 20-meter platform performing my very first high dive. From that first leap of faith in August of 2017, the passion grew like a firing flame.

What are the qualities needed to be a good high-diver?

Determination and persistence. Not only do you have to be physically strong, but mentally strong as well. Respecting the high dive is the most important lesson I’ve learned, knowing in the back of your mind that anything can happen at any moment. It only takes a half a second for something to go wrong.

I came from a 17-year background in gymnastics before coming into the sport of diving. Gymnastics was all about power whereas diving is all about timing and patience. I still feel like I am transitioning from gymnastics to diving, but it’s been such an incredible and rewarding journey. High diving is just as mentally challenging as it is physically, if not more. Headspace, for me, is the most important factor when learning or progressing a high dive. Trusting yourself and your body is a religion in this sport.

How do you physically train for the sport?

Our team travels around the county to perform high dive shows. During the season, the shows are a workout in itself, a lot of endurance, working on consistency, trying to stay safe, and avoid injuries. We set up our own 23-foot diameter pool that’s 10 feet deep, along with our 3-meter springboards and 20-meter radio tower. My team and I put on a spectacular show for state fairs and water parks. The performances includes 3-meter springboard diving, comedy clown diving, tandem dive, and a grand finale high dive off of a one-square-foot platform, 80 feet in the air. In between shows I have some time to myself to work on my skills, new and old. When our season is over, I try to stay on top with home/on the road body workouts including strength, conditioning and stretching, as well as traveling the country to find an awesome cliff with friends.

How do you describe the high-diving community?

The high diving community is a wonderful family, we are very close-knit. It seems like someone always knows a friend of a friend in the community. We are all chasing the same high, passion, and thrill. It’s incredible when everyone gets together to do the things they love most.

How do you practice new dives/tricks? Do you have a go-to spot for practicing or does it change depending on your travel schedule?

Visualization is key to performing any new dive, whether it’s 1 meter or 27 meters. Since our 1 square foot platform can easily be moved up and down our ladder, I take it 1 step at a time (literally). I’ll start lead-ups to the first part of my dive off 3 meters, then head to 10 meters, which is about 30 feet; then head to 50 feet, then 60, and only when I think I’m ready to do I go from the top. I’ve been very lucky to train in Bessemer, Alabama for the last 4 summers. I have a little bit more depth to the pool and I’ve gotten the privilege to build an awesome relationship with the setup there. When I’m on the road, it’s more difficult for me to learn new skills, mostly because I get nervous. It’s a new environment with many new things to spot when thinking about air awareness.

What is your relationship to fear? Are you fearless? Do you ever get nervous when diving? Or is your fear centered in other areas of your life?

I get a little nervous every time, but I figure it’s good to be on your toes. There’s always that fear of not landing properly in the water, getting lost in the air but “the more you fear, the more you feel,” as they say. Getting over fear is a CONSTANT battle in the sport of high diving. Sometimes My heart is beating out of my chest, or my body starts to tremble. I’ve started to realize how I can control the fear and not let it get to my head. Once I start to control my breathing, I become one with the present. Right before I leave the platform, there is no past or future, I’m grasping the present moment because that is the only way to rise above my fears.

What advice do you give to people who want to get into high-diving?

Be patient with yourself. Find a good group of people in the diving community to guide you through. Most will accept you into their diving family. Rule number one of cliff jumping is to ALWAYS DEPTH CHECK, no matter if you’ve been to that place a million times and think you know the depth of the water. Always have at least 1 or 2 other people there with you for safety because like I said before, anything can happen. So, better to be prepared than end up panicking.

Where is your favorite dive spot and why?

I crave finding new waterfalls/cliffs every year. At this moment there are too many places to name. Arizona and Oregon have some beautiful destination waterfalls. At the moment my favorite place to dive is in sweet home Alabama off of our equipment.