Vali Graham is standing on the edge of a cliff in the Blue Mountains.
Warning: This story contains footage of dangerous stunts and images some people may find disturbing.
According to his friend’s calculations, Vali is 42.5 metres above the small waterhole below. The 21-year-old lets out a series of guttural screams, trying to prepare his body and mind to launch himself over the edge. Phones are filming from several angles, and a YouTuber has his slow-motion camera set up at the base.
What is about to happen started with Vali – then a keen mountain biker – viewing videos on social media, taking a trip to a wellness retreat in Costa Rica, and meeting a religious diving influencer.
“I saw some videos online and was like ‘wow, that’s crazy … I’ve got to try that,” he says.
Vali started with jumps of up to 10 meters with friends before heading to Costa Rica to meet Reagan Popoff. (image caption) Many tourists head to Costa Rica to see the spectacular waterfalls in the jungle. (Federico Meneghetti/REDA) (image caption) Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty. (Paolo Picciotto/REDA)
“I saw this video online that Reagan posted of being like, ‘Come to Costa Rica and experience cliff jumping and create a community’. And I was like, wow, that just sounds so amazing.”
Perhaps not so amazing is the description Reagan gave 7.30 of a “death dive”, his words emphasizing the inherent danger of the act. (image caption) Reagan Popoff is an American freestyle cliff jumper and social media influencer. (ABC News: Richard Mockler) “Death diving is when you land like you’re going to belly flop, and at the last second you hit the water so people think you’re about to kill yourself. Then the last second boom … you land in the water, like you’re punching it,” Reagan tells 7.30.
He also claims it is a spiritual experience.
“Whenever I jump, I feel so close to God because I feel like I’m just doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m not being reckless,” Reagan says.
“You’re not living in the past, you’re not living in the future, you are just in the present … that’s how God designed us.”
Vali tells 7.30 he “found God” at that Costa Rican retreat led by Reagan, where the Australian jumped from heights of up to 20 meters.
The ‘world record’ attempt
When Vali returned to Australia, he elevated his efforts. In a matter of months, he progressed to 25-meter cliffs, then a 32-meter jump, posting videos to his social media accounts.
“I really wanted to build a profile online about sending it hard and progressing, showing what the human body was capable of and showing what the human mind was capable of,” Vali says.
On social media, death dives are given unofficial “world records” from the online community for jumping from new heights or in combination with freestyle moves in the air. Vali’s jump in the Blue Mountains was being considered an attempt at the highest freestyle death dive.
The day before he even gets to stand on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the waterhole, he calls Reagan to ask for spiritual support. (image caption) Reagan Popoff, left, posted this photo to Instagram of him baptizing a man. (Instagram: Reagan Popoff) “One day he FaceTimes me and he’s like at the top of this 40-meter cliff and he’s like … ‘It’s calling my name, I’m going to do it tomorrow,'” Reagan recalls.
“I pray over him and just give him some words of advice.”
Less than 24 hours later, Vali jumps. He spins three times in the air before hitting the water, injuring himself badly. (image caption) An injured Vali Graham is filmed as he walks out of the water after his death dive in the Blue Mountains. (YouTube) When he impacts the water, he suffers a fractured skull, spine, and sternum. In the aftermath, Vali has two surgeries to install rods and plates to stabilize his back and chest.
From his hospital bed, Vali posts a video of the jump to Instagram, and it receives 15 million views. Later, he posts another video on social media where he proclaims that “things could have been much worse” if he had not received spiritual support before the jump.
Asked about the result of the injury-inducing jump, Reagan absolves himself. (image caption) Vali Graham recovering in hospital after his Blue Mountains jump. (YouTube) “I don’t necessarily feel responsible for what happened at all,” Reagan tells 7.30.
“Not doing it for the views”
Since the jump, Vali has discovered that others who post viral death dive videos haven’t been open about the injuries that they have sustained. (image caption) Vali Graham has a scar on his chest from the surgery he needed after his death dive. (Instagram: Vali Graham) “Some of the people I’d followed [who were] inspirations from higher jumps did actually get injured doing some of their jumps and that wasn’t disclosed, [the] injuries or what happened,” Vali says.
He also tells 7.30 he has been receiving criticism for doing the dives, especially at a time when health care systems around Australia are struggling.
“I had lots of negative feedback from people being like, ‘You’re a disgrace to the health system and you shouldn’t be treated for this stuff,'” he says.
“It was a little bit sad to hear that people thought that, but at the same time, it was like they don’t understand why we do this or the reasons behind it.” (image caption) Vali Graham says he prays “a lot” before a death dive. (Instagram: Vali Graham)
Australia, many of these jumps are taking place in national parks. Rohan Wilcox is an 18-year-old jumper, who, over the summer helped organize a two-week tour of Australia’s east coast and Tasmania for about 50 local and international cliff jumpers.
Australia’s first international cliff jumping competition, Cliff Masters, took place in the Tasmanian town of Triabunna last year. A second ticketed event was run in January 2026. Thirteen Australian and international freestyle cliff jumpers including Reagan and Rohan competed at the event, where death dives were performed.
7.30 contacted Red Bull Australia to confirm its involvement, but it did not respond to questions. As if to emphasize, a point that these guys are simply thrillseekers risking it all, Rohan had, weeks before the event, posted a video where he set himself on fire before attempting a death dive.
The video has 5.5 million views on Instagram. He says he is not diving for social media adoration.
“If someone told me to delete my Instagram account to keep cliff jumping, I would. I’m not doing it for the views, I’m doing it for myself,” he says.
Vali remains friends with Reagan and was at the January event supporting from the sidelines. He intends to keep jumping but from smaller heights.
“When you’re doing something when you can get seriously hurt when you jump the same cliff with someone, you have that experience, you create such an amazing connection with those people,” Vali says.
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