LONDON, Dec. 17, 2015 (Antara/PRNewswire) -- Death Challenge, Inc., a new business venture that practices commercially sustainable philanthropy, announced today the official date of the most spectacular and perilous event ever to be broadcast live. Death Challenge 1, The Death Dive (http://DeathChallenge.com) will take place on Good Friday, March 25th, 2016, in the same week as World Water Day.
At 3.33pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), "The Challenger", who will remain anonymous and masked, will risk his life by jumping out of a jet from the stratosphere, 9.53 miles (15.3 km) above the Earth, and diving 50,300 feet with NO spacesuit, NO pressure suit, NO oxygen and NO parachute into shark-filled waters – all in a bid to STOP Death by Dirty Water. (http://DeathbyDirtyWater.org).
"This is a cause close to The Challenger's heart," (http://DeathChallenger.com) says company spokesperson, Aideen Doherty. "Having spent extensive time in the areas of the world most affected by waterborne diseases, he has witnessed firsthand the dramatic effects of this solvable problem. The Challenger also suffered from a near-fatal illness after drinking dirty water during his travels. Nearly 2 million children die annually from dirty water; therefore, in order to bring an end to this crisis, The Challenger is willing to risk his own life."
An event without parallel or precedent, the Death Dive will be streamed live to a global pay-per-view audience, all of whom will be able to vote whether or not to "Save The Challenger" by offering lifelines. Both the online audience and those at the dive site itself can purchase votes before and during The Challenger's historic leap of faith, saying "YES" or "NO" to three possible lifelines. Crucially, no lifelines will be accepted by The Challenger unless one billion votes are purchased globally, symbolic of the approximate number of people not having access to the most basic ingredient of life – clean water.
In Lifeline One (active at 25,000ft–20,000ft), a circling aircraft will toss out a parachute which The Challenger will try to chase down and put on under near-impossible conditions. In Lifeline Two (active at 20,000ft–15,000ft), a rescue skydiver will pursue the exhausted and oxygen-deprived Challenger in an attempt to complete the first-ever mid-air hook up without any safety equipment. In Lifeline Three (active at 15,000ft–7,000ft), an aircraft will release a tow rope, which The Challenger will try to grab and use to skysurf into the water. If The Challenger misjudges the skytow, he could collide with the aircraft or take out its wing or tail controls. If The Challenger blacks out upon exiting the jet, there is an additional option to release a rescue team to provide him with oxygen. However, this lifeline will only be activated if 7.125 billion votes are first secured – the equivalent of the entire human race voting to save one man and all the people of the world without access to clean water.
Other ways to contribute to the global success of Death Challenge (http://savethechallenger.com) include pay-per-view tickets to watch online, VIP tickets to watch the event from an aircraft or boat at the dive site – or underwater with sharks at the point of impact – and a special option to purchase a ride to the Stratosphere with The Challenger.
"The risks of the jump are more than monumental," says company spokesperson, Aideen Doherty. "As he jumps, The Challenger will face insanely low air pressure, freezing temperatures and oxygen starvation, all which can lead to imminent death."
The Challenger is one of the world's most experienced extreme athletes, having completed just under 20,000 skydives, more than 5,000 high dives and thousands of hours of cage-free dives with Great White sharks over the past 30 years. He will use multiple extreme disciplines in an attempt to survive a dive more than 260 times higher than the current world record – approaching twice the height of Mount Everest.
The Challenger is the first to risk his life in The Death Challenge. Death Challenge 1, The Death Dive, is a Category 10 event, deemed by experts to offer zero chance of survival. Death Challenge 1 will also feature and be supported by musical entertainment from new and well-known artists. Death Challenge will continue to showcase extreme athletes in high-risk events to raise the awareness of and bolster Death Challenge's philanthropic efforts to end many of the world's worst social, economic, and humanitarian problems.
Death Challenge Inc., Death Challenge Foundation and The Death Dive will be audited and verified by an international accounting firm. For more information about Death Challenge and how the world can put an end to Death by Dirty Water, please visit: http://DeathChallengeDay.com
Editor's Note: For media enquiries and press kit materials please contact: pressoffice@deathchallenge.com
About the Death Challenge Brand
Death Challenge, Inc., Death Challenge Foundation, and Many People, One Voice collectively engage in commercially sustainable, philanthropy that aim to raise awareness of and provide support needed to end many of the world's worst social, economic and humanitarian problems. Death Challenge will showcase extreme athletes in high-risk events to help spotlight and support various causes. The first event, titled Death Challenge 1, aims to STOP Death by Dirty Water.
Reporter: PR Wire
Editor: PR Wire
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
