He Set The World Record For Scuba Diving In All Seven Continents In Just 19 Days
A 33-year-old man has recently set a new world record for scuba diving in all seven continents. According to Guinness World Records, the journey took him 19 days, 19 hours, and 40 minutes to complete, becoming the fastest person to scuba dive in the seven continents.
Barrington Scott traveled 27,000 miles, starting in Australia and ending in Antarctica between November 13 and December 3, 2024. Along the way, he made stops in Thailand, Egypt, Malta, Argentina, and the United States.
Scott grew up in foster care in the Bronx until he was adopted at 12 years of age. During his childhood, he spent time watching National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, which helped inspire him to embark on this adventure. After high school, he joined the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan.
Once he finished his military service, he then earned a culinary degree and started working in restaurant kitchens.
However, Scott still felt like something was missing in his life. In his mid-20s, he sold his belongings and bought a one-way plane ticket to Malaysia, where he spent the next year backpacking.
In 2014, he completed his first dive in the Bahamas and immediately developed a passion for scuba diving. Eventually, he became a master scuba diving trainer. According to Scott, scuba diving is therapeutic and he feels “calm and collected” when underwater.
Scott is now based in Thailand. He wrote a children’s book titled Trent’s Adventures: Deep Sea Discover, which was inspired by his own travels.
He hopes the book and his new world record will encourage more kids, especially Black children, to get into scuba diving.
“Breaking a Guinness World Record isn’t just about making history; it’s about showing that we belong in these spaces,” Scott said.
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“Black explorers, Black divers, Black adventurers—we’ve always been here, and we will continue to push boundaries.”
“This journey isn’t just mine—it’s for every young kid who never saw themselves in the ocean, every diver who felt like the only one, and everyone who dreams of going beyond limits.”
Approximately 64 percent of Black children have little to no swimming ability, per the USA Swimming Foundation. Drowning death rates in the United States are particularly high among Black individuals.
The disparities can be traced back to segregation that occurred at swimming pools during the 20th century across America.
Pools are no longer segregated, but Black families have avoided swimming to protect themselves from the racism they might experience at public pools.
Now, Scott is resting up in Thailand after his record-breaking adventure. He hopes to continue exploring the world.
In the future, he wants to host scuba diving trips to introduce more people to the activity. We can only wonder what his next adventure will be.
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