Naturally "forgetting" to breathe?

I have this friend, and her father breathes abnormally, not in the health hazard sense though. He pointed out that after he takes a breath of air, he doesn't need another for about 30 seconds. At first I thought he was pulling my leg, because it does sound silly. Although, on random occasions I've seen him do it without him noticing me watching. My friend backs it up that he's always been like that. His wife is a CNA, and she tried to properly explain it before we got interrupted, (I THINK she even might have disagreed). Unfortunately, I can't remember specifically what she said about it.

Is it some abnormality that few humans don't need to breathe as much as the majority of us do, or is he just weird?