Ever since I was a little kid, I tried to imagine what it would be like to fly. Who hasn’t, right? Around the age of ten, skydiving caught my interest, and I started seeing it all over TV. In the same way that someone starts noticing all of the Mustangs on the road after they have purchased one, I started noticing skydiving everywhere I looked. I was obviously too young to skydive at the time, so skydiving was just something that always remained on my mind.

Opportunity Knocks

Soon after graduating high school (age 17) I got a job at the new schlitterbahn that was built at South Padre Island. Long story short… There was a raffle held for all of the lifeguards, but I, as a supervisor was not eligible to actually bid on anything because we were the ones handing out the “Bahn Bucks” that would be used to bid on prizes. No biggie, what could they possibly be giving away? As you can probably guess, two of the prizes in the auction were skydiving tickets, and I had to have one. I approached several lifeguards and told them that I would pay them $50 if they won a skydiving ticket for me. To my surprise, one of the lifeguards won a bid for the tickets and I was able to skydive for the first time. This was a tandem skydive in which the person is attached to an instructor, and doesn’t really have to do anything other than enjoy the ride. The feeling of falling through the sky at around 120mph is indescribable, and I recommend it to anyone to try at least once in they’re lifetime.

Ten Years later (2011)

At age 17, I found it difficult to dish out the $2000-ish that it would take me to obtain my training and license for solo skydiving. Now at the age of 28, the goal was not so impossible, and so began my training as a skydiver.

Skydiving is not flying, it’s falling with style…

Yes, I know that skydiving is not flying by any means, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s an amazing feeling! Also, my interest doesn’t stop at skydiving. Something else got me back into skydiving, and it’s the closest thing to natural flight that a human can ever experience at this moment. Below is a video I put together of various jumps on my journey to obtaining my skydiving A-license. After the video, continue reading to discover the closest thing to human flight, which is next on my list…

Whats Next? Wingsuit Proximity Flying…

The sport of proximity flying is fairly new, and is thought to be the most dangerous sport in the world. For most people that I have talked to about this, and that are already into the sport, they know that the sport is only as dangerous as you make it. If you are careful, and avoid taking unnecessary risks, the sport can actually be pretty safe.  Proximity flying is next on my list, but I know I need a bit more experience skydiving/base jumping before I consider putting on a wingsuit. Till that day comes, I’ll have to live through the cameras of the people that keep my motivation strong. A big shout out goes out to Jokke Sommer, Halvor Angvik and Tom Erik Heimen. Thanks for all that you do!

Now enjoy these videos from the pros that I would like to meet one day soon. If I could land a sponsor, I would leave this very second…

Enjoy!