Neel Roy’s journey in the water began with fear. As a child in Mumbai, he was afraid of swimming—until he realized he was good at it. That discovery fueled a drive that led him to become one of India’s top swimmers and Stanford University’s first student-athlete recruit from India.
This immersive VR experience takes viewers beneath the surface, following Roy as he swims through memory and reflection. Overlapping his movements in the water, his voice narrates a story of discipline and self-discovery. He recalls waking up at 5:45 a.m. for years, giving up weekends and logging nearly 10,000 hours in the pool.
“Swimming is this crazy sport where you spend literally all of your time staring at the same black line at the bottom of the pool,” he says. “But actually, my most introspective and deepest thoughts have been while staring into that black line.”
At Stanford, Neel navigated the pressures of elite academics and athletics, balancing pride in representing India with the weight of expectations. Now, after retiring from competition, he still turns to the water for clarity. Experience swimming as he does—where muffled sound, motion and thought merge into something deeper than sport.
Compatible with the Meta Quest VR headset.