Unconventional Athletes Issue 5

www.unconventionalathletes.com
Do – Seek some form of GUIDANCE. A teacher
or a MENTOR! Don’t – TEACH YOURSELF!!
who were yet to jump it. We went up,
jumped, I did what is called a gainer
(jumping forwards but essentially doing
a backflip), landed, all good. Because
it’s an isolated location, and it being
2 am, I suggested we grab our second
parachutes and go for another one. The
wind was quite strong and I had jumped
this wind turbine several times already.
I decided instead of another flip, I would
jump sideways from the object (side
floater they call it) so I could watch
the massive blades spinning in front
of my face. Now anyone in their right
mind knows it’s a stupid idea, but as I
said before, the minute you stop being
scared, you become reckless. So as the
parachute opens, I find myself staring at
the tower the wind turbine is mounted
on, and although I grab the brakes
and stop the canopy surging forward,
upon opening, my body swings from a
horizontal position to vertical, but with
such force (as always, it’s quite normal)
that my legs swing forward and my
heel smashes into the tower, breaking
it, followed by my sacrum (between the
tailbone and spine) breaking itself on
the solid surface. Now to avoid flying
into the blades of said turbine, I keep
the canopy in a stall (which they are
not designed to do; a wing wants to
fly!) and about 5 or 10 metres above
the ground the stall becomes so bad,
my body is swung to the side and I
smash into the ground with the left
side of my pelvis causing it to bend
and break along with my pubic bone. I
crawled into the back of my friend’s car
and lay on my stomach as he drove me
to the hospital, and although I was told,
that they were “clean breaks” and I
would not require surgery, it would
be 3 months before I could walk and
probably 12 months before I could
jump. Four weeks later they sent me
home, and 5 weeks later I walked back
into the hospital (with the assistance of
a walking stick) and got my final scan
that showed I had healed. I was sent
to a rehabilitation clinic for 3 weeks,
where, although we weren't allowed
out for more than just walks in the
nearby park and town centre, I snuck
off and went skiing one weekend, and
was sure to grab my parachute to
pack it ready for my release. The day I
checked out, I called my mates and met
them at one of our local cliffs. No stops
for lunch, fuel, anything… I needed to
prove to myself I could still do it!
Standing on that edge again, fresh from
multiple fractures was like my first
jump all over again and I didn’t slow
down… Au contraire…… I packed my
toys and my mate joined me on a
road trip for my last 4 days in Europe,
before I had to fly out to start a new
work contract in Azerbaijan. We drove
from Austria to Slovenia and Croatia,
jumping and paragliding. Then upon
landing in Azerbaijan on the fifth
day, the weather was perfect and my
boss’s apartment was looking right at a
building with a 75 metre crane above
a football field. Time to get cracking!
5 days, 5 jumps, 2 paragliding flights,
4 countries, 2 continents! Talk about
getting straight back on the horse!
I think base jumping is a very, very
positive sport and should be recognised
for the valour and balls of steel you
have! What you do is inspirational.
Have you any plans to push this
forward as a sport and offer education
on your training/preparation, etc. Do
you hold any workshops or seminars?
I don’t think I will find myself in the position
of offering a course or workshop. But if I
meet someone who is capable of learning
and is prepared to invest the required
effort, I may mentor that person. I prefer
old school - if he/she has paid me zero
money to learn, and I feel for any reason
that their continued practising of the sport
will endanger themselves, someone else,
or the sport’s reputation, then I am under
no obligation to continue their training,
morally or otherwise. Seminars, possibly,
but they would be more focused on a
positive lifestyle, and changing the way we
work, live, travel, eat, think, etc. rather than
just about jumping. Occasionally, when I
work as an English teacher, in Austria, I talk
with the children about sports and getting
past fear, thinking/living outside the box
and expanding their horizons. I hope I
have had some kind of impact on them,
and therefore the next generation.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Brett Kistler - http://www.clearviewstudios.com/
ISSUE 5 VOLUME 1 Page 20