Nick Schuyler deadlifts at his gym, Sky Athletix [Photo courtesy of Nick Schuyler]
By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing
On weekdays, you can typically find Nick Schuyler leading intense group workouts at the gym he owns in Lutz.
During those classes at Sky Athletix, he motivates with phrases such as, 鈥淵ou got this鈥� and 鈥淒on鈥檛 quit.鈥�
For the former 51在线 football player, those are more than words.
They are central to his story.
Sixteen years ago, the 2008 USF graduate was in a boating accident in the Gulf that killed his three friends.
Schuyler was the sole survivor.
After 43 hours in the water, Schuyler was rescued as he hung onto the capsized boat鈥檚 motor about 70 miles from Clearwater鈥檚 shore.
Now, two films will tell the tale.
The documentary, 鈥淔our Down,鈥� premieres during St. Petersburg鈥檚 Sunscreen Film Festival this month and the Hollywood feature film, 鈥淣ot Without Hope,鈥� starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel, opens worldwide later this year.
William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler [Photo courtesy of Stick Figure Productions and Prix Productions]
Each details the crash, the foursome鈥檚 fight to survive and the U.S. Coast Guard鈥檚 search-and-rescue efforts.
鈥淏ut they鈥檙e different,鈥� Schuyler said. 鈥淭he feature has the Hollywood drama. The documentary is more of my personal point of view of what happened.鈥�
On Feb. 28, 2009, Schuyler and his best friend and fellow former USF football player William Bleakley, along with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, left for a fishing trip from the Seminole Boat Ramp near Clearwater Pass.
Cooper鈥檚 21-foot vessel flipped in stormy waters when the men tried to free a stuck anchor by gunning the motor.
News archives state that waves reached as high as 14 feet, wind gusts were up to 50 mph and the water temperature was as cold as 58 degrees.
鈥淭he U.S. Coast Guard described it as one of the fiercest storms to hit the Gulf in 25 years,鈥� said Rick French, a producer for both films.
One by one over the next few dozen hours, as they clung to the boat, Schuyler鈥檚 friends disappeared under the waves, likely victims of hypothermia. Their bodies were never recovered.
Corey Smith [Photo courtesy of Stick Figure Productions and Prix Productions]
Marquis Cooper [Photo courtesy of Stick Figure Productions and Prix Productions]
The tragedy made national headlines in real time as the U.S. Coast Guard searched for the boat and then rescued Schuyler, whose body temperature had dropped to 88.8 degrees.
He was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and Bryant Gumbel in subsequent months and, the following year, published the book 鈥淣ot Without Hope,鈥� a New York Times bestseller about the tragedy.
But he鈥檚 not spoken much about the incident since then.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still a part of my life.鈥�
Nick Schuyler and Dwayne Johnson, who was once linked to "Not Without Hope" [Photo courtesy of Nick Schuyler]
The feature film went into development 12 years ago. It was originally slated to star Dwayne Johnson and then Miles Teller as Schuyler before that role ultimately went to Levi with Duhamel playing U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close. The holdup was a mix of studio financial issues, scheduling conflicts and then COVID-19.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a whirlwind, but that鈥檚 Hollywood,鈥� Schuyler said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 finally happening.鈥�
As for the documentary, that came about in more recent years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been something we鈥檝e talked about 鈥� my family, my friends, but hadn鈥檛 gotten around to it,鈥� Schuyler said. 鈥淯ltimately, it was important to share the story in my voice.鈥�
Schuyler donated a portion of the book proceeds to several charities and a portion of net proceeds from both films will also go to charities in honor of his three friends.
While both movies focus on the tragedy, Schuyler said they also detail the lives that were lost.
鈥淭hat was important to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to represent the guys in a big fashion, how they lived, how we fought for one another out there and refused to quit, and not just how they died. They were good men, and a day doesn鈥檛 go by that I don鈥檛 think about them.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 just the four men who persevered.
"Four Down" premieres at the Sunscreen Film Festival [Photo courtesy of Stick Figure Productions and Prix Productions]
鈥淧art of Nick鈥檚 story is the family members who refused to give up hope, and the Coast Guard that against all odds, was able to find Nick alive,鈥� French said. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a single person central to this tragic story who quit or gave up hope for a better final outcome.鈥�
Schuyler said it was more emotionally difficult to be part of the documentary.
He was on the feature film set in Malta, where he watched as the cast and crew recreated the worst 43 hours of his life.
鈥淥bviously, watching those scenes was heart-wrenching,鈥� Schuyler said. 鈥淩eliving those moments was surreal. But I was also always aware that I was on set and the busyness of the filming process kept me distracted 鈥� all the actors and crew and camera and lighting and sets.鈥�
But there was no hiding from memories while filming documentary interviews.
鈥淚 had to really get back into it, really relive it,鈥� Schuyler said. 鈥淚鈥檇 get into explaining something, and they鈥檇 say we need more, we need more. It was hard to relive it in such detail.鈥�
Schuyler overcomes the difficult days and survivor鈥檚 guilt by focusing on what life has given to him 鈥� two children and his wife, Paula, who run Sky Athletix together with his mother, Marcia
Nick and Paula Schuyler at the opening of their Sky Athletix in 2014 [Photo courtesy of Nick Schuyler]
鈥淚 was given a second chance, and I've accepted that a thousand times,鈥� he said. 鈥淚'm going to make the best of it. I love my family. I love my business. I love working with people and finding ways to motivate them to be the best versions of themselves.鈥�
He hopes the movies also provide inspiration.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 ever quit,鈥� Schuyler said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 give up. Even when life feels like hell, keep surviving.鈥�
鈥溾�� premieres at 7 p.m. on April 24 and screens again at 5 p.m. on April 26. Both show at the AMC Theater at 151 Second Ave. N in St. Petersburg.
Bleakley鈥檚 memory continues to live on at USF through the , which grants $1,000 to an undergraduate each year.