Breathe Fire
Cliff Devries
Cliff is a Rochester native who began competitive diving at the age of 13. After serving a two year proselytizing mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, Cliff returned to Rochester. Cliff began losing strength in his right arm and doctors discovered a large tumor in his spinal column. Cliff had an extensive and delicate surgery where doctors removed the tumor but lost all signs of life. He was revived but lost the use of his right arm and much of his right leg.
After years of physical therapy Cliff has rebuilt his life around his family and the sport that he loves. Every year, on his birthday, Cliff performs his Birthday Dive off the 3m springboard at RIT. Just over a year ago the video of his Birthday dive was picked up by the USA Today and People Magazine. It has now been viewed over 200 million times. Cliff is currently the Head Diving Coach at RIT, the Director of Upstate NY Diving and the CEO of the Professional Diving Coaches Association. He helps divers reach their full potential physically, mentally and competitively. Cliff and the coaches at Upstate NY Diving have developed over 15 National Champions and have won the AAU Diving National Championship for the past two years in 2017 and 2018.