Ep. 023 Jake Long

WEBVTT
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Welcome to Speed Vector, the podcast dedicated
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to the art, risk, and obsession of speed flying.
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I'm your host, Victor Garcia, speed flyer, skydiver,
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cinematographer, Navy veteran, and full -time
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gravity junkie. Every week we dive into the lines
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we fly, the gear we trust, and the stories that
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push us past the ridge and into the void. Whether
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you're just learning to launch or chasing the
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perfect line, this is where speed flyers come
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to connect, learn, and stoke the fire. This is
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Speed Vector. Today's episode is brought to you
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by Strong Coffee Company. Strong Coffee Company
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% off your entire order, if you enter Speed Vector,
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you will receive 20 % discount. Enjoy. My guest
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today is Jake Long, an Alaskan speed fly shredder.
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He's also known as Jake and the Flying Pickles
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on Instagram. There's a good chance you have
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seen clips of him flying with his dog, his Melanwa,
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Mr. Pickles. I don't actually know if he calls
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him Mr. Pickles. I just added the Mr. in there,
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but his name is Pickles and he's pretty rad.
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He wears ski goggles and goes on paraglide sled
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rides with his dad, Jake, which is like probably
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the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life.
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It makes me wonder if I could be in the future
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for me and one of my dogs. Although I don't think
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I have the cojones to pull that off, to be honest.
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Although I find it to be very impressive. He
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also is a ripping speed flyer. This dude's humble.
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He is very articulate. And honestly, this is
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the longest podcast episode that I have managed
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to put out. And I'm super proud of that. We almost
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talked for three hours. Probably could have,
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with a brief intermission, talked to him for
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another three hours. I mean, this dude is awesome.
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Super rad. Super nice. Very welcoming to people
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coming to visit his great land of Alaska to fly.
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We talked about a gambit of things. It's well
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worth a listen, well worth two hours and 46 minutes
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of your time. I'm going to listen to this one
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back. That's how much I liked it. I listened
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to most of them back, just not all of them. All
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the guests I've had on, I have listened back.
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The solo cast, meh. I don't need to listen to
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myself, talk to myself. It's kind of weird, but
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anyway, sit back, relax, not too much. If you're
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driving and enjoy episode 23 of the speed vector
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podcast with Jake long this, you know, we're,
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we're already having a conversation and I just
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hit record and hope they don't notice, but no,
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we have now we are. It's all good. Mr. Jake long.
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How are you? Yes, sir. I'm great. I'm super stoked
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to be here. This show is such an asset to our
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community, and you are a hero for taking on this
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workload for all of us, because that's what you're
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doing. You're doing this for all of us. You're
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not doing it for you, and I thank you. Thank
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you for letting me be on. Oh, of course, man.
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That's really kind. I appreciate that. Yeah,
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I'm not doing it for me, that's for sure. I mean,
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maybe, maybe a little. I mean, this stuff is
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fun. It's super fun. I enjoy it, you know, but
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I, I like to consume a lot of information when
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I'm learning something. And when I first started
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flying, there was first started speed flying
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there. There is nothing like there was a couple
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of episodes. I think cloud based mayhem had one
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with Pat Hennessy, like in 2016. And then like
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little like tidbits here and there, I think.
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Uh, there's a couple others. I don't know. I'm
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blanking right now, but like not a lot, you know,
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and I must've listened to the Pat Hennessy episode
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on cloud base, like five, 10 times. I have no
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idea just cause like that was the only long form
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content that I could find. Um, not that I have
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anything against short form stuff. Like I'm,
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you know, a sucker for an Instagram reel, just
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like most other people, but, but you don't learn
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a lot from it, you know? And I've, I've kind
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of always been in a podcast. That's why I did
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it. Um, you know, base jumping has a great podcast.
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Skydiving has a few like really good ones that
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are really consistent. Like they're always putting
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out new episodes. Even telemark skiing has a
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good podcast. Right. And that's like even more
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than me. I'm a telemark skier. So I'm, I'm weird.
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I'm weird across the board, you know, um, telemark
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speed rider actually can add that to the list,
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but, um, but yeah, that's sick. You know, that
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sounds so terrifying. That might be the gnarliest
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thing that has ever been said. Telemark speed
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riding. I know a guy up here who will ride a
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split board. And, you know, like a lot of us,
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I was a snowboarder forever until I started paragliding.
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If they flew sideways, I would never ski. I hate
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skis. But he will take his split board and just
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be in split mode and take off in split mode.
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And he's got dangling skis in there when he's
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flying. It's not ideal. But you had to go back
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with like the info that's out there. Before Alex
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started doing his stuff, it really wasn't anybody.
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There was like one video that was subtitled in
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French that had like some barrel roll ideas.
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And I watched that probably 25 times because
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with barrel rolls, you know, they give us like,
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people say like, just don't do them. They give
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you like the abstinence version of. the advice
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because they don't want to say something to you
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and have you get killed because these wings are
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so easy to fly. Now you're going to, you're going
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to pull it off most of the time until you don't.
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So like that one barrel roll video, I watched
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it and watched it and watched it. And then when
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Alex came out with this stuff, I was like, man,
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that the flying on the rears video he had, it
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should be like mandatory to watch that, you know?
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Oh yeah. And like you're coming out too. There's
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going to be a whole nother wave of people like,
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man, that, that podcast learned so much from
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that. I've already learned so much from it. And
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it's so new. Honestly, me too, which is awesome.
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Right. I, yeah, no. So yeah, I should say Alex
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and Platts' content is incredible. He puts so
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much effort into that, that the man is like,
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he's doing it right. I mean, he's really like,
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he puts his blood, sweat and tears into those
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videos. and works really hard to make them perfect
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and you know i mean he doesn't he doesn't willy
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-nilly put stuff out you know i kind of gathered
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that through talking him talking to him offline
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it was like wow like yeah it's a lot of work
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so hats off to alex for sure um but yeah i mean
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he's pretty much it i mean uh pro speedfly school
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has some really good content coming out in english
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which is great like i don't mind reading some
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titles but it's kind of distracting um Not that
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everything needs to be in English, of course,
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but it's helpful when that's the only language
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I speak. But no, but they're super cool too.
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So yeah, I mean, things are on the up and up.
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And like you said, it's like we're in this era
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of just technological advancement in these wings.
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I mean, they are incredible. Like they're so
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easy to fly. It's absurd. And they're so efficient.
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Even the ones that are considered not efficient
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are like... leaps and bounds better than like
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the ozone bullet, you know, in 2011 or 12, whenever
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that came out, like that wing was great for the
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time period. I was just talking to Todd Higley
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yesterday out in Chelan about this. And we're
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just laughing. Cause it's like, yeah, I mean
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it, it totally different, totally different world.
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Right. We're like super spoiled, which is good.
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Right. But it's also, it comes with the price.
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Cause like you said, it's pretty easy to do a
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barrel roll, but And you're not probably going
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to pound it on your first attempt, but you will
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eventually if you don't really know what you're
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doing. So, yeah. Yeah. Like when I was trying
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to learn rolls, everybody, well, kind of want
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to tell a little bit of history. I was about
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20 speed flights deep, 20 or 30, maybe 50. And
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I had a failed launch that resulted in me getting
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very hurt. I was up Bird Ridge. And on the way
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to Girdwood and on the turning norm, which is
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about 3 ,000 foot run. And I'm hiking up. And
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of course, like every other good accident, there's
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10 other things that affected what went down.
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I was new. I was late. I needed to get back home
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to pick up my wife from work. I had her car.
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The wind was cross. It was my second time there.
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And the weather was turning bad. That's what
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I thought. So I try to take off from this spot.
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It's very just not a good spot. And you go back
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there now and somebody had like turned it into
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like a wind shelter. So, of course, now you're
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telling the story like, oh, back in my day, I
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went into the ground and then this is where it
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was. And it's like just looks horrible now. Somebody
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turned it into like a wind, moved like all the
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rocks. But I tried to take off and I. that was
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like five feet off the ground and from my recollection
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i just no memory you know like two seconds into
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the flight like five feet off the ground boom
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nothing um wow and i just uh i basically had
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ragdolled down this boulder field and um yeah
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i was knocked out for like half an hour and i
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kept like waking up and going back down and like
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oh what's going on pass back out again i had
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like hog tied myself in my lines too because
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i was like so i'd like wake up for a second think
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i was paralyzed go back out and um so that that
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was like the very beginning of my career i had
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uh broken my ankle broken my cheekbone uh i got
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a cut down my leg all the way down my thigh there's
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some pictures of it on my instagram but um When
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you crash like that in the beginning of your
00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:18.059
career, people kind of think, like you said on
00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:19.740
your other podcast, that guy's going to go in.
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They thought that was just going to go in again.
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So nobody wanted to really give me any advice.
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Nobody wanted to tell me how to do barrel rolls
00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:32.639
or anything like that or give me any advice because
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they just saw me as somebody that was kind of
00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:39.440
dangerous. And were they wrong, though? I mean,
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I went in. pretty early on my flying career.
00:12:43.129 --> 00:12:47.669
But yeah, the hoarding of the knowledge is not
00:12:47.669 --> 00:12:51.450
good. It doesn't work. So these things that we're
00:12:51.450 --> 00:12:54.110
doing now with the videos and sharing what this
00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:56.629
conversation could be for somebody could help
00:12:56.629 --> 00:12:59.029
it so somebody else doesn't go in. I'm really
00:12:59.029 --> 00:13:03.610
about not gatekeeping that information. Yeah.
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No, I agree. That's a crazy story. So how did
00:13:07.070 --> 00:13:09.730
you get out of that? So you, in that, in that
00:13:09.730 --> 00:13:12.389
incident, you broke your ankle and you had laundry
00:13:12.389 --> 00:13:13.889
lists of other stuff. I mean, you're not, you're
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not walking out with a broken ankle. I'm assuming.
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I had, I am very, I was a big, huge rock climber
00:13:19.730 --> 00:13:23.129
forever. And, um, one of the, these videos I
00:13:23.129 --> 00:13:26.269
watched rock climbing, this guy was rope soloing
00:13:26.269 --> 00:13:28.409
and broke both his legs and hobbled out with
00:13:28.409 --> 00:13:31.149
his poles. And I was like, he was like, your
00:13:31.149 --> 00:13:33.690
poles are crutches always have poles. So I lived
00:13:33.690 --> 00:13:36.049
and died by that. And if I didn't have those
00:13:36.049 --> 00:13:38.370
poles, I was at the very top of a 30 foot tall,
00:13:38.450 --> 00:13:41.350
3 ,300 foot tall mountain, a big tall mountain.
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And it's known as a hard, hard hike. In Alaska
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standards, you know, you look at your trails
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to see your difficulty. If it says hard, you
00:13:51.070 --> 00:13:55.610
are hoofing up that thing. It's real. Yeah. It's
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real. So my poles, I tell everybody, bring your
00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:03.649
poles with you. in case you, especially on hike
00:14:03.649 --> 00:14:05.090
and fly, because they're your crutches. You're
00:14:05.090 --> 00:14:07.230
going to get out with those. You might not have
00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:10.090
gotten out with your messed up leg from what
00:14:10.090 --> 00:14:13.210
happened to you, but you could have at least,
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I would have maybe not had a helicopter ride.
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I would have had to have crawled. I think, I
00:14:17.690 --> 00:14:20.070
think that, I mean, thankfully where I was, you
00:14:20.070 --> 00:14:22.190
know, it was no factor. I mean, it, you know,
00:14:22.190 --> 00:14:24.350
the van pulled up right next to me, right. And
00:14:24.350 --> 00:14:26.289
they'd scoop me up and threw me in there. Um,
00:14:26.769 --> 00:14:31.129
uh, literally, but, uh, No, I, yeah, man, I've,
00:14:31.129 --> 00:14:34.429
I've, I've, I've thought about that, right? Like
00:14:34.429 --> 00:14:37.610
what? Cause I, I fly a lot by myself, you know,
00:14:37.610 --> 00:14:39.610
I'm usually, I mean, not like super remote, but
00:14:39.610 --> 00:14:41.250
remote enough. Like it would, you know, like,
00:14:41.330 --> 00:14:43.529
could I crawl out of here? Like, how would that
00:14:43.529 --> 00:14:46.450
work? You know, where would I go? Um, it's something
00:14:46.450 --> 00:14:48.850
that I've put more time into thinking about,
00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:55.110
uh, post injury. It's crazy. Okay. So it, not
00:14:55.110 --> 00:14:58.250
that I would wish getting injured on anybody,
00:14:58.309 --> 00:15:03.210
but I think the sooner it happens in this sport,
00:15:03.289 --> 00:15:06.950
uh, on like a smaller scale, like obviously if
00:15:06.950 --> 00:15:08.809
you get really hurt, like that's, you know, you're
00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:11.409
most people probably be done, but you know, you
00:15:11.409 --> 00:15:14.269
break a bone. Your, yours was more on the extreme
00:15:14.269 --> 00:15:19.669
end. I don't think it's bad. Um, I mean, it sucks.
00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:21.990
Don't get me wrong, but I, I think there's some
00:15:21.990 --> 00:15:25.269
benefit to it because it's a reality check. Cause
00:15:25.269 --> 00:15:29.259
it's so like, yeah, totally. It's so easy. And
00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:31.679
you're not, there's no like, like the perceived
00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.039
danger. And I've said this so many times, but
00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:37.059
skydiving, right? You're jumping out of a plane
00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:40.059
that like, it's not like a normal thing to do,
00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:42.279
right? Like it's people like you tell non -skydivers,
00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:43.639
you skydive, you're like, oh my gosh, like you
00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:45.159
jump out of the plane. I'm like, yeah, it's super
00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:48.440
fun. Base, you can see where you're going to
00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:50.259
impact if you don't do anything. It's like not
00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:53.279
that far away. You know, even, even a 3000 foot,
00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:55.740
you know, cliff in Switzerland, it's still like,
00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.909
you see it, like it's just below you. But when
00:15:58.909 --> 00:16:02.750
you ground launch a speed wing or a paraglider,
00:16:02.850 --> 00:16:05.809
like it, it doesn't look hard. It's not, it's
00:16:05.809 --> 00:16:07.769
truly like, it doesn't take, it's not like a
00:16:07.769 --> 00:16:10.129
huge athletic like event to like get off the
00:16:10.129 --> 00:16:13.929
ground. Typically sometimes it is. So like the
00:16:13.929 --> 00:16:16.809
perceived danger is not there. And you know,
00:16:16.830 --> 00:16:19.409
you're, you're 35 deep. I mean, 30 flights deep
00:16:19.409 --> 00:16:23.840
flying at 3000 vert. mountain in alaska it's
00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:26.279
pretty gnarly like that's pretty that's significant
00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:28.500
you know like i mean but also and i do what we
00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:31.159
got to talk about alaska because i'm super curious
00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:34.379
but um it's it's rugged terrain everywhere i
00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:36.480
mean it's it's a rugged part of the world you
00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:40.200
know so beautiful part of the world too um so
00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:44.539
i mean not that i would wish anybody to get hurt
00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:47.639
right but it is a good reality check so how did
00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.470
you How did you bounce back from that? I mean,
00:16:50.470 --> 00:16:53.730
not to skip over all the, all the ins and outs
00:16:53.730 --> 00:16:56.269
of what happened, but like, what, what was your
00:16:56.269 --> 00:17:02.710
return to the sport? Like, well, I, I grew up
00:17:02.710 --> 00:17:06.009
a big skater kid. So being hurt is definitely
00:17:06.009 --> 00:17:11.730
nothing new, you know? And yeah, no matter what,
00:17:11.750 --> 00:17:14.809
I've always had this. get back on the horse mentality
00:17:14.809 --> 00:17:19.549
mentality super super hard like um i was cutting
00:17:19.549 --> 00:17:22.289
and trying to go out like two three weeks later
00:17:22.289 --> 00:17:25.630
wow like just a hobble messed up and i didn't
00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:28.269
break any bones but what the doctor said he ripped
00:17:28.269 --> 00:17:30.450
all the plumbing out of there and it was useless
00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:33.730
for like three months i i had broken my ankles
00:17:33.730 --> 00:17:35.869
before and i would have rather broken it broken
00:17:35.869 --> 00:17:40.769
than what but um but yeah i just i super hard
00:17:40.769 --> 00:17:44.029
just get back on the horse sort of guy don't
00:17:44.029 --> 00:17:47.769
let it affect you because you know i've been
00:17:47.769 --> 00:17:50.210
i've been doing action sports my whole life i've
00:17:50.210 --> 00:17:52.250
been a big if you see my instagram i'm a big
00:17:52.250 --> 00:17:53.910
rollerblade guy i've been aggressive in line
00:17:53.910 --> 00:17:56.930
skating my whole entire life oh yeah i love that
00:17:56.930 --> 00:18:01.549
man broken broken every damn thing i don't know
00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:05.170
how many times i've broken my wrist um so it's
00:18:05.170 --> 00:18:07.670
just i've been a mega hard get back on the horse
00:18:07.670 --> 00:18:11.980
guy but every single person I've ever met flying
00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:14.579
in the community that's gotten hurt, no matter
00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:17.140
what facet of how hard they got hurt or how bad
00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:20.700
they got hurt. They all said it was a benefit
00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:23.240
to them because it slowed them down and put them
00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:29.420
in a reality check. And, you know, we're in the
00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:30.839
age of the internet where we see our buddies'
00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:32.960
videos. Sometimes you see one of your buddies
00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:36.400
just getting it and you're like, man, yeah, that's
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.839
rad. I love that for you, but I'm worried about
00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:44.380
you. Also, and then, you know, to see them get
00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:47.619
hurt later is heartbreaking. But to see them
00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:49.619
get hurt later and it's only a broken wrist and
00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:52.859
then they're saying that they're glad they got
00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:55.299
hurt. Well, are you really glad you got hurt?
00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.539
Are you glad that you got slowed down? You got
00:18:57.539 --> 00:19:01.339
knocked down a peg? Because we almost need that
00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:05.160
reality check. We do insane stuff. Like you said
00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:07.799
earlier, you explained to a normal person, we're
00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:10.680
just jumping out of planes. And then now you're
00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:13.200
a speed flying guy. You don't think jumping out
00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.900
of planes at all is insane. And you never really
00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:18.019
did. And we don't even think jumping off a cliff
00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:21.900
is that insane. We need that reality check every
00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:23.480
once in a while. And I don't think you need to
00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:26.500
get this big face scar like I did. I took a rock
00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:29.720
to the face when I got that. Oh, wow. You don't
00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:34.420
even get this $25 ,000 face tattoo to be told
00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:39.980
to slow down. But, you know. Another thing is
00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:42.579
I was told when I was first starting out speech
00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:47.140
flying, you're on a dangerous path. Did I really
00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:52.920
listen? Not really. I mean, I was still learning
00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.039
a new craft, learning the trade, being excited
00:19:55.039 --> 00:20:00.839
about learning the new craft. Like you said earlier,
00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.259
we just obsess and we learn, learn, learn, and
00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:05.970
nerd out, nerd out, nerd out. In those moments,
00:20:06.029 --> 00:20:08.029
it's hard to slow down because you're excited
00:20:08.029 --> 00:20:09.890
about it. You want to fly. You're doing incredible
00:20:09.890 --> 00:20:12.529
things you always wanted to do. And it's really
00:20:12.529 --> 00:20:15.750
hard to dial it back a little bit. But yeah,
00:20:15.809 --> 00:20:18.710
just to come all back, every single person I've
00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:21.089
ever met in the flying community that got hurt
00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:26.390
said it was a benefit. Yeah, I agree. You just
00:20:26.390 --> 00:20:29.130
need to slow down. Yeah, get hurt, close call.
00:20:30.450 --> 00:20:35.500
Maybe you rolled out a little low and just Gimmed
00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:40.599
your butt over some grass. I have a confession
00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:46.000
to say about that. Go ahead. While it's in my
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.700
head and talking about Alex, I wanted to never
00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:53.940
give a video to Alex, but I cut in close the
00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:56.180
other day. I had probably the worst near miss
00:20:56.180 --> 00:21:00.140
I've had in years at this site that I've flown
00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:03.380
hundreds of times. Flat top, I just... I just
00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:05.160
made a video on my Instagram, a love letter to
00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:08.099
Flat Top. Yeah, I saw that. That's pretty cool.
00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:13.880
And one thing about Alaska is we are so close
00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:18.839
to the ocean and we get weird wind things happening.
00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:24.240
So I was hiking up and I could feel that the
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.380
wind was kind of blowing from the south a little
00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:31.039
bit. You take off from the west and you've got
00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:34.490
to turn to the north. in those weather conditions
00:21:34.490 --> 00:21:37.289
so there was no wind at all in the summit it
00:21:37.289 --> 00:21:40.849
was predicted predicted to go down and like level
00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:43.130
out to no wind at all i'm hiking up and it's
00:21:43.130 --> 00:21:46.609
kind of blowing downhill to the line not really
00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:49.109
downhill to the launch like 90 degrees to the
00:21:49.109 --> 00:21:53.089
launch downhill to the line i'm gonna fly so
00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:57.480
I'm hiking up and I'm like, it feels a little
00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:59.920
bit, it didn't feel like too much though. And
00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:02.160
then I get up to the summit and it's dead calm,
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.019
nothing. And I'm sitting up there, I'm hanging
00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:07.240
out for like half an hour, which is a long time.
00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:09.220
You know, you get up there, you want to get your
00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:11.940
stuff, you want to be fresh and go. And, you
00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:14.440
know, so I was thinking that the winds had calmed
00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:19.660
down. So I go into, I take off, I take off, it's
00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:24.000
dead calm, nowhere. I hang my right hand turn,
00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:26.579
turn to the north. It's a gully. I cut into the
00:22:26.579 --> 00:22:29.720
gully with open trimmers, dump a big divey turn,
00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:32.759
nice and slow. And I just feel all this wind
00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:36.599
just hitting my back. Took all my energy out
00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:39.019
of my turn. Probably should have greased a little
00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:41.319
bit more beans into there. Probably should have
00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:43.500
turned it over a little harder to begin with.
00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:46.619
But with the back wind, it just slowed me down.
00:22:46.779 --> 00:22:48.920
And when I came around, I came around within
00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:52.519
probably a foot or less of the ground. Fully
00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.740
down here, flaring on the brakes. Brakes save
00:22:55.740 --> 00:22:58.180
your life. That saves your life, for sure. And,
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:03.400
yeah, near misses can happen. And weird weather
00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:05.759
things can happen. And it doesn't matter how
00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:07.559
many flights you've had. At this point, I've
00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:11.920
had about 700, 800 flights on speed wings and
00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:15.359
all sides of the wings. But weird things happen.
00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:17.799
Sometimes you cut it in a little low. And you've
00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:22.289
got to know what to do in that situation. And
00:23:22.289 --> 00:23:24.670
don't downsize too quick so you can't handle
00:23:24.670 --> 00:23:27.710
that situation. Like one of my things I had written
00:23:27.710 --> 00:23:29.529
down was when the ground comes up, the hands
00:23:29.529 --> 00:23:33.430
go down, no matter what the situation. That's
00:23:33.430 --> 00:23:36.109
what one of my instructors told me. And because
00:23:36.109 --> 00:23:38.069
I had a question about, well, what happens when
00:23:38.069 --> 00:23:39.509
you're in mid -flight and the ground comes up
00:23:39.509 --> 00:23:40.910
and you're going to hit it? You don't want to
00:23:40.910 --> 00:23:43.390
stall out your wing from cramming on the brakes.
00:23:43.549 --> 00:23:45.630
And he said, don't think that deep. Ground comes
00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:49.529
up and goes down. Yep. And that's exactly what
00:23:49.529 --> 00:23:52.190
I did. I'm sure you guys will see the video when
00:23:52.190 --> 00:23:56.869
it comes out in one of his videos. I'm looking
00:23:56.869 --> 00:24:00.069
forward to it. Sorry to run you over, but man,
00:24:00.130 --> 00:24:01.970
this is another thing I just have to talk about.
00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:05.029
No, please. Go for it. Everybody is going to
00:24:05.029 --> 00:24:07.269
have a near miss. Everybody's going to have an
00:24:07.269 --> 00:24:11.049
incident. If you stick around long enough, you're
00:24:11.049 --> 00:24:15.589
going to see somebody break their leg on a swoop
00:24:15.589 --> 00:24:20.190
that looks chill and easy. Talk about your incidents.
00:24:20.569 --> 00:24:25.910
It's huge up here in Alaska where you see people
00:24:25.910 --> 00:24:28.470
just, I guess, just in my own community, not
00:24:28.470 --> 00:24:31.049
just in Alaska, that I noticed that all these
00:24:31.049 --> 00:24:33.250
people that have incidents, they go into trees,
00:24:33.450 --> 00:24:37.109
they hit stuff, they land in the road and block
00:24:37.109 --> 00:24:42.650
traffic and cause some big disturbance. I've
00:24:42.650 --> 00:24:44.730
seen people spit it into the ground. Nobody talks
00:24:44.730 --> 00:24:46.549
about this stuff. They don't talk about it to
00:24:46.549 --> 00:24:48.289
their community. They don't talk about it to
00:24:48.289 --> 00:24:50.569
their friends. They try to keep it and hide it
00:24:50.569 --> 00:24:53.970
in a secret. And I think that's an ego thing.
00:24:54.250 --> 00:24:57.369
They don't want to be out there to the world
00:24:57.369 --> 00:25:00.329
that you messed up. And that is doing nothing
00:25:00.329 --> 00:25:02.890
but hurting our community as hard as possible.
00:25:03.230 --> 00:25:06.589
Because you share your stories, you could save
00:25:06.589 --> 00:25:12.009
somebody's life. And yeah, part of like... Being,
00:25:12.109 --> 00:25:13.690
you know, it's embarrassing telling you guys
00:25:13.690 --> 00:25:16.210
I cut it in close and almost hit the deck and
00:25:16.210 --> 00:25:19.069
I had to send a video to Alex, but I didn't have
00:25:19.069 --> 00:25:21.630
to send a video to Alex. I wanted to send that
00:25:21.630 --> 00:25:24.549
video to Alex so that other people could see.
00:25:25.329 --> 00:25:27.150
If you're cutting in close, get on those bricks,
00:25:27.309 --> 00:25:32.329
you know, do something. Yeah. But yeah, we have
00:25:32.329 --> 00:25:35.769
to share our stories and the amount of storytelling
00:25:35.769 --> 00:25:38.490
that you did about your broken leg. I mean, you
00:25:38.490 --> 00:25:41.259
definitely. believe that concept and that's i
00:25:41.259 --> 00:25:44.799
commend you for that thank you yeah i mean shoot
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:48.460
man i very i'm strong words of wisdom there i
00:25:48.460 --> 00:25:52.940
agree i mean people it it is ego you know and
00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:55.119
i mean i've said it before but i'll say it again
00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:58.519
this this this sport these sports right anything
00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:01.680
extreme is driven by ego life is driven by ego
00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:04.880
the ego is not bad right i think there's like
00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:08.750
this negative connotation towards it. Like, Oh,
00:26:08.769 --> 00:26:11.250
like, like that guy, that gal, so egotistical,
00:26:11.369 --> 00:26:14.170
like just a full, I'm like, yeah, like everybody
00:26:14.170 --> 00:26:16.569
has ego. If you didn't, you wouldn't do anything.
00:26:16.670 --> 00:26:19.029
You know, it is a driving force, not for everybody,
00:26:19.150 --> 00:26:22.210
but for most people. Right. So, but, but realizing
00:26:22.210 --> 00:26:27.289
that, you know, you're, you're actually doing
00:26:27.289 --> 00:26:28.990
yourself and everybody else a favor if you're
00:26:28.990 --> 00:26:31.309
honest, you know, and that's something that I
00:26:31.309 --> 00:26:35.230
have taken issue with personally with reels.
00:26:36.789 --> 00:26:40.250
just showing and not even in speed flying just
00:26:40.250 --> 00:26:43.109
in general right with social media you you're
00:26:43.109 --> 00:26:45.650
only seeing people's high points because that's
00:26:45.650 --> 00:26:47.710
what they're posting right like most people don't
00:26:47.710 --> 00:26:49.210
have a bad day and like oh i'm gonna make a post
00:26:49.210 --> 00:26:51.970
it's like no like i did something rad i did something
00:26:51.970 --> 00:26:55.109
fun i really liked that ice cream whatever it
00:26:55.109 --> 00:26:57.309
is you know that's what they're posting and i
00:26:57.309 --> 00:27:00.269
and i get it you know but when you're playing
00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:03.470
with When you're on the knife's edge, like we
00:27:03.470 --> 00:27:05.710
are every time we leave the ground, because truly,
00:27:05.809 --> 00:27:09.730
you know, humans are, you know, just basically
00:27:09.730 --> 00:27:12.309
bags of meat and the ground hurts and gravity
00:27:12.309 --> 00:27:16.710
works. Gravity wins. Gravity's undefeated. I
00:27:16.710 --> 00:27:18.809
don't know, maybe we beat them a couple times
00:27:18.809 --> 00:27:21.730
with like going to space, but they also, gravity
00:27:21.730 --> 00:27:23.369
won a couple times going to space too, right?
00:27:23.470 --> 00:27:25.250
So, you know, gravity's pretty much undefeated.
00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:28.589
I just lost my train of thought there. That was
00:27:28.589 --> 00:27:31.970
ridiculous. But anyway, um, I don't even know
00:27:31.970 --> 00:27:33.890
where I was going with that, but basically, you
00:27:33.890 --> 00:27:37.289
know, I, I agree. It is important to share. And,
00:27:37.289 --> 00:27:40.269
and, you know, part of the reason I did was I
00:27:40.269 --> 00:27:41.549
didn't have anything else to talk about, man.
00:27:42.529 --> 00:27:45.849
I was just like, you know, I was sitting in the
00:27:45.849 --> 00:27:47.930
same spot I'm sitting right now, uh, with a little
00:27:47.930 --> 00:27:50.369
bit less equipment with an above the knee cast
00:27:50.369 --> 00:27:53.390
and, and it sucked to like sit, you know, cause
00:27:53.390 --> 00:27:57.029
it is gravity was once again, winning. And, uh,
00:27:57.210 --> 00:28:00.609
yeah, it, it, it was easy for me to talk about,
00:28:00.710 --> 00:28:03.990
but I didn't, I didn't have the platform that
00:28:03.990 --> 00:28:06.289
I do now. Not that it's huge, but you know, over
00:28:06.289 --> 00:28:11.809
2000 downloads and 22 episodes, um, lots of warm
00:28:11.809 --> 00:28:14.230
reception from people. Like when I first started
00:28:14.230 --> 00:28:17.509
this, it wasn't, I didn't know if it was going
00:28:17.509 --> 00:28:20.250
to do anything. I didn't have a plan. I just
00:28:20.250 --> 00:28:22.289
had the equipment already. For the most part,
00:28:22.349 --> 00:28:24.769
I've upgraded a little, um, quite a bit actually,
00:28:24.829 --> 00:28:28.019
to be honest. Um, and it was really just like
00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:32.200
a way for me to just talk about stuff by myself
00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:34.759
to myself. And if people wanted to listen, then
00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:40.180
cool. I am so like humbled by the fact that like,
00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:44.400
it has had such a warm reception. Like I haven't
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:47.119
gotten any negative feedback, hardly at all.
00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:49.579
Like, and, and really the only negatives is like
00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:51.500
people just saying they don't want to come on
00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:53.119
the show. And like, I respect that. Like that,
00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:54.700
I wouldn't even call that a negative. It's just
00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:56.400
like, okay, I got to work. I got to work harder.
00:28:56.460 --> 00:28:58.920
I got to make it better. I got to build it bigger
00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:01.079
so that these blows my mind. Someone to tell
00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:05.480
you, no, I mean, I get it. I get it, you know,
00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:08.579
to a certain extent, but at the same time, I
00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:12.240
don't. Um, well, this is a, you're, you're putting
00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:13.859
yourself out there. You're putting your ideas
00:29:13.859 --> 00:29:16.920
out there. Um, one thing I struggle with, with
00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:20.799
my own flying is self -confidence. I mean, you,
00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:23.200
you might see the videos and stuff that I do.
00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:28.089
Uh, like barrel rolls and cutting close to terrain.
00:29:28.630 --> 00:29:31.049
We're all humble humans too. And we're like,
00:29:31.069 --> 00:29:32.990
we're not, I'm not that cool. I can't be like
00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:37.569
that guy. There's no way, uh, you know, Jamie
00:29:37.569 --> 00:29:39.990
Lee would like this video or something, you know,
00:29:39.990 --> 00:29:42.970
that's your ego talking to, but like a lot of
00:29:42.970 --> 00:29:46.650
people are, uh, you know, kind of self -conscious
00:29:46.650 --> 00:29:48.329
about their own flying and they think they're
00:29:48.329 --> 00:29:49.630
not cool and then they don't want to come on
00:29:49.630 --> 00:29:53.029
here and talk about it. And, you know, you know,
00:29:53.029 --> 00:29:55.609
some maybe embarrass themselves. I mean, I'm
00:29:55.609 --> 00:29:58.670
not worried about that. Well, no. And I, we,
00:29:58.789 --> 00:30:01.630
we will definitely dive into your background
00:30:01.630 --> 00:30:03.990
cause you do some crazy shit and I love it. Um,
00:30:04.069 --> 00:30:06.950
and, and I, I don't mean crazy. I mean, like,
00:30:07.009 --> 00:30:08.910
it's just really cool. Like you definitely have
00:30:08.910 --> 00:30:12.589
like a niche, um, that you enjoy and then other
00:30:12.589 --> 00:30:14.710
people enjoy to watch, which we'll, we'll totally
00:30:14.710 --> 00:30:17.829
dive into. But, um, yeah, I mean, I think, I
00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:19.450
think you're right. Like, I think everybody is
00:30:19.450 --> 00:30:21.190
just a little insecure at the end of the day,
00:30:21.210 --> 00:30:23.829
whether they admit it or not. And they have ego
00:30:23.829 --> 00:30:25.130
and they have insecurities, right? It's like
00:30:25.130 --> 00:30:28.690
a balance. And I'm not like a, you know, a psychologist
00:30:28.690 --> 00:30:33.490
or anything, but I would be curious if the reason
00:30:33.490 --> 00:30:35.470
why some people have said they don't want to
00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:38.190
come on yet or they'll get back to me or whatever
00:30:38.190 --> 00:30:45.289
is because they don't know if they would be like
00:30:45.289 --> 00:30:47.210
a benefit to people. And I'm like, hey, man,
00:30:47.269 --> 00:30:49.430
like, I just want to hear your story. You know,
00:30:49.470 --> 00:30:51.829
you don't have to dive into nuts and bolts of
00:30:51.829 --> 00:30:55.430
stuff. um, you know, a cool, uh, my, probably
00:30:55.430 --> 00:30:57.130
one of my favorite episodes. It's hard to pick
00:30:57.130 --> 00:30:59.670
one. Cause I love, I've loved all of them, all
00:30:59.670 --> 00:31:01.069
of them with guests. Some of the ones that are
00:31:01.069 --> 00:31:03.609
just me, I'm like, eh, whatever. But, um, the
00:31:03.609 --> 00:31:06.930
one with, uh, with Ian Chartaini was awesome.
00:31:06.990 --> 00:31:08.890
Right. And I, I looked back at that the other
00:31:08.890 --> 00:31:10.609
day and I was like, man, we talked for like,
00:31:10.730 --> 00:31:13.369
we recorded for two and a half hours, but we
00:31:13.369 --> 00:31:17.529
talked for like close to three 20. Like we talked
00:31:17.529 --> 00:31:21.759
for like an hour after. without recording you
00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:25.039
know i mean that that dude is like a jedi you
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.039
know he is the most humble dude in the world
00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:29.799
but like to have him tell his story and get into
00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:32.299
nuts and bolts was super cool so i like i don't
00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:34.240
know i pinched myself a few times and i have
00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:36.839
imposter syndrome you know because i'm a 500
00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:39.460
flight you know wonder and like i don't post
00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:42.980
a lot of my flying on speed vector because it's
00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:47.200
not interesting like i just see right there that's
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:49.319
that's what i was talking about but it's it's
00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:52.480
truly not like i my favorite place to fly is
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:56.140
600 vertical feet and i love it if i could fly
00:31:56.140 --> 00:31:58.299
there every single day forever i would like i'm
00:31:58.299 --> 00:32:02.079
not super inspired by like big mountain stuff
00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:05.440
yet i feel like maybe i will be but i i'm just
00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:10.039
not like i love flying parachutes and i don't
00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:13.240
love i don't love the feeling of not knowing
00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:17.089
if like a like a new place you know i go to a
00:32:17.089 --> 00:32:19.210
new site or whatever and i'm trying to figure
00:32:19.210 --> 00:32:21.369
out if it goes or even my friends have flown
00:32:21.369 --> 00:32:24.210
it and i know it goes um there's this spot that's
00:32:24.210 --> 00:32:25.990
like 20 minutes down the road a lot of people
00:32:25.990 --> 00:32:29.309
have been flying lately um super rad it's like
00:32:29.309 --> 00:32:34.690
20 maybe maybe 3000 vert like some features you
00:32:34.690 --> 00:32:37.130
know but no trees it's like it's steeper than
00:32:37.130 --> 00:32:39.690
hell you know and it's got this like perfect
00:32:39.690 --> 00:32:42.529
lz it's like grass you know and the launch is
00:32:42.529 --> 00:32:45.190
perfect and the hike is doable it's like people
00:32:45.190 --> 00:32:47.349
have been lapping it you know 20 minutes down
00:32:47.349 --> 00:32:49.250
the road i drove two and a half hours yesterday
00:32:49.250 --> 00:32:54.009
to fly my 600 foot ridge that i've flown 380
00:32:54.009 --> 00:32:56.670
times or something you know out of like 500 right
00:32:56.670 --> 00:32:59.369
like it's like ridiculous but um i could have
00:32:59.369 --> 00:33:01.410
just driven 20 minutes literally from my door
00:33:01.410 --> 00:33:03.329
20 minutes away i can see it you know it's down
00:33:03.329 --> 00:33:07.140
the road um but I didn't cause it's new. Right.
00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:09.119
And it's scary. And I have to like, think about
00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:11.000
it. And I'm like worried. It's like, Oh, like,
00:33:11.059 --> 00:33:13.839
I don't know. I, I don't know. I, but I am inspired
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:15.900
by people that go out and do big stuff. Cause
00:33:15.900 --> 00:33:18.880
it's cool. But that's why I don't post myself
00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:22.319
too much on there because it's like, it's not
00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:24.720
interesting to anybody but me. So I put it on
00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:27.319
my personal page, but you know, which is private.
00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:29.460
Right. I mean, anybody can request. It's fine.
00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:31.660
You can, I'll be your friend on Instagram. It's
00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:35.500
cool. But Um, like broadcasting, if that makes
00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:38.759
sense. So, um, to each their own though, you
00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:42.299
know, to each their own, but, but like, like
00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:44.480
you said, in one of your episodes, are you going
00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:48.059
for quantity or quality today? I mean, there's
00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:50.660
something to be said about quantity. You need
00:33:50.660 --> 00:33:52.640
the quantity. The quantity is going to save your
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:56.099
life. The quality is for the soul. You know,
00:33:56.119 --> 00:34:00.519
you go do this big 3000 foot mountain. That's
00:34:00.519 --> 00:34:02.950
a new to you. down the road from your house,
00:34:03.029 --> 00:34:06.369
that's going to make your soul happy. The quantity
00:34:06.369 --> 00:34:09.269
flights are going to make your legs happy and
00:34:09.269 --> 00:34:15.010
not broken. And there's nothing wrong with hounding
00:34:15.010 --> 00:34:18.829
out laps. Like, honestly, a lot of my videos,
00:34:18.869 --> 00:34:22.329
like with me and the dogs running with me on
00:34:22.329 --> 00:34:25.869
the ground, that's like a 600 foot tall, 500
00:34:25.869 --> 00:34:29.349
foot tall little bump in the road. And I'll fly
00:34:29.349 --> 00:34:31.989
that thing 10 times in a day. While people are
00:34:31.989 --> 00:34:34.510
going up to the summit up the ridge and I'm having
00:34:34.510 --> 00:34:36.670
probably more fun than they are. It's not a,
00:34:36.710 --> 00:34:40.630
I don't think that's, you know, what it's about.
00:34:41.849 --> 00:34:44.670
You know, there's a, when I started out paragliding
00:34:44.670 --> 00:34:48.989
and when there's paragliding happening, there's
00:34:48.989 --> 00:34:51.150
times we would hike up and guys wouldn't even
00:34:51.150 --> 00:34:52.789
take their wing out of the bag because they didn't
00:34:52.789 --> 00:34:54.309
want to put it back in because they didn't think
00:34:54.309 --> 00:34:57.070
they were going to fly for two hours. I am not
00:34:57.070 --> 00:34:59.590
that guy. And I always said, if I am that guy,
00:34:59.610 --> 00:35:04.469
it's time to put it away. You know, the 600 foot
00:35:04.469 --> 00:35:07.989
tall hill looks rad as hell and I want to go
00:35:07.989 --> 00:35:11.530
out there. I want to go to Chelan and hammer
00:35:11.530 --> 00:35:14.769
it out there. It sounds sick. There's nothing
00:35:14.769 --> 00:35:19.429
wrong with quantity over quality because one
00:35:19.429 --> 00:35:23.909
thing I've realized with my Instagram following
00:35:23.909 --> 00:35:27.969
is there's probably more people following me
00:35:27.969 --> 00:35:31.289
that aren't paragliding people. than your probably
00:35:31.289 --> 00:35:37.170
standard Instagram people. And they don't know
00:35:37.170 --> 00:35:40.289
that it's 600 foot. They just see this amazing,
00:35:40.510 --> 00:35:45.329
beautiful thing we're doing. And you got cool
00:35:45.329 --> 00:35:48.050
flying, man. Don't be like that. You got, you
00:35:48.050 --> 00:35:51.130
know, like everybody thinks it's awesome. Right.
00:35:51.250 --> 00:35:55.329
I mean, it is, right? It is. But when you are...
00:35:55.610 --> 00:35:57.690
wondering what your peers are going to think
00:35:57.690 --> 00:36:00.409
about it right like and and that's a huge catch
00:36:00.409 --> 00:36:02.050
point too right then we've talked i've talked
00:36:02.050 --> 00:36:04.349
about before other people it's like yeah i mean
00:36:04.349 --> 00:36:06.510
you want to be accepted by your peers you know
00:36:06.510 --> 00:36:09.630
i don't really care if like the you know the
00:36:09.630 --> 00:36:13.369
whoever right the random uh quote unquote you
00:36:13.369 --> 00:36:16.210
know civilian right like the normal people aren't
00:36:16.210 --> 00:36:19.849
i call them civilians too that's a perfect name
00:36:19.849 --> 00:36:28.380
for it pirates or whatever i don't know i no
00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:30.599
no shade right like it's all good you know it's
00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:32.420
definitely not for everybody and i'm i'm cool
00:36:32.420 --> 00:36:36.179
with that but um yeah i mean it's it's it means
00:36:36.179 --> 00:36:38.679
more to me when someone that rips is like yo
00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:41.239
that was sick versus like someone that's never
00:36:41.239 --> 00:36:43.539
seen it before that's like oh what are you what
00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:46.559
are you doing you know is that like my god it's
00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:50.139
extreme parasailing uh no i i'm i'm gonna be
00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:52.719
i go and tell them and explain it in a way that
00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:55.019
makes sense most people are like speed flying.
00:36:55.099 --> 00:36:58.579
Is that like the squirrel suits? Like, no, not,
00:36:58.940 --> 00:37:02.139
not quite, not quite, but you know, I mean, same,
00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:05.260
same, but way different. Um, all my wing sitting
00:37:05.260 --> 00:37:06.679
buddies are going to murder me if they listen
00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:08.280
to this. And I'm like, yeah, it's the same thing.
00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:09.900
It's, it's not, you know, there's, there's more,
00:37:09.980 --> 00:37:13.619
I mean, that, that is the extreme, extreme leading
00:37:13.619 --> 00:37:18.019
edge of, of literally of, uh, you know, walking
00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:21.400
that thin line. But, um, but you know, I mean,
00:37:21.420 --> 00:37:24.199
I also know a lot of, Well, not a lot. I know
00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:29.500
a couple of former wingsuit base folks that gave
00:37:29.500 --> 00:37:31.639
it up and switched to speed flying because it's
00:37:31.639 --> 00:37:34.900
like a similar visual, slower speeds, maybe more
00:37:34.900 --> 00:37:39.900
control, but similar visual, you know, I guess.
00:37:39.980 --> 00:37:42.320
I mean, proximity to Earth, basically, I guess
00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:44.260
would be the only other than, you know, the fact
00:37:44.260 --> 00:37:47.539
that you're leading with your literal head with
00:37:47.539 --> 00:37:51.599
a with a wingsuit. But I digress, man. Dude,
00:37:51.659 --> 00:37:57.599
so tell me, so you have 106 ,000 Instagram followers,
00:37:57.940 --> 00:38:01.480
which is outrageous. Yeah, sometimes it's outrageous.
00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:06.300
You might have the most, and I haven't verified
00:38:06.300 --> 00:38:09.539
this, but you might have the most followers of
00:38:09.539 --> 00:38:12.079
a flying page because you don't have a lot of
00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:14.320
other posts, at least in the last couple of years,
00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:16.139
it seems like, that aren't flying related. I
00:38:16.139 --> 00:38:17.880
could be wrong, but I didn't go back super far,
00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:20.760
to be honest. There's some rad welding stuff
00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:22.800
in there too. I've been a welder my whole life.
00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:26.079
You can't have an Instagram and not show your
00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:31.480
sick welds. That is an art. I can cut stuff with
00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:33.019
a welding torch. I guess it wouldn't be called
00:38:33.019 --> 00:38:34.679
a welding torch. That's how little I know about
00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:40.099
the terms with that. I can cut stuff pretty good,
00:38:40.159 --> 00:38:42.059
but you asked me to weld something and it just
00:38:42.059 --> 00:38:44.880
looks like a three -year -old is coloring outside
00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:46.940
the lines. I have a lot of respect for that.
00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:51.519
Cool trade. Very cool trade. What do you, what
00:38:51.519 --> 00:38:54.059
do you work on specifically? Like, are you, do
00:38:54.059 --> 00:38:56.679
you have a niche? I was, I was what you call,
00:38:56.820 --> 00:39:01.440
um, a specialty welder. Um, I would basically
00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:04.820
only weld piping systems for nuclear power plants
00:39:04.820 --> 00:39:08.480
and oil refineries. And, uh, that's basically
00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:12.760
the guys that you would call for like some really
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:17.210
expensive, fancy pipe that, uh, maybe cost a
00:39:17.210 --> 00:39:22.389
million dollars for a little section, I would
00:39:22.389 --> 00:39:24.949
be the kind of guy you'd go to call the weld
00:39:24.949 --> 00:39:28.829
on that. Or probably the highlight of my welding
00:39:28.829 --> 00:39:34.349
career would be the North Slope of Alaska, the
00:39:34.349 --> 00:39:36.630
top of Alaska. I don't know if you ever hear
00:39:36.630 --> 00:39:38.170
on the news, they're talking about crude oil
00:39:38.170 --> 00:39:41.730
prices, North Slope crude or crude oil prices.
00:39:41.989 --> 00:39:45.889
It's from there. And I worked in those facilities
00:39:45.889 --> 00:39:47.849
a lot. You've got to be a good welder to be up
00:39:47.849 --> 00:39:51.369
there. And they've been up there since the 70s,
00:39:51.369 --> 00:39:55.730
but they sold and transferred owners. And the
00:39:55.730 --> 00:39:58.710
previous owners did not want to weld on any live
00:39:58.710 --> 00:40:01.710
lines. So that's pipes with product already in
00:40:01.710 --> 00:40:05.309
them. But it's kind of a thing that we do in
00:40:05.309 --> 00:40:07.710
our world. If you're a super mega welder, you're
00:40:07.710 --> 00:40:09.550
going to go weld on a live line because it's
00:40:09.550 --> 00:40:12.219
too expensive to turn it off. And I was the guy
00:40:12.219 --> 00:40:14.579
that you would call for that sort of stuff to.
00:40:14.739 --> 00:40:17.920
And when the North Slope changed ownership, I
00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:21.139
was the first person to weld on live lines again
00:40:21.139 --> 00:40:25.559
for them. And it was pretty cool. One of the
00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:29.179
pipes was 36 inch diameter. It's a three foot
00:40:29.179 --> 00:40:32.360
inside. That's a big pipe. And enough natural
00:40:32.360 --> 00:40:35.460
gas flowing inside of it to power a city of a
00:40:35.460 --> 00:40:39.139
million people for like three days. no no pressure
00:40:39.139 --> 00:40:41.980
don't don't screw that up right yeah don't blow
00:40:41.980 --> 00:40:44.059
a hole in it and kill everybody around that's
00:40:44.059 --> 00:40:46.619
the kind of welder i was so that's impressive
00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:49.559
you know you know like like you were in the navy
00:40:49.559 --> 00:40:51.920
you know we are just cut from a different cloth
00:40:51.920 --> 00:40:54.340
you know that's the kind of guy i was at just
00:40:54.340 --> 00:40:56.699
at work getting paid so of course we're pretty
00:40:56.699 --> 00:40:58.940
chill and down with the bed sheets and string
00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:02.340
and jumping off of cliffs and right stuff like
00:41:02.340 --> 00:41:06.239
that yeah yeah there is a there is like a a very
00:41:06.239 --> 00:41:09.250
um like I think there's a straight line through
00:41:09.250 --> 00:41:13.010
everybody that does this. You just are on one
00:41:13.010 --> 00:41:14.989
end or the other a little bit, you know, or more
00:41:14.989 --> 00:41:18.230
so. But there is a common denominator. I'm still
00:41:18.230 --> 00:41:20.710
trying to figure out what it is, but you just
00:41:20.710 --> 00:41:23.090
touched on it. You know, it's in there somewhere.
00:41:23.250 --> 00:41:27.409
But everybody, I feel like, has something that
00:41:27.409 --> 00:41:30.679
is similar, whether it's known or not. If that
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:33.920
makes sense. Yeah. I'm getting really, I don't
00:41:33.920 --> 00:41:35.699
know what's going on with me. I think I've had
00:41:35.699 --> 00:41:39.920
too much Red Bull or something, but a philosophy
00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:42.420
podcast about speed flying. No, man, that's,
00:41:42.420 --> 00:41:45.360
that's, that's cool, man. I do my best. Sometimes
00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:48.659
the brain works. Most of the time it doesn't
00:41:48.659 --> 00:41:51.519
work, but today I feel like it's at least firing
00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:55.460
a little bit. So no, that's honestly like hats
00:41:55.460 --> 00:41:57.139
off to you, man. I have a lot of respect for
00:41:57.139 --> 00:42:00.480
welders. I've done some carpentry. Love it. I
00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:02.519
love building stuff. It's super fun. I'm not
00:42:02.519 --> 00:42:05.320
the best, but I love it. I can cut stuff pretty
00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:07.300
straight. You know, I measure it, you know, they,
00:42:07.360 --> 00:42:09.059
they say measured twice, cut once I measured
00:42:09.059 --> 00:42:13.099
like 12 times and cut once. So, um, math, you
00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:15.500
know, but, uh, we say we do it right because
00:42:15.500 --> 00:42:18.639
we did it twice. Perfect. That's cool. Yeah.
00:42:18.860 --> 00:42:21.500
Yeah. I mean, dude, where were we going? Oh yeah.
00:42:21.579 --> 00:42:25.000
All the Instagram followers. Yeah. We're so you
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:28.679
have, you have, um, a melon wall. Did I get that?
00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:33.340
Yes. Yes, I do. So tell me. OK, so first of all,
00:42:33.400 --> 00:42:37.300
Jake, you're from Alaska. We skipped over that.
00:42:37.900 --> 00:42:41.119
We're from Alaska. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Obviously,
00:42:41.119 --> 00:42:43.780
beautiful place to be living and flying. Harsh
00:42:43.780 --> 00:42:46.820
place to be living in general. I'm sure the weather
00:42:46.820 --> 00:42:49.260
is amazing. You guys are getting a ton of snow
00:42:49.260 --> 00:42:52.780
right now, and I'm very jealous. Oh, yeah. I
00:42:52.780 --> 00:42:55.039
watch the snow very closely, obviously, because
00:42:55.039 --> 00:42:57.099
it's my livelihood in the winter. I need snow
00:42:57.099 --> 00:43:04.500
to make money. But you have made quite a name
00:43:04.500 --> 00:43:09.320
for yourself on the Instagrams with you and your
00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:13.940
flying dog. How did you tell me to start from
00:43:13.940 --> 00:43:17.340
day zero with this and just. Yeah. I like to
00:43:17.340 --> 00:43:19.960
say people that like, you know, Alex Honnold
00:43:19.960 --> 00:43:22.599
is known for soloing, but he's always, he's usually
00:43:22.599 --> 00:43:24.860
climbing on a rope. I'm, I might be known for
00:43:24.860 --> 00:43:27.960
flying with my dog, but I am, I am a speed dude.
00:43:28.920 --> 00:43:31.900
Nine times out of 10 or more, I'm on my speed
00:43:31.900 --> 00:43:34.519
wing. Flying with the dog is like once, twice,
00:43:34.519 --> 00:43:38.840
three times a month. But, you know, I always
00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:42.539
try to compare stuff in analogies. So paragliding
00:43:42.539 --> 00:43:48.119
is a lot like, It's a lot like skiing on a powder
00:43:48.119 --> 00:43:49.900
day at the resort. You know, sometimes you're
00:43:49.900 --> 00:43:51.739
just like, we got to get it, get it, get it.
00:43:51.760 --> 00:43:54.480
More laps. We're learning this. We're doing this
00:43:54.480 --> 00:43:56.539
maneuver. This next flight, we're doing that,
00:43:56.539 --> 00:44:01.760
that, that. We all know, true skiers know, you
00:44:01.760 --> 00:44:04.059
have way more fun on a bluebird icy day at the
00:44:04.059 --> 00:44:07.039
resort on groomers most of the time. And that
00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:09.800
is exactly the premise of like flying with the
00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:12.829
dog because you can't be hammering. a hundred
00:44:12.829 --> 00:44:15.010
miles an hour into the ground every single time
00:44:15.010 --> 00:44:17.829
you leave the ground, you know? And plus, how
00:44:17.829 --> 00:44:19.530
are you going to go on all these hikes and not
00:44:19.530 --> 00:44:23.070
take your dog? Like what the hell? So, um, Touche.
00:44:23.489 --> 00:44:25.389
Yeah. It's a good thing. My dogs aren't listening
00:44:25.389 --> 00:44:27.329
to this right now. I got you in my headphones.
00:44:27.530 --> 00:44:30.110
They keep barking at me. Yeah. Take them to the
00:44:30.110 --> 00:44:32.690
600 footer and let them chase after you. There's
00:44:32.690 --> 00:44:35.789
nothing. There's nothing more fun than taking
00:44:35.789 --> 00:44:38.769
a mini wing and being kind of chill or even your
00:44:38.769 --> 00:44:42.460
speed wing and, uh, hammering those. those runs
00:44:42.460 --> 00:44:47.480
out but um uh basically you know like i said
00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:49.119
earlier i've been an oil field welder my whole
00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:51.260
life so that all that means is i'm an alcoholic
00:44:51.260 --> 00:44:57.340
and uh i quit drinking and um i i've been thinking
00:44:57.340 --> 00:44:59.840
about wanting a dog and my wife has two dogs
00:44:59.840 --> 00:45:02.199
and i never had a dog of my own and i was like
00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:04.559
you know i want a dog i want a dog st patrick's
00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:09.199
day uh not drinking anymore that the The rescue
00:45:09.199 --> 00:45:13.119
has an event going on to go look at dogs. And
00:45:13.119 --> 00:45:16.880
let's just go see what they have. Let's just
00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:22.559
go see. And of course, I had no idea what a mountain
00:45:22.559 --> 00:45:25.480
wall was when I got him. I was like, that dog
00:45:25.480 --> 00:45:28.539
picked me. He's adorable. We're going home. And
00:45:28.539 --> 00:45:33.780
the person who was running the rescue, I've been
00:45:33.780 --> 00:45:35.780
a huge avid rock climber my whole life. And that's
00:45:35.780 --> 00:45:38.530
something. we'll talk about here i'm sure mr
00:45:38.530 --> 00:45:41.010
i used to be a pro rock climber but the person
00:45:41.010 --> 00:45:44.789
who was running the the rescue recognized me
00:45:44.789 --> 00:45:46.630
from the rock gym and me being there all the
00:45:46.630 --> 00:45:48.230
time and they were like yeah we weren't going
00:45:48.230 --> 00:45:51.469
to do that dog unless we knew that you were of
00:45:51.469 --> 00:45:54.989
the lifestyle that i was like like this is a
00:45:54.989 --> 00:45:57.010
dog what are you talking about i had no idea
00:45:57.010 --> 00:46:01.849
i was getting a velociraptor uh a insano dog
00:46:01.849 --> 00:46:06.260
um but yeah so I got him when he was like four
00:46:06.260 --> 00:46:10.119
months old. And I knew right away I was going
00:46:10.119 --> 00:46:11.780
to fly with him, of course. Of course, seeing
00:46:11.780 --> 00:46:17.880
Usko or whatever, the big white fluffy dog on
00:46:17.880 --> 00:46:20.119
Instagram. I don't know if you've seen them.
00:46:20.260 --> 00:46:23.320
There's another guy flying with this dog. I probably
00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:27.900
have. I probably have. I think it's Hardcore
00:46:27.900 --> 00:46:31.639
Igor, who is the... super gnarly acro pilot.
00:46:31.780 --> 00:46:34.260
I might be getting this wrong and embarrassing
00:46:34.260 --> 00:46:36.280
myself, but I'm pretty sure him and his dog,
00:46:36.340 --> 00:46:38.619
they have quite the following also. And I was
00:46:38.619 --> 00:46:40.260
like, man, I just want to fly with my dog. I've
00:46:40.260 --> 00:46:44.539
been flying for a while. And yeah, we just pretty
00:46:44.539 --> 00:46:47.619
much immediately started going to the smaller
00:46:47.619 --> 00:46:49.199
hill that I was telling you about. It's called
00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:52.380
Blueberry Hill. You'll land there and you will
00:46:52.380 --> 00:46:54.480
stain your wings. There's so many blueberries
00:46:54.480 --> 00:46:59.780
on the landing. I love that. I'm jealous. Yeah.
00:46:59.840 --> 00:47:02.179
So, so anyways, you know, I got the, I got this
00:47:02.179 --> 00:47:04.400
awesome dog and realized that, you know, how
00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:07.539
special a Malinois is and how smart they are
00:47:07.539 --> 00:47:10.199
and how much you can train them. And the training
00:47:10.199 --> 00:47:12.920
just, we trained a lot to get him to fly. It
00:47:12.920 --> 00:47:15.639
was like 10 tricks put together. You know, they
00:47:15.639 --> 00:47:17.900
need to come into your legs on command. They
00:47:17.900 --> 00:47:21.159
need to stay very good on command. Be not afraid
00:47:21.159 --> 00:47:24.219
of the wing, all sorts of little things. And
00:47:24.219 --> 00:47:26.820
plus he's got to like it. If he didn't like it,
00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:30.320
I wouldn't do it. And if you see my videos, I
00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:32.639
think it's pretty obvious. He's stoked, man.
00:47:32.719 --> 00:47:35.719
He's stoked. He lives for that. I can tell. I'm
00:47:35.719 --> 00:47:38.380
like, this dog is the happiest boy in the world.
00:47:39.219 --> 00:47:42.199
He gets so mad when I take the magic backpack
00:47:42.199 --> 00:47:44.619
out and leave him at the house because he knows
00:47:44.619 --> 00:47:48.619
what backpack is what. Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. Man,
00:47:48.800 --> 00:47:51.639
what an awesome breed. Not to steal the spotlight
00:47:51.639 --> 00:47:55.280
for a second. I've been around some melon was
00:47:55.280 --> 00:47:58.539
that were trained to do certain things. And dude,
00:47:58.679 --> 00:48:01.219
I didn't even look those dogs in the eye. They
00:48:01.219 --> 00:48:03.920
were so freaking scary, but they are like also
00:48:03.920 --> 00:48:08.960
the most loyal, lovable, like they will, they
00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:12.880
will literally die for their owner. Like without
00:48:12.880 --> 00:48:15.320
a question, without hesitation, they are incredible.
00:48:15.619 --> 00:48:19.280
And to watch them work, dude, I was like, they
00:48:19.280 --> 00:48:20.539
were like, Oh, you want to, you want to get in
00:48:20.539 --> 00:48:23.369
a bite suit? You know? Cause I, I was a secondary
00:48:23.369 --> 00:48:26.530
handler for avalanche dogs and, and Utah for
00:48:26.530 --> 00:48:28.210
a while. And then I joined the Navy and then
00:48:28.210 --> 00:48:31.389
I ended up somewhere that had dogs. And I was
00:48:31.389 --> 00:48:33.650
like, yeah, you know, I think I'm good, man.
00:48:33.710 --> 00:48:35.730
Like, I think I'm all right. I kind of regret
00:48:35.730 --> 00:48:38.889
not going, like taking that option, like offer,
00:48:38.969 --> 00:48:41.710
but watching this meat missile run at somebody
00:48:41.710 --> 00:48:44.610
at 60 miles per hour and launch themselves five
00:48:44.610 --> 00:48:46.550
feet in the air and latch on. I'm like, yeah,
00:48:46.610 --> 00:48:49.820
you know. I think, I think I want to like stay
00:48:49.820 --> 00:48:53.579
healthy, but yeah, but, but they're not all,
00:48:53.599 --> 00:48:55.980
they're not all trained to, to do that kind of
00:48:55.980 --> 00:48:57.880
stuff. Of course, you know, I mean, they just
00:48:57.880 --> 00:49:02.480
need a job. Right. So, um, I was watching a couple
00:49:02.480 --> 00:49:04.059
of those videos the other day and I was like,
00:49:04.139 --> 00:49:07.639
man, so I, a few months ago, like, I don't know,
00:49:07.659 --> 00:49:09.880
I was still, uh, I was still on a cast, but I,
00:49:09.900 --> 00:49:13.260
I had gotten a wing, a new wing. And, uh, while
00:49:13.260 --> 00:49:16.429
I was hurt, which is questionable, um, And I
00:49:16.429 --> 00:49:18.469
laid it out in the backyard and I brought my
00:49:18.469 --> 00:49:20.389
border collie outside to see what she would do.
00:49:20.530 --> 00:49:23.409
And, and she immediately beelined it and stood
00:49:23.409 --> 00:49:26.090
on the wing, you know, cause she was like, what
00:49:26.090 --> 00:49:28.809
is this thing? And I'm like, I'm like, Oh, I'm
00:49:28.809 --> 00:49:31.130
like, okay, well, how do I get her to not do
00:49:31.130 --> 00:49:33.809
that? You know, it's like, it's hard. So I mean
00:49:33.809 --> 00:49:36.710
the, the training alone just to get your pup,
00:49:36.869 --> 00:49:40.349
which remind me his name. I'm sorry. Pickles.
00:49:40.570 --> 00:49:42.010
Pickles. That's right. Okay. I thought I was
00:49:42.010 --> 00:49:46.139
going to say pickles. Yep. Um, so. yeah the amount
00:49:46.139 --> 00:49:48.579
of training that it took probably to get pickles
00:49:48.579 --> 00:49:52.000
to where he's at now was a lot but like i said
00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:54.400
that breed is so smart and they're so eager so
00:49:54.400 --> 00:49:56.699
i'm sure it you know he was probably stoked to
00:49:56.699 --> 00:49:58.460
be learning something and obviously like the
00:49:58.460 --> 00:50:01.880
reward is he gets to fly which is crazy um but
00:50:01.880 --> 00:50:03.659
yeah what i mean what was that like you kind
00:50:03.659 --> 00:50:05.860
of already alluded to it it was like a lot but
00:50:05.860 --> 00:50:08.820
you know how long did it take point where you
00:50:08.820 --> 00:50:12.610
were leaving the ground with him Well, you know,
00:50:12.610 --> 00:50:15.550
it just starts out with being the kind of person
00:50:15.550 --> 00:50:16.829
that's going to have your dog with you every
00:50:16.829 --> 00:50:18.690
day, too. Like, that's the kind of level of training.
00:50:18.849 --> 00:50:21.030
Like, my dog comes to me to work. He's the shop
00:50:21.030 --> 00:50:24.949
dog. I trained, you know, work with a bunch of
00:50:24.949 --> 00:50:27.690
welders. I have him trained to, if I see a friend
00:50:27.690 --> 00:50:30.010
from a distance, I'll say, go bite him in the
00:50:30.010 --> 00:50:32.389
dick. And he'll go run up to him, really scary,
00:50:32.590 --> 00:50:35.030
and then, you know, love him and hop on him and
00:50:35.030 --> 00:50:38.389
be happy. But I just have to say that. That's
00:50:38.389 --> 00:50:45.809
awesome. But, yeah. But how do we get them to
00:50:45.809 --> 00:50:48.449
not be scared and everything? Well, it just it
00:50:48.449 --> 00:50:50.150
just takes a lot. I mean, you're going to be
00:50:50.150 --> 00:50:53.889
with them every day. The most important trick
00:50:53.889 --> 00:50:56.329
you're going to have to need them to know is
00:50:56.329 --> 00:50:59.070
to stay very, very well. You've got to tell them
00:50:59.070 --> 00:51:00.469
you stay right there and they're not going to
00:51:00.469 --> 00:51:02.110
move because you've got to get your wing ready.
00:51:02.389 --> 00:51:04.710
You've got to get everything going. And then
00:51:04.710 --> 00:51:06.969
for them to stay there and then for them to come.
00:51:07.550 --> 00:51:09.429
At least the way I do it. Come running between
00:51:09.429 --> 00:51:11.389
your legs so you can clip them in at the last
00:51:11.389 --> 00:51:13.869
second. Because if you get a gust of wind or
00:51:13.869 --> 00:51:15.690
something that happens that picks you up and
00:51:15.690 --> 00:51:17.510
plucks you, you want to leave your dog there.
00:51:17.809 --> 00:51:20.090
Right. You know, you don't want to have to be
00:51:20.090 --> 00:51:23.869
cheese grater connected to your dog or chase
00:51:23.869 --> 00:51:26.989
after your wing that's blowing away. But the
00:51:26.989 --> 00:51:29.210
biggest thing is don't go out in those conditions,
00:51:29.329 --> 00:51:33.800
first of all. Lots of kiting, lots of kiting
00:51:33.800 --> 00:51:36.500
with the dog. I didn't bring the wing out really
00:51:36.500 --> 00:51:38.760
around the dog until it was time to kite because
00:51:38.760 --> 00:51:41.380
yeah, it might be there on the ground and your
00:51:41.380 --> 00:51:42.920
dog might walk on it and ruin it. It's another
00:51:42.920 --> 00:51:45.840
thing you got to teach them, but you need to
00:51:45.840 --> 00:51:47.760
teach them that that thing could randomly just
00:51:47.760 --> 00:51:52.320
come up, you know, and it's a scary noise and
00:51:52.320 --> 00:51:56.039
it's a lot of action. And yeah, that was, that
00:51:56.039 --> 00:51:58.380
was difficult at first. Cause you know, he might
00:51:58.380 --> 00:52:00.199
be a melon law, but he is the biggest sissy.
00:52:00.599 --> 00:52:03.360
that ever happened as far as a dog he probably
00:52:03.360 --> 00:52:06.019
failed out of some academy somewhere that's why
00:52:06.019 --> 00:52:10.639
i even have him at all but there's a lot of that
00:52:10.639 --> 00:52:13.119
for sure yeah that well at least you know he's
00:52:13.119 --> 00:52:16.119
at the best home so he lucked out you know yeah
00:52:16.119 --> 00:52:18.920
he won the lottery in terms of uh rescue dogs
00:52:18.920 --> 00:52:25.039
for sure yeah uh but like Staying, coming in
00:52:25.039 --> 00:52:26.760
between your legs and being able to run in between
00:52:26.760 --> 00:52:29.000
your legs. If you got those down, you're getting
00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:30.639
off the ground with your dog for sure. And the
00:52:30.639 --> 00:52:32.559
way I trained him to run in between my legs,
00:52:32.619 --> 00:52:34.300
you know, got first walking between your legs
00:52:34.300 --> 00:52:35.960
and then we'd roller blade and he would have
00:52:35.960 --> 00:52:38.059
to sprint full speed in between my legs. And
00:52:38.059 --> 00:52:40.780
I would say, let's fly, fly, fly, fly, fly. So
00:52:40.780 --> 00:52:43.539
that he knows when I say let's fly, he's going
00:52:43.539 --> 00:52:46.139
to run forward. And if you see in my videos now,
00:52:46.260 --> 00:52:48.800
he's actually gotten like better. He checks the
00:52:48.800 --> 00:52:52.320
wing. I, I lay the wing out so good that, you
00:52:52.320 --> 00:52:54.960
know. i should be better at checking my wing
00:52:54.960 --> 00:52:57.840
that's what i'm trying to say he will lunge forward
00:52:57.840 --> 00:53:02.739
and like he is a perfect tandem student now that's
00:53:02.739 --> 00:53:05.880
cool it just takes a lot of time it takes a lot
00:53:05.880 --> 00:53:09.440
of little steps coming together and you just
00:53:09.440 --> 00:53:10.739
got to remember though if you're going to do
00:53:10.739 --> 00:53:13.820
this i i have probably 100 people day ask me
00:53:13.820 --> 00:53:16.159
how to fly with their dog and i'm sure some people
00:53:16.159 --> 00:53:18.369
are going to listen to this it's like Don't fly
00:53:18.369 --> 00:53:20.550
with your dog unless you know why you want to
00:53:20.550 --> 00:53:22.630
fly with your dog, because you want it to be
00:53:22.630 --> 00:53:25.250
a chill day. You know the conditions. You've
00:53:25.250 --> 00:53:27.969
trained your dog. You've had the gear. And you're
00:53:27.969 --> 00:53:30.409
an avid pilot that knows you're not going to
00:53:30.409 --> 00:53:33.150
get yourself in trouble because it's not normal
00:53:33.150 --> 00:53:35.210
to fly with a big weight in between your legs
00:53:35.210 --> 00:53:38.050
or land like that or take off like that. You
00:53:38.050 --> 00:53:40.590
have to think about all those other things. You
00:53:40.590 --> 00:53:43.010
need to have your own internal checklist dialed
00:53:43.010 --> 00:53:47.659
hard. Yeah. You're, you're adding a lot of factors,
00:53:47.739 --> 00:53:52.119
a lot of extra that are on top of already a laundry
00:53:52.119 --> 00:53:55.179
list of factors, you know? Um, yeah, I mean,
00:53:55.219 --> 00:53:57.980
I can imagine that would be definitely like picking
00:53:57.980 --> 00:54:01.880
the right day is critical for sure. Forget about
00:54:01.880 --> 00:54:04.000
all the, and the right launch, you know? Yeah.
00:54:04.139 --> 00:54:07.059
The right, right location, right, right day.
00:54:07.139 --> 00:54:12.139
I mean, I bet, um, I bet it's, you know, like
00:54:12.139 --> 00:54:14.679
you said, like one in 10 or a couple times a
00:54:14.679 --> 00:54:17.659
month you're doing that. Is that because of the
00:54:17.659 --> 00:54:21.159
weather? I mean, or just because you have your
00:54:21.159 --> 00:54:24.960
own goals and priorities, of course. Yeah, it's
00:54:24.960 --> 00:54:29.139
probably a little bit of both. I mean, one of
00:54:29.139 --> 00:54:30.699
your guests, you asked, what's it like having
00:54:30.699 --> 00:54:33.199
so many sites to fly at? Well, the weather's
00:54:33.199 --> 00:54:35.300
going to tell you where to go for that day. Sometimes
00:54:35.300 --> 00:54:39.030
your homies are all going out too. the paragliding
00:54:39.030 --> 00:54:41.670
site, not the speed flying site. And at this
00:54:41.670 --> 00:54:43.750
point in my life, I only fly a big wing with
00:54:43.750 --> 00:54:47.869
the dog. I just don't care too much about cross
00:54:47.869 --> 00:54:50.369
-country pursuits anymore. I used to be really
00:54:50.369 --> 00:54:54.869
into that. I used to fly a C -Wing. It was a
00:54:54.869 --> 00:54:58.769
Fi Allegro light, kind of on the snappier, more
00:54:58.769 --> 00:55:05.289
dynamic side, 2 .5 liner. I'm just not really
00:55:05.289 --> 00:55:08.130
about those pursuits anymore because, and, um,
00:55:08.130 --> 00:55:11.030
yeah, so the, the, the weather's going to dictate
00:55:11.030 --> 00:55:13.010
where you're going to go. And most of the times
00:55:13.010 --> 00:55:15.449
I know where I can speed fly and that's just
00:55:15.449 --> 00:55:17.389
my pursuit. That's my discipline. That's what
00:55:17.389 --> 00:55:19.789
I, that's what I want to do. That's why I got
00:55:19.789 --> 00:55:22.289
into paragliding to begin with was for speed
00:55:22.289 --> 00:55:25.690
flying. That's cool. Yeah. Something we skipped
00:55:25.690 --> 00:55:27.730
over. Actually, I'd love to, to hear about what,
00:55:27.769 --> 00:55:35.210
what was your path into flying? Uh, Let me check
00:55:35.210 --> 00:55:38.010
my list because I had a funny story. Oh, yeah.
00:55:39.190 --> 00:55:41.809
Being a welder, I worked at the small mom and
00:55:41.809 --> 00:55:44.409
pop machine shop where we did machining and welding.
00:55:44.590 --> 00:55:47.969
And we had this just insane list of characters
00:55:47.969 --> 00:55:49.630
that would come in there. You know, we would
00:55:49.630 --> 00:55:52.710
work on anything. So we had this one guy who
00:55:52.710 --> 00:55:55.170
was a pilot for Alaska Airlines and he was a
00:55:55.170 --> 00:55:58.309
paragliding pilot. And he'd kill me if I said
00:55:58.309 --> 00:55:59.829
this, but, you know, he was a little bit plumper,
00:55:59.909 --> 00:56:02.710
a little bit heavier weight. And I was heavier
00:56:02.710 --> 00:56:07.380
weight. back then too i was about 240 250 um
00:56:07.380 --> 00:56:12.360
and i had got i'd done a tandem skydive you know
00:56:12.360 --> 00:56:14.940
first of all you do a tandem skydive in alaska
00:56:14.940 --> 00:56:17.400
the site the place that we have here i hope you
00:56:17.400 --> 00:56:19.159
get to come to our drop zone one day because
00:56:19.159 --> 00:56:24.420
you fly up top over this you know matanuska glacier
00:56:24.420 --> 00:56:27.400
and you know on the ride up i forgot we were
00:56:27.400 --> 00:56:30.860
gonna jump but anyways i did a tandem jump and
00:56:30.860 --> 00:56:33.280
of course It was better than what everybody says
00:56:33.280 --> 00:56:35.559
it is. We don't need to tell people here on this
00:56:35.559 --> 00:56:40.360
community how good that is. So I have made up
00:56:40.360 --> 00:56:44.739
my mind. I am going to jump stuff. And people
00:56:44.739 --> 00:56:48.199
like us, too, it's almost like our fate is sealed.
00:56:48.360 --> 00:56:50.239
We knew we were going to get into air sports
00:56:50.239 --> 00:56:52.840
in one way or another. How could you see the
00:56:52.840 --> 00:56:55.940
things and not do them? How could you not have
00:56:55.940 --> 00:56:59.000
four paragliders in your car at all times? How
00:56:59.000 --> 00:57:02.980
could you not? I'm really spinning off topic.
00:57:03.099 --> 00:57:05.500
No, anyways, I was working at this machine shop
00:57:05.500 --> 00:57:08.920
and we had this buddy come in who was a little
00:57:08.920 --> 00:57:12.699
bit plumper and he's paragliding pilot and he
00:57:12.699 --> 00:57:15.920
wanted us to make rockets. So we were machining
00:57:15.920 --> 00:57:18.179
rockets for this guy that were like this big
00:57:18.179 --> 00:57:20.079
and like eight, 10 feet long and they'd go a
00:57:20.079 --> 00:57:22.460
hundred thousand feet, whatever, yada, yada,
00:57:22.460 --> 00:57:24.980
yada. And he would always be like, he would be
00:57:24.980 --> 00:57:28.079
like filming for his. a youtube channel in the
00:57:28.079 --> 00:57:29.980
in the shop so we got to be good friends with
00:57:29.980 --> 00:57:33.260
them you know rocket man rocket man's here and
00:57:33.260 --> 00:57:35.639
um he's telling me about how man i'm just obsessed
00:57:35.639 --> 00:57:37.719
with paragliding right now i'm just obsessed
00:57:37.719 --> 00:57:39.800
with it i can't get enough of it i'm like how
00:57:39.800 --> 00:57:44.440
are you getting off the ground and uh you know
00:57:44.440 --> 00:57:49.639
i was like man that's so sick so fast forward
00:57:49.639 --> 00:57:52.960
a little bit longer the 2020 i have just a horrible
00:57:52.960 --> 00:57:56.570
movie style divorce Like she takes the kids and
00:57:56.570 --> 00:58:01.150
runs away. Just a movie. That's a whole podcast
00:58:01.150 --> 00:58:05.670
with broken fathers, different podcast. So I
00:58:05.670 --> 00:58:08.289
was going to start skydiving, but it's COVID
00:58:08.289 --> 00:58:13.409
and none of the centers are open. But my buddy,
00:58:13.510 --> 00:58:15.050
he was, I was telling him about that. I was like,
00:58:15.050 --> 00:58:17.909
he's like, man, my wife ran off. I want to start
00:58:17.909 --> 00:58:19.690
skydiving, but the place isn't open. He's like,
00:58:19.769 --> 00:58:23.429
come paraglide. I was like, that is a wonderful
00:58:23.429 --> 00:58:28.519
idea. Called the school, went out kiting for
00:58:28.519 --> 00:58:31.519
eight hours like the next day at this little
00:58:31.519 --> 00:58:36.039
coastal site. The instructor that I had had also
00:58:36.039 --> 00:58:37.900
been through a movie -style divorce, so we were
00:58:37.900 --> 00:58:41.500
like sensei of the sad boys, learning how to
00:58:41.500 --> 00:58:43.320
fly together, hanging out every day in the mountains.
00:58:43.960 --> 00:58:46.760
But my first day kiting was like eight hours
00:58:46.760 --> 00:58:49.619
of kiting, and there was like this 60 -foot little
00:58:49.619 --> 00:58:53.179
hill where it was like a plateau, hill, mudflats.
00:58:53.659 --> 00:58:57.579
And, um, I made it off one time and instructors
00:58:57.579 --> 00:59:01.460
let me, and I had the most pilot induced oscillations.
00:59:01.460 --> 00:59:04.000
Like I almost crashed into the ground like four
00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:07.739
times. And, uh, and he was like, you do that
00:59:07.739 --> 00:59:11.199
again. We're not going to do this. So I, he let
00:59:11.199 --> 00:59:14.219
me go off one more time and it was sunset. And
00:59:14.219 --> 00:59:16.920
you talk about the magic moment, you know, like
00:59:16.920 --> 00:59:19.199
you leave the ground, it flew straight, easy
00:59:19.199 --> 00:59:21.710
and chill. The sun sets there, you're in the
00:59:21.710 --> 00:59:24.050
ocean, you're in Alaska. I mean, just all the
00:59:24.050 --> 00:59:30.190
magic. The angels are singing. So I'm just head
00:59:30.190 --> 00:59:33.610
over heels for it, you know, and I'm just obsessed
00:59:33.610 --> 00:59:36.650
with learning. And this ADD obsession is just
00:59:36.650 --> 00:59:39.449
through the max. I'm going out every day after
00:59:39.449 --> 00:59:41.969
work and it just became my life immediately.
00:59:42.989 --> 00:59:48.119
And then, you know, you start. You're such a
00:59:48.119 --> 00:59:49.920
new person in the sport. You don't even know
00:59:49.920 --> 00:59:51.880
the full scope of the sport. Like the first time
00:59:51.880 --> 00:59:53.559
you went skydiving, you didn't know about swooping.
00:59:54.239 --> 00:59:56.699
You didn't know about how rad everything could
00:59:56.699 --> 00:59:59.599
be and all the different facets and stuff. And
00:59:59.599 --> 01:00:03.780
I was just mind blown at the fact that, uh, you
01:00:03.780 --> 01:00:05.619
know, my instructor like wanted to wrap things
01:00:05.619 --> 01:00:09.039
up so he could go fly a hundred miles. Wow. No,
01:00:09.159 --> 01:00:11.260
like I didn't know that was a possibility. He's
01:00:11.260 --> 01:00:12.860
like, yeah, you're like four o 'clock. We need
01:00:12.860 --> 01:00:14.679
to go so I can get to the launch and we can.
01:00:15.260 --> 01:00:17.139
hit the end of the day thermals. And I'm like,
01:00:17.199 --> 01:00:18.780
what are you? I didn't even know you could go
01:00:18.780 --> 01:00:23.900
up. I just saw the crack in Jamie Lee. And I
01:00:23.900 --> 01:00:27.360
was like, you know, sick. I want to speed fly.
01:00:27.480 --> 01:00:29.320
I want to do barrel rolls. I want to do, I want
01:00:29.320 --> 01:00:33.539
to do this and that. And also just living in
01:00:33.539 --> 01:00:35.619
Alaska, you're going to see people paragliding.
01:00:35.659 --> 01:00:38.780
Like I was on a hike and like 15 years ago and
01:00:38.780 --> 01:00:40.780
just saw people flying over my head. And I was
01:00:40.780 --> 01:00:43.960
like, I'm going to do that one day. And my ex
01:00:43.960 --> 01:00:47.980
-wife at the time was like, but, um, but yeah,
01:00:48.000 --> 01:00:49.820
that was, that was the start of my paragliding
01:00:49.820 --> 01:00:53.579
career was, you know, horrible divorce. Skydive
01:00:53.579 --> 01:00:56.719
centers are closed. I'm glad they're closed because
01:00:56.719 --> 01:01:00.699
now my whole life has been altered and, um, I
01:01:00.699 --> 01:01:04.119
would be bankrupt if I was a skydiver. I know
01:01:04.119 --> 01:01:07.199
for a fact. Oh, dude, it's atrocious, man. I
01:01:07.199 --> 01:01:09.639
love it. Right. I miss it. Right. I haven't jumped
01:01:09.639 --> 01:01:13.309
in a while now. Um, it is. Like leaving the plane
01:01:13.309 --> 01:01:15.869
is my favorite moment in time ever. Like it doesn't
01:01:15.869 --> 01:01:18.369
matter what number jump it is. It's like that.
01:01:18.489 --> 01:01:21.730
No, it's, it's this moment of being kind of concerned
01:01:21.730 --> 01:01:25.449
and then just like complete, you know, acceptance
01:01:25.449 --> 01:01:28.309
of your fate. And it's just so cool. Right. To
01:01:28.309 --> 01:01:30.570
detach from something like that high. But, um,
01:01:30.769 --> 01:01:33.389
I have a, I have a question for you. So because
01:01:33.389 --> 01:01:36.070
I came from skydiving to speed flying, I don't
01:01:36.070 --> 01:01:39.429
actually know what this is like, but I know in
01:01:39.429 --> 01:01:42.619
the skydiving world, um, some. some guys that
01:01:42.619 --> 01:01:45.679
i was going through like my a license training
01:01:45.679 --> 01:01:50.380
with back in the day were like very um vocal
01:01:50.380 --> 01:01:53.360
about they were only skydiving so they could
01:01:53.360 --> 01:01:55.820
base jump and like the instructors hated them
01:01:55.820 --> 01:01:58.900
for that and that was actually my intention at
01:01:58.900 --> 01:02:01.119
the time too so but i just didn't verbalize it
01:02:01.119 --> 01:02:03.320
because i'm like i want to learn to skydive you
01:02:03.320 --> 01:02:04.559
know i don't really care about base right now
01:02:04.559 --> 01:02:08.269
because it's in the future um was it did you
01:02:08.269 --> 01:02:10.989
a did you verbalize that your intention was to
01:02:10.989 --> 01:02:13.409
move to speed flying to your instructor and if
01:02:13.409 --> 01:02:16.949
it was is it as taboo in the paragliding world
01:02:16.949 --> 01:02:19.690
as it is in the skydiving to base world does
01:02:19.690 --> 01:02:25.010
that make sense uh totally uh i have in my notes
01:02:25.010 --> 01:02:27.809
i have a bunch of uh stuff about clashing between
01:02:27.809 --> 01:02:31.949
the paragliding world and the speed flying world
01:02:31.949 --> 01:02:34.829
i mean I vocalized that I wanted to get into
01:02:34.829 --> 01:02:37.289
speed flying and there was a couple other guys
01:02:37.289 --> 01:02:41.030
in like my group that it was like five of us
01:02:41.030 --> 01:02:43.789
or four of us that were getting trained at the
01:02:43.789 --> 01:02:48.829
same time to get our P2. And they did not really
01:02:48.829 --> 01:02:52.610
like that because, you know, back in 2020, I
01:02:52.610 --> 01:02:58.050
mean, I think the Rapido was out, not the Rapidos.
01:02:58.699 --> 01:03:00.960
Maybe the rapid dose was about to come out back
01:03:00.960 --> 01:03:05.820
then. I don't know my time. So think about the
01:03:05.820 --> 01:03:09.500
bad ideals that we have now around us. It was
01:03:09.500 --> 01:03:12.000
kind of even worse back then because the technology
01:03:12.000 --> 01:03:14.500
was worse. People were getting hurt worse. I've
01:03:14.500 --> 01:03:17.280
heard people say things like speed flying, that's
01:03:17.280 --> 01:03:20.900
not a sport. That's like base jumping. That's
01:03:20.900 --> 01:03:22.719
just an activity you do and get lucky until you
01:03:22.719 --> 01:03:25.619
die. I've had paragliding pilots tell me that.
01:03:27.280 --> 01:03:29.480
yeah they were very cautious they didn't want
01:03:29.480 --> 01:03:33.380
me to get into it too quick because first of
01:03:33.380 --> 01:03:34.980
all i was a bulldog is what they called me i
01:03:34.980 --> 01:03:37.059
was always hammering off the launch trying really
01:03:37.059 --> 01:03:41.460
hard over committed you know um which is probably
01:03:41.460 --> 01:03:44.739
came from like my skating and snow sports background
01:03:44.739 --> 01:03:47.360
where you just go and you go and you try it's
01:03:47.360 --> 01:03:49.760
not that kind of sport you know yeah full scent
01:03:49.760 --> 01:03:56.269
yeah um but yeah uh Me and another guy in the
01:03:56.269 --> 01:03:58.750
group, we were trying to become speed pilots.
01:03:59.590 --> 01:04:02.550
And it didn't help that the other kid in the
01:04:02.550 --> 01:04:04.670
group, the first thing he buys is like an 11
01:04:04.670 --> 01:04:08.809
meter Mirage and goes to a site that he was told
01:04:08.809 --> 01:04:13.530
not to go to, to go speed riding because it was
01:04:13.530 --> 01:04:15.230
a mandatory takeoff. You don't want to do your
01:04:15.230 --> 01:04:18.289
first speed riding site where it ends in trees.
01:04:18.590 --> 01:04:24.099
No. You know, where you have to take off. Another
01:04:24.099 --> 01:04:27.159
problem with this site and in Alaska in general
01:04:27.159 --> 01:04:29.300
is the wind could be dead on top and cooking
01:04:29.300 --> 01:04:32.179
30 miles an hour on the ground. It's not usually
01:04:32.179 --> 01:04:35.800
the case most places. But so that happened to
01:04:35.800 --> 01:04:38.920
him where he took off and he had his trimmers
01:04:38.920 --> 01:04:41.079
fully open going backwards and went through the
01:04:41.079 --> 01:04:43.199
trees down through the canopy, ripped his wing
01:04:43.199 --> 01:04:47.960
and was very lucky to be okay. Wow. And that
01:04:47.960 --> 01:04:50.820
was like, that was like right. We had graduated
01:04:50.820 --> 01:04:53.750
our P2. We only got like 30 paraglider flights.
01:04:54.389 --> 01:04:57.789
We had no business doing stuff like that. You
01:04:57.789 --> 01:05:00.869
know, it's so interesting to me because the more
01:05:00.869 --> 01:05:06.329
that you learn in these sports, the less that
01:05:06.329 --> 01:05:09.030
you are willing to risk. Like I look back at
01:05:09.030 --> 01:05:12.050
like my, you know, my first, I don't know, couple,
01:05:12.230 --> 01:05:16.429
and all I did was speed fly. When I first started
01:05:16.429 --> 01:05:19.349
doing it, like we had left Hawaii, we moved to
01:05:19.349 --> 01:05:22.719
Washington. Um, I was able to find places to
01:05:22.719 --> 01:05:25.679
fly and I look back at my log book and I look
01:05:25.679 --> 01:05:27.579
at the spots that I was flying and I was like,
01:05:27.699 --> 01:05:33.280
dude, I did not know how insane that was. Like,
01:05:33.320 --> 01:05:35.500
and I'm not talking big mountains. I'm talking
01:05:35.500 --> 01:05:38.300
like there's this park that's like down the road
01:05:38.300 --> 01:05:41.500
from us that would legitimately be the most fun
01:05:41.500 --> 01:05:45.519
place to fly with the caveat of it has multiple
01:05:45.519 --> 01:05:48.519
sets of power lines, a barbed wire fence just
01:05:48.519 --> 01:05:54.000
below the launch. And a, like a Creek with like
01:05:54.000 --> 01:05:56.920
mode grass that backs up. So like picture this.
01:05:56.960 --> 01:06:00.380
So like the, the mountain ends, there's grass
01:06:00.380 --> 01:06:03.619
there. And we're talking like a 50 foot wide
01:06:03.619 --> 01:06:07.559
section. It's like a hundred yards long. So it's
01:06:07.559 --> 01:06:08.960
just like, like a ribbon, you know, it's like
01:06:08.960 --> 01:06:12.380
an airstrip, basically huge trees, a river thing.
01:06:12.500 --> 01:06:14.219
That's, you know, Creek river, whatever, more
01:06:14.219 --> 01:06:17.239
trees, and then a massive field. Right. But you,
01:06:17.300 --> 01:06:20.090
you couldn't launch there. at least where I did
01:06:20.090 --> 01:06:22.489
and make it over the tree. So I had to just like
01:06:22.489 --> 01:06:25.610
huck a right turn pretty soon after launching
01:06:25.610 --> 01:06:28.690
and land in this field. And I'm like, I probably
01:06:28.690 --> 01:06:31.210
did like 20 laps there. Right. And it's like
01:06:31.210 --> 01:06:34.170
300 vert. It's nothing crazy, but it was like,
01:06:34.170 --> 01:06:36.809
it's super steep. It's like nice. It's like,
01:06:36.829 --> 01:06:39.809
you know, it, it's a, it would be a great place
01:06:39.809 --> 01:06:41.550
to get some laps. And if it wasn't for all the
01:06:41.550 --> 01:06:44.110
obstacles, right. I wouldn't touch that with
01:06:44.110 --> 01:06:46.269
a 10 foot long pole now. Like there's just no
01:06:46.269 --> 01:06:48.809
way. I mean, because it's dumb, right? It's like,
01:06:48.869 --> 01:06:51.289
shoot, man. And I launched there in a tail. I
01:06:51.289 --> 01:06:53.090
tried to launch there in a tailwind once and
01:06:53.090 --> 01:06:55.909
I was flying like a 15 meter Spitfire two plus.
01:06:55.949 --> 01:06:58.710
So like, you know, docile enough, but, but still
01:06:58.710 --> 01:07:01.030
a speed riding wing. So pretty, it's pretty aggressive
01:07:01.030 --> 01:07:03.610
for what it is in that size. I'm sure smaller
01:07:03.610 --> 01:07:06.449
sizes probably rips, but I got off the ground.
01:07:06.510 --> 01:07:08.210
I got in my harness too quick. Cause I didn't
01:07:08.210 --> 01:07:09.789
know what I was doing yet. This is like my fifth
01:07:09.789 --> 01:07:13.010
flight, you know, and a fifth attempt. And I
01:07:13.010 --> 01:07:17.159
just like slid on my butt. down the slope and
01:07:17.159 --> 01:07:19.659
stopped like within five feet of his barbed wire
01:07:19.659 --> 01:07:23.159
fence, which is like mid, mid 300 vert, you know,
01:07:23.159 --> 01:07:25.780
it's like not that far away. Right. And I was
01:07:25.780 --> 01:07:27.579
just like, wow, that was cool. And then I went
01:07:27.579 --> 01:07:29.139
back up there and I launched within the same
01:07:29.139 --> 01:07:30.880
wind and I got off the ground and I like did
01:07:30.880 --> 01:07:34.059
my little right turn and, you know, slid on my
01:07:34.059 --> 01:07:35.900
ass and the, you know, with the sprinklers on
01:07:35.900 --> 01:07:37.840
too, dude, they were like, they were like watering
01:07:37.840 --> 01:07:40.179
the grass, you know, it's, it's like a disc golf
01:07:40.179 --> 01:07:42.019
course or something. It's a beautiful park, right?
01:07:42.559 --> 01:07:44.519
We can just get rid of the damn tree, the bar,
01:07:44.599 --> 01:07:46.900
bar fence. But anyway, my whole point in saying
01:07:46.900 --> 01:07:50.280
this is knowing what I know now, you know, 500
01:07:50.280 --> 01:07:53.599
flights later, whatever it is like, I wouldn't
01:07:53.599 --> 01:07:55.739
do that. A cause it's, it's not where it's not
01:07:55.739 --> 01:07:57.639
that exciting, you know, but B it's like the,
01:07:57.739 --> 01:08:00.639
the risk is too great and the reward is too little,
01:08:00.699 --> 01:08:03.639
you know? So like you're like the guy you were
01:08:03.639 --> 01:08:05.739
learning, you got your P2 with, it's like, he
01:08:05.739 --> 01:08:07.579
didn't know what he didn't know. He's like, Oh,
01:08:07.579 --> 01:08:09.449
it's a. It's a speed wing. It's Steve. I got
01:08:09.449 --> 01:08:11.349
my skis on. I'm going to go fast and I'll get,
01:08:11.349 --> 01:08:13.130
I'll get over those trees. It's like, well, do
01:08:13.130 --> 01:08:16.189
you, are you sure? Like, how do you know, you
01:08:16.189 --> 01:08:18.369
know, it's like ignorance is bliss until it slaps
01:08:18.369 --> 01:08:20.630
you in the face and then it sucks, you know?
01:08:21.689 --> 01:08:25.109
But yeah, it's a, it's a miracle that any of
01:08:25.109 --> 01:08:27.729
us make it past the intermediate stage. Yeah.
01:08:28.010 --> 01:08:30.590
Especially people that don't have like, that
01:08:30.590 --> 01:08:33.689
aren't flying with mentors or with an instructor
01:08:33.689 --> 01:08:37.010
all the time until you get to a certain proficiency,
01:08:37.010 --> 01:08:39.409
you know? Something that I think is changing
01:08:39.409 --> 01:08:42.529
for the better is Ushpa's, and I know they did
01:08:42.529 --> 01:08:44.210
this a while ago, like I get it, but like it
01:08:44.210 --> 01:08:46.810
is becoming more of a thing now, like the S system,
01:08:46.930 --> 01:08:50.149
the speed riding rating system, you know, there
01:08:50.149 --> 01:08:52.170
are inherent issues with that. We need more instructors,
01:08:52.310 --> 01:08:54.470
right? We need more people that can allow people
01:08:54.470 --> 01:08:57.029
to be instructors. There's like four in the US
01:08:57.029 --> 01:08:59.609
right now. And it's like, not impossible, but
01:08:59.609 --> 01:09:02.149
you got to go, you know, it's just, if it was
01:09:02.149 --> 01:09:06.289
easier to access, there would probably be more
01:09:06.289 --> 01:09:08.720
people. that are because there's definitely people
01:09:08.720 --> 01:09:10.939
that are qualified to instruct you you are qualified
01:09:10.939 --> 01:09:13.739
to instruct you know you need like it's some
01:09:13.739 --> 01:09:17.439
ridiculous number it's like 750 speed flights
01:09:17.439 --> 01:09:20.539
all greater than a mile apart so you can't do
01:09:20.539 --> 01:09:24.560
it on the same launch and you need like 400 those
01:09:24.560 --> 01:09:26.460
rules are interesting they're they're really
01:09:26.460 --> 01:09:29.699
oddly specific and i think it's tailored to like
01:09:29.699 --> 01:09:32.840
point of the mountain in utah because i'm i guarantee
01:09:32.840 --> 01:09:35.699
you well and and carl's super cool i'm not i'm
01:09:35.699 --> 01:09:38.119
not blown like talking crap or anything. I actually
01:09:38.119 --> 01:09:42.420
like him, but, um, he wrote, he wrote it. He
01:09:42.420 --> 01:09:44.779
was the guy that, that wrote the, he might've
01:09:44.779 --> 01:09:47.000
had some help. I don't know, but, but my understanding
01:09:47.000 --> 01:09:51.279
is he wrote it. Obviously Utah's is that's where
01:09:51.279 --> 01:09:53.359
he lives. He lives in salt Lake, um, or around
01:09:53.359 --> 01:09:56.319
there. So I, I could see someone being like,
01:09:56.420 --> 01:09:59.760
Oh, I have a 2000 speed flights off South side.
01:09:59.840 --> 01:10:02.420
Well, it's like, okay. I mean, that's a lot of
01:10:02.420 --> 01:10:04.140
South side time. That's super cool. I'm jealous.
01:10:04.850 --> 01:10:07.350
but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're,
01:10:07.350 --> 01:10:09.829
I mean, maybe they would be ready to be in structure.
01:10:09.949 --> 01:10:11.750
I don't know. But I, but I think it was written
01:10:11.750 --> 01:10:13.949
for that reason. It's like, it's gotta be more
01:10:13.949 --> 01:10:16.270
than a thousand feet for 300 or 400, whatever
01:10:16.270 --> 01:10:19.189
it is more than a mile apart. So you can't go
01:10:19.189 --> 01:10:20.789
like North side, South side. Cause they're like,
01:10:20.909 --> 01:10:23.729
you know, a hundred yards apart or whatever quarter
01:10:23.729 --> 01:10:27.750
mile apart. Maybe it it's interesting. Right.
01:10:27.829 --> 01:10:31.210
But, but yeah, the fact that like, i mean dude
01:10:31.210 --> 01:10:33.369
like the barrier to entry is nothing you go on
01:10:33.369 --> 01:10:36.510
marketplace bro you can find anything you want
01:10:36.510 --> 01:10:40.149
for the most part on there and most of the time
01:10:40.149 --> 01:10:42.310
most of the time people will sell you stuff like
01:10:42.310 --> 01:10:45.630
i bought it i have a six meter r3 not flying
01:10:45.630 --> 01:10:48.630
that thing dude like not flying it i got it because
01:10:48.630 --> 01:10:52.689
in my head i'm like well okay i broke my leg
01:10:52.689 --> 01:10:55.029
i blew out all the ligaments my ankle i'm gonna
01:10:55.029 --> 01:10:57.909
want to be kiting before i'm ready to fly And
01:10:57.909 --> 01:11:00.109
I don't want to get plucked or drug around with
01:11:00.109 --> 01:11:03.430
a bigger wing. So if I get a six meter, I can
01:11:03.430 --> 01:11:04.909
go out on a stronger day because that's what
01:11:04.909 --> 01:11:08.010
it takes to kite a six meter. It's got to be
01:11:08.010 --> 01:11:10.229
like nuketown, you know, because it's literally,
01:11:10.489 --> 01:11:12.569
dude, is the smallest thing I've ever seen in
01:11:12.569 --> 01:11:14.430
my life in terms of like a parachute. Like it
01:11:14.430 --> 01:11:17.250
looks ridiculous. I mean, because it's still
01:11:17.250 --> 01:11:19.890
like the aspect ratio is still pretty big. It's
01:11:19.890 --> 01:11:22.789
an R3. It's just smaller, you know, so it looks
01:11:22.789 --> 01:11:27.140
like. like a trick kite if you've seen those
01:11:27.140 --> 01:11:32.140
like kind of but like more aspect ratio um super
01:11:32.140 --> 01:11:34.340
cool it's hilarious dude it's so easy to handle
01:11:34.340 --> 01:11:36.579
it's like i took it out when i was barely walking
01:11:36.579 --> 01:11:41.840
and uh i like pulled it up and it was at this
01:11:41.840 --> 01:11:44.020
like paragliding play site like kind of on the
01:11:44.020 --> 01:11:46.699
columbia like towards towards hood river and
01:11:46.699 --> 01:11:48.380
there's a bunch of paraglide dudes there's a
01:11:48.380 --> 01:11:50.960
bunch of old time you know hang glide folks and
01:11:50.960 --> 01:11:53.979
they're looking at me and they don't know you
01:11:53.979 --> 01:11:56.270
know that i'm Like I'm sure they can see me limping.
01:11:56.310 --> 01:11:58.210
Right. But they're not like paying that close
01:11:58.210 --> 01:12:00.869
of attention, I guess. And like I did for like
01:12:00.869 --> 01:12:02.550
20 minutes or whatever. I'm just like playing
01:12:02.550 --> 01:12:05.789
around with this like bed sheet and I like ball
01:12:05.789 --> 01:12:07.729
it up. And it's like, it's like the size of a
01:12:07.729 --> 01:12:09.569
bowling ball, you know, when you like run your
01:12:09.569 --> 01:12:11.789
hands down the line. Yeah. It's like so small.
01:12:11.869 --> 01:12:13.270
I'm like, man, this is great. Like, it's just
01:12:13.270 --> 01:12:16.069
easy to handle. And I like walk past these dudes,
01:12:16.109 --> 01:12:17.710
hobble past these dudes literally. And they're
01:12:17.710 --> 01:12:19.050
like, oh, you're not, you're not going to fly.
01:12:19.270 --> 01:12:22.779
And I'm like, okay. Like this is a, did you not
01:12:22.779 --> 01:12:25.079
see how small that thing was? And I'm like, do
01:12:25.079 --> 01:12:26.479
you not know where we are? Right. Cause it's
01:12:26.479 --> 01:12:28.939
like, it's like a turf. It's like a triple wide
01:12:28.939 --> 01:12:31.539
turf tee launch. So it's huge. Like it looks
01:12:31.539 --> 01:12:33.840
like half a soccer field, but it's like flat.
01:12:33.979 --> 01:12:37.359
And then it just drops off to like, it kind of
01:12:37.359 --> 01:12:39.819
rolls and then it drops a cliff. It's like 20
01:12:39.819 --> 01:12:41.939
feet to a road. And then, you know, it's just,
01:12:41.979 --> 01:12:44.479
it's not like a, it's basically like a touring
01:12:44.479 --> 01:12:46.619
site for hang gliders. You know, that's, that's,
01:12:46.619 --> 01:12:49.199
I guess the original purpose of that being built.
01:12:49.770 --> 01:12:51.489
So I'm like, they're either messing with me or
01:12:51.489 --> 01:12:54.050
they just have no concept of what speed flying
01:12:54.050 --> 01:12:57.130
actually is. Um, and the fact that like, I'm
01:12:57.130 --> 01:12:59.989
not flying a six meter off of this or anything
01:12:59.989 --> 01:13:03.550
else. I might speed ride with it, uh, in the
01:13:03.550 --> 01:13:06.130
spring, but with the intention of not leaving
01:13:06.130 --> 01:13:08.550
the ground. Cause I mean, you have to be really
01:13:08.550 --> 01:13:11.890
hard to honestly, I mean, I'm maybe not as hard
01:13:11.890 --> 01:13:14.989
on skis, but it's, yeah, it's a spicy little
01:13:14.989 --> 01:13:17.609
thing. It's cool. But it, it almost looks like
01:13:17.609 --> 01:13:23.439
a replica. of an artery. One thing, uh, I wanted
01:13:23.439 --> 01:13:26.220
to talk about this kind of brings it up is why
01:13:26.220 --> 01:13:27.819
didn't you get a single surface wing to kite?
01:13:29.119 --> 01:13:31.180
So you should have got, it'd been really easy,
01:13:31.239 --> 01:13:35.920
really fun. It should have, um, you know, good
01:13:35.920 --> 01:13:37.720
deal. I mean, I bought it on marketplace from
01:13:37.720 --> 01:13:40.800
a dude in Oz that is, it was really cool, you
01:13:40.800 --> 01:13:42.600
know, but it was like super cheap. I mean, it
01:13:42.600 --> 01:13:45.119
had like 30, maybe 30 flights on it. It was like
01:13:45.119 --> 01:13:48.680
brand new, you know? Um, but then, of course
01:13:48.680 --> 01:13:53.060
customs inspected it in LA and, um, punched a
01:13:53.060 --> 01:13:54.680
hole. Like I'm assuming they opened it with a
01:13:54.680 --> 01:13:58.539
knife and they put like a three inch like slash
01:13:58.539 --> 01:14:01.300
in like the center cell right off the leading
01:14:01.300 --> 01:14:03.220
edge. So thankfully didn't get into like the
01:14:03.220 --> 01:14:07.520
critical, uh, material, but yeah, come a couple
01:14:07.520 --> 01:14:09.420
of patches. It was fine, but it was like such
01:14:09.420 --> 01:14:11.619
a bummer. I'm like, dude, but it was like, he
01:14:11.619 --> 01:14:13.420
basically gave it to me. I mean, it was like
01:14:13.420 --> 01:14:16.579
dirt cheap, you know? So that's why I, you know,
01:14:16.600 --> 01:14:19.140
I had a 13 meter line. That's super easy to kite.
01:14:19.220 --> 01:14:21.279
But even with that, I was like, I don't want
01:14:21.279 --> 01:14:23.439
to, I don't want to get drug around, you know,
01:14:23.439 --> 01:14:27.760
cause I was like barely walking. Um, it was before.
01:14:27.840 --> 01:14:30.979
So I put a, I put a little like reel up of me
01:14:30.979 --> 01:14:34.039
kiting the line at that same spot. And I was
01:14:34.039 --> 01:14:35.979
like hobbling when I was doing it. It's like
01:14:35.979 --> 01:14:37.840
pretty short. So unless you're really paying
01:14:37.840 --> 01:14:40.340
attention, it's hard to tell that was like two
01:14:40.340 --> 01:14:43.960
weeks after I was cutting the six meter. So I
01:14:43.960 --> 01:14:46.279
was like legit had no business doing it. I mean,
01:14:46.300 --> 01:14:49.760
it was, it was questionable, but I was hungry
01:14:49.760 --> 01:14:51.239
for it. You know, and it had already been like
01:14:51.239 --> 01:14:53.960
freaking three or four months. So I was, you
01:14:53.960 --> 01:14:56.340
know, I was pretty ready. Just my leg wasn't,
01:14:56.340 --> 01:14:59.260
um, it's actually been five months today since
01:14:59.260 --> 01:15:01.720
my surgery. And I ran, I ran six miles the other
01:15:01.720 --> 01:15:03.619
day straight, which was cool. I was pretty. Oh,
01:15:03.619 --> 01:15:05.619
wow. Congrats. Thanks. Yeah. It was a big, kind
01:15:05.619 --> 01:15:07.760
of a big moment. Um, and it didn't totally suck,
01:15:07.899 --> 01:15:09.720
which was nice. I mean, my lungs weren't stoked,
01:15:09.800 --> 01:15:13.010
but my leg was good. Um, or my ankle, my leg's
01:15:13.010 --> 01:15:15.630
been fine for months. It's my, my ankle was the
01:15:15.630 --> 01:15:20.130
problem. That was the culprit. Um, I'm sorry.
01:15:20.149 --> 01:15:21.789
I just went down like a huge rabbit hole. It,
01:15:21.829 --> 01:15:24.609
my whole point in saying that BS about the six
01:15:24.609 --> 01:15:27.729
meter is that the barrier to entry into speed
01:15:27.729 --> 01:15:30.489
flying is so minimal. Like you can just go buy
01:15:30.489 --> 01:15:32.369
the stuff and throw yourself off of a mountain.
01:15:32.829 --> 01:15:35.770
And the problem is, is that the people that do
01:15:35.770 --> 01:15:39.619
that are us, you know, like I did that. like
01:15:39.619 --> 01:15:42.600
i i'm always like oh get proper instruction and
01:15:42.600 --> 01:15:45.220
stuff and i did eventually but at first like
01:15:45.220 --> 01:15:47.659
no dude like i was on the beach kiting so i have
01:15:47.659 --> 01:15:50.479
you know whatever i had like a bunch of time
01:15:50.479 --> 01:15:53.319
kiting on the beach in hawaii but then i went
01:15:53.319 --> 01:15:56.380
i went to south side point of the mountain on
01:15:56.380 --> 01:15:58.500
my way to washington from arizona picking up
01:15:58.500 --> 01:16:02.739
my truck from my mom's house and um i just threw
01:16:02.739 --> 01:16:05.250
myself off south side And it was fine. You know,
01:16:05.270 --> 01:16:06.970
I mean, I had canopy experience. I'd been skydiving
01:16:06.970 --> 01:16:08.609
for a while. I was flying smaller canopies. You
01:16:08.609 --> 01:16:11.050
know, it felt like a boat to me, you know, because
01:16:11.050 --> 01:16:14.130
it was a 15 meter Spitfire. It's kind of a boat.
01:16:14.270 --> 01:16:16.250
It looks like a base canopy, actually, when it's
01:16:16.250 --> 01:16:20.250
flying, which is kind of funny. But but yeah,
01:16:20.350 --> 01:16:22.689
so I can say all that stuff like, yeah, definitely
01:16:22.689 --> 01:16:24.569
get the right, you know, don't be the guy that
01:16:24.569 --> 01:16:25.970
does that. But then I'm like, wait a second.
01:16:26.010 --> 01:16:31.409
I I did that, you know, so. Yeah, I mean, there's
01:16:31.409 --> 01:16:33.880
a kid up here that I know that. Somebody sold
01:16:33.880 --> 01:16:40.319
him a 12 meter phaser. He was 16 years old, 17
01:16:40.319 --> 01:16:43.399
years old. And he had never flown anything before.
01:16:43.979 --> 01:16:46.560
First thing he does is goes up to Flat Top, which
01:16:46.560 --> 01:16:51.180
Flat Top is, you know, it's just like the most
01:16:51.180 --> 01:16:54.060
popular hiking spot in Anchorage. So it's like
01:16:54.060 --> 01:16:55.840
your easiest access to mountains. So he just
01:16:55.840 --> 01:16:57.319
goes, oh, well, let's just go up to the hills.
01:16:58.060 --> 01:17:00.520
Somehow, he shows me the video, somehow gets
01:17:00.520 --> 01:17:03.819
it off the hill. says oh my god i'm flying yeah
01:17:03.819 --> 01:17:06.180
because he's flying for the first time buries
01:17:06.180 --> 01:17:09.100
a break dives it into the ground gets stuck oh
01:17:09.100 --> 01:17:14.199
no blows it up oh and um he survived that he
01:17:14.199 --> 01:17:16.880
survived and went and got his p2 and now he's
01:17:16.880 --> 01:17:20.619
out there with us and nice but yeah people like
01:17:20.619 --> 01:17:24.039
that are nuts but i was that guy too i mean i
01:17:24.039 --> 01:17:26.779
bought my first speed wing was a 15 meter mirage
01:17:26.779 --> 01:17:31.590
uh mirage 2 And I had already had my P2 and everything.
01:17:31.689 --> 01:17:37.050
I bought it from my instructor. But I just kind
01:17:37.050 --> 01:17:39.109
of went out on my own, though, because he didn't
01:17:39.109 --> 01:17:40.810
really have the time to hang out with me. And
01:17:40.810 --> 01:17:44.649
plus, I was trying to get at it every day. You
01:17:44.649 --> 01:17:48.930
know, it's not uncommon to fly five days a week
01:17:48.930 --> 01:17:51.689
here. It's Alaska. We get some Alaska weather,
01:17:51.770 --> 01:17:55.170
of course. I think my record is 18 days in a
01:17:55.170 --> 01:17:58.699
row. That's amazing. Yeah, I just. I just went
01:17:58.699 --> 01:18:00.979
out and got after it. Same thing like you did.
01:18:03.140 --> 01:18:07.260
To be a good pilot or to be somebody like us,
01:18:07.300 --> 01:18:10.239
you have a brain that analyzes well. We see these
01:18:10.239 --> 01:18:12.859
videos. We see our own flying. We watch our own
01:18:12.859 --> 01:18:15.520
videos of our own flying later. It's always in
01:18:15.520 --> 01:18:17.680
the back of your mind. You can't even do the
01:18:17.680 --> 01:18:22.140
dishes without thinking about the new R3X and
01:18:22.140 --> 01:18:25.859
what colors you want. It's always there in the
01:18:25.859 --> 01:18:29.449
back of your mind. uh i want that new black odin
01:18:29.449 --> 01:18:32.850
uh anyways another but yeah you know nothing's
01:18:32.850 --> 01:18:35.770
sick yeah so those kind of people that we are
01:18:35.770 --> 01:18:39.810
we might be the perfect people to teach ourselves
01:18:39.810 --> 01:18:41.869
but we shouldn't we never fuck we never should
01:18:41.869 --> 01:18:44.670
we should always try to get mentorship and if
01:18:44.670 --> 01:18:47.409
i had more mentorship i wouldn't have gone in
01:18:47.409 --> 01:18:49.890
like i did i wouldn't have this pretty face tattoo
01:18:49.890 --> 01:18:54.829
that the girls like you know um and then you
01:18:54.829 --> 01:18:58.890
know that being said You need to recognize, you
01:18:58.890 --> 01:19:01.789
know, a lot of people are not just going to straight
01:19:01.789 --> 01:19:04.109
up ask you for mentorship. You know, you got
01:19:04.109 --> 01:19:07.369
to be like, you got to recognize that this guy
01:19:07.369 --> 01:19:09.729
that just showed up that just got his P2 at Point
01:19:09.729 --> 01:19:11.550
of the Mountain in two weeks and is coming up
01:19:11.550 --> 01:19:13.750
here to Alaska where there is nothing like the
01:19:13.750 --> 01:19:15.729
Point of the Mountain here. You're probably going
01:19:15.729 --> 01:19:17.010
to have to take them under your wing and hang
01:19:17.010 --> 01:19:19.609
out with them for a while. You know, you got
01:19:19.609 --> 01:19:22.350
to be the kind of person who is going to let
01:19:22.350 --> 01:19:25.109
people into your heart like that also. and that's
01:19:25.109 --> 01:19:28.510
part of growing the community agreed and it is
01:19:28.510 --> 01:19:31.229
a big responsibility so it's not everybody is
01:19:31.229 --> 01:19:34.689
keen on it and i get that you know um i mean
01:19:34.689 --> 01:19:40.109
yeah i mean but as more seasoned pilots it is
01:19:40.109 --> 01:19:42.409
kind of our responsibility and it's not gatekeeping
01:19:42.409 --> 01:19:45.909
so much and um there is a lot of that though
01:19:45.909 --> 01:19:48.489
not as aggressively as skydiving it seems like
01:19:48.489 --> 01:19:50.899
um but skydiving's got a lot more like federal
01:19:50.899 --> 01:19:53.420
rules and regulations that are involved just
01:19:53.420 --> 01:19:58.260
naturally so it's a little different but you
01:19:58.260 --> 01:20:02.300
know i don't know i i don't know what the answer
01:20:02.300 --> 01:20:05.439
is you know if if you're selling a wing on facebook
01:20:05.439 --> 01:20:09.779
like do you need references like do you okay
01:20:09.779 --> 01:20:12.619
like okay so you're you're selling hypothetically
01:20:12.619 --> 01:20:15.640
not you just proverbially you're you're selling
01:20:15.640 --> 01:20:18.239
a wing on facebook and somebody reaches out and
01:20:18.239 --> 01:20:21.479
they're like They say all the right things because
01:20:21.479 --> 01:20:23.380
they're smart and they pay attention and they
01:20:23.380 --> 01:20:25.960
listen to this podcast and they listen to Alex
01:20:25.960 --> 01:20:29.739
and they watch whatever videos and they say the
01:20:29.739 --> 01:20:32.899
right stuff. Is it really on the person selling
01:20:32.899 --> 01:20:36.500
it? It's, you know, like, no, it's, it can't
01:20:36.500 --> 01:20:41.359
be right. Because who has time to vet someone
01:20:41.359 --> 01:20:44.979
reaching out from anywhere in the world, you
01:20:44.979 --> 01:20:47.640
know, to buy a wing. It's like, you don't, but
01:20:47.640 --> 01:20:52.010
then again, You've got to let people make their
01:20:52.010 --> 01:20:54.750
own decisions also. Yeah. I mean, I have a buddy
01:20:54.750 --> 01:20:57.829
who, bless his heart, he just went down to Point
01:20:57.829 --> 01:21:00.630
of the Mountain. I call them weekend P2s. They
01:21:00.630 --> 01:21:02.649
go down to the point, they get their P2 on a
01:21:02.649 --> 01:21:05.390
weekend. This guy didn't even get his P2. And,
01:21:05.529 --> 01:21:09.670
you know, he's been my friend forever. And I'm
01:21:09.670 --> 01:21:12.470
sure he'll hear this and rip me out later. Sorry,
01:21:12.510 --> 01:21:15.930
friend. He bought a 21 meter ultralight as his
01:21:15.930 --> 01:21:18.689
first swing. Horrible idea. I told him, you know,
01:21:18.710 --> 01:21:20.829
get a full -size paraglider, do this and that.
01:21:21.529 --> 01:21:23.630
He spent 10 days at the point of the mountain
01:21:23.630 --> 01:21:26.069
and now he wants to go out flying. It's like,
01:21:26.090 --> 01:21:30.010
now I'm in a moral spot where I have a friend.
01:21:30.069 --> 01:21:31.930
He's like my brother. He has all the gear. He's
01:21:31.930 --> 01:21:34.029
going to go out if I go out with him or not.
01:21:35.609 --> 01:21:38.550
The right move is to go with him. Try to keep
01:21:38.550 --> 01:21:40.869
him alive. The right move is to kick his ass
01:21:40.869 --> 01:21:43.659
and tell him to finish your P2. But that's just
01:21:43.659 --> 01:21:46.520
not reality. You know, the reality is he's got
01:21:46.520 --> 01:21:48.239
his gear. He's going to go to the mountains.
01:21:48.380 --> 01:21:52.140
He's going to try. And that's kind of what happens
01:21:52.140 --> 01:21:54.220
with a lot of us who just, hey, there's a nice
01:21:54.220 --> 01:21:57.680
13 meter for sale. You tell your buddy who wants
01:21:57.680 --> 01:21:59.220
to get into it, hey, this is the wing that you
01:21:59.220 --> 01:22:02.359
should get. And he gets it. Well, if your friend's
01:22:02.359 --> 01:22:06.920
already got the gear in the mental idea that
01:22:06.920 --> 01:22:09.180
they're going to do it, you might want to try
01:22:09.180 --> 01:22:11.180
to help them out a little bit. You know, just
01:22:11.180 --> 01:22:15.229
that. I'm in a weird moral spot like that right
01:22:15.229 --> 01:22:18.310
now where I have a buddy who tried to get his
01:22:18.310 --> 01:22:20.069
P2 in 10 days and didn't really get it done.
01:22:20.510 --> 01:22:22.189
He's going to come into town for Thanksgiving
01:22:22.189 --> 01:22:25.609
next week and wants to go out. We're going to
01:22:25.609 --> 01:22:27.310
do a lot of kiting and you're going to be disappointed
01:22:27.310 --> 01:22:29.149
because we're probably not going to make it off
01:22:29.149 --> 01:22:33.310
the ground. At least we shouldn't. It's so tough
01:22:33.310 --> 01:22:36.710
because a lot of this stuff is like lowest common
01:22:36.710 --> 01:22:42.229
denominator is the metric that is used. You know,
01:22:42.229 --> 01:22:44.750
but not everybody is the lowest common denominator
01:22:44.750 --> 01:22:47.069
that the lowest common denominator is that, you
01:22:47.069 --> 01:22:48.949
know, they're, they're by themselves on an Island.
01:22:49.050 --> 01:22:51.510
They're there. They are the bookend of the spectrum,
01:22:51.590 --> 01:22:54.050
you know, and, and no, there's no shame in that.
01:22:54.090 --> 01:22:56.270
You know, I saw it a lot in skydiving. I saw
01:22:56.270 --> 01:22:58.149
a lot in the mirror, the military it's bureaucracy
01:22:58.149 --> 01:23:01.970
at its finest. You know, it's like, we do things
01:23:01.970 --> 01:23:03.710
a certain way because of this. It's like, okay,
01:23:03.710 --> 01:23:06.930
but not every speed pilot, not everybody that's
01:23:06.930 --> 01:23:08.770
getting into speed flying or paragliding or whatever.
01:23:09.340 --> 01:23:13.560
Is that so to tailor it to, that's why like instruction
01:23:13.560 --> 01:23:16.699
is so important because it's like, you know,
01:23:16.699 --> 01:23:19.760
you, you come out to, to Todd's, you know, to,
01:23:19.840 --> 01:23:23.779
um, to air sports, to land your, and I've seen
01:23:23.779 --> 01:23:26.600
it firsthand. And I was one of these guys. It's
01:23:26.600 --> 01:23:29.220
like, you have experience. You've never done
01:23:29.220 --> 01:23:32.079
this before, but let me draw a line for you to
01:23:32.079 --> 01:23:35.560
connect the dots so that you understand the similarities
01:23:35.560 --> 01:23:37.739
and differences. and then we're gonna go fly
01:23:37.739 --> 01:23:40.239
and i'm gonna keep teaching you this and and
01:23:40.239 --> 01:23:45.279
continue down that path versus day zero where
01:23:45.279 --> 01:23:47.359
you're sitting in a ground school for eight hours
01:23:47.359 --> 01:23:51.079
you know with josh um which is a great course
01:23:51.079 --> 01:23:54.140
i've sat through it uh for part of it at least
01:23:54.140 --> 01:23:57.399
um on day zero kind of people day one whatever
01:23:57.399 --> 01:24:01.960
um you know students and it's wonderful but if
01:24:01.960 --> 01:24:05.130
i was coming from already having a background
01:24:05.130 --> 01:24:07.590
in it is it necessary honestly like i totally
01:24:07.590 --> 01:24:10.149
would have if todd or josh or whatever would
01:24:10.149 --> 01:24:12.010
have been like hey you you have to do this like
01:24:12.010 --> 01:24:16.890
ground school day now to i'm not i'm not trying
01:24:16.890 --> 01:24:19.050
to get todd in trouble i did do a ground school
01:24:19.050 --> 01:24:21.229
it was just online it wasn't and it was through
01:24:21.229 --> 01:24:24.289
him it wasn't like um it's not like i showed
01:24:24.289 --> 01:24:26.350
up and they threw me off of airport ridge it
01:24:26.350 --> 01:24:29.729
was i did have some prep work going into it um
01:24:29.729 --> 01:24:34.149
it was kind of like a p2 I, if I remember correctly,
01:24:34.289 --> 01:24:37.310
it was semi tailored to speed flying, but mostly
01:24:37.310 --> 01:24:39.989
from the paragliding curriculum. And it was helpful.
01:24:40.109 --> 01:24:41.350
I mean, it's cool. I've learned a lot, you know,
01:24:41.350 --> 01:24:43.550
or relearned some stuff too about weather and
01:24:43.550 --> 01:24:48.289
all that. But, um, but anyway, it, it's hard,
01:24:48.369 --> 01:24:51.130
right? Cause like, I know that Carl and Todd
01:24:51.130 --> 01:24:53.170
and all these other guys are like trying to build
01:24:53.170 --> 01:24:54.989
this curriculum to be better for speed flying.
01:24:55.090 --> 01:24:57.010
But at the end of the day, it's lowest common
01:24:57.010 --> 01:25:00.949
denominator. So if you go, If you go to Point
01:25:00.949 --> 01:25:04.109
of the Mountain, to speedfly .com, or if you
01:25:04.109 --> 01:25:06.229
go to Air Sports Jalan, or you go to wherever
01:25:06.229 --> 01:25:08.649
else it's being taught right now, there's not
01:25:08.649 --> 01:25:10.449
too many others. I think there's one in California,
01:25:10.670 --> 01:25:12.909
maybe Northern California. I forget the site.
01:25:13.470 --> 01:25:18.270
I forget what the company is called. But they're
01:25:18.270 --> 01:25:20.069
probably going to tailor it to you, right? So
01:25:20.069 --> 01:25:21.970
versus trying to learn it yourself and trying
01:25:21.970 --> 01:25:24.390
to connect the dots, it's really hard. It's hard.
01:25:24.529 --> 01:25:27.270
And like you said, guys like us and gals that
01:25:27.270 --> 01:25:31.239
are like us, We're super analytical. We pay attention.
01:25:32.079 --> 01:25:35.100
We're not dumb. We're making good decisions within
01:25:35.100 --> 01:25:37.920
our own knowledge, you know, and it is easy to
01:25:37.920 --> 01:25:39.359
fall into the trap of being like, I'm just going
01:25:39.359 --> 01:25:42.380
to figure it out. And I, I go back and look at
01:25:42.380 --> 01:25:46.439
videos of me, you know, flying before I got instruction
01:25:46.439 --> 01:25:49.100
and flying after just the launch, you know, let's
01:25:49.100 --> 01:25:52.800
just talk about that. Like it's night and day
01:25:52.800 --> 01:25:56.020
different. It same outcome. Most of the time.
01:25:56.409 --> 01:25:58.609
Except for the one I slid on my ass almost into
01:25:58.609 --> 01:26:00.250
the fence, right? Like most of the time, same
01:26:00.250 --> 01:26:03.710
outcome. But the fundamental techniques were
01:26:03.710 --> 01:26:06.390
not performed because I didn't know them. Because
01:26:06.390 --> 01:26:09.170
I wasn't... You ever notice... Dude, this drove
01:26:09.170 --> 01:26:11.329
me freaking crazy, dude. Have you ever noticed
01:26:11.329 --> 01:26:14.850
on the reels, they never show... Most people
01:26:14.850 --> 01:26:18.949
never show the launch and the landing. That like
01:26:18.949 --> 01:26:21.770
pissed me off. I literally reached out to people
01:26:21.770 --> 01:26:25.420
and was like... what did the launch and landing
01:26:25.420 --> 01:26:28.060
look like? Can you just send me the clip of that?
01:26:28.119 --> 01:26:30.800
Because I just want to see, you know, like, um,
01:26:31.039 --> 01:26:35.399
I, I, I, I messaged a Ronan, uh, Roland Ronan
01:26:35.399 --> 01:26:38.279
from Utah before I had him on the super rad.
01:26:38.539 --> 01:26:40.640
Oh dude, that dude's super rad dude. He's also
01:26:40.640 --> 01:26:43.260
like incredibly friendly. Like I love, I love
01:26:43.260 --> 01:26:45.159
him. He's awesome. I can't, I can't wait to get
01:26:45.159 --> 01:26:47.579
down there and fly with those guys. Um, him especially,
01:26:47.739 --> 01:26:51.109
but I was like, dude, that it didn't look like
01:26:51.109 --> 01:26:53.329
you had anywhere to land after you just did like
01:26:53.329 --> 01:26:55.909
800 barrel rolls down, you know, that secret
01:26:55.909 --> 01:26:59.350
place you were flying. Um, can you just send
01:26:59.350 --> 01:27:01.729
me like, I won't put anywhere. I just want to
01:27:01.729 --> 01:27:03.449
see, you know, like what the landing was like.
01:27:03.949 --> 01:27:05.630
And he did. And I was like, that's super rad.
01:27:05.689 --> 01:27:07.930
Like I remember when I was first learning and
01:27:07.930 --> 01:27:10.010
I was seeking, I was trying to seek this information,
01:27:10.130 --> 01:27:12.409
right. I was studying film basically. And, uh,
01:27:12.859 --> 01:27:17.020
There was just not a whole lot. The Pro Speedfly
01:27:17.020 --> 01:27:20.239
folks hadn't put out their launching videos yet.
01:27:20.859 --> 01:27:24.680
And I just wanted to see what it was supposed
01:27:24.680 --> 01:27:28.079
to look like. And it didn't exist. It was not
01:27:28.079 --> 01:27:31.420
out there. And it drove me nuts. I was like,
01:27:31.460 --> 01:27:34.439
why not? But that's not what people want to see.
01:27:35.420 --> 01:27:39.020
That's not what gets the eyeballs. It's the roll
01:27:39.020 --> 01:27:43.770
after roll after roll. What I've learned with
01:27:43.770 --> 01:27:47.970
my Instagram is think about how many people speed
01:27:47.970 --> 01:27:51.350
fly and how many views some of the videos get.
01:27:51.869 --> 01:27:53.770
The percentage of people who know what they're
01:27:53.770 --> 01:27:57.529
looking at is pretty low. And if you're like
01:27:57.529 --> 01:28:01.250
trying to get Instagram videos to like produce
01:28:01.250 --> 01:28:04.470
views, which that is, I don't care about that.
01:28:04.569 --> 01:28:06.489
You know, you got to really grab them in the
01:28:06.489 --> 01:28:08.810
first couple seconds. You know, ADD has killed
01:28:08.810 --> 01:28:13.800
everybody's mind. but um yeah yeah seeing what
01:28:13.800 --> 01:28:15.859
is what the launch and the takeoff is actually
01:28:15.859 --> 01:28:20.640
like is you know uh and another video you made
01:28:20.640 --> 01:28:22.960
is not speeding up your videos because you know
01:28:22.960 --> 01:28:25.000
there's people like you and i who are trying
01:28:25.000 --> 01:28:29.420
to learn off of this off of any means we can
01:28:29.420 --> 01:28:31.279
right so we're you're going to scour the ends
01:28:31.279 --> 01:28:33.060
of the earth for this information and that's
01:28:33.060 --> 01:28:35.130
all you're going to get is what you can get And
01:28:35.130 --> 01:28:37.430
people who do things like, uh, don't show the
01:28:37.430 --> 01:28:39.409
launch and takeoff. I mean, well, it might be
01:28:39.409 --> 01:28:42.590
not exciting to watch for everybody, but for
01:28:42.590 --> 01:28:47.329
us, it's, um, it's cool to, to show people that,
01:28:47.430 --> 01:28:51.930
you know, um, because another thing too, is like,
01:28:51.970 --> 01:28:53.489
you'll see if somebody find a video and you're
01:28:53.489 --> 01:28:55.050
like, Oh, I'm going to go there and do it. Well,
01:28:55.170 --> 01:28:56.750
you don't know what launch or whatever they did,
01:28:56.850 --> 01:29:00.090
you know? Yeah. No beta. I mean, that's part
01:29:00.090 --> 01:29:02.710
of the fun sometimes, but it, like I said earlier,
01:29:02.789 --> 01:29:05.420
not my jam. I mean, exploratory flying is cool,
01:29:05.520 --> 01:29:08.479
but it's, it's, I want to know, like, I'd rather,
01:29:08.699 --> 01:29:13.560
I would rather know for sure the line and what
01:29:13.560 --> 01:29:15.939
like to launch there, whatever, where the LZ
01:29:15.939 --> 01:29:19.739
is, how it is, then guess. Cause that's just
01:29:19.739 --> 01:29:23.180
scares me for sure. Yeah. It might scare you
01:29:23.180 --> 01:29:25.479
now. Uh, this is another topic I wanted to bring
01:29:25.479 --> 01:29:29.560
up, but like, there's no shame in leaving something
01:29:29.560 --> 01:29:32.960
in your paragliding career to pursue later. You
01:29:32.960 --> 01:29:34.859
know, like right now you might be all about numbers
01:29:34.859 --> 01:29:37.000
and I can tell just by talking to you, you're
01:29:37.000 --> 01:29:39.140
a guy who you want to master. You want to be
01:29:39.140 --> 01:29:43.140
the ninja of whatever canopy you're under. And
01:29:43.140 --> 01:29:45.699
maybe exploring new sites and doing big mountain
01:29:45.699 --> 01:29:50.140
stuff will excite you later. There's no shame
01:29:50.140 --> 01:29:55.539
in tailoring your flying to one avenue to learn
01:29:55.539 --> 01:29:58.359
something. But knowing in the back of your head,
01:29:58.600 --> 01:30:00.979
hey, I want to do this later in my career. I
01:30:00.979 --> 01:30:03.439
know I'm going to get back on high -performance
01:30:03.439 --> 01:30:06.520
paragliders and go cross -country later in my
01:30:06.520 --> 01:30:10.859
career. We can't be barreling into the ground
01:30:10.859 --> 01:30:13.640
forever. It's kind of like surfing, too, where
01:30:13.640 --> 01:30:16.140
it's going to get boring. They've got different
01:30:16.140 --> 01:30:17.819
boards for a reason. We've got different wings
01:30:17.819 --> 01:30:22.439
as different tools to handle the wind, but also
01:30:22.439 --> 01:30:26.090
for different experiences. You can leave that
01:30:26.090 --> 01:30:28.850
for your career later where I'm going to go do
01:30:28.850 --> 01:30:32.489
all these big, gnarly first descents later in
01:30:32.489 --> 01:30:34.850
my career, but you want to focus on maybe your
01:30:34.850 --> 01:30:36.949
first barrel roll now. There's nothing wrong
01:30:36.949 --> 01:30:39.710
with that. That is probably the way to do it,
01:30:39.729 --> 01:30:44.810
honestly. Don't burn yourself out just trying
01:30:44.810 --> 01:30:47.189
to roll close to the ground and learning those
01:30:47.189 --> 01:30:51.590
things. There's nothing wrong with... There's
01:30:51.590 --> 01:30:53.909
nothing wrong with leaving a mountain 20 miles
01:30:53.909 --> 01:30:56.430
or 20 minutes from your house and not doing it
01:30:56.430 --> 01:31:00.050
till later. And, you know, things like that.
01:31:00.130 --> 01:31:02.850
Like you said, there's no reason to rush. I think
01:31:02.850 --> 01:31:06.069
we've all made the decision and everybody who's
01:31:06.069 --> 01:31:08.390
listening to this, we've made the decision. We're
01:31:08.390 --> 01:31:12.050
going to fly for the rest of our lives. You know,
01:31:12.090 --> 01:31:14.289
it's not like, well, I'm going to fly for a couple
01:31:14.289 --> 01:31:18.310
of years and then stop. No, you're in it for
01:31:18.310 --> 01:31:21.340
the long game. You can leave things. to do later.
01:31:22.560 --> 01:31:25.560
Yeah, no, dude, it's so true. Yeah. I was trying
01:31:25.560 --> 01:31:28.420
to explain this to my, uh, to my girlfriend recently.
01:31:28.460 --> 01:31:32.699
And it was like, you know, it, it's not a hobby,
01:31:32.760 --> 01:31:37.859
you know, it's not, it's not like, I don't know.
01:31:37.920 --> 01:31:39.920
I don't even know what to compare it to because
01:31:39.920 --> 01:31:42.000
it's it. I mean, you, and you touched on it.
01:31:42.039 --> 01:31:45.739
It's, we knew that we were going to be flying
01:31:45.739 --> 01:31:49.409
before we knew we were going to be flying. Like
01:31:49.409 --> 01:31:52.569
I look back at my childhood and I'm like, yeah,
01:31:52.689 --> 01:31:55.130
I was going down this path for sure. You know,
01:31:55.130 --> 01:31:57.170
I mean, it just, it was inevitable whether I
01:31:57.170 --> 01:31:58.670
knew it or not. And I didn't know it, you know,
01:31:58.670 --> 01:32:00.189
I mean, I really didn't, it didn't seem like
01:32:00.189 --> 01:32:02.350
something that was achievable. Like my, my parents
01:32:02.350 --> 01:32:05.590
are both skydivers. My dad was really, really
01:32:05.590 --> 01:32:09.329
was a skydiver. My mom, um, had, I don't know,
01:32:09.329 --> 01:32:11.350
she might've done like a hundred jumps and then
01:32:11.350 --> 01:32:13.130
her last jump, she was pregnant with me before
01:32:13.130 --> 01:32:16.439
she knew it. and uh my mom has some hilarious
01:32:16.439 --> 01:32:19.340
stories and she used to tell them to me when
01:32:19.340 --> 01:32:20.720
i was a kid and i just thought they were funny
01:32:20.720 --> 01:32:23.479
but then when i started skydiving and doing like
01:32:23.479 --> 01:32:26.119
these sports i'm like man you're lucky you're
01:32:26.119 --> 01:32:29.779
alive like good lord like she she tells a story
01:32:29.779 --> 01:32:34.180
where she like was basically bouncing on her
01:32:34.180 --> 01:32:37.140
ass down the runway and like ripped her pants
01:32:37.140 --> 01:32:39.380
like when she was landing you know so she just
01:32:39.380 --> 01:32:41.960
not not a great canopy pilot another story she
01:32:41.960 --> 01:32:44.619
landed in somebody's backyard you know, like
01:32:44.619 --> 01:32:47.840
way off the drop zone. And I'm just like, and
01:32:47.840 --> 01:32:49.500
she'd be like, yeah, I would just like, she's
01:32:49.500 --> 01:32:52.000
like, I loved, I loved the parachute ride. And
01:32:52.000 --> 01:32:53.699
I was like, you mean when you were flying the
01:32:53.699 --> 01:32:55.640
parachute, like, were you tandem or what are
01:32:55.640 --> 01:32:57.000
you talking about? And she's like, no, like,
01:32:57.079 --> 01:32:59.579
you know, and this was back when like rip cords
01:32:59.579 --> 01:33:01.319
were a thing, you know, pilot shoots hadn't been,
01:33:01.359 --> 01:33:06.199
um, at least POCs, which whatever they hadn't
01:33:06.199 --> 01:33:09.880
been invented yet. Um, and, uh, she's like, yeah,
01:33:09.939 --> 01:33:11.989
I used to. I always used to throw the ripcord
01:33:11.989 --> 01:33:13.649
away. So every time I'd have to pay like an extra
01:33:13.649 --> 01:33:16.210
30 bucks and then I'd get under the canopy and
01:33:16.210 --> 01:33:18.029
I would just be like looking around and not really
01:33:18.029 --> 01:33:19.529
paying attention. And then all of a sudden I
01:33:19.529 --> 01:33:21.250
realized I had to land. And then, you know, I
01:33:21.250 --> 01:33:22.689
ended up in somebody's backyard and I'm like,
01:33:22.689 --> 01:33:26.409
mom, like, come on. Like, so she, she's got some
01:33:26.409 --> 01:33:28.449
funny stories. So her career was a lot shorter,
01:33:28.529 --> 01:33:30.390
but my, my dad like jumped with the golden Knights
01:33:30.390 --> 01:33:33.130
and he was in the army. And, uh, yeah, he, he,
01:33:33.130 --> 01:33:35.810
he was full on, you know, full on skydiver for
01:33:35.810 --> 01:33:39.789
a long time. Um, he stopped cause his, uh, His
01:33:39.789 --> 01:33:42.310
knees were bad and he's had two knee knee replacements.
01:33:42.329 --> 01:33:45.409
And, um, you know, he's, he's a badass still
01:33:45.409 --> 01:33:47.569
in his own right doing other things, but yeah,
01:33:47.689 --> 01:33:50.010
he, his career eventually ended too. But it,
01:33:50.090 --> 01:33:52.989
uh, I, I guess I kind of knew that I was going
01:33:52.989 --> 01:33:55.609
down that path. You know, it just, like I said,
01:33:55.649 --> 01:33:59.189
it seems it seemed unattainable. Um, because
01:33:59.189 --> 01:34:01.789
you know, it was during a time when it wasn't
01:34:01.789 --> 01:34:04.750
as like widely seen, like YouTube wasn't a thing.
01:34:05.880 --> 01:34:07.939
Um, Instagram certainly wasn't a thing. Facebook
01:34:07.939 --> 01:34:09.399
wasn't a thing. Like there was no social media.
01:34:09.420 --> 01:34:11.260
I had a flip phone, you know, in high school,
01:34:11.359 --> 01:34:14.260
you know, I mean, we're not that old, but you
01:34:14.260 --> 01:34:16.079
know, we're old enough to where like, I remember
01:34:16.079 --> 01:34:18.739
the nineties. Like, it's amazing. You know, I
01:34:18.739 --> 01:34:23.939
was born in the 1900s. Yes. we're old as dirt,
01:34:24.020 --> 01:34:26.859
man. Oh, it's so funny, dude. Yeah. I'm like,
01:34:26.939 --> 01:34:31.279
okay. So, uh, 21 year olds are born in when it's
01:34:31.279 --> 01:34:34.439
just like, God damn it. But you know, that, that
01:34:34.439 --> 01:34:36.659
is the beauty of, of life is you get to kind
01:34:36.659 --> 01:34:39.140
of get older and wiser if you're fortunate enough,
01:34:39.220 --> 01:34:42.859
you know? And, um, yeah, I mean, I, I, I coined
01:34:42.859 --> 01:34:47.079
this from Shane McConkie, who was my idol, uh,
01:34:47.220 --> 01:34:51.659
as a kid. And, and I, Side note to this, I've
01:34:51.659 --> 01:34:57.380
never been more devastated by a loss from someone
01:34:57.380 --> 01:35:00.680
that I didn't know personally than I was when
01:35:00.680 --> 01:35:04.600
he unfortunately went in. And he was like my
01:35:04.600 --> 01:35:07.920
idol. But he was quoted by saying, he would always
01:35:07.920 --> 01:35:12.439
tell his wife, Sheila, I believe, don't worry,
01:35:12.560 --> 01:35:15.920
babe, I'm not going to die. I'm going to die
01:35:15.920 --> 01:35:18.909
in simultaneous orgasm at 80. you know with you
01:35:18.909 --> 01:35:22.310
oh yeah and i love that you know i've 100 used
01:35:22.310 --> 01:35:25.090
that in the past with my girlfriend you know
01:35:25.090 --> 01:35:28.829
because i'm like that's the goal you know like
01:35:28.829 --> 01:35:32.090
i don't want to die like how how much of a bummer
01:35:32.090 --> 01:35:34.630
would that be dude like and i know it's so sad
01:35:34.630 --> 01:35:37.289
man because it's been such a rough it's been
01:35:37.289 --> 01:35:43.350
a rough it's been a rough year um when you when
01:35:43.350 --> 01:35:47.390
you've been around and you've seen you've been
01:35:47.390 --> 01:35:50.550
there for a fatal accident, it completely changes
01:35:50.550 --> 01:35:54.970
your whole entire life. I've never been, I wouldn't
01:35:54.970 --> 01:35:58.590
say depressed. Well, first of all, I was at,
01:35:58.689 --> 01:36:02.390
I witnessed a fatal accident in my flying career.
01:36:03.130 --> 01:36:10.369
And what happened was extremely well -known dude,
01:36:10.449 --> 01:36:14.390
just a legend of a guy up here in Alaska. It
01:36:14.390 --> 01:36:17.109
was my first time at the site. The conditions
01:36:17.109 --> 01:36:21.350
were absolutely not good for speed flying. It
01:36:21.350 --> 01:36:24.050
was a booming cross -country thermaling day.
01:36:25.090 --> 01:36:30.949
And there was all sorts of signs to not cut in
01:36:30.949 --> 01:36:33.189
close that day. It was blowing like up to 15,
01:36:33.250 --> 01:36:36.329
20 miles an hour, but usually right around 10.
01:36:37.270 --> 01:36:39.670
There was a small little bird that took off.
01:36:39.729 --> 01:36:41.689
It was flying right in front of launch and just
01:36:41.689 --> 01:36:45.109
went skyrocketing up a thermal right off a launch.
01:36:45.560 --> 01:36:48.520
Um, not a lot of speed wing guys would pick up
01:36:48.520 --> 01:36:50.180
on that. That's what I'm really big on being
01:36:50.180 --> 01:36:54.340
a pair of bull wing guy also. Um, so we, I took
01:36:54.340 --> 01:36:58.680
off first and, uh, I just got rocked by some
01:36:58.680 --> 01:37:01.920
hard valley wind and I was, I was flying a 13
01:37:01.920 --> 01:37:03.939
meter morass, which, which is what I fly now.
01:37:04.640 --> 01:37:08.479
Um, uh, we'll talk about wing loading later.
01:37:08.560 --> 01:37:10.579
I'm a big heavy guy and I get some things done
01:37:10.579 --> 01:37:13.960
with it, but, uh, uh, I had a wing tip go out.
01:37:14.170 --> 01:37:16.649
on it that's how gnarly the wind was and i made
01:37:16.649 --> 01:37:19.069
it down to the ground safely and um i turned
01:37:19.069 --> 01:37:21.869
around and i was like two miles probably from
01:37:21.869 --> 01:37:24.210
the summit so i'm watching this unfold from like
01:37:24.210 --> 01:37:26.090
two miles and the guy pulls like a barrel roll
01:37:26.090 --> 01:37:29.430
immediately and um it's all right all red uh
01:37:29.430 --> 01:37:33.850
the the berry color blue and red mirage you know
01:37:33.850 --> 01:37:36.170
uh i'm sure you've seen that oh yeah yeah yeah
01:37:36.170 --> 01:37:38.210
i see him do a barrel roll and then it just goes
01:37:38.210 --> 01:37:42.130
white And he goes for like a 1 ,500 foot in distance,
01:37:42.350 --> 01:37:44.430
1 ,000 foot in distance, basically free fall.
01:37:44.649 --> 01:37:48.609
I think what happened was he tried to do a barrel
01:37:48.609 --> 01:37:50.090
roll and clip the edge of a cliff he was trying
01:37:50.090 --> 01:37:54.850
to dive. But it's hard to say. I was so far away.
01:37:55.369 --> 01:38:00.189
But to fly off and to turn around and to see
01:38:00.189 --> 01:38:02.949
that and call the friends up top and organize
01:38:02.949 --> 01:38:06.750
rescue, that stuff will change your life forever.
01:38:09.320 --> 01:38:12.239
What happened to me the most was it confused
01:38:12.239 --> 01:38:17.340
me. It confused me of like, what would it take
01:38:17.340 --> 01:38:21.359
for us to stop doing this sport? You know what
01:38:21.359 --> 01:38:23.380
I mean? Like you broke your leg. I had already
01:38:23.380 --> 01:38:26.460
completely messed myself up a couple of times.
01:38:26.840 --> 01:38:32.060
I just watched somebody go in. And all I want
01:38:32.060 --> 01:38:35.579
is to go out flying tomorrow to get back on the
01:38:35.579 --> 01:38:39.430
horse. Right. And that took me a while to deal
01:38:39.430 --> 01:38:41.430
with that. There's just confusion of like, why
01:38:41.430 --> 01:38:43.850
do we really do this? I mean, it's like we've
01:38:43.850 --> 01:38:46.470
been called to it our whole life. It's an amazing,
01:38:46.550 --> 01:38:48.670
beautiful thing. And we all know why we do it.
01:38:48.729 --> 01:38:52.609
But things change when you see something like
01:38:52.609 --> 01:38:55.649
that. That's for sure. Yeah. And I mean, nobody
01:38:55.649 --> 01:39:01.770
plans to die doing it. You know, I mean, there's
01:39:01.770 --> 01:39:04.250
signs sometimes, you know, when people are a
01:39:04.250 --> 01:39:06.409
little like. out of, you know, in front of their
01:39:06.409 --> 01:39:10.250
skis and stuff. And they get away with it for
01:39:10.250 --> 01:39:13.310
the most part, you know? And then I feel like
01:39:13.310 --> 01:39:15.789
when, I don't know, it's just, and, and man,
01:39:15.909 --> 01:39:19.350
like touch wood, thankfully. And I don't even
01:39:19.350 --> 01:39:21.130
want to say it. I'm not even gonna say it, but
01:39:21.130 --> 01:39:23.369
I'm a little superstitious. I'm just not going
01:39:23.369 --> 01:39:25.289
to say it, but you can see where I was going
01:39:25.289 --> 01:39:31.289
with that. Um, but I, I cannot imagine. I can't,
01:39:31.289 --> 01:39:33.289
I can't imagine. Cause I've experienced it in
01:39:33.289 --> 01:39:38.060
other realms. But it's just a little different,
01:39:38.220 --> 01:39:41.859
you know, because it's like you're out there
01:39:41.859 --> 01:39:43.579
having the time of your life, man. It's super
01:39:43.579 --> 01:39:45.979
fun. That's why we do this stuff. If it wasn't
01:39:45.979 --> 01:39:48.340
fun, we wouldn't do it. If it didn't give us
01:39:48.340 --> 01:39:52.060
something, if the reward wasn't worth it, it
01:39:52.060 --> 01:39:55.760
wouldn't be worth it. But like, you know, and
01:39:55.760 --> 01:40:00.840
it's tough, right? Because like, I'm scared of
01:40:00.840 --> 01:40:03.130
my own shadow right now because of... The injury,
01:40:03.289 --> 01:40:05.390
right? Because it wasn't that bad. Like, I get
01:40:05.390 --> 01:40:09.449
it, you know? But that's the point. Like, I didn't...
01:40:09.449 --> 01:40:12.689
Yeah, I watched your accident. It was, like,
01:40:12.689 --> 01:40:15.250
funny. It's, like, ridiculous, right? And here
01:40:15.250 --> 01:40:18.470
I am, like, I'm not a freaking pussy. Like, this
01:40:18.470 --> 01:40:21.470
shit hurt, man. And it hurt for months. Like,
01:40:21.470 --> 01:40:24.250
it still hurts. Yeah. You know? Like, I'm like,
01:40:24.329 --> 01:40:28.310
man. And it was so minor. I mean, like, appearing
01:40:28.310 --> 01:40:31.189
minor, right? I mean, it wasn't. But, like...
01:40:31.479 --> 01:40:34.199
it appears to be minor but it's like when i launched
01:40:34.199 --> 01:40:37.800
dude i wasn't that was gonna be my last flight
01:40:37.800 --> 01:40:40.060
of the day it should have been my last five days
01:40:40.060 --> 01:40:41.479
should have been three hours earlier right it
01:40:41.479 --> 01:40:44.239
was just dumb you know i know better right but
01:40:44.239 --> 01:40:47.100
i just went for it because it's airport ridgeman
01:40:47.100 --> 01:40:50.739
it's chill it's it's the mcdonald's ball pit
01:40:50.739 --> 01:40:54.159
of a place to fly around right which is so not
01:40:54.159 --> 01:40:56.899
true there's no such thing as that but um but
01:40:56.899 --> 01:41:02.180
that's where my head was at so you know if I
01:41:02.180 --> 01:41:04.920
think something that I have gained of the multitude
01:41:04.920 --> 01:41:07.600
of things I have gained from these activities
01:41:07.600 --> 01:41:14.739
is the relationships that are formed are as good,
01:41:14.779 --> 01:41:19.100
if not better than anywhere else you can imagine.
01:41:19.840 --> 01:41:26.159
And I'm just not bothered by things after I fly,
01:41:26.359 --> 01:41:29.859
like little things. like i'm just not because
01:41:29.859 --> 01:41:34.939
it's like you've danced you you have yeah not
01:41:34.939 --> 01:41:36.859
to be too dramatic but you've danced with death
01:41:36.859 --> 01:41:39.220
you know you you have entered a realm that you're
01:41:39.220 --> 01:41:41.380
not really technically supposed to be in as a
01:41:41.380 --> 01:41:44.619
human and you came out the other end valiantly
01:41:44.619 --> 01:41:47.060
and there's there's something to that and so
01:41:47.060 --> 01:41:49.079
it's so dramatic when i put it that way but like
01:41:49.079 --> 01:41:51.779
think about it no it's a primal it's a primal
01:41:51.779 --> 01:41:54.880
part of us you know um back before we invented
01:41:54.880 --> 01:41:57.399
all these cool toys to get our kicks off of,
01:41:57.439 --> 01:42:00.960
you know, we were pillaging and, you know, taking
01:42:00.960 --> 01:42:04.659
over the world and stuff and, uh, cheating death.
01:42:05.300 --> 01:42:09.479
Uh, how's it, how else is it supposed to be?
01:42:10.100 --> 01:42:13.600
Right. In a weird way. No, I'm, I agree. And
01:42:13.600 --> 01:42:16.720
I mean, of course, like, I'm not like thinking
01:42:16.720 --> 01:42:19.720
that when I'm hooked up to my way of getting
01:42:19.720 --> 01:42:21.619
on a launch to come out like, Oh, I don't know
01:42:21.619 --> 01:42:24.109
how this is going to go. You know? That's actually
01:42:24.109 --> 01:42:27.409
tried to avoid that, you know, but, but realizing
01:42:27.409 --> 01:42:30.270
that things happen, whether you want them to
01:42:30.270 --> 01:42:33.329
or not. And sometimes it's completely out of
01:42:33.329 --> 01:42:37.069
your control. Like I was listening to cloud -based
01:42:37.069 --> 01:42:39.229
mayhem yesterday with this new episode, um, forget
01:42:39.229 --> 01:42:43.970
the guy's name. I think he's a German, um, Alpinist,
01:42:43.970 --> 01:42:46.909
like professional, like bad -ass dude started
01:42:46.909 --> 01:42:50.350
flying, started paragliding. And he was telling
01:42:50.350 --> 01:42:52.909
a story how, you know, one of his friends died
01:42:52.909 --> 01:42:55.170
in a paragliding accident. One of his like his
01:42:55.170 --> 01:42:59.050
best friend died. And he was talking to one of
01:42:59.050 --> 01:43:01.109
his mentors or something afterward. And he was
01:43:01.109 --> 01:43:07.850
like, you know, your wing could betray you. Like
01:43:07.850 --> 01:43:10.869
you can do everything right. And you could still
01:43:10.869 --> 01:43:14.770
lose. Because there are certain things that are
01:43:14.770 --> 01:43:17.850
just completely out of your control. Right. And
01:43:17.850 --> 01:43:19.890
it's like, okay, well, does that mean we don't
01:43:19.890 --> 01:43:23.590
fly? No. Like you could get, I got T -boned in
01:43:23.590 --> 01:43:27.939
Arizona in like 2018. sitting in the passenger
01:43:27.939 --> 01:43:30.539
seat of my, of my ex -wife's car. I have a 2020
01:43:30.539 --> 01:43:33.300
divorce story for you. Uh, maybe for offline.
01:43:33.420 --> 01:43:40.800
I don't know, but you got me there, but, uh,
01:43:40.819 --> 01:43:42.720
and I don't mean thank God, like they got no
01:43:42.720 --> 01:43:44.680
kids. I mean, it's just, I can only imagine how
01:43:44.680 --> 01:43:47.199
much that complicates things. So, um, but anyway,
01:43:47.319 --> 01:43:50.060
uh, I was sitting in the passenger seat and my
01:43:50.060 --> 01:43:52.060
ex was driving through a green light, you know,
01:43:52.060 --> 01:43:55.920
cause it was green and this dude, That he was
01:43:55.920 --> 01:44:00.739
drunk or high. I don't know stole like a 1990s
01:44:00.739 --> 01:44:03.420
suburban so like the big steel ones like the
01:44:03.420 --> 01:44:05.720
barn doors You know like the square like they're
01:44:05.720 --> 01:44:08.300
just like ugly and kind of menacing looking like
01:44:08.300 --> 01:44:12.140
it's like the devil's you know freaking rig blew
01:44:12.140 --> 01:44:16.159
through a red light and T -boned us like right
01:44:16.159 --> 01:44:19.460
on my door, you know, and I just had like a lack
01:44:19.460 --> 01:44:21.739
on my arm like I was fine the concussion whatever
01:44:21.739 --> 01:44:25.449
added to the list but of concussions. Um, but,
01:44:25.529 --> 01:44:28.409
uh, I didn't, that wasn't me. I didn't make a
01:44:28.409 --> 01:44:30.409
mistake. I wasn't driving. She didn't run a red
01:44:30.409 --> 01:44:32.949
light. You know, that dude was just an asshole
01:44:32.949 --> 01:44:36.909
and, you know, had something going on. Right.
01:44:36.989 --> 01:44:39.130
Who knows? But my, my point, you were playing
01:44:39.130 --> 01:44:41.890
in the arena of the roadway where it can happen
01:44:41.890 --> 01:44:44.210
anywhere, you know, like there are things that
01:44:44.210 --> 01:44:45.789
are out of our control everywhere. So does that
01:44:45.789 --> 01:44:48.090
mean that we don't do stuff? No. If you were
01:44:48.090 --> 01:44:53.850
worried about chance or probability, of being
01:44:53.850 --> 01:44:57.729
deceased you wouldn't leave your house you wouldn't
01:44:57.729 --> 01:45:00.770
yeah like you'd eat like smoothies because you
01:45:00.770 --> 01:45:04.130
could choke and die you know what i mean so it's
01:45:04.130 --> 01:45:07.350
not like a good it i'm trying to keep this all
01:45:07.350 --> 01:45:10.369
in perspective because it's like yes it's dangerous
01:45:10.369 --> 01:45:13.949
but so is live so is life like everything freaking
01:45:13.949 --> 01:45:16.489
wants to kill you you know i go on these hikes
01:45:16.489 --> 01:45:19.010
and around where i live in the summer dude i
01:45:19.010 --> 01:45:21.369
see like eight rattlesnakes just walk around
01:45:21.369 --> 01:45:23.739
them Did anything bit me? Like, you could die,
01:45:23.739 --> 01:45:25.060
dude. I don't know. I've never been bit by a
01:45:25.060 --> 01:45:26.779
rattlesnake. Like, I don't know. Maybe I'm super
01:45:26.779 --> 01:45:30.039
allergic. It's just like, it isn't like a way
01:45:30.039 --> 01:45:31.960
to live your life, you know? Like, don't live
01:45:31.960 --> 01:45:34.939
in fear. But please, for the love of God, have
01:45:34.939 --> 01:45:37.600
knowledge so you don't kill yourself with something
01:45:37.600 --> 01:45:39.359
that was in your control you just didn't realize
01:45:39.359 --> 01:45:45.479
was in your control. Now, you say that, but how
01:45:45.479 --> 01:45:47.260
many Speedwing guys do you know that don't have
01:45:47.260 --> 01:45:50.119
a paragliding career? I mean, I'm one of them.
01:45:50.890 --> 01:45:54.149
Yeah, think about that. Honestly, that freaks
01:45:54.149 --> 01:45:59.630
me out. If I could change anything, I am totally
01:45:59.630 --> 01:46:03.210
against regulation. I am against authority rules.
01:46:03.510 --> 01:46:06.750
I love the lack of rules. I'm not really a big
01:46:06.750 --> 01:46:11.489
fan of Ushpa. But if I was going to go down that
01:46:11.489 --> 01:46:14.710
route, I would say people need at least the P2
01:46:14.710 --> 01:46:17.449
before they even touch a Speedway. I would really
01:46:17.449 --> 01:46:20.800
say you should be it. You should be the kind
01:46:20.800 --> 01:46:24.340
of pilot on a full -size wing where you know
01:46:24.340 --> 01:46:26.720
exactly where to find thermals, you know where
01:46:26.720 --> 01:46:29.960
to find sink, you know how to ridge soar very
01:46:29.960 --> 01:46:36.920
well, and you know the full capabilities of how
01:46:36.920 --> 01:46:39.899
to read those conditions and, you know, weather
01:46:39.899 --> 01:46:43.359
forecasting. Because if you don't have all of
01:46:43.359 --> 01:46:46.279
those, like, if you don't know exactly... what
01:46:46.279 --> 01:46:48.260
terrain is going to produce a thermal and you're
01:46:48.260 --> 01:46:50.060
going to speed fly over it because it's the fun
01:46:50.060 --> 01:46:53.439
route and it's the line you're going to go for,
01:46:53.579 --> 01:46:56.880
that's not good. You know, like that day where
01:46:56.880 --> 01:47:01.579
I was talking about my fatal accident, the amount
01:47:01.579 --> 01:47:05.520
of red flags screaming from a paraglider's perspective
01:47:05.520 --> 01:47:09.500
was insane. And I knew all that and I knew to
01:47:09.500 --> 01:47:12.220
cut really far away and I still got a collapse
01:47:12.220 --> 01:47:16.680
on a 13 meter wing loaded to, almost two pounds.
01:47:17.439 --> 01:47:24.100
It might be a big wing, but it's flying some
01:47:24.100 --> 01:47:31.039
weight. I think that if you don't at least pursue
01:47:31.039 --> 01:47:33.119
a paragliding career for a little bit, you're
01:47:33.119 --> 01:47:37.100
doing yourself a disservice. I'm not trying to
01:47:37.100 --> 01:47:39.939
poke the bear at anybody. From a knowledge standpoint
01:47:39.939 --> 01:47:45.369
alone, do you know Have you ever gone thermal
01:47:45.369 --> 01:47:47.989
hunting? You know what I mean? If you go hunting
01:47:47.989 --> 01:47:51.130
for a thermal and you find it and you start getting
01:47:51.130 --> 01:47:53.970
that basis of starting to read the terrain to
01:47:53.970 --> 01:47:55.670
know what's going to produce lift and stuff,
01:47:55.789 --> 01:47:58.489
what that means in the speed flying world is
01:47:58.489 --> 01:48:00.289
you know where the air is going to be the smoothest.
01:48:00.569 --> 01:48:02.449
You know where the air is not going to rock you.
01:48:02.529 --> 01:48:04.789
You know where there's not, you know, to avoid
01:48:04.789 --> 01:48:07.649
that sink over that cold mass over the lake.
01:48:08.189 --> 01:48:10.590
Right. You know, you know those things. If you're
01:48:10.590 --> 01:48:13.050
just only focused on the line and just ripping.
01:48:13.960 --> 01:48:16.720
That's really dangerous, I think. And I think
01:48:16.720 --> 01:48:20.479
that's probably our biggest crutch in the speed
01:48:20.479 --> 01:48:24.380
flying community is that they don't know the
01:48:24.380 --> 01:48:28.000
arena they're playing in fully if you don't know
01:48:28.000 --> 01:48:32.479
how to fly a big wing efficiently. Like you said,
01:48:32.560 --> 01:48:34.279
you were just doing what you were doing. You
01:48:34.279 --> 01:48:36.319
got hit by a car. You were in the arena of the
01:48:36.319 --> 01:48:41.159
roadway. We're in the arena of air. And if you
01:48:41.159 --> 01:48:44.210
don't know everything about it, you know just
01:48:44.210 --> 01:48:47.229
just think about how that sounds you know um
01:48:47.229 --> 01:48:51.210
that i mean i like i agree but that's very like
01:48:51.210 --> 01:48:54.909
with my yeah i'm sorry to cut you off no no it's
01:48:54.909 --> 01:49:00.109
okay like like what i was saying with my um near
01:49:00.109 --> 01:49:02.329
miss that i had earlier in the conversation where
01:49:02.329 --> 01:49:04.449
i cut it in super close i'll have to send you
01:49:04.449 --> 01:49:07.770
that video um please yeah why did that happen
01:49:07.770 --> 01:49:10.649
that happened because it was going katabatic
01:49:10.649 --> 01:49:13.689
and i flew down into a notch And the air was
01:49:13.689 --> 01:49:16.829
going downhill and compressing and getting stronger
01:49:16.829 --> 01:49:18.989
where I had just cut it down into the valley.
01:49:19.329 --> 01:49:22.029
So the air is going this way, compressing downward.
01:49:22.829 --> 01:49:25.149
Would I know that if I didn't fly big wings?
01:49:25.329 --> 01:49:28.710
Absolutely not. Right. I would not. You know,
01:49:28.810 --> 01:49:32.250
and I do this and I shouldn't, right? Because
01:49:32.250 --> 01:49:34.229
I'm not a base jumper. But when you look at base
01:49:34.229 --> 01:49:36.729
jumping to skydiving, one of the major requirements
01:49:36.729 --> 01:49:40.239
when you... go do a course at like, you know,
01:49:40.239 --> 01:49:43.239
in twin falls at the, at the Perrine bridge is
01:49:43.239 --> 01:49:46.319
you have to have a minimum of 200 skydives. Okay.
01:49:46.399 --> 01:49:48.600
It's like, well, why, why, you know, because
01:49:48.600 --> 01:49:52.020
there, there's no governing body of base. Now
01:49:52.020 --> 01:49:53.979
we have a governing body because we were adopted,
01:49:54.159 --> 01:49:56.000
I guess, you know, they're, they're working on
01:49:56.000 --> 01:49:58.020
it. Right. I respect it. Right. I get it. But,
01:49:58.060 --> 01:50:03.520
um, why not be like, Hey, cool. You want to speed
01:50:03.520 --> 01:50:05.460
fly? You want to do it the right way? You know,
01:50:05.479 --> 01:50:08.930
right on. you're going to paraglide first. And
01:50:08.930 --> 01:50:11.310
had that been told to me, and I'm not blaming
01:50:11.310 --> 01:50:13.369
anybody because it's, it's not the case, but
01:50:13.369 --> 01:50:16.170
had that been told to me, had that been the case
01:50:16.170 --> 01:50:18.069
when I was coming from skydiving, I would have
01:50:18.069 --> 01:50:21.430
paraglided like not because I wanted to be a
01:50:21.430 --> 01:50:23.470
paraglide pilot necessarily, but because I wanted
01:50:23.470 --> 01:50:25.050
to speed fly. And that's what I had to do to
01:50:25.050 --> 01:50:28.810
get there. You want a base? Cool. Go get your
01:50:28.810 --> 01:50:31.529
a license, go get 200 jumps, which is not a lot
01:50:31.529 --> 01:50:34.109
of jumps. So, you know, like i said there's a
01:50:34.109 --> 01:50:36.909
spectrum right maybe maybe not maybe like 500
01:50:36.909 --> 01:50:41.270
jumps whatever but um it's there's a lot more
01:50:41.270 --> 01:50:43.569
internal gatekeeping and base jumping because
01:50:43.569 --> 01:50:46.909
you know there's less places to do it so there's
01:50:46.909 --> 01:50:50.449
more protection there's more like internal protection
01:50:50.449 --> 01:50:53.390
of the sport because you can't just go out to
01:50:53.390 --> 01:50:55.729
the hill at the park and throw yourself off of
01:50:55.729 --> 01:50:59.020
it you know you got to like go to a You have
01:50:59.020 --> 01:51:01.199
to either do illegal shit or you have to go somewhere
01:51:01.199 --> 01:51:04.840
where it's legal, but it's, it's finite of, you
01:51:04.840 --> 01:51:06.500
know, like if you screw up, you could screw it
01:51:06.500 --> 01:51:08.380
up for everybody. So don't screw up, you know,
01:51:08.380 --> 01:51:11.300
so that it's, it's different in that, you know,
01:51:11.319 --> 01:51:13.239
the medium is a little bit different and I fully
01:51:13.239 --> 01:51:16.739
understand that. But I, I mean, I agree if, if
01:51:16.739 --> 01:51:18.979
we're going down the regulation road, which it
01:51:18.979 --> 01:51:23.220
seems like we are, um, maybe you do. And dude,
01:51:23.260 --> 01:51:27.149
Europe. a lot of places you have to have a paraglide
01:51:27.149 --> 01:51:30.090
license to speed fly there like i think chrome
01:51:30.090 --> 01:51:33.729
plots you have to have at least a p2 to just
01:51:33.729 --> 01:51:37.390
fly there even with a speed wing you know i could
01:51:37.390 --> 01:51:38.949
be wrong it might not be there but i've heard
01:51:38.949 --> 01:51:41.550
like there are places where you have to have
01:51:41.550 --> 01:51:43.649
it so why not just go down that road did you
01:51:43.649 --> 01:51:47.279
know we have a resort up here So you mentioned
01:51:47.279 --> 01:51:49.960
that lets us fly. You mentioned this and I really,
01:51:50.159 --> 01:51:52.119
man, there's so many things. I don't care, dude.
01:51:52.199 --> 01:51:54.840
I got freaking until like two. So we got time,
01:51:54.920 --> 01:51:58.579
but, um, yeah, me too. Whatever. So yeah, whatever.
01:51:58.739 --> 01:52:01.119
Uh, people will be stoked for a longer one, I
01:52:01.119 --> 01:52:03.520
think. Um, or maybe it's just me that enjoys
01:52:03.520 --> 01:52:08.600
long ass podcast, but, um, you, okay. So Alaska
01:52:08.600 --> 01:52:12.340
dude before. Okay. I didn't. Sorry, I really
01:52:12.340 --> 01:52:14.220
threw a wrench. No, no, it's good. I really threw
01:52:14.220 --> 01:52:16.300
a wrench in there. I was trying to go this way
01:52:16.300 --> 01:52:19.800
because I have questions. Okay, first of all,
01:52:19.800 --> 01:52:22.140
I did not realize how many shredders there are
01:52:22.140 --> 01:52:25.340
in Alaska. It's like absurd. Dude. It's absurd.
01:52:25.560 --> 01:52:28.439
Dude, that's one of my notes. That's one of my
01:52:28.439 --> 01:52:34.460
notes. Dive into it because wow. You know, think
01:52:34.460 --> 01:52:36.699
about this, right? Think about your mountain
01:52:36.699 --> 01:52:39.279
town you're at. It's the raddest place you know.
01:52:39.420 --> 01:52:41.960
It's this little bohemian place that feels awesome
01:52:41.960 --> 01:52:44.359
to you. There's rad people that you know there.
01:52:45.159 --> 01:52:48.260
And you travel to that place, right? Think about
01:52:48.260 --> 01:52:50.039
how many people are like, well, I'm going to
01:52:50.039 --> 01:52:51.960
move to Alaska. I'm going to fucking get it.
01:52:52.020 --> 01:52:54.880
I'm going to go to Alaska. Alaska is full of
01:52:54.880 --> 01:52:57.880
rippers to the gills. No matter what sport activity
01:52:57.880 --> 01:53:02.279
it is, you won't be humbled as hard as anywhere
01:53:02.279 --> 01:53:05.989
else. There's people who like, you know, the
01:53:05.989 --> 01:53:08.310
mountain flat top. I love flat top. There's people
01:53:08.310 --> 01:53:11.270
who run that thing to like one time every day
01:53:11.270 --> 01:53:13.689
or go down the ridge and back every day. I mean,
01:53:13.710 --> 01:53:15.909
how many places do you know where people are
01:53:15.909 --> 01:53:18.750
hiking a 3000 foot mountain where there's like
01:53:18.750 --> 01:53:22.369
five, three rock climbing on the top every day?
01:53:22.510 --> 01:53:24.670
And that's considered your chill, easy place
01:53:24.670 --> 01:53:27.770
where you take your grandma. Like Alaska is just.
01:53:28.840 --> 01:53:32.220
just rippers, rippers everywhere in every facet,
01:53:32.239 --> 01:53:37.020
in every sport. Me being on this podcast compared
01:53:37.020 --> 01:53:38.819
to some of the people who are up here in the
01:53:38.819 --> 01:53:40.720
state is like doing a disservice. You're going
01:53:40.720 --> 01:53:43.000
to have to get like, you have to get Lesha on
01:53:43.000 --> 01:53:46.340
here. You need Chris French on here. So many,
01:53:46.399 --> 01:53:52.319
so many rad, just rippers. That being said, it's,
01:53:52.319 --> 01:53:54.880
it's not pointing the mountain here either. There's
01:53:54.880 --> 01:53:57.619
like one spot that I would probably consider.
01:53:59.050 --> 01:54:01.170
point in the mountain for flying and learning.
01:54:01.229 --> 01:54:04.489
It's not really the best place to learn. We do
01:54:04.489 --> 01:54:07.609
learn and teach people here, though. But, you
01:54:07.609 --> 01:54:11.109
know, it's Alaska. It's full on. We have a lot
01:54:11.109 --> 01:54:15.550
of variety in the types of runs that we have.
01:54:16.829 --> 01:54:19.510
And really, we just have a lot of access, too.
01:54:20.210 --> 01:54:23.189
We have a lot of trails. The tree line is low.
01:54:23.430 --> 01:54:28.060
It is the opposite of Washington trees. Basically,
01:54:28.060 --> 01:54:33.960
anything above 1 ,500 feet is bare. Wow. That's
01:54:33.960 --> 01:54:36.859
cool. Yeah, I have some buddies from Washington
01:54:36.859 --> 01:54:39.060
that just moved up, and they are just frothing
01:54:39.060 --> 01:54:42.399
that there's no trees blocking half of the mountains
01:54:42.399 --> 01:54:47.680
that look tasty. You know, there's a lot of established
01:54:47.680 --> 01:54:50.220
places to fly here, a lot of good speed sites.
01:54:50.659 --> 01:54:53.800
One of my favorites is a place called Switchbacks.
01:54:54.700 --> 01:54:56.680
If you want to look it up on the internet, it's
01:54:56.680 --> 01:54:59.760
called Mile High Saddle. You drive up half of
01:54:59.760 --> 01:55:01.380
it. You hike for like half an hour and it's about
01:55:01.380 --> 01:55:04.439
just over 3 ,000 feet. You land in this huge
01:55:04.439 --> 01:55:08.319
road and you run laps all day. One of the local
01:55:08.319 --> 01:55:12.340
legends lands in a mini trampoline in his front
01:55:12.340 --> 01:55:15.239
yard that he has dug into the ground right there
01:55:15.239 --> 01:55:19.579
from that site. Wow. It's about Alaska, man.
01:55:19.680 --> 01:55:23.100
It's just, the people are amazing. It's the biggest
01:55:23.100 --> 01:55:25.439
mountain town. The whole state is a mountain
01:55:25.439 --> 01:55:30.619
town. No shortage. You could fly a new epic line
01:55:30.619 --> 01:55:36.439
once a week for the rest of your life. Scotty,
01:55:36.439 --> 01:55:41.699
not even touch it. You're a skier guy. You know
01:55:41.699 --> 01:55:43.899
what it means when you go up on the ridgeline.
01:55:43.979 --> 01:55:46.399
You just look out. It's Alaska. All the ski things
01:55:46.399 --> 01:55:51.670
are true. yeah it's a wonderful place i moved
01:55:51.670 --> 01:55:54.710
to alaska when i was 18 uh and never left and
01:55:54.710 --> 01:55:56.989
it was the best thing i ever did for myself and
01:55:56.989 --> 01:56:00.029
i suggest every young 17 year old kid out there
01:56:00.029 --> 01:56:02.010
listening to run away from your parents and move
01:56:02.010 --> 01:56:06.590
to alaska and don't go back yeah it is uh it
01:56:06.590 --> 01:56:09.789
is a rugged place for sure i've been you know
01:56:09.789 --> 01:56:13.930
skiing since i was three i'm 33 so that's 30
01:56:13.930 --> 01:56:18.960
years and uh i have been watching like springtime
01:56:18.960 --> 01:56:23.640
ski clips and you know vhs tapes all the way
01:56:23.640 --> 01:56:27.359
to instagram now um the whole gambit of you know
01:56:27.359 --> 01:56:31.439
technology improving and whatnot but it it just
01:56:31.439 --> 01:56:36.420
seems like the super bowl of everything i mean
01:56:36.420 --> 01:56:41.340
you've got huge mountains that are like 55 degrees
01:56:41.340 --> 01:56:43.880
steep from top to bottom with freaking you know
01:56:44.300 --> 01:56:48.399
bird shruns and crevasses and crazy snow that
01:56:48.399 --> 01:56:50.760
sticks to walls it just doesn't make any you
01:56:50.760 --> 01:56:53.600
know and then that's the best part we got that
01:56:53.600 --> 01:56:57.000
stable snow and we get all these friends that
01:56:57.000 --> 01:56:58.920
move up here and they're like what about your
01:56:58.920 --> 01:57:01.539
slab issues and like uh it didn't rain in november
01:57:01.539 --> 01:57:05.600
this year we're good you know i'm like fluffing
01:57:05.600 --> 01:57:10.399
on the 55 degree you know spine line yeah you're
01:57:10.399 --> 01:57:13.140
probably all the places you go are so close to
01:57:13.140 --> 01:57:16.619
the ocean too that it's just we got good snow
01:57:16.619 --> 01:57:18.920
you know we got all the things are true all the
01:57:18.920 --> 01:57:21.140
things are true people people complain about
01:57:21.140 --> 01:57:24.140
maritime snow packs but coming from from my perspective
01:57:24.140 --> 01:57:29.640
i i it's amazing how much people get away with
01:57:29.640 --> 01:57:32.340
stuff in washington state versus utah like so
01:57:32.340 --> 01:57:34.939
i you know i patrolled in utah 10 years ago yeah
01:57:34.939 --> 01:57:37.810
you look at something wrong and it would go Like
01:57:37.810 --> 01:57:40.710
I have some crazy avalanche control work stories
01:57:40.710 --> 01:57:44.710
from that place because it is the real deal there.
01:57:44.770 --> 01:57:47.409
Like in Colorado too, like the intercontinental
01:57:47.409 --> 01:57:50.670
snowpack is so unstable, but man produces some
01:57:50.670 --> 01:57:52.630
very, very light powder, which is really fun.
01:57:52.770 --> 01:57:56.270
If you enjoy getting face shots is awesome. Um,
01:57:56.409 --> 01:57:58.350
maritime snowpack is very different. You know,
01:57:58.350 --> 01:58:02.300
it's super, it consolidates it's. Normally on
01:58:02.300 --> 01:58:04.220
the heavier end, but man, I've had some amazing
01:58:04.220 --> 01:58:06.880
pow days here too, just last season. I couldn't
01:58:06.880 --> 01:58:10.680
believe how good it was. But it's so funny because
01:58:10.680 --> 01:58:12.520
coming from Utah, people were always like, oh,
01:58:12.560 --> 01:58:15.100
like the Sierra cement you hear a lot, which
01:58:15.100 --> 01:58:18.859
is more of a maritime snow. I don't know what
01:58:18.859 --> 01:58:23.060
they are, but it is a denser quality snow. It's
01:58:23.060 --> 01:58:25.899
just heavier. Same thing in Washington. Same
01:58:25.899 --> 01:58:28.699
thing in Alaska, but it's not a bad thing. It
01:58:28.699 --> 01:58:30.869
just means it's more stable. It means you can
01:58:30.869 --> 01:58:35.850
ski 50 -plus degree stuff if you want, and it's
01:58:35.850 --> 01:58:37.909
not just going to rip out, you know, or it's
01:58:37.909 --> 01:58:39.689
actually just going to hold snow. Like, that's
01:58:39.689 --> 01:58:43.130
the crazy part, you know? I digress. We're talking
01:58:43.130 --> 01:58:45.710
about skiing now for some reason, but it's just
01:58:45.710 --> 01:58:48.789
always intriguing. Skiing is super fun. Snowboarding
01:58:48.789 --> 01:58:51.869
is cool, too. Yeah, but skiing, ski resort. So
01:58:51.869 --> 01:58:54.310
we have one resort up here that allows us to
01:58:54.310 --> 01:58:59.159
fly, and it was, you know... They say that it
01:58:59.159 --> 01:59:01.859
was one of the first ski resorts in America to
01:59:01.859 --> 01:59:04.739
have anybody fly a paraglider off. There's people
01:59:04.739 --> 01:59:08.760
coming in from the 80s to fly off. No way. It's
01:59:08.760 --> 01:59:12.699
called Arctic Valley. We got about right around
01:59:12.699 --> 01:59:15.899
1 ,000 foot relief. It's a smaller local hill.
01:59:17.180 --> 01:59:20.319
We got a T -bar and two chairs, and they let
01:59:20.319 --> 01:59:25.789
us speed fly there. In the wind? Yes. we there's
01:59:25.789 --> 01:59:28.569
there's no regulation to about that we have rules
01:59:28.569 --> 01:59:30.989
uh the rule you can't fly next to the lift no
01:59:30.989 --> 01:59:33.630
barrel rolls but nothing like you got to be off
01:59:33.630 --> 01:59:35.449
the deck you can be on the deck all you want
01:59:35.449 --> 01:59:37.750
or fly right over top of it there's no altitude
01:59:37.750 --> 01:59:41.710
restriction there which i think is the best thing
01:59:41.710 --> 01:59:44.710
we got going for us it is uh you know some smaller
01:59:44.710 --> 01:59:50.729
runs um but you can get 20 30 laps in you know
01:59:50.729 --> 01:59:54.510
um it's a t -bar too so so you just hop on the
01:59:54.510 --> 01:59:56.369
t -bar and just you're just zipping you are stuffing
01:59:56.369 --> 01:59:59.970
that thing in the quick sack and you're you talk
01:59:59.970 --> 02:00:02.270
about zonked at the end of the day if you're
02:00:02.270 --> 02:00:03.949
riding the t -bar up you know you're not sitting
02:00:03.949 --> 02:00:06.489
down unless you're flying and if you're not really
02:00:06.489 --> 02:00:10.189
resting when you're flying no no yeah but uh
02:00:10.189 --> 02:00:14.329
we had figured out the insurance stuff and i
02:00:14.329 --> 02:00:17.750
suggest everybody listening here uh talk to the
02:00:17.750 --> 02:00:20.020
people at arctic valley about your insurance
02:00:20.020 --> 02:00:22.619
questions because we had a lawyer get involved,
02:00:22.920 --> 02:00:28.340
help us out heavily. We could talk for hours
02:00:28.340 --> 02:00:32.180
on the insurance side. But, you know, it being
02:00:32.180 --> 02:00:35.539
Alaska, we have a small population of people.
02:00:36.659 --> 02:00:40.020
We probably have 50 paragliding pilots in the
02:00:40.020 --> 02:00:44.500
state total, speed wing and full size, maybe
02:00:44.500 --> 02:00:48.060
a little bit more, but the community is tight.
02:00:48.569 --> 02:00:51.649
uh they're not we just don't let anybody go fly
02:00:51.649 --> 02:00:55.510
there uh you got to be s2 certified in ski ratings
02:00:55.510 --> 02:00:58.149
and you got to get kind of signed off by one
02:00:58.149 --> 02:01:01.409
of the local guys um that being said all you
02:01:01.409 --> 02:01:03.329
listeners i don't i don't assume there's going
02:01:03.329 --> 02:01:05.090
to be a line of people down at arctic valley
02:01:05.090 --> 02:01:08.689
this winter trying to go i mean we will totally
02:01:08.689 --> 02:01:11.170
help you guys come in and check it out but um
02:01:11.170 --> 02:01:13.649
dude i'm i'm taking some time off and when's
02:01:13.649 --> 02:01:16.390
the best time to come like april in the spring
02:01:16.390 --> 02:01:19.079
when we have in the spring when we have the most
02:01:19.079 --> 02:01:22.399
light. Um, like you're talking like April or.
02:01:24.039 --> 02:01:27.359
Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay. Well, I'm going to work
02:01:27.359 --> 02:01:28.859
like that. I'm going to, I'm going to drive up
02:01:28.859 --> 02:01:30.899
there in April, man, for sure. That's, that's
02:01:30.899 --> 02:01:33.739
like, I got to go to France, you know, like I
02:01:33.739 --> 02:01:35.979
got to drop all this money to go to Europe and
02:01:35.979 --> 02:01:39.289
go scare myself to just, you know. basically
02:01:39.289 --> 02:01:41.649
just do 30 laps a day i'm just i'm just gonna
02:01:41.649 --> 02:01:44.829
go to alaska man that's sick what can you spell
02:01:44.829 --> 02:01:46.989
the name for me how do you spell i just wrote
02:01:46.989 --> 02:01:48.909
it down but i think i misspelled it it's arctic
02:01:48.909 --> 02:01:51.890
valley just just arctic regular regular yeah
02:01:51.890 --> 02:01:55.590
and is that outside of anchorage yes it's in
02:01:55.590 --> 02:01:57.550
between anchorage and eagle river like a 10 minute
02:01:57.550 --> 02:02:00.590
drive outside of the city limits i mean probably
02:02:00.590 --> 02:02:02.250
a little longer like half hour drive but it's
02:02:02.250 --> 02:02:05.760
right there in anchorage So not that there's
02:02:05.760 --> 02:02:07.520
like a million people listening to this, but
02:02:07.520 --> 02:02:11.100
I guarantee you, you see a bump in traffic there.
02:02:11.640 --> 02:02:18.119
Like I said, get with me and some other people
02:02:18.119 --> 02:02:20.979
from the local community. Sean Joy is a good
02:02:20.979 --> 02:02:26.560
guy. Yeah, like I said, earlier in the podcast,
02:02:26.640 --> 02:02:28.840
I grew up splitboarding. I have a splitboard
02:02:28.840 --> 02:02:31.970
hanging up on my wall at the house. I've been
02:02:31.970 --> 02:02:36.090
a big backcountry guy forever. If paragliders
02:02:36.090 --> 02:02:38.729
flew sideways, I would never own a pair of skis
02:02:38.729 --> 02:02:41.350
and I would continue the path of hating skiers
02:02:41.350 --> 02:02:44.409
and skiing. But, you know, I started learning
02:02:44.409 --> 02:02:46.930
skiing and I've been so I could go at the resort.
02:02:47.409 --> 02:02:50.529
So I was one of the basically, like I said earlier,
02:02:50.670 --> 02:02:52.289
it's a small community, not a lot of pilots,
02:02:52.430 --> 02:02:55.949
not a lot of new guys were showing up. And now
02:02:55.949 --> 02:02:58.489
we have some newer guys coming in. So that's
02:02:58.489 --> 02:03:00.989
kind of like a change to the community. Not used
02:03:00.989 --> 02:03:03.149
to having to worry about baby Jake over there
02:03:03.149 --> 02:03:08.670
who smashed his face in at Bird Ridge. So I was
02:03:08.670 --> 02:03:11.409
like the newest guy out there the past couple
02:03:11.409 --> 02:03:14.649
seasons. And I was terrified that I was going
02:03:14.649 --> 02:03:17.489
to ruin the only ski resort in North America.
02:03:19.920 --> 02:03:22.000
I thought I was going to ruin it all for everybody.
02:03:22.079 --> 02:03:24.319
So I was very cautious when learning my speed
02:03:24.319 --> 02:03:28.000
riding and very receptive of getting spankings
02:03:28.000 --> 02:03:31.880
about messing up because I didn't want to ruin
02:03:31.880 --> 02:03:34.640
it for anybody. This is the only place in America
02:03:34.640 --> 02:03:38.960
that we can do this. So we're kind of protective
02:03:38.960 --> 02:03:40.720
of it. You're going to have to get signed off
02:03:40.720 --> 02:03:45.500
by a local guy. Yeah. It's still going to be
02:03:45.500 --> 02:03:47.720
an easy thing. It's still going to be an easy
02:03:47.720 --> 02:03:50.470
feat, though. We're not going to like. gatekeep
02:03:50.470 --> 02:03:53.029
and turn people away like we're gonna we're gonna
02:03:53.029 --> 02:03:55.170
be so stoked to see anybody come up with Alaska
02:03:55.170 --> 02:03:58.529
but um well I mean and yeah I was so scared for
02:03:58.529 --> 02:04:00.289
so long that I was gonna ruin it for everybody
02:04:00.289 --> 02:04:03.069
well it's a it's a huge responsibility you know
02:04:03.069 --> 02:04:05.989
I mean you're you are and it's like you know
02:04:05.989 --> 02:04:09.029
we've talked about this right but like you go
02:04:09.029 --> 02:04:11.590
somewhere new that's not yours like it's not
02:04:11.590 --> 02:04:14.350
your zone and there's something that is allowed
02:04:14.350 --> 02:04:16.970
there like you can fly there right don't be the
02:04:16.970 --> 02:04:19.390
one that screws it up Like, don't be the, the
02:04:19.390 --> 02:04:23.090
spot. No, like, please don't, you know, because
02:04:23.090 --> 02:04:25.050
then you ruin it for the people that live there
02:04:25.050 --> 02:04:26.729
that like, that's the, you know, that's their
02:04:26.729 --> 02:04:28.770
zone. Like, what are they going to do? So did
02:04:28.770 --> 02:04:30.409
they not, they don't market that. I'm assuming
02:04:30.409 --> 02:04:32.989
like Arctic Valley does not, they don't say anything
02:04:32.989 --> 02:04:34.649
about it on their website or anything. Cause
02:04:34.649 --> 02:04:37.250
this is, this is it. This is me marketing for
02:04:37.250 --> 02:04:39.649
them. Did you, do we need to call them? Like,
02:04:39.649 --> 02:04:43.489
cool. No, that's a man that dad just made my
02:04:43.489 --> 02:04:45.869
day. Like you'd be meant for, we got our insurance
02:04:45.869 --> 02:04:49.220
figured out. While we were talking about regulation,
02:04:49.640 --> 02:04:52.199
you know, over across the pond, you have to have
02:04:52.199 --> 02:04:55.399
your P2. Originally, we had the rules that you
02:04:55.399 --> 02:04:58.000
had to have your P3. It's kind of difficult.
02:04:58.079 --> 02:05:02.239
You got to be a real paragliding dude to get
02:05:02.239 --> 02:05:04.680
that. And you had to get your mini wing too.
02:05:05.279 --> 02:05:07.460
If you looked up the rules for your mini wing
02:05:07.460 --> 02:05:11.960
too, it is insane. It's like 350 flights, two
02:05:11.960 --> 02:05:14.840
or three different wings, you know, different
02:05:14.840 --> 02:05:19.010
site locations, all of those things. and now
02:05:19.010 --> 02:05:21.250
they switched it to having your S2, which is
02:05:21.250 --> 02:05:24.069
the right thing. But, I mean, your S2, 20 -some
02:05:24.069 --> 02:05:26.689
flights on a Speedwing at Point of the Mountain
02:05:26.689 --> 02:05:29.810
will get you. Yeah, it's not much of a barrier
02:05:29.810 --> 02:05:33.850
to entry. Yeah, it's easier than a P2, I would
02:05:33.850 --> 02:05:37.649
argue. So I'm glad that we got those legal issues
02:05:37.649 --> 02:05:40.310
figured out because I went and I got my P3 and
02:05:40.310 --> 02:05:45.170
my Mini Wing 2. It was difficult just because
02:05:45.170 --> 02:05:50.260
we're Speedwing guys. track our vlog book right
02:05:50.260 --> 02:05:54.800
at least i don't i mean um for a little bit i
02:05:54.800 --> 02:05:56.659
was pushing the numbers so hard and i wanted
02:05:56.659 --> 02:05:59.560
to get get get and get numbers that it was not
02:05:59.560 --> 02:06:02.899
healthy i'm glad i quit vlogging honestly because
02:06:02.899 --> 02:06:06.659
the numbers were pushing me that's a whole nother
02:06:06.659 --> 02:06:08.159
topic that's yeah that's an easy trap to fall
02:06:08.159 --> 02:06:11.100
into both the rabbit hole and the like the numbers
02:06:11.100 --> 02:06:15.640
you know and and i i get it i'm glad that I'm
02:06:15.640 --> 02:06:17.159
glad that we don't have, the only thing I'm going
02:06:17.159 --> 02:06:19.579
to say about the numbers thing is I'm really
02:06:19.579 --> 02:06:24.199
glad that this board doesn't have gates at certain
02:06:24.199 --> 02:06:27.819
numbers. Cause like, you know, you said it earlier,
02:06:27.899 --> 02:06:30.420
you like to like watch yourself fly cause you
02:06:30.420 --> 02:06:32.819
study it. Right. I mean, and I'm the same way.
02:06:32.880 --> 02:06:35.239
I'm a big, I'm very visual. I'm a visual learner.
02:06:35.500 --> 02:06:37.979
I'm a, like a tactile guy. I like to touch stuff.
02:06:38.000 --> 02:06:40.439
You know, I like to see things and, you know,
02:06:40.439 --> 02:06:42.319
reading a textbook. I didn't learn it. Show me,
02:06:42.380 --> 02:06:43.880
I got it. You know, it's stuck there for sure.
02:06:44.359 --> 02:06:47.520
Um, with skydiving, like you, you cannot fly
02:06:47.520 --> 02:06:50.340
with a GoPro, like a camera, right. In general,
02:06:50.439 --> 02:06:54.939
until you get to 200 jumps. So I was in this
02:06:54.939 --> 02:06:57.119
huge hurry to get to 200 jumps because I'm a
02:06:57.119 --> 02:06:59.640
film guy. You know, if I've got a, I'm a scientist
02:06:59.640 --> 02:07:02.220
in film, a bachelor's of science in cinematography
02:07:02.220 --> 02:07:05.880
and, uh, filmmaking or whatever, you know, but
02:07:05.880 --> 02:07:08.760
so like, I'm super into filming and I just wanted
02:07:08.760 --> 02:07:12.340
to film with GoPro, mostly myself, right. I wanted
02:07:12.340 --> 02:07:15.659
to. see what i was doing like you know study
02:07:15.659 --> 02:07:19.039
it i'm so glad that you can put a gopro on your
02:07:19.039 --> 02:07:21.260
helmet if you want to day one of speed flying
02:07:21.260 --> 02:07:22.739
i mean some of the schools might not let you
02:07:22.739 --> 02:07:27.159
but um most probably like if you're like oh i'm
02:07:27.159 --> 02:07:30.000
trying to get a rad clip for my tiktok probably
02:07:30.000 --> 02:07:31.859
maybe not but if you're like hey i want to do
02:07:31.859 --> 02:07:34.960
this different different story this type of person
02:07:34.960 --> 02:07:37.779
right like we've been talking about all morning
02:07:37.779 --> 02:07:41.109
here it's like it's a different people can do
02:07:41.109 --> 02:07:42.869
different things because it's a spectrum, right?
02:07:42.970 --> 02:07:46.850
So I digress on that, but, um, I'm just glad
02:07:46.850 --> 02:07:50.750
that that isn't a thing because it does drive
02:07:50.750 --> 02:07:53.449
people to get numbers. Like I was in the biggest
02:07:53.449 --> 02:07:55.289
hurry. I didn't care what it costs. I'm, I'm
02:07:55.289 --> 02:07:58.069
getting 200 jumps so I can start filming. Um,
02:07:58.149 --> 02:08:00.930
that's interesting. Yeah. It's just different
02:08:00.930 --> 02:08:05.750
world. Yeah. I, uh, I had a GoPro and I, you
02:08:05.750 --> 02:08:08.470
know, I, we've all heard that expression, GoPros
02:08:08.470 --> 02:08:09.989
and girlfriends on the ground. It killed more
02:08:09.989 --> 02:08:13.500
people. I don't know if you've heard that. Showing
02:08:13.500 --> 02:08:15.920
off in GoPros killed more people than anything.
02:08:16.500 --> 02:08:21.260
And being a part of that accident, it made me
02:08:21.260 --> 02:08:23.619
scared to film my own stuff. I didn't want to
02:08:23.619 --> 02:08:26.460
show off for the camera and get hurt. I had a
02:08:26.460 --> 02:08:31.739
GoPro. I bought a 9. And there was like the 12
02:08:31.739 --> 02:08:34.880
that come out before I started filming my stuff.
02:08:35.159 --> 02:08:37.100
Like all this stuff you see on my Instagram.
02:08:38.880 --> 02:08:41.279
It took me courage to start filming my stuff
02:08:41.279 --> 02:08:42.939
because I didn't want to get myself hurt. I didn't
02:08:42.939 --> 02:08:47.119
want to put myself in that situation. And I ended
02:08:47.119 --> 02:08:49.399
up having an old -ass GoPro by the time I finally
02:08:49.399 --> 02:08:54.539
used it. But I'm glad that there's no regulation
02:08:54.539 --> 02:08:56.560
like that, first of all. And that, second of
02:08:56.560 --> 02:09:02.020
all, I slowed down in that regard. And I encourage
02:09:02.020 --> 02:09:05.079
everybody out there to think if you really want
02:09:05.079 --> 02:09:06.920
to put a GoPro on, what it's going to mean. Are
02:09:06.920 --> 02:09:09.420
you going to not show off? and you just fly the
02:09:09.420 --> 02:09:12.000
way you normally would? Or are you really flying
02:09:12.000 --> 02:09:13.720
to get a video? Because if you're flying to get
02:09:13.720 --> 02:09:16.060
a video, you are going to get hurt. It might
02:09:16.060 --> 02:09:18.460
not happen the first time or a hundredth time,
02:09:18.539 --> 02:09:20.619
but eventually you're going to go in if that's
02:09:20.619 --> 02:09:25.600
all you're doing is that. Yeah. I think it's
02:09:25.600 --> 02:09:27.819
a problem. It's like Patrick Hennessey having
02:09:27.819 --> 02:09:30.699
the phaser for four years. Yeah, I love that.
02:09:30.779 --> 02:09:34.439
Slowing himself down. I'm very thankful I didn't
02:09:34.439 --> 02:09:38.779
film anything for like three years. And, um,
02:09:39.659 --> 02:09:43.300
did I, did I get benefit out of it? You can't
02:09:43.300 --> 02:09:45.520
really measure it, but I think I did, you know?
02:09:46.619 --> 02:09:48.800
Yeah. And I mean, I mean, to each their own,
02:09:48.840 --> 02:09:53.060
I respect it. You know, I think if, if you're
02:09:53.060 --> 02:09:57.220
doing it for the wrong reasons and, or, and,
02:09:57.279 --> 02:10:00.500
or if it's a distraction, you know, like for
02:10:00.500 --> 02:10:04.119
me, I, I've, I incorporated it into my pre -flight
02:10:04.119 --> 02:10:08.939
checks where there is a moment there where I
02:10:08.939 --> 02:10:11.600
reach up and click it and I hear the beep. And
02:10:11.600 --> 02:10:13.479
then I continue with my pre -flight stuff. And
02:10:13.479 --> 02:10:15.300
it's not the last thing I do. And it's not the
02:10:15.300 --> 02:10:17.600
first thing I do. It's, it's working my way down.
02:10:17.800 --> 02:10:20.359
So it's like somewhere in the middle, which doesn't
02:10:20.359 --> 02:10:22.460
make sense. Cause you'd think I'd start on top
02:10:22.460 --> 02:10:24.960
of my head, but I don't. Um, but that's just
02:10:24.960 --> 02:10:27.140
my, it only has to make sense to you. Exactly.
02:10:27.619 --> 02:10:30.420
And so it's never been a distraction for me.
02:10:30.460 --> 02:10:33.060
And also like, I don't, I don't look at it as
02:10:33.060 --> 02:10:36.829
a way to. I'm not thinking I'm going to get a
02:10:36.829 --> 02:10:41.729
clip for Instagram. If I happen to do something
02:10:41.729 --> 02:10:43.449
cool or something that I thought was cool or
02:10:43.449 --> 02:10:45.750
that inspired me or I was stoked on, that's a
02:10:45.750 --> 02:10:48.670
different story. But that's after the fact. That's
02:10:48.670 --> 02:10:52.149
when I watch it that night when I am putting
02:10:52.149 --> 02:10:54.890
stuff in my logbook. I also use it to remember
02:10:54.890 --> 02:10:57.710
what I did because I think I'm the opposite of
02:10:57.710 --> 02:10:59.409
you in terms of logging things, which is hilarious.
02:10:59.710 --> 02:11:03.489
I am very meticulous about my logbook. If you
02:11:03.489 --> 02:11:05.489
looked at it, you would laugh because I could
02:11:05.489 --> 02:11:07.810
do like the same, like, let's say I did 10 airport
02:11:07.810 --> 02:11:10.470
ridge laps in Atlanta in a day. I will literally
02:11:10.470 --> 02:11:13.630
write down moment to moment what I did and how
02:11:13.630 --> 02:11:16.090
I felt or what the wing was doing or what I thought
02:11:16.090 --> 02:11:18.869
I could do differently or just notes about the
02:11:18.869 --> 02:11:21.250
wing or about the day or about the weather, like
02:11:21.250 --> 02:11:22.890
something because something was different. Like
02:11:22.890 --> 02:11:27.369
I would, I'm very like analytical. I digitalized
02:11:27.369 --> 02:11:30.649
it while I was hurt. It took me like. a week
02:11:30.649 --> 02:11:33.550
to do that and you know at that point i was like
02:11:33.550 --> 02:11:36.050
four something hundred four hundred something
02:11:36.050 --> 02:11:37.789
flights it wasn't like a lot but it still took
02:11:37.789 --> 02:11:40.050
some time and since i started flying again i
02:11:40.050 --> 02:11:44.090
think i've got like 30 or 40 since i've been
02:11:44.090 --> 02:11:47.850
back now um i haven't been digitalizing it because
02:11:47.850 --> 02:11:50.050
i like to write i like i just like analog stuff
02:11:50.050 --> 02:11:53.329
i don't know i like film cameras so versus digital
02:11:53.329 --> 02:11:58.779
um but yeah i mean they can be a tool And they
02:11:58.779 --> 02:12:01.439
can also be a detriment. It just, it depends
02:12:01.439 --> 02:12:04.460
on the person. Right. And I respect that you
02:12:04.460 --> 02:12:06.260
did. Cause I bet you there were times in that
02:12:06.260 --> 02:12:08.979
three years where it was difficult to not put
02:12:08.979 --> 02:12:11.100
a camera on. Like you actively made a choice.
02:12:11.920 --> 02:12:13.800
Like, like it was difficult for Pat to fly a
02:12:13.800 --> 02:12:16.180
razor for four years. That's a long time, you
02:12:16.180 --> 02:12:18.500
know? And I mean, yeah, I think it's a dog. How
02:12:18.500 --> 02:12:21.220
could you do that? Do you put yourself through
02:12:21.220 --> 02:12:25.699
that? I tried to come up to times. Dude, I, so
02:12:25.699 --> 02:12:29.840
one of the, there was this. There was a guy at
02:12:29.840 --> 02:12:33.359
Chelan a couple of weeks ago that was like a
02:12:33.359 --> 02:12:37.479
ninja skydiver. He was just on the head down
02:12:37.479 --> 02:12:39.619
world record. So like, he's like a freaking ninja.
02:12:39.680 --> 02:12:41.000
Like this dude's like one of the best in the
02:12:41.000 --> 02:12:43.779
world. Like, you know, and it was like 180 way
02:12:43.779 --> 02:12:46.119
or something head down. Like the video that is
02:12:46.119 --> 02:12:49.239
ridiculous, dude. Like these guys, he told me
02:12:49.239 --> 02:12:51.159
this story. I won't dive too deep into it here.
02:12:51.760 --> 02:12:54.720
He's got a really rad YouTube channel. I will.
02:12:55.100 --> 02:12:57.020
put it in the show notes. I can't remember what
02:12:57.020 --> 02:12:59.960
it's called at the moment, but, um, he had a
02:12:59.960 --> 02:13:04.500
Frazier three. I think, I think it was a Frazier
02:13:04.500 --> 02:13:08.180
three. I could be wrong, but I was just like
02:13:08.180 --> 02:13:11.300
doing forward launches by the hanger in the grass
02:13:11.300 --> 02:13:13.300
just to see, cause I was watching him practice
02:13:13.300 --> 02:13:16.520
and it like the wing wouldn't come over his head.
02:13:16.619 --> 02:13:19.420
Like it was like hanging back. So I was like,
02:13:19.460 --> 02:13:21.239
I'm just, I'm just curious. Right. So I laid
02:13:21.239 --> 02:13:23.579
it out. And I did a couple and it wouldn't come
02:13:23.579 --> 02:13:25.539
up like it wouldn't go. It wouldn't like sit
02:13:25.539 --> 02:13:27.640
where like our wings sit now, which is like you
02:13:27.640 --> 02:13:29.439
bring it up and it's freaking over your head.
02:13:29.500 --> 02:13:31.579
It's like perfect. Right. It was not like that.
02:13:31.859 --> 02:13:33.920
So I opened the trim, which I wouldn't I would
02:13:33.920 --> 02:13:37.560
not launch that way ever. But I I did just to
02:13:37.560 --> 02:13:41.279
see and it barely like barely came up over my
02:13:41.279 --> 02:13:44.100
head. I mean, they lagged so hard, dude. I was
02:13:44.100 --> 02:13:46.300
watching this guy launch Airport Ridge and it's
02:13:46.300 --> 02:13:51.090
steep, you know, but he he launched. And would
02:13:51.090 --> 02:13:54.909
like dive super hard. And it's just like, it's
02:13:54.909 --> 02:13:56.289
not him. He's not doing anything wrong. It's
02:13:56.289 --> 02:13:59.170
just the wing. I'm like, and then I was thinking,
02:13:59.170 --> 02:14:01.649
I'm like, Pat spent four years on that dude.
02:14:01.729 --> 02:14:03.930
I would literally go insane. I'm like that thing.
02:14:03.989 --> 02:14:07.569
But also back then the, we didn't have the, you
02:14:07.569 --> 02:14:10.609
know, the three, like they're the two RS plus
02:14:10.609 --> 02:14:12.229
or whatever, you know, we, we didn't have it.
02:14:12.250 --> 02:14:14.329
We have now the wings now are insane. Like to
02:14:14.329 --> 02:14:16.550
go full circle with that. They're insanely easy
02:14:16.550 --> 02:14:19.859
to fly. I mean, it's almost a joke. You know,
02:14:19.899 --> 02:14:22.239
you could teach a monkey how to launch a speed
02:14:22.239 --> 02:14:24.699
wing right now. It's just easy. In the right
02:14:24.699 --> 02:14:27.779
conditions, obviously. But I don't know, man.
02:14:28.039 --> 02:14:33.760
We're fortunate for a lot of reasons. But, you
02:14:33.760 --> 02:14:36.500
know, it is a double -edged sword, as we've been
02:14:36.500 --> 02:14:40.220
talking about now. Like, it'll bite you, so freaking
02:14:40.220 --> 02:14:45.159
be careful. But what are... what are your goals?
02:14:45.199 --> 02:14:47.899
I guess going forward, what are your, what do
02:14:47.899 --> 02:14:49.619
you want to, besides flying for the rest of your
02:14:49.619 --> 02:14:53.460
life? Do you have any specific goals or anything
02:14:53.460 --> 02:14:57.060
that you're looking at doing projects? I would
02:14:57.060 --> 02:15:00.479
like to, to, uh, be an instructor one day, uh,
02:15:00.600 --> 02:15:04.020
for sure. Kind of retirement gig, early retirement,
02:15:04.159 --> 02:15:09.189
uh, project. Um, It sounds kind of silly, but
02:15:09.189 --> 02:15:11.149
right now I actually am kind of trying to get
02:15:11.149 --> 02:15:13.529
sponsored with the dog flying thing. Just, you
02:15:13.529 --> 02:15:17.310
know, I didn't really take it seriously at all.
02:15:17.489 --> 02:15:19.909
This whole Instagram fame thing was pretty random.
02:15:19.989 --> 02:15:22.810
I just started posting flying with my dog. I've
02:15:22.810 --> 02:15:24.750
been a skater kid my whole life, which means
02:15:24.750 --> 02:15:26.829
you're filming and posting and you're about that
02:15:26.829 --> 02:15:29.630
life. And just, you know, just kind of blossomed
02:15:29.630 --> 02:15:33.229
into what it is today. Shout out to anybody who
02:15:33.229 --> 02:15:36.239
wants to sponsor me. sell your weird thing i
02:15:36.239 --> 02:15:37.760
don't know i don't know anything i don't know
02:15:37.760 --> 02:15:39.840
what i'm doing at all uh i'm just gonna keep
02:15:39.840 --> 02:15:42.739
continue uh making videos and see what happens
02:15:42.739 --> 02:15:47.979
with this weird instagram fame um and just keep
02:15:47.979 --> 02:15:52.779
flying um like i said earlier uh i've left some
02:15:52.779 --> 02:15:55.760
things in the back end of my career like uh doing
02:15:55.760 --> 02:15:59.100
more cross -country full -wing paraglider stuff
02:15:59.100 --> 02:16:02.970
uh I have some new friends that just moved up
02:16:02.970 --> 02:16:05.850
here and they are really inspirational. Lesha
02:16:05.850 --> 02:16:08.850
and Griffin from Washington. I think you know
02:16:08.850 --> 02:16:12.750
who they are. Those guys are just all about pioneering
02:16:12.750 --> 02:16:15.289
new lines and just going out with them more and
02:16:15.289 --> 02:16:19.430
agreeing to go on more of their adventures would
02:16:19.430 --> 02:16:23.829
be like the short term goal of my flying. Just
02:16:23.829 --> 02:16:27.970
more big, fun mountains and just learning more.
02:16:28.489 --> 02:16:31.760
Another thing I put. in the back end of my flying
02:16:31.760 --> 02:16:34.219
career was swooping. I kind of told myself I
02:16:34.219 --> 02:16:36.340
was never going to swoop. I just wanted to take
02:16:36.340 --> 02:16:41.239
landing easy. I'm a barrel roll guy and a proximity
02:16:41.239 --> 02:16:45.059
guy. I don't want to mess around with landing.
02:16:45.840 --> 02:16:49.420
At least that's, you know, where I was for a
02:16:49.420 --> 02:16:52.639
long time. I just now started trying to swoop.
02:16:52.979 --> 02:16:57.690
And oh boy, is it. is it what yeah it's fun oh
02:16:57.690 --> 02:17:01.190
dude i'm gonna hook you man i love it man i love
02:17:01.190 --> 02:17:04.430
it so much you know i've been i've been flying
02:17:04.430 --> 02:17:08.270
for five years and you know uh have around uh
02:17:08.270 --> 02:17:12.690
almost 800 flights uh three quarters of those
02:17:12.690 --> 02:17:15.430
are speed flights and every single one of them
02:17:15.430 --> 02:17:17.850
i pretty much landed trimmers closed because
02:17:17.850 --> 02:17:19.750
it's like what the manual says and i don't want
02:17:19.750 --> 02:17:22.450
to mess around with landing or whatever and i'm
02:17:22.450 --> 02:17:24.290
kind of embarrassed to say i've just now started
02:17:24.700 --> 02:17:28.860
dumping trims and flattening them out and it
02:17:28.860 --> 02:17:33.600
seems so intuitive and easy now that i had that
02:17:33.600 --> 02:17:36.719
big foundation of closed trimmer landings you
02:17:36.719 --> 02:17:39.520
know a closed trimmer landing is regarded as
02:17:39.520 --> 02:17:42.200
being kind of rough you know you can come in
02:17:42.200 --> 02:17:44.100
kind of hard hurt your heels a little bit you
02:17:44.100 --> 02:17:46.840
know something but if you i've mastered that
02:17:46.840 --> 02:17:52.450
and now open trimmers it's just uh it's fun to
02:17:52.450 --> 02:17:54.770
to discover new things in your flying career
02:17:54.770 --> 02:17:57.690
that's deep into it too you know that's another
02:17:57.690 --> 02:18:01.049
reason why to leave some things to focus on later
02:18:01.049 --> 02:18:04.389
is um keeping it fresh forever but yeah just
02:18:04.389 --> 02:18:09.030
uh swooping big gnarly new terrain uh keep flying
02:18:09.030 --> 02:18:12.170
with the dog try to make relationships with brands
02:18:12.170 --> 02:18:14.930
and just see where it goes it's a it's been so
02:18:14.930 --> 02:18:19.579
wild and crazy um When you get a video of you
02:18:19.579 --> 02:18:21.579
flying with your dog and it hits over 30 million
02:18:21.579 --> 02:18:24.659
views and like Caitlyn Jenner is sharing your
02:18:24.659 --> 02:18:28.200
stuff. Weird big celebrities like that. It's
02:18:28.200 --> 02:18:31.559
definitely interesting. Yeah. I can only imagine.
02:18:31.559 --> 02:18:34.940
Didn't see it coming. I'm shocked that you don't
02:18:34.940 --> 02:18:37.239
have a sponsor. I was actually going to ask you
02:18:37.239 --> 02:18:39.219
that early on and then we kind of moved away
02:18:39.219 --> 02:18:42.180
from that, but from the dog stuff. But to have
02:18:42.180 --> 02:18:44.479
a hundred, not a lot of people have a hundred
02:18:44.479 --> 02:18:47.860
thousand subscribers or followers on Facebook.
02:18:47.790 --> 02:18:51.229
Instagram. I feel like it's a hard platform to
02:18:51.229 --> 02:18:56.629
build. I think YouTube is easier. I don't have
02:18:56.629 --> 02:19:01.170
any followers either, but I'm just looking at
02:19:01.170 --> 02:19:06.729
it. I think that the attention span of your average
02:19:06.729 --> 02:19:11.409
YouTube viewer is much longer. It might be easier
02:19:11.409 --> 02:19:14.909
to grab attention of people who are more chilling
02:19:14.909 --> 02:19:20.559
on the couch than If you look at the data from
02:19:20.559 --> 02:19:23.340
these videos, it might have gotten 30 million
02:19:23.340 --> 02:19:26.379
views, but the percentage of people who watched
02:19:26.379 --> 02:19:30.260
the video for only one second is like 60%. Right.
02:19:30.440 --> 02:19:32.079
They're just swiping through. It's like you're
02:19:32.079 --> 02:19:35.639
not grabbing that many people. Sure. It's just
02:19:35.639 --> 02:19:41.360
such a weird, random, interesting avenue that
02:19:41.360 --> 02:19:44.360
life kind of opened up for me, I guess, the internet
02:19:44.360 --> 02:19:47.920
world. Right. Well, it's, it's pretty cool. I
02:19:47.920 --> 02:19:50.520
mean, not that, not that you're chasing that,
02:19:50.659 --> 02:19:53.079
you know, not, not that that, I mean, it's, it's
02:19:53.079 --> 02:19:55.100
interesting to hear it. Cause I wasn't sure if
02:19:55.100 --> 02:19:59.940
you had like built that or if it happened. Um,
02:20:00.000 --> 02:20:02.040
and it sounds like it just, just kind of happened.
02:20:02.100 --> 02:20:06.020
Like at this point, I know, uh, what kind of
02:20:06.020 --> 02:20:09.920
video to make if I want it to get like big, really,
02:20:10.120 --> 02:20:12.719
I just kind of, um, when I go out flying with
02:20:12.719 --> 02:20:18.329
the dog, I'll make. and no audio i know uh just
02:20:18.329 --> 02:20:23.409
raw audio take off one i'll do a full edit of
02:20:23.409 --> 02:20:25.350
the full flight where i get to have fun and do
02:20:25.350 --> 02:20:27.670
video editing which is one of i love video editing
02:20:27.670 --> 02:20:31.770
especially with insta 360 you get such cool stuff
02:20:31.770 --> 02:20:35.690
i mean shout out insta come on let's make something
02:20:35.690 --> 02:20:39.469
happen i want to make an all green insta 360
02:20:39.469 --> 02:20:43.180
camera for the pickle edition But anyways, that's
02:20:43.180 --> 02:20:46.159
a bike trip. I guarantee you. I guarantee you
02:20:46.159 --> 02:20:50.920
it would sell. But I don't even know where I
02:20:50.920 --> 02:20:54.319
was going. But yeah, I make a video of us just
02:20:54.319 --> 02:20:56.459
taking off. I make a video of us just landing.
02:20:56.520 --> 02:20:59.040
And I make an edit of the whole thing. And I
02:20:59.040 --> 02:21:01.260
can pretty much assume at this point that we're
02:21:01.260 --> 02:21:04.579
going to get millions of views in that space
02:21:04.579 --> 02:21:09.840
from one flight. But yeah, I don't give a shit.
02:21:10.020 --> 02:21:12.399
You know, I just want to keep flying. I'm a flying
02:21:12.399 --> 02:21:15.520
girl like the rest of us. The thing I'm most
02:21:15.520 --> 02:21:18.180
excited about with the dog flying stuff is it
02:21:18.180 --> 02:21:20.299
gets more people to see SpeedFlight. Exactly.
02:21:20.520 --> 02:21:26.559
I bet I have more grandmas looking at SpeedFlight
02:21:26.559 --> 02:21:32.040
on my Instagram than anybody else who posts videos
02:21:32.040 --> 02:21:36.280
about it. And I get... i get dm'd constantly
02:21:36.280 --> 02:21:39.500
about how to start flying and uh i respond to
02:21:39.500 --> 02:21:42.079
all of them i tell them where to get flying and
02:21:42.079 --> 02:21:45.659
how to get going and um i might not tell you
02:21:45.659 --> 02:21:47.799
where to get gear but i'll tell you how to get
02:21:47.799 --> 02:21:50.879
going i love that i mean you know any any way
02:21:50.879 --> 02:21:55.079
really yeah positively grow the sport and push
02:21:55.079 --> 02:21:57.639
it in a in a good direction and in a sustainable
02:21:57.639 --> 02:22:03.370
direction is you know Good. I mean, that's awesome.
02:22:03.549 --> 02:22:08.750
To have that platform is special. I just wanted
02:22:08.750 --> 02:22:12.510
to show to the world that paragliding can be
02:22:12.510 --> 02:22:17.549
chill. And that's what it is with the dog. I'm
02:22:17.549 --> 02:22:19.549
always trying to describe the sport to other
02:22:19.549 --> 02:22:23.329
people, but you can't describe this. But I like
02:22:23.329 --> 02:22:25.969
to say it's kind of like motorcycles. You can
02:22:25.969 --> 02:22:29.190
go in a Fatboy Harley and that's chill. You know,
02:22:29.209 --> 02:22:31.069
you're going down the highway. You can still
02:22:31.069 --> 02:22:34.770
get in trouble. Or you can ride a Ducati or a
02:22:34.770 --> 02:22:38.510
Yamaha. We're Yamaha guys. I'm a Yamaha guy.
02:22:39.250 --> 02:22:42.530
Oh, yeah. Right. But it can be as chill as a
02:22:42.530 --> 02:22:44.629
Sunday afternoon stroll with your grandpa on
02:22:44.629 --> 02:22:48.450
the Harley. And it's such a big sport that there
02:22:48.450 --> 02:22:50.469
is a place for everybody and every personality
02:22:50.469 --> 02:22:55.510
type within it. And like even when I was training,
02:22:55.750 --> 02:22:57.790
I was the only guy that was under the age of
02:22:57.790 --> 02:23:04.149
50. in my paragliding course um wow that's cool
02:23:04.149 --> 02:23:06.290
yeah there's just a lifetime sport especially
02:23:06.290 --> 02:23:09.010
on the p side like the paraglide side it's it's
02:23:09.010 --> 02:23:12.950
a lifetime sport i uh and i think a lot of guys
02:23:12.950 --> 02:23:15.870
like todd is doing more paraglide stuff now because
02:23:15.870 --> 02:23:19.129
he's done all the stuff he's done all the rad
02:23:19.129 --> 02:23:21.229
shit that he should have probably died you know
02:23:21.229 --> 02:23:24.819
years ago and he somehow beat the odds and And,
02:23:24.819 --> 02:23:27.360
uh, through skill and some luck for sure. And
02:23:27.360 --> 02:23:31.260
whatever. Um, and now he's getting into big wings
02:23:31.260 --> 02:23:33.959
cause it's fun and it's slower and it's, you
02:23:33.959 --> 02:23:36.219
know, I mean, it's still dangerous. There's so
02:23:36.219 --> 02:23:39.879
much magic in big wings too. Like when you hook
02:23:39.879 --> 02:23:42.319
your first thermal and you, you take off from
02:23:42.319 --> 02:23:44.520
a thousand feet and you look at your barrier
02:23:44.520 --> 02:23:47.780
and you're over five, that's magic, you know,
02:23:47.780 --> 02:23:49.440
doing barrel rolls close to the ground. That's
02:23:49.440 --> 02:23:53.139
magic too. It's not like, um, When I said earlier,
02:23:53.340 --> 02:23:55.500
everybody should have to fly big wings first.
02:23:55.899 --> 02:23:58.620
It's not like that's not going to be fun the
02:23:58.620 --> 02:24:01.000
whole time. It's going to be a blast the whole
02:24:01.000 --> 02:24:04.180
time. You're learning these other avenues. You
02:24:04.180 --> 02:24:06.399
might want to direct your flying to speed flying,
02:24:06.579 --> 02:24:11.360
but you're not going to lose any value in learning
02:24:11.360 --> 02:24:13.780
to fly a big wing and catching your first thermal
02:24:13.780 --> 02:24:16.340
or even catching your first collapse. Getting
02:24:16.340 --> 02:24:19.700
a bunch of collapses on a big wing. you're gonna
02:24:19.700 --> 02:24:21.600
you're gonna get some muscle memory you're gonna
02:24:21.600 --> 02:24:24.420
figure out what you're doing if you're in those
02:24:24.420 --> 02:24:28.159
situations you know um oh yeah and a whole lot
02:24:28.159 --> 02:24:30.719
more seating yeah a whole lot more i mean i was
02:24:30.719 --> 02:24:35.000
i was flying a 14 meter um freya yesterday which
02:24:35.000 --> 02:24:38.280
is like a hybrid mini wing um from fluid love
02:24:38.280 --> 02:24:43.799
it it's awesome but it it was making my you know
02:24:43.799 --> 02:24:49.780
600 vertical foot flights go from like 24 seconds
02:24:49.780 --> 02:24:52.399
if i was lucky you know on the nine meter or
02:24:52.399 --> 02:24:56.540
the even the line to like a minute and 20 and
02:24:56.540 --> 02:24:58.979
i'm not like hanging out like i'm still like
02:24:58.979 --> 02:25:01.579
doing wing overs and you know i mean it's a totally
02:25:01.579 --> 02:25:04.340
different style of flying right but it's not
02:25:04.340 --> 02:25:08.639
like it's boring like it's yeah it it's not like
02:25:08.639 --> 02:25:11.959
i have to be going 80 miles per hour you know
02:25:11.959 --> 02:25:14.799
to have fun like it's fun the reason i don't
02:25:14.799 --> 02:25:16.940
paraglide and i've said this but i mean this
02:25:16.940 --> 02:25:19.629
like i'm not just blowing smoke here, it scares
02:25:19.629 --> 02:25:22.510
the living shit out of me. Like, and that's why
02:25:22.510 --> 02:25:24.750
I haven't done it because it is so intimidating.
02:25:24.850 --> 02:25:27.649
Like, have you ever been on like a hot air balloon?
02:25:28.709 --> 02:25:32.450
Or have you been around them? No, there's none
02:25:32.450 --> 02:25:35.110
of them up here. Fair enough. Yeah, I'm sure
02:25:35.110 --> 02:25:39.190
it's not the best terrain. But like looking up
02:25:39.190 --> 02:25:42.229
into a hot air balloon makes me cringe. Like
02:25:42.229 --> 02:25:45.049
it is like this weird, eerie phobia that I have.
02:25:45.440 --> 02:25:47.799
It's kind of like being underwater for me looking
02:25:47.799 --> 02:25:50.520
up at a boat. It's just not natural. Like it's
02:25:50.520 --> 02:25:52.940
just like a really weird feeling I get. I hate
02:25:52.940 --> 02:25:57.620
that feeling. Looking up at a massive paraglider
02:25:57.620 --> 02:26:00.680
is similar. It's not as cringy to me, but it
02:26:00.680 --> 02:26:04.620
gives me this like uneasy, like I'm not in control.
02:26:04.719 --> 02:26:06.540
I'm along for the ride. I know that's not accurate,
02:26:06.620 --> 02:26:10.200
but like it kind of looks that way from me sitting
02:26:10.200 --> 02:26:14.100
below it, you know? So I just. I keep telling
02:26:14.100 --> 02:26:17.500
Josh, um, Ogborn, he's my really good buddy,
02:26:17.559 --> 02:26:21.180
the instructor, um, that I'm going to do it.
02:26:22.040 --> 02:26:26.000
It's just a matter of time. Um, cause it scares
02:26:26.000 --> 02:26:28.100
me and I, I want to do it cause it's freaking
02:26:28.100 --> 02:26:29.799
scary, but I also want to become a better pilot,
02:26:29.879 --> 02:26:32.399
you know? And, and if, if like you were saying,
02:26:32.459 --> 02:26:36.620
if, if you watch paraglide pilots, um, the ones
02:26:36.620 --> 02:26:38.719
that fly, like not the ones that sit on the launch
02:26:38.719 --> 02:26:40.729
with their wings still in there. pack nothing
02:26:40.729 --> 02:26:42.930
wrong with that but there i know the type you're
02:26:42.930 --> 02:26:47.430
talking about um they are so dialed in to what
02:26:47.430 --> 02:26:49.489
is going on with the weather and and the wind
02:26:49.489 --> 02:26:52.450
is like a river but you can't see it but the
02:26:52.450 --> 02:26:54.809
more you know the more you can see so it's just
02:26:54.809 --> 02:26:56.489
but but you don't get that with speed flying
02:26:56.489 --> 02:26:57.870
because we don't think about it that's not the
02:26:57.870 --> 02:26:59.450
point you know when the paraglide dudes come
02:26:59.450 --> 02:27:02.989
out we stop flying you know and it how cool would
02:27:02.989 --> 02:27:05.940
it be to get to speed fly in the morning paraglide
02:27:05.940 --> 02:27:07.840
in the afternoon and speed fly in the evening.
02:27:07.920 --> 02:27:11.239
Like why not broaden the scope of knowledge and
02:27:11.239 --> 02:27:12.799
time in the air? Cause that's, that's what we
02:27:12.799 --> 02:27:14.540
all want. You know, I mean, for the most part,
02:27:14.620 --> 02:27:16.659
right. Like we want to be in the air, we want
02:27:16.659 --> 02:27:18.760
to be doing the thing. So why not have an extra
02:27:18.760 --> 02:27:21.700
tool in the, in the toolbox that allows you to
02:27:21.700 --> 02:27:23.840
do it longer? You know, I mean, I'm, I'm all
02:27:23.840 --> 02:27:25.860
for it, dude. I'm just scared shitless. So I
02:27:25.860 --> 02:27:28.860
will get there. Yeah. So it is scary though.
02:27:28.920 --> 02:27:31.739
Honestly, like, uh, you go out and you have your
02:27:31.739 --> 02:27:36.360
first collapse, you're going to be shaken. It's
02:27:36.360 --> 02:27:39.659
crazy too. Paragliding pilots know this, but
02:27:39.659 --> 02:27:42.159
maybe not speed guys. You know, you feel the
02:27:42.159 --> 02:27:45.100
bumps on a bumpy day and you're turbulent, you
02:27:45.100 --> 02:27:47.340
know, on the speed wing, you get rattled and
02:27:47.340 --> 02:27:50.899
you fly through it. The feeling of getting into
02:27:50.899 --> 02:27:55.340
that and then you just shooting up like a hundred
02:27:55.340 --> 02:28:01.219
feet in like two, three seconds. That is a light,
02:28:01.239 --> 02:28:03.479
a changing moment. You know, that is a learning
02:28:03.479 --> 02:28:07.059
moment. You're going to remember that, that first
02:28:07.059 --> 02:28:09.780
time you get yarded way back and the wing goes
02:28:09.780 --> 02:28:12.440
back here and it snaps forward and surges and
02:28:12.440 --> 02:28:13.959
you got to catch it. And then maybe you get a
02:28:13.959 --> 02:28:15.579
frontal and all that stuff. You're going to be
02:28:15.579 --> 02:28:17.360
like, well, I entered the biggest thermal ever.
02:28:18.040 --> 02:28:21.600
You know, it's just the little bumps you get
02:28:21.600 --> 02:28:26.040
on a speed wing are the big bumps on a paraglider
02:28:26.040 --> 02:28:27.600
that you're going to want to find and lift it.
02:28:27.899 --> 02:28:29.780
If you don't know where to find those and get
02:28:29.780 --> 02:28:32.000
those, you're really not being the safest speed
02:28:32.000 --> 02:28:35.139
flyer you can be. right at least that's just
02:28:35.139 --> 02:28:38.639
my that's just my take on it but the feeling
02:28:38.639 --> 02:28:41.340
of um you know getting your first thermal and
02:28:41.340 --> 02:28:44.180
taking it to the moon is just as rad as your
02:28:44.180 --> 02:28:48.600
first barrel roll you know it's like that like
02:28:48.600 --> 02:28:51.600
the first time a plane flies underneath you you
02:28:51.600 --> 02:28:55.000
know yeah stuff like that yeah yeah that's got
02:28:55.000 --> 02:28:58.680
to be there's a site okay there's a site here
02:28:58.680 --> 02:29:01.899
in acreage where um guys have you take off from
02:29:01.899 --> 02:29:05.780
around 1500 feet i think and um they were up
02:29:05.780 --> 02:29:09.879
over 10 000 and passenger jet flew underneath
02:29:09.879 --> 02:29:13.260
them for alaska airlines oh yeah stuff like that
02:29:13.260 --> 02:29:15.000
yeah like i hope you can't tell me that's not
02:29:15.000 --> 02:29:17.860
rad and outrageous you know i mean it's cool
02:29:17.860 --> 02:29:23.159
i'd be like i'm higher than you oh my god jacob
02:29:23.159 --> 02:29:25.860
but that being said you know that being said
02:29:25.860 --> 02:29:27.620
we got a thing for the smaller wings and that's
02:29:27.620 --> 02:29:30.709
not something to uh deny in your heart either.
02:29:30.950 --> 02:29:33.950
You know, that's why, um, I started flying from
02:29:33.950 --> 02:29:37.850
smaller wings and I'm, I'm glad I flew big wings
02:29:37.850 --> 02:29:42.690
for as long as I did. Yeah. I mean, it's, it
02:29:42.690 --> 02:29:46.530
might be my springtime post, uh, Arctic Valley
02:29:46.530 --> 02:29:52.930
AK trip. Um, and it's like not quite, you know,
02:29:52.930 --> 02:29:56.350
paraglide conditions. Like it's not thermic yet,
02:29:56.370 --> 02:29:59.370
you know, it's still kind of cold. Um, but super
02:29:59.370 --> 02:30:03.209
predictable, like smooth air. I'd be down. I'd
02:30:03.209 --> 02:30:05.389
be down for sure. I mean, I like the fact that,
02:30:05.409 --> 02:30:09.170
dude, I mean, the 14 meter Freya is a big wing
02:30:09.170 --> 02:30:13.350
in my, from my perspective. I flew this spot
02:30:13.350 --> 02:30:16.010
the other day near me, like a few minutes away.
02:30:16.110 --> 02:30:18.030
That's like, you wouldn't look at twice. And
02:30:18.030 --> 02:30:20.030
I never did. Cause I didn't have a wing big enough
02:30:20.030 --> 02:30:24.170
or flat enough to like launch. I dude, I was
02:30:24.170 --> 02:30:26.819
off the ground in like 10 feet. And I, I, I called
02:30:26.819 --> 02:30:30.819
it like right. Cause it, it, it looks like a,
02:30:30.840 --> 02:30:32.959
like a golf course hole that dog legs to the
02:30:32.959 --> 02:30:35.360
right. It's just like grass with some rocks mixed
02:30:35.360 --> 02:30:37.459
in and it's like, you know, 400 vert, maybe,
02:30:37.540 --> 02:30:40.079
you know, maybe three 50. I don't know. And I
02:30:40.079 --> 02:30:41.760
mean, I've flown around there a lot with smaller
02:30:41.760 --> 02:30:43.940
wings, just steeper sections that are up a little
02:30:43.940 --> 02:30:46.420
higher, but I was like, I wasn't really feeling
02:30:46.420 --> 02:30:48.159
it. So I'm like, oh, let's just go to like the
02:30:48.159 --> 02:30:51.479
grassy spot that I just traversed for, you know,
02:30:51.500 --> 02:30:52.940
a few minutes and was on top of this thing. And
02:30:52.940 --> 02:30:55.309
I. I did a couple laps on it, and I'm like, that
02:30:55.309 --> 02:30:59.190
was awesome. Like, and you can't, you know, you
02:30:59.190 --> 02:31:03.170
fly a smaller wing. A 13 -meter Mirage is a small
02:31:03.170 --> 02:31:05.629
wing. Like, by no means is that big, right? But
02:31:05.629 --> 02:31:08.530
just, you said it was big earlier. I'm like,
02:31:08.590 --> 02:31:10.129
it's not, right? I mean, it's actually pretty
02:31:10.129 --> 02:31:12.010
small when you compare it to big wings, like
02:31:12.010 --> 02:31:15.469
paragliders. But when you fly, like, a mini wing
02:31:15.469 --> 02:31:18.899
or a paraglider. And you launch and you're just
02:31:18.899 --> 02:31:21.200
like, that was so easy. I took like four steps
02:31:21.200 --> 02:31:23.799
and I'm off the ground. And then I compare this
02:31:23.799 --> 02:31:26.239
to like the line, right? Like my, my nine meter
02:31:26.239 --> 02:31:28.600
rapid is launched pretty well for how small it
02:31:28.600 --> 02:31:31.760
is. Like it's pretty flat. The line, you have
02:31:31.760 --> 02:31:34.260
to run your ass off. Like, first of all, like
02:31:34.260 --> 02:31:36.819
dead sprint. And then you get no feedback and
02:31:36.819 --> 02:31:38.540
I'm not knocking the wing. It's amazing. But
02:31:38.540 --> 02:31:41.860
you have to trust that it is going to fly when
02:31:41.860 --> 02:31:45.120
you need to fly. And it always did. But it's
02:31:45.120 --> 02:31:49.139
like, I had to like, to loosen up before flying
02:31:49.139 --> 02:31:52.479
that thing, because you have to be in a dead
02:31:52.479 --> 02:31:54.139
sprint to get off here. And that was the 13.
02:31:54.379 --> 02:31:56.620
Like that was a big line, quote unquote, big,
02:31:56.879 --> 02:32:00.479
you know, it's still small, but I'm, I like the
02:32:00.479 --> 02:32:02.479
fact that maybe I don't have to run so fast,
02:32:02.700 --> 02:32:04.860
you know, not that I haven't been running, but
02:32:04.860 --> 02:32:07.440
you know, in my current state, my, I'm not running
02:32:07.440 --> 02:32:09.840
super well. I did run six miles a day. I say
02:32:09.840 --> 02:32:11.620
that loosely. I was doing like 12 minute miles,
02:32:11.659 --> 02:32:16.219
but regardless, um, it's, it's kind of cool.
02:32:16.319 --> 02:32:18.059
I was talking about this with Todd yesterday.
02:32:18.180 --> 02:32:20.280
It's like, it's kind of fun to just pull the
02:32:20.280 --> 02:32:22.000
wing up and take a few steps and be off the ground.
02:32:22.559 --> 02:32:26.719
Like it's cool. You should really get, um, and,
02:32:26.920 --> 02:32:30.040
and I've wanted to talk about this on your show.
02:32:30.280 --> 02:32:34.059
Uh, I think all speed guys should get a single
02:32:34.059 --> 02:32:38.479
surface one because they are so fun. They take
02:32:38.479 --> 02:32:41.719
off so easy. They, uh, you can take off in a
02:32:41.719 --> 02:32:43.979
couple of steps like that. And when you turn
02:32:43.979 --> 02:32:50.620
that thing, it, It glides okay when you're not
02:32:50.620 --> 02:32:52.899
doing anything, but when you pull some brake,
02:32:52.979 --> 02:32:57.719
it's going to go. And I think basically all Speedwing
02:32:57.719 --> 02:33:00.540
guys and everybody anyways needs a single surface
02:33:00.540 --> 02:33:04.659
wing. Any recommendations on brand and model?
02:33:06.219 --> 02:33:08.600
The Pace would probably be a good one because
02:33:08.600 --> 02:33:12.979
basically the Pace is the DUDEC run and fly.
02:33:13.520 --> 02:33:14.860
I don't know if you're familiar with that. That
02:33:14.860 --> 02:33:17.579
was kind of like the first. They've come out
02:33:17.579 --> 02:33:20.620
with the Dudek 1, Run and Fly 1. Now they came
02:33:20.620 --> 02:33:25.139
out with a 2. And Skywalk Pace, the designer
02:33:25.139 --> 02:33:26.979
kind of went with the Skywalk. So it's kind of
02:33:26.979 --> 02:33:32.020
like the 3. But I suggest everybody gets a small
02:33:32.020 --> 02:33:35.200
one, like a 14 or 16. The smallest one you can
02:33:35.200 --> 02:33:39.440
get, maybe a 12. And they're just so fun. Every
02:33:39.440 --> 02:33:41.540
speed one guy would love it because, uh, it's
02:33:41.540 --> 02:33:43.420
the same premise of flying with the dog where
02:33:43.420 --> 02:33:46.899
it's the bluebird groomer day, uh, kind of flying
02:33:46.899 --> 02:33:50.360
where you're relaxed and just having fun, but
02:33:50.360 --> 02:33:53.979
they die. Oh, they're so fun. Yeah. It's, um,
02:33:54.000 --> 02:33:57.260
Jason, Jason hard wrath, uh, who was the last
02:33:57.260 --> 02:34:00.420
episode. He, he flies like a, a mini wing. It
02:34:00.420 --> 02:34:03.040
might be a single skin. I think it's a, a code.
02:34:03.180 --> 02:34:07.370
I think, I don't know, but anyway, He flies it
02:34:07.370 --> 02:34:09.889
like a speed wing. It's just slower. And I'm
02:34:09.889 --> 02:34:12.049
like, that looks like so much fun. Cause like,
02:34:12.069 --> 02:34:14.170
you don't always need to be going. It's 60 to
02:34:14.170 --> 02:34:15.809
80 miles per hour through tree gates. You could
02:34:15.809 --> 02:34:19.329
just, you'd go like four miles per hour and be
02:34:19.329 --> 02:34:22.350
flying in the same proximity level through tree
02:34:22.350 --> 02:34:25.049
gates and carving and doing like a slalom course.
02:34:25.090 --> 02:34:27.250
Like that looks like a lot of fun to me. It's,
02:34:27.250 --> 02:34:29.790
it's just another. you know, there, there isn't
02:34:29.790 --> 02:34:32.370
one ski for every conditions, right. For all
02:34:32.370 --> 02:34:34.129
the conditions, there isn't one wing for every
02:34:34.129 --> 02:34:36.389
condition, right. Or every site that you fly.
02:34:37.149 --> 02:34:40.290
It's unfortunately, we need a bunch of these
02:34:40.290 --> 02:34:42.610
things and I'm looking to my right, I've got
02:34:42.610 --> 02:34:44.870
boxes full of wings right now. Right. I mean,
02:34:44.889 --> 02:34:47.610
I've actually offloaded quite a few lately, just
02:34:47.610 --> 02:34:50.569
trying to, you know, reduce the, the clutter
02:34:50.569 --> 02:34:52.930
a little bit with stuff I'm not using, but, um,
02:34:53.129 --> 02:34:56.879
you know, they accumulate. obviously paragliding
02:34:56.879 --> 02:34:58.879
you're, you have more of a financial investment
02:34:58.879 --> 02:35:00.719
because those things are expensive, dude. Like
02:35:00.719 --> 02:35:04.600
I was looking at like a mojo or something. I'm
02:35:04.600 --> 02:35:06.319
like, I'll just get a mojo to be chill, you know?
02:35:06.319 --> 02:35:08.500
And I'm like, ah, it's like five grand. Like
02:35:08.500 --> 02:35:12.459
I don't want to. Are they really? Oh yeah. Maybe
02:35:12.459 --> 02:35:14.959
not. Maybe it's 30, 3 ,800 or something. I mean,
02:35:14.979 --> 02:35:16.639
I don't, I don't necessarily want a mojo, but
02:35:16.639 --> 02:35:19.379
it, I don't know. Like I was just looking at
02:35:19.379 --> 02:35:22.020
it cause of, you know, like why not? Yeah. It's
02:35:22.020 --> 02:35:24.799
a little, a little bit more of a budget than,
02:35:24.840 --> 02:35:27.379
uh, even a full price speed wing like we're pretty
02:35:27.379 --> 02:35:29.440
lucky in that like it's not that expensive i
02:35:29.440 --> 02:35:34.659
mean 2500 2700 maybe maybe the r3x is closer
02:35:34.659 --> 02:35:37.819
to 3000 but like until you get into like the
02:35:37.819 --> 02:35:40.100
mustache and which isn't a speed wing but you
02:35:40.100 --> 02:35:42.280
know you then you're up in like the pge prices
02:35:42.280 --> 02:35:45.659
but it's it's like you know relatively approachable
02:35:45.659 --> 02:35:48.500
price points um but yeah used markets the way
02:35:48.500 --> 02:35:54.649
just be careful right i don't know I'm a hoarder
02:35:54.649 --> 02:35:59.090
of wings. I had like 12 at one point. All used.
02:35:59.190 --> 02:36:02.889
I've only bought one. No, I don't think I've
02:36:02.889 --> 02:36:05.190
ever actually bought a new one. I got one that
02:36:05.190 --> 02:36:07.110
was new, but it was a demo. It was never used.
02:36:07.850 --> 02:36:12.010
And then I traded that for a new one. So I've
02:36:12.010 --> 02:36:14.510
never actually spent paid full price. I would
02:36:14.510 --> 02:36:17.139
love a sponsor too. If, if level wings or fluid
02:36:17.139 --> 02:36:19.319
is listening to this or ozone or swing or whoever
02:36:19.319 --> 02:36:21.819
the hell, I don't care. I will gladly represent
02:36:21.819 --> 02:36:28.680
your brand. I mean, honestly, like if I, if money
02:36:28.680 --> 02:36:31.180
was like unlimited, like if this business was
02:36:31.180 --> 02:36:33.000
actually a business and it wasn't ran by the
02:36:33.000 --> 02:36:36.639
bank of Vic, uh, which is me, um, I would get
02:36:36.639 --> 02:36:39.659
like a wing and have it be all black and then
02:36:39.659 --> 02:36:41.780
just have like the speed vector logo on the top
02:36:41.780 --> 02:36:44.059
and bottom skin and pink. just like the hats
02:36:44.059 --> 02:36:48.360
and the shirts or whatever. Um, yeah, yeah. Eventually,
02:36:48.440 --> 02:36:50.799
you know, when money goes on trees and I'm actually
02:36:50.799 --> 02:36:53.360
turning a profit, which is not my intention,
02:36:53.479 --> 02:36:55.659
but it would be cool. I'm not denying it. If
02:36:55.659 --> 02:36:58.940
I, you know, if, uh, Toyota wants to sponsor
02:36:58.940 --> 02:37:03.059
the podcast or, Oh shit. I'll, I'll, I'll settle
02:37:03.059 --> 02:37:06.059
for level wings or, or fluid wings or any of
02:37:06.059 --> 02:37:08.360
the wing manufacturers. Like, dude, I'm, I'm
02:37:08.360 --> 02:37:12.260
for it. I mean, I'm down with Toyota, the new
02:37:12.260 --> 02:37:15.829
four runner. I'm a 4Runner guy. Anyways, we get
02:37:15.829 --> 02:37:18.530
stuck in a 4Runner talk. I'm just going to say
02:37:18.530 --> 02:37:21.610
I didn't like them at first, and now I like them.
02:37:21.629 --> 02:37:25.090
I have a 24 Tacoma, and I like it because it's
02:37:25.090 --> 02:37:27.170
got the 6 -cylinder. I'm not a huge fan of the
02:37:27.170 --> 02:37:29.510
4 -cylinders. I mean, I'm sure they're great.
02:37:29.549 --> 02:37:31.170
It's just the 6 -cylinder has been around forever.
02:37:32.129 --> 02:37:35.870
Like, I know it's tried and true. But, man, I
02:37:35.870 --> 02:37:38.170
love that they changed the interior finally.
02:37:38.969 --> 02:37:40.930
in the forerunner. Like I know the whole vehicle
02:37:40.930 --> 02:37:42.829
is different, but it was the same vehicle for
02:37:42.829 --> 02:37:46.489
like 12, 15 years or something ridiculous. I
02:37:46.489 --> 02:37:48.030
mean, and they're great, dude. They, they romp
02:37:48.030 --> 02:37:51.750
for sure. But I digress, man. We've been at this
02:37:51.750 --> 02:37:55.170
a long time. Do you, is there any, anything you
02:37:55.170 --> 02:37:56.889
haven't said that you want to say? I will try
02:37:56.889 --> 02:38:01.850
not to interrupt you. Honestly, I kind of want
02:38:01.850 --> 02:38:03.610
to just talk about wing sizing for a little bit.
02:38:04.430 --> 02:38:08.649
Like I said, I was, Super happy in the beginning
02:38:08.649 --> 02:38:12.729
of my career when I met people who were a little
02:38:12.729 --> 02:38:15.489
bit, I'm not going to say overweight, but heavier
02:38:15.489 --> 02:38:18.489
people were getting into the sport because being
02:38:18.489 --> 02:38:21.729
the kind of guy that was a little husky when
02:38:21.729 --> 02:38:24.510
I started my career, it makes people of that
02:38:24.510 --> 02:38:28.629
kind of body think they can't do this shit. And
02:38:28.629 --> 02:38:33.729
that just wasn't the case when I actually got
02:38:33.729 --> 02:38:36.219
into it. the sizes of wings that are available
02:38:36.219 --> 02:38:38.219
and the products we have now, anybody can get
02:38:38.219 --> 02:38:42.100
off the ground. And I thought that I wouldn't
02:38:42.100 --> 02:38:44.620
really be able to. And then I thought speed flying
02:38:44.620 --> 02:38:47.319
would be difficult because of my weight and stuff
02:38:47.319 --> 02:38:54.299
too. And when I started out in a 15 RS2, I loved
02:38:54.299 --> 02:38:57.360
that thing, but I also weighed like 240 pounds.
02:38:57.479 --> 02:38:59.979
So going from a full size wing straight to that
02:38:59.979 --> 02:39:05.440
was quite a change. I flew the hell out of that
02:39:05.440 --> 02:39:12.879
15 meter fluid for about a year solid. And, you
02:39:12.879 --> 02:39:15.059
know, when we say like a year up here, like it's
02:39:15.059 --> 02:39:17.500
nothing to fly five times a week up here if the
02:39:17.500 --> 02:39:22.059
weather allows. So then I got a 13. I was like,
02:39:22.100 --> 02:39:25.239
well, it's sized down to a 13. And it was the
02:39:25.239 --> 02:39:29.559
2RS Plus, the newer one, completely different
02:39:29.559 --> 02:39:35.879
wing. I weighed about 220, 230 at that point,
02:39:35.920 --> 02:39:40.340
all up weight, which I never put into account.
02:39:40.500 --> 02:39:43.379
I never sat down and did the math, and I never
02:39:43.379 --> 02:39:46.340
looked at a chart to see. I was putting myself
02:39:46.340 --> 02:39:50.600
in the advanced expert category of wing loading.
02:39:50.680 --> 02:39:54.340
Over two. That's definitely over a two, I think.
02:39:55.860 --> 02:40:01.709
We get stuck on downsizing. Why do you want to
02:40:01.709 --> 02:40:04.549
downsize? Take a look at your flying. Film your
02:40:04.549 --> 02:40:09.549
flying. If you look at my flying, I think people
02:40:09.549 --> 02:40:13.450
would be surprised that I'm on the 13th. Doing
02:40:13.450 --> 02:40:15.610
the things that I can get out of it. I'm also
02:40:15.610 --> 02:40:18.370
a little heavier. Definitely, you know, gotten
02:40:18.370 --> 02:40:20.930
more in shape. And definitely, I'm from the Midwest.
02:40:21.049 --> 02:40:23.549
I'm that Midwest, you know, farmer, stock, you
02:40:23.549 --> 02:40:29.450
know, stocky man. Strong. But I'm still... Yeah,
02:40:29.489 --> 02:40:31.989
I'm still like right just under two pounds on
02:40:31.989 --> 02:40:38.850
it for skydiver wing loading. And just take a
02:40:38.850 --> 02:40:41.829
good look at your actual flight. What more do
02:40:41.829 --> 02:40:45.129
you want out of it? Do you want just a new toy?
02:40:45.530 --> 02:40:48.510
New toys are rad. New wings are rad. Of course,
02:40:48.530 --> 02:40:50.270
you're going to get the smaller, better, lighter,
02:40:50.409 --> 02:40:54.250
crazier one with the CB bridge that does this,
02:40:54.309 --> 02:40:58.129
you know. But take a look at your actual flight
02:40:58.129 --> 02:41:02.110
data. Do you think you can get away with a steeper
02:41:02.110 --> 02:41:05.270
wing in those areas that you're at? A lot of
02:41:05.270 --> 02:41:08.850
times, you know, of course, I'm stuck in the
02:41:08.850 --> 02:41:10.809
trap too, wanting to downsize and downsize. I
02:41:10.809 --> 02:41:16.590
want to get an 11 next. But if you take a look
02:41:16.590 --> 02:41:19.950
at my flying, how much closer to the deck am
02:41:19.950 --> 02:41:22.809
I trying to get? How much steeper am I going
02:41:22.809 --> 02:41:26.090
to be able to do with the flying and the sights
02:41:26.090 --> 02:41:29.549
that I have here? Is it really a good move? Maybe
02:41:29.549 --> 02:41:36.209
not. Maybe you'll be a guy like me who plateaus
02:41:36.209 --> 02:41:38.069
and knows where your plateau is. Because that's
02:41:38.069 --> 02:41:40.430
another thing I want to talk about too is if
02:41:40.430 --> 02:41:42.190
you're going to do this and you're going to live
02:41:42.190 --> 02:41:46.129
forever in this sport and be the oldest man standing,
02:41:46.409 --> 02:41:49.989
you're going to hit a plateau in your skills.
02:41:50.610 --> 02:41:53.090
And you're going to have to be okay sitting in
02:41:53.090 --> 02:41:56.329
that plateau of only ever doing stuff up to this
02:41:56.329 --> 02:41:59.799
whatever level. And you're going to have to accept
02:41:59.799 --> 02:42:02.719
that and be okay with it. You're not going to
02:42:02.719 --> 02:42:04.520
downsize forever. You're not going to even fly
02:42:04.520 --> 02:42:06.180
speed wings forever. You're going to be an old
02:42:06.180 --> 02:42:08.559
man on a full -size paraglider one day. Like
02:42:08.559 --> 02:42:12.120
in your other podcast, everybody upsized. And
02:42:12.120 --> 02:42:16.079
that's true. And if you're going to downsize,
02:42:16.079 --> 02:42:20.360
look at your footage. That's just what I say.
02:42:20.479 --> 02:42:22.899
I mean, you got to be on top of it. You got to
02:42:22.899 --> 02:42:27.120
know what it feels like. You're asking the question
02:42:27.120 --> 02:42:31.479
of should I downsize? And you're looking at all
02:42:31.479 --> 02:42:33.200
of your options. If you're not looking at your
02:42:33.200 --> 02:42:35.899
footage and realizing what the flight would be
02:42:35.899 --> 02:42:37.979
like now on a different wing in these sites,
02:42:38.159 --> 02:42:42.420
I think that's something that you missed. And
02:42:42.420 --> 02:42:43.920
that's kind of what I've been realizing lately
02:42:43.920 --> 02:42:46.920
is because, of course, everybody I fly with weighs
02:42:46.920 --> 02:42:53.319
160 pounds. They're all on 9 -meter R3Xs. Or
02:42:53.319 --> 02:42:56.950
the newer guys are flying my wing. So there's
02:42:56.950 --> 02:43:00.770
that preconceived group mentality of if you're
02:43:00.770 --> 02:43:03.170
not on a single digit speed wing, what are you
02:43:03.170 --> 02:43:07.649
doing? Well, what I'm doing is I'm flying a wing
02:43:07.649 --> 02:43:11.030
heavily loaded because I weigh 50 pounds more
02:43:11.030 --> 02:43:14.989
than you. And my wing's going to be bigger. We
02:43:14.989 --> 02:43:16.750
don't have to complicate it and think that people
02:43:16.750 --> 02:43:18.549
aren't rad unless they're flying a nine meter
02:43:18.549 --> 02:43:20.489
wing. And if you do want to fly a nine meter
02:43:20.489 --> 02:43:22.489
wing, look at yourself and you're flying everything.
02:43:23.659 --> 02:43:26.840
See if your life can handle that. Because getting
02:43:26.840 --> 02:43:29.899
in these newer and smaller and more aggressive
02:43:29.899 --> 02:43:34.540
wings, you got to live through that. You got
02:43:34.540 --> 02:43:36.899
to live through that experience of having a wing
02:43:36.899 --> 02:43:39.680
that all of a sudden flies 10, 20 miles an hour
02:43:39.680 --> 02:43:42.540
faster and dives way harder. You know, can you
02:43:42.540 --> 02:43:46.579
really truly handle that stuff? And I don't know.
02:43:46.680 --> 02:43:48.180
I don't think I'm going to really go too much
02:43:48.180 --> 02:43:51.799
smaller. I don't think. I want to get a parakite,
02:43:51.840 --> 02:43:55.379
which... you know, would make things, you know,
02:43:55.379 --> 02:43:58.600
the ranges be completely different. But I don't
02:43:58.600 --> 02:44:00.440
think a lot of people really truly need to be
02:44:00.440 --> 02:44:02.500
downsizing. What they need to be doing is trying
02:44:02.500 --> 02:44:04.399
to figure out how to get the flying they want
02:44:04.399 --> 02:44:08.139
to get done with the equipment they have. You
02:44:08.139 --> 02:44:10.079
know what I mean? 100%. It kind of brings me
02:44:10.079 --> 02:44:13.079
into pair kites also, which is like, if you can't
02:44:13.079 --> 02:44:15.500
make a wing go up and down and do energy management
02:44:15.500 --> 02:44:18.899
skills without kite risers on it, you should
02:44:18.899 --> 02:44:21.659
really be careful if you're going to a kite riser
02:44:21.659 --> 02:44:25.040
wing. Yeah. Just be realistic. This is all be
02:44:25.040 --> 02:44:27.379
super realistic. The more realistic we are, the
02:44:27.379 --> 02:44:29.459
safer it's going to be. And that's like my whole
02:44:29.459 --> 02:44:31.399
rant about downsizing is, do you really need
02:44:31.399 --> 02:44:33.700
it? Can your flying handle it? Can the terrain
02:44:33.700 --> 02:44:35.420
you're going to fly in places you go to handle?
02:44:36.799 --> 02:44:40.139
I'm with you, man. I, it's this weird thing where
02:44:40.139 --> 02:44:42.280
smaller is cooler, you know, and I don't know
02:44:42.280 --> 02:44:44.299
if that comes from skydiving. Cause that's definitely
02:44:44.299 --> 02:44:46.159
the case. It's definitely the culture there,
02:44:46.260 --> 02:44:49.100
you know, but, but there's gatekeeping and stuff
02:44:49.100 --> 02:44:53.520
in the way. So it's, you know, it's. you're pretty
02:44:53.520 --> 02:44:55.860
seasoned when you're moving into a, like 150
02:44:55.860 --> 02:44:58.760
square foot, you know, skydiving canopy, which
02:44:58.760 --> 02:45:01.700
is still big. I mean, it's still like big. It's
02:45:01.700 --> 02:45:03.940
just more into the high performance or performance,
02:45:04.079 --> 02:45:06.680
maybe not high performance realm, shorter line
02:45:06.680 --> 02:45:09.440
set, whatever. I feel like with speed wings,
02:45:09.600 --> 02:45:13.500
you, you have to look at, excuse me, the, the
02:45:13.500 --> 02:45:16.219
wing, every wing is different. You know, the,
02:45:16.340 --> 02:45:21.719
the, I, I had an original Mirage. I had an 11
02:45:21.719 --> 02:45:25.799
-meter OG Mirage. It was Dom in like 2016. That
02:45:25.799 --> 02:45:29.920
thing flew way more chill than the 15 -meter
02:45:29.920 --> 02:45:32.860
2RS Mirage. They should have named it something
02:45:32.860 --> 02:45:35.020
completely different. They should have named
02:45:35.020 --> 02:45:40.479
it, it's not the same wing. So I've flown a 15
02:45:40.479 --> 02:45:45.559
-meter RS Plus Mirage, and then I've flown a
02:45:45.559 --> 02:45:50.610
15 -meter 2RS. Totally different wing. like they
02:45:50.610 --> 02:45:52.290
should have named it something else and I'm not
02:45:52.290 --> 02:45:53.969
knocking swing. It's just, they, they had an
02:45:53.969 --> 02:45:55.530
opportunity to name it something else and they
02:45:55.530 --> 02:45:59.149
didn't. Um, yeah, you know, because it's so different.
02:45:59.250 --> 02:46:02.409
So like my, my really, probably my, probably
02:46:02.409 --> 02:46:04.889
my best friend, um, Tim, he's been on the show
02:46:04.889 --> 02:46:07.930
a while ago. He's, uh, really into fluid wings.
02:46:08.110 --> 02:46:10.950
He's got a low key to 15 meter. That thing is
02:46:10.950 --> 02:46:13.309
so steep and he's, he's barrel chested, strong
02:46:13.309 --> 02:46:16.250
dude like you, like, you know, bigger dude, right.
02:46:16.489 --> 02:46:20.920
In like a, in a good way as you are. Um, he wants
02:46:20.920 --> 02:46:27.659
a 13, but the 15 is so steep that if he went
02:46:27.659 --> 02:46:29.500
to it, like with the trim closed, you know, it's
02:46:29.500 --> 02:46:31.739
just a steep, it's a steep wing, especially at
02:46:31.739 --> 02:46:34.639
that wing loading with the trim closed. I don't
02:46:34.639 --> 02:46:37.559
think he would clear half the crap he flies with
02:46:37.559 --> 02:46:40.860
the 13, but then you look at like, exactly what
02:46:40.860 --> 02:46:43.399
I was saying and stuff like that. So then, okay,
02:46:43.459 --> 02:46:47.420
so cool. Like you, you want an 11, um, look at
02:46:47.420 --> 02:46:51.959
the R3. Or the R3X, right? Or look at the Flame,
02:46:52.120 --> 02:46:55.360
the Flame 2. Like I flew a 13 meter Flame 2 yesterday
02:46:55.360 --> 02:46:58.559
and was like ridge soaring with like 10 knots
02:46:58.559 --> 02:47:01.379
of wind. It's like, they're so efficient, but
02:47:01.379 --> 02:47:03.739
you open up and I'm horrible at ridge soaring.
02:47:03.780 --> 02:47:07.040
It's like a joke, right? But I opened up the
02:47:07.040 --> 02:47:09.579
trim and it was all of a sudden alive in an aggressive
02:47:09.579 --> 02:47:11.920
speed wing, you know? So it's just, you got to
02:47:11.920 --> 02:47:13.659
look at all these different wings and all the
02:47:13.659 --> 02:47:16.770
characteristics. not only read the owner's manual
02:47:16.770 --> 02:47:18.530
or whatever, but talk to people that fly them.
02:47:18.809 --> 02:47:24.530
If you're into level, talk to Ronan. He's a level
02:47:24.530 --> 02:47:26.909
wings pilot. He knows a lot about their wings.
02:47:26.950 --> 02:47:28.350
He knows everything about them because that's
02:47:28.350 --> 02:47:32.569
his job, basically, or his expectation of him
02:47:32.569 --> 02:47:36.149
being a pilot for them. Reach out to Pat Hennessey
02:47:36.149 --> 02:47:38.069
if you have questions about ozone wings. These
02:47:38.069 --> 02:47:41.969
guys can speak on this. People can reach out
02:47:41.969 --> 02:47:43.389
to you, Jake, to ask you about what you think
02:47:43.389 --> 02:47:45.610
about the Mirage. I mean, you have a lot of experience
02:47:45.610 --> 02:47:48.790
flying Mirage. Um, I would welcome it. Right.
02:47:48.889 --> 02:47:51.770
Exactly. So just do, do the homework. And then,
02:47:51.790 --> 02:47:54.649
like you said, like smaller is not always better.
02:47:55.430 --> 02:47:59.329
Smaller is a tool, but to go back to what Ian
02:47:59.329 --> 02:48:02.709
said a few podcasts ago, he, and this dude is
02:48:02.709 --> 02:48:06.229
a, he is Yoda, you know, like he, he's a freaking
02:48:06.229 --> 02:48:09.469
Ninja sky God, Ninja turtle in the best sense.
02:48:10.350 --> 02:48:14.090
This dude flies a 13 meter Mirage. all the time
02:48:14.090 --> 02:48:19.489
and he could very easily be flying a 6 .5 if
02:48:19.489 --> 02:48:22.469
he wanted to but like that's not the right tool
02:48:22.469 --> 02:48:26.010
so if you if you're a one wing quiver kind of
02:48:26.010 --> 02:48:31.190
pilot definitely don't go any smaller than about
02:48:31.190 --> 02:48:35.829
18 right and then like you said you know if you
02:48:35.829 --> 02:48:38.409
can't do it on the 13 you're not going to do
02:48:38.409 --> 02:48:42.079
it on the 11. like you might be like, okay, so
02:48:42.079 --> 02:48:44.420
you, you'll go faster. You might swoop further.
02:48:44.739 --> 02:48:47.579
You might be going faster, but are you actually
02:48:47.579 --> 02:48:50.000
doing it? Cause you can swoop the hell out of
02:48:50.000 --> 02:48:53.940
a 15 meter to RS. I have, I mean, obviously the
02:48:53.940 --> 02:48:55.520
site picture is different. You have to make lower
02:48:55.520 --> 02:48:58.780
turns, get coaching. You know, you, you can't,
02:48:58.780 --> 02:49:02.479
you can't roll out of a turn to swoop a 15 to
02:49:02.479 --> 02:49:06.000
RS like you would an 11 to RS. Like you need
02:49:06.000 --> 02:49:10.920
more altitude. The smaller the wing is. Um, yeah,
02:49:11.020 --> 02:49:13.979
please don't go die doing this, but you know,
02:49:13.979 --> 02:49:15.700
not, not, not you Jake, but just people that
02:49:15.700 --> 02:49:18.780
are listening to this. Um, and I'm not a sweep
02:49:18.780 --> 02:49:21.319
expert, you know, but, but I, I can, I love sweeping.
02:49:21.420 --> 02:49:23.579
That's like literally been my sole focus. And
02:49:23.579 --> 02:49:28.340
the last year I was jumping every day and then
02:49:28.340 --> 02:49:30.700
freaking in speed flying. That's, that's pretty
02:49:30.700 --> 02:49:33.579
much what I've been looking at, you know, cause
02:49:33.579 --> 02:49:35.620
it's, that's what gets my jollies. It's also
02:49:35.620 --> 02:49:39.459
super dangerous. Um, so, you know, go easy. The
02:49:39.459 --> 02:49:40.940
thing about kite rides, like you said, dude,
02:49:41.040 --> 02:49:42.780
it's a cheat code, man. Those things are insane.
02:49:42.920 --> 02:49:45.360
The line bro. I was, I mean, you saw that video,
02:49:45.420 --> 02:49:49.620
but there are videos that I didn't post on, on,
02:49:49.739 --> 02:49:52.180
um, speed vector Instagram that I put on my,
02:49:52.200 --> 02:49:56.059
my, uh, personal page where I was doing a super
02:49:56.059 --> 02:49:58.659
aggressive, like perpendicular to the ground
02:49:58.659 --> 02:50:03.979
90 and going 60 miles per hour for like 200 yards
02:50:03.979 --> 02:50:09.170
on a flat grass surface. And it is like, outrageous
02:50:09.170 --> 02:50:11.690
dude and it's all in your hands it's so easy
02:50:11.690 --> 02:50:15.030
but it doesn't it doesn't like you can do the
02:50:15.030 --> 02:50:18.670
same thing with your standard speed wing you
02:50:18.670 --> 02:50:21.370
just have to know how to fly on rears and you
02:50:21.370 --> 02:50:24.670
have to know how to get a note like the everything
02:50:24.670 --> 02:50:27.329
you know you but but the the parakeets are so
02:50:27.329 --> 02:50:32.069
efficient that it it eliminates the need to really
02:50:32.069 --> 02:50:34.729
understand what you're doing you know, I mean,
02:50:34.750 --> 02:50:36.409
obviously you have to roll out at the right altitude
02:50:36.409 --> 02:50:38.309
and you got to make sure you're level before
02:50:38.309 --> 02:50:39.989
you're going to hit the ground. Cause the ground's
02:50:39.989 --> 02:50:41.290
there and you're going to hit it if you don't
02:50:41.290 --> 02:50:43.969
do something, you know, but, but it's easy to
02:50:43.969 --> 02:50:46.450
manipulate, you know, once you learn the amount
02:50:46.450 --> 02:50:48.090
of movement you have to do with your hands, it's
02:50:48.090 --> 02:50:49.950
a joke. Like it's, and that's what people are
02:50:49.950 --> 02:50:51.209
getting in trouble, man. Cause they're easy to
02:50:51.209 --> 02:50:54.489
fly. If you can launch it, you know, you can
02:50:54.489 --> 02:50:58.610
fly it. So just, yeah. Sound advice, man. Super
02:50:58.610 --> 02:51:01.909
sound advice. I, uh, This has been awesome. I
02:51:01.909 --> 02:51:03.389
can't believe we've been talking for almost three
02:51:03.389 --> 02:51:05.129
hours. It feels like 10 minutes, dude. I could
02:51:05.129 --> 02:51:07.549
talk to you all day. I feel like we're very similar
02:51:07.549 --> 02:51:11.930
people, which is cool. Where can people find
02:51:11.930 --> 02:51:18.069
you? On Instagram, Jake and the Flying Pickles.
02:51:19.010 --> 02:51:22.430
My name is so common that I can't just put Jake
02:51:22.430 --> 02:51:24.569
Long. You know how many Jake Longs there are?
02:51:24.629 --> 02:51:26.790
I had to do something weird like Jake and the
02:51:26.790 --> 02:51:28.889
Flying Pickles. But on Instagram, it's Jake and
02:51:28.889 --> 02:51:31.690
the Flying Pickles. Cool. Yeah. So that's very,
02:51:31.709 --> 02:51:33.590
uh, that's very Midwest of your parents. I love
02:51:33.590 --> 02:51:38.729
it. I love it. Yeah. Well, cool, man. Well, dude,
02:51:38.870 --> 02:51:42.030
I, we, we'll do this again for sure. Cause we've
02:51:42.030 --> 02:51:43.709
been at it for a long time. We can probably go
02:51:43.709 --> 02:51:47.170
another three hours, but, um, yeah, man, thank
02:51:47.170 --> 02:51:49.729
you so much for coming on here, reaching out.
02:51:49.750 --> 02:51:52.530
And I encourage, so, so just to give some backstory
02:51:52.530 --> 02:51:56.309
here, I I've never met Jake. Um, I didn't reach
02:51:56.309 --> 02:51:59.739
out to Jake. I think I followed you on Instagram
02:51:59.739 --> 02:52:01.280
because you followed me. I try to follow everybody
02:52:01.280 --> 02:52:04.299
back because why not? I love everybody. We might
02:52:04.299 --> 02:52:06.959
as well all be friends here. But Jake reached
02:52:06.959 --> 02:52:10.120
out to me and pitched him coming on the podcast.
02:52:10.200 --> 02:52:12.500
And I was like, hell yeah, dude, of course. I'd
02:52:12.500 --> 02:52:16.879
love to just talk. Let's go have a chat. This
02:52:16.879 --> 02:52:18.940
has been awesome, man. You officially have the
02:52:18.940 --> 02:52:21.219
record for longest podcast so far, which I love.
02:52:21.319 --> 02:52:24.040
That is super cool. I will be listening to this
02:52:24.040 --> 02:52:28.000
one back for sure. But yeah, thanks for, thanks
02:52:28.000 --> 02:52:30.520
for having me on and accepting my cold call.
02:52:31.139 --> 02:52:33.959
You know, I just, I loved your show so much and
02:52:33.959 --> 02:52:38.440
thought, you know, one, people need to know about
02:52:38.440 --> 02:52:41.340
our ski resort out here. Hell yeah, dude. You
02:52:41.340 --> 02:52:43.979
know, just thought it'd be fun. Good time. And
02:52:43.979 --> 02:52:46.530
it was a good time. No, then likewise. Yeah.
02:52:46.629 --> 02:52:48.409
Likewise. Cheers to you, my friend. And, uh,
02:52:48.530 --> 02:52:51.430
I'm serious. Like I'm a man of my word. And I
02:52:51.430 --> 02:52:53.930
ask, ask people that are close to me. I'm a man
02:52:53.930 --> 02:52:56.809
of my word. I am coming to Arctic Valley, Alaska
02:52:56.809 --> 02:53:00.930
to ski probably mid to late April. Cause we,
02:53:00.969 --> 02:53:03.649
we shut down like April 15th. So after that,
02:53:03.729 --> 02:53:06.809
I've got some time. I will 100 % be coming out
02:53:06.809 --> 02:53:09.629
there. Yeah. You just need you, you need your
02:53:09.629 --> 02:53:12.809
S2 and you need your ski launch rating. That's
02:53:12.809 --> 02:53:15.690
what you need. I've got an S3, but I don't know
02:53:15.690 --> 02:53:17.309
how to get a ski launch rating. Can I get it
02:53:17.309 --> 02:53:23.389
there? It's kind of like an add -on that it's
02:53:23.389 --> 02:53:25.329
like if your buddy went out speed riding with
02:53:25.329 --> 02:53:27.590
you and watched you take off a couple times.
02:53:27.790 --> 02:53:30.309
Check. I'm going to be speed riding with Todd
02:53:30.309 --> 02:53:33.270
this winter, so I'll just have him sign the deadline
02:53:33.270 --> 02:53:35.409
for me. You'll get it done. Yeah. You'll get
02:53:35.409 --> 02:53:38.170
it done. Sweet. Right on, man. Well, hey, I'll
02:53:38.170 --> 02:53:39.709
talk to you soon, and I'll see you in April.
02:53:41.079 --> 02:53:42.819
Yes, sir, dude. This was a lot of fun. Thank
02:53:42.819 --> 02:53:44.620
you so much, dude. Thank you.