Ghost’s Tobias Forge wants to start scuba diving so that wearing a mask onstage feels less claustrophobic: “In my alternative life, I’m a wreck diver!”

A Photoshopped image of Tobias Forge in a scuba costume smiling and pointing at fish — (Image credit: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic | Future)

Ghost singer Tobias Forge wants to start scuba diving, hoping it will make wearing masks onstage more bearable.

Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, the frontman says that he’s developed claustrophobia after performing as multiple masked characters in his band over the course of 15 years. He adds that he’s always wanted to try scuba, and that he’s now focussed on getting his licence the next chance he gets.

“Throughout my years in masks, I’ve developed quite a not-comfortable claustrophobia,” Forge admits. “One thing that I’m looking forward to doing at some point is getting myself a scuba diving licence.”

He continues: “I’ve always wanted to do that, for all my life! But I didn’t have any money and couldn’t afford it. Then my next problem was I didn’t have time. Now I’m like, ‘I need to do that.’ I need to make sure that I get to terms with my claustrophobia. I’ve always been very ‘maritime’ and drawn to the ocean. In my alternative life, I’m a wreck diver!”

Forge’s revelation follows his admission to Hammer last month that, at one show in 2015, the mask that he wore to sing as ‘Papa Emeritus III’ gave him a panic attack.

He remembered: “I was told there was only one entrance into the venue; you had to walk in on the right side of the stage, past the stage, and then into a backstage area. So, essentially, you couldn’t get out. You were locked in. That was what I was told.

“And I didn’t think of it until during the show, when all of a sudden I was like, ‘I need to know where the door is… I can’t get to the door. Stop! Stop! Get the mask off!’ I had to get everything off. Restart the whole thing.”

Forge co-founded Ghost in 2006, and the band played their first shows in 2010, around the release of their debut album Opus Eponymous. During those early gigs, Forge performed as Papa Emeritus: a subversive, Satanic pope with skeletal facepaint.

With each subsequent album, the singer has changed the character he performs as, but he’s remained masked. As of this year’s Skeletá, he portrays Papa V Perpetua and wears a mask that only covers the top half of his face.

Ghost embarked on the extensive Skeletour cycle in 2025 and are currently enjoying some downtime before hitting the road again in the New Year. A leg of North American shows has been scheduled for January and February, set to kick off at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida on January 21.

Like their 2025 dates, Ghost’s 2026 shows will be phone-free events. Attendees will need to put their mobiles in magnetically sealed Yondr pouches which are kept on their person. The only way they can be unsealed is by a member of security while leaving the venue.

Ghost’s first phone-free shows took place in Inglewood, California, in October 2023, for the filming of their concert movie Rite Here, Rite Now. Forge fell in love with the practice, feeling a stronger connection between himself and his audience.

He told Audacy in March: “I’m just saying that when it comes to the actual live show, my calling, my reason for being there, is the connection between myself and everybody that I brought with me that are working in tandem to give you an experience.

“That experience is completely decocked if everybody’s just filming. Am I wrong? Am I right? I don’t know. That’s how I, and we, felt.”

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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