In this episode, Laurent speaks with Steph Davis. Steph is a world-class free solo climber and an avid BASE jumper. She has a unique background, including being a dedicated pianist and holding a master's degree in literature. While attending law school, she decided to drop out to pursue climbing full-time and has never looked back. Steph is an inspirational figure with her approach to risk management and how she dedicates herself to her passions. https://stephdavis.co/ - Please support this inde...
Jun 06, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 33
In this episode, Laurent Frat speaks with Katelyn Compton Escott - a performance wingsuit pilot, BASE jumper and speedflyer. She was recommended by a few mutual friends as a potential guest. However, before we could invite her, she suffered a serious spinal injury while speedflying in Kamloops. Since her accident, she underwent a successful 10 hour surgery and has been making positive progress. Initially, we hesitated and considered waiting for her comeback story, but after seeing her social med...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 32
Tension knots might be the scariest and least understood malfunction in BASE. In 2019 and 2020, Squirrel conducted surveys in an attempt to get a better understanding of tension knots and their occurrence. In this episode, Blank and I sit down with Will and Matt from Squirrel to have them share what they learned, and some suggestions on how to train our emergency procedures. Read SQRL's paper on tension knots: link -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We wan...
May 06, 2023•48 min•Ep. 31
With us this week is Lonnie Bissonnette, a BASE jumping pioneer who after suffering a nearly fatal accident that left him paralyzed, became the first person to earn a BASE number as a paraplegic, jumping all four objects in the BASE acronym (Building, Antena, Span [bridge] and Earth). He has since traveled the globe BASE jumping and became a para-bobsleigh world champion representing his home country of Canada. ________________________________________ If you have been listening to Exit Point and...
Apr 25, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 30
In this episode, Laurent speaks with Espen Fadnes. Espen has somehow stayed at the top of the discipline, basically from the beginning of wingsuit BASE jumping, was part of the community that opened the world's eyes to what was possible and how base jumpers could fly. He is an FAI world champion, regularly holds sell-out camps at the indoor wingsuit tunnel, and it completes hundreds of wingsuit BASE jumps a year. Espen has been part of many film projects and continues to inspire the masses with ...
Apr 11, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 29
In this episode, Matt Blank speaks with Taylor Cole. Taylor is a member of the US parachute team, CTO of the Navy’s technology lab in Southern California, stuntman, and long-time BASE jumping community organizer. His open-minded and logical approach to BASE jumping may appear in contrast to his wild antics, but after listening to this conversation we hope you gain some valuable insights into his unique and innovative approach to risk analysis and performance. Among other things, Matt and Taylor ...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 28
In this episode, Laurent and Matt speak with Chris McNamara. Chris is an expert in big wall climbing and describes himself as a recovering wingsuit BASE jumper. Climbing Magazine once pointed out that three percent of Chris's life had been spent on the face of El Cap - of which he has climbed over 70 times, he holds 9 big wall speed climbing records, and is a winner of the American Alpine Club's prestigious Bates Award. Chirs has written 10 books, and is the founder of SuperTopo and now the Edit...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 27
In this episode, Laurent speaks with Robert Pecnik. Robert is the director, owner lead wingsuit designer, and test pilot of Phoenix Fly. In Croatia, Robert's skydiving career started in 1982, and is still regularly BASE jumping with unrelenting enthusiasm. Among other things, we talked about his thoughts on the risks and dangers of wingsuit BASE and how his passion for flying has remained so resilient. Phoenix-Fly @pecnikrobert If you have been listening to Exit Point and enjoy what you've heard...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 26
In this episode, Laurent and Matt speak with Jamie Crawford. Jamie is an expert in urban BASE jumping who has been honing his skill with patience, dedication, and intention for over a decade. Jamie provides a fresh perspective on Exit Point with his hardcore urban style. He has generously agreed to shed some light on what has historically been a shadowy dark art. Jamie's FB His Insta If you have been listening to Exit Point and enjoy what you've heard, we want to hear from you! lau@nextlevel.ws ...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 25
In this episode, Laurent sits down with Tristan Wimmer and Ben Pitassi of 22 Jumps. 22 Jumps is a public charity that combines BASE jumping and fundraising to support the development of durable solutions for traumatic brain injuries. The project was initiated by Tristan Wimmer after his brother Kiernan's tragic death. Kiernan, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained in Iraq for almost a decade, tragically took his own life in 2015. Tristan and his family watched as Kiernan's in...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 24
Jesse Hall is an accomplished athlete who grew up in the mountains of Colorado and developed a love for skiing, rock climbing, and backpacking at a young age. Jesse was inspired by air sports early and made his first jump on his 18th birthday in 2000. Since then, he's made thousands of BASE jumps from hundreds of different objects around the globe. Jesse won the North American Extreme Skiing Championships and podiumed at various BASE competitions including aerial, landing accuracy, and tracking ...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 23
In this episode, Laurent Frat and Matt Blank speak with Todd Shoebotham. Todd is the co-founder and President of Apex BASE, one of the premier manufacturers of BASE Jumping equipment. Todd has been involved in the sport of BASE jumping since 1987. He is a designer, innovator, educator, a film consultant, and with his brother Troy, was one of the very first commercial manufacturers of BASE-specific equipment. You can find out more about Todd and Apex here: https://apexbase.com/ If you are interes...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 22
In this episode, we speak with Kenny Daniel, the founder and designer of Baseline.ws. Baseline.ws is a website and mobile app that provides tools designed to help skydivers and BASE jumpers improve their safety margin and increase performance. I've been excited to chat with Kenny about how I can best use baseline.ws for what I'm doing and general suggestions about data gathering for BASE. www.baseline.ws If you have been listening to Exit Point and enjoy what you've heard, we would love to hear ...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 21
In this episode, Matt Blank interviews Jay Moledzki. Jay Mo is one of skydiving's foremost canopy instructors and we've brought him on to talk about his history as a test pilot, his experience pioneering high-performance canopy flying, and some of his training tips that we can use to improve our own canopy skills for the BASE environment. Jasonmoledzki@gmail.com @jason_moledzki www.trustthejourney.today Flight-1.com @flight1sport If you have been listening to Exit Point and enjoy what you've hea...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 20
Sean Chuma has made BASE jumping his life and livelihood for the better part of one and a half decades, moving from southern California to Twin falls to BASE jump full time. Despite being a world-renowned aerialist, tandem BASE developer and BASE jumping instructor, he remains a soft-spoken ninja who’s largely chosen to represent through action rather than words, so we’re excited to get him on record and dive into his personal progression as well as pick his brain for tips and advice. https://ww...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 19
Dr Matt Wilks is an adventure medic, ICU doctor and seasoned paraglider pilot. He founded the Flight Physiology Project, which is a multidisciplinary bid to study physiology, cognitive performance and safety of pilots during free flight. Matt has a long list of notable experiences including being the lead doctor on several large international expeditions. He practised anesthesiology in New Zealand and Nepal and has flown all over east Africa with the AMRF Flying Doctor Service. Among other thing...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 18
Marcel Geser is a professional paraglider pilot, avid base jumper and president of the Swiss BASE Association. We talked to Marcel about the history of jumping and Lauterbrunnen and some of the efforts they’ve taken to preserve this epic site for jumpers. This is a must-listen episode if you're planning your first trip to the valley. Swiss BASE Association Air Glacier +41 33 856 0560 Rega...
Jul 26, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 17
In 2012 Matt founded Squirrel, a company that manufacturers wingsuits, parachutes, and BASE jumping equipment. Among many other articles and publications Matt wrote the Great Book of BASE which is arguably the most comprehensive piece of writing on the sport. We talk to Matt about his early days in BASE, how he has seen the sport develop, and his process as a test pilot. We dive into what motivates him to improve BASE jumping educational material and develop new technology in BASE. Matt's links:...
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 16
Will Mitchell has been using an analytical approach to open short-start wingsuit BASE jumps in the United States while pioneering some technical and aesthetic lines. Will’s approach has also led him to challenge the conventional wisdom in BASE jumping. In this episode, we talk to him about some of his recent observations which include: slider-down packing/rigging, short-start wingsuit performance, and using technology for site evaluation. Will's links: https://www.instagram.com/will.i.am.mitchel...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 15
Amber Forte holds the world record for the fastest female in a wingsuit. She is a member of the Norwegian national wingsuit team and placed 2nd in an international FIA performance wingsuit competition. We discuss her flying progression, her thoughts on training in the wingsuit tunnel for skydiving and BASE, and the emotional and physical challenges that come with recovering from injury. We chat about her romantic relationship with her jumping and competition partner, Espen Fadnes. Amber's links:...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 14
Roch Malnuit started BASE jumping in 2003, at the age of 21. Roch learned how to jump from his father who is a pioneer in the sport. Roch moved to Chamonix when he was in high school to play ice hockey and soon after dedicated himself to climbing and jumping in the Alps. He has over 2000 BASE jumps and has opened many exits in his home region. He has also completed technical alpine ascents and wingsuit BASE jumps in Antarctica and Pakistan. He is heavily involved in the sport and is President of...
May 27, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 13
Jeff Shapiro is a multifaceted adventure professional. Drawn to the mountains and the air above them, Jeff is an elite level climber, bush plane pilot, a professional paraglider pilot, and has competed in hang gliding at the highest level. Jeff dedicated 10 years to wingsuit BASE jumping during which he pioneered new exit points in Montana, often solo. Jeff is grounded, thoughtful and approaches his pursuits with passion and gratitude. Jeff's links: https://searchingforsatori.com/ https://www.in...
May 17, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 12
Brett Kistler shares what he's learned while exploring the human mind and takes us through the finer points of his journey to understand fear and the role it played in his BASE jumping career which spanned dozens of countries and nearly two thousand jumps without any injuries. If you're looking for an opportunity to question how to process fear or how you've constructed your ego, this is the episode for you. Brett's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-art-of-accomplishment/id15406...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 11
Tim Howell is a BASE jumper, climber, alpinist, and former Royal Marine. He is one of the most active jumpers on the planet in a variety of disciplines and is also an instructor. We discuss expedition mindset/recognizance, ski BASE, proposing to his wife and her subsequent crash, social media positives and negatives, teaching new jumpers, and a wide variety of other topics. https://timhowelladventure.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tim_howell_adventure/ https://www.facebook.com/TimHowellADVENTURE...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 10
Cedric Dumont is a Red bull athlete, author, entrepreneur, keynote speaker and business consultant. He splits his time between leading expeditions, flying, speaking, writing and consulting for elite athletes and major companies all over the world. Alongside his career as an action sports athlete, Cedric is also an authority in High-Performance Psychology. For over a decade, Cedric has been helping elite athletes and major organisations worldwide grow leaders at all levels by doing things differe...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 9
Originally from New Zealand, Jeff Weatherall's background is in professional wakeboarding. His career has seen 2 World Wakeboard titles, 9 New Zealand National titles, Australian Pro Tour Series title, and X Games medals. These days Jeff is a professional skydiver in Byron Bay, Australia where he also mentors new BASE jumpers. In this episode, Jeff shares with us a gnarly story of a BASE mission gone wrong, in hopes their mistakes will provide valuable lessons for others.
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 8
Vincent ”Le Blond” Descols - Stories from a Wingsuit BASE pioneer, visualization for success, and world’s first tandem wingsuit operation Le Blond is a professional skydiver and BASE jumper who pioneered some of the longest terrain flights ever done. Along with his buddies from the Vercor BASE team, Le Blond opened many new school wingsuit BASE jumping classic exit points in the French Alps - including Brevent and the Aiguille de Midi. Vincent is a multi-time WWL Champion, and Wings for Love med...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We wish Jimmy Pouchert were here for his episode, and that’s why we did it anyway. So strap in as our team inducts our absentee guest into the hall of legends in what we hope is just the beginning of our community celebrating his life. One love forever… We’re going to regroup after making this our season finale. Please join us again in March Photo credit: Arlo Pace
Jan 20, 2022•3 hr 24 min•Ep. 7
In this episode, we delve into the daunting task of maintaining the BASE Fatality List (BFL) with curator Brad 'Patto' Patfield. Patto shares his insights from more than a decade of collecting details about how and why a jumper went in and shares how he's dealt with the burden of shepherding the loved ones of fallen BASE jumpers through the initial stages of loss. This is a can't miss episode for any active jumper, if for nothing else than to humanize a man who is an angel of light in our sport'...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 6
Scotty Bob is one of the most well-rounded BASE jumpers on the planet. His resume includes thousands of wingsuit jumps and over 1000 low BASE jumps from a wide variety of different objects. After two tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps, Scotty found BASE jumping as a way to satiate his hunger for travel and adventure. He embraced the sport and the lifestyle wholeheartedly traveling the world full-time for many years. Now, with his wife Julia, they run Bob's BASE Academy. Scotty instructs with a ...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 5
