Scotland is very well known for quite a few different things. Scottish whisky, the Scottish highlands, bagpipes, haggis, the Loch Ness Monster and of course Sean Connery; one thing it is most certainly not known for… Skydiving. So when you are a kid named Ewan Cowie and you're dreaming of all the different things your parents will try and keep you from doing, skydiving probably isn't on the list. Isn't, that is, until you hit University and see it firsthand. From majoring in geology to avoid the...
May 15, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 177
Back in the can for round 2, Mr. Albert Berchtold has made a few changes in life since last we spoke with him. Now the head honcho and officially the Executive Director of the United States Parachute Association, Albert has a prime seat for helping to shape the sport that we all know and love. Working hard to represent each and everyone of its members and its Board of Directors, he envisions a number of positive changes heading our way both within the ranks of the USPA and within our sport as a ...
May 09, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 176
In this, his first ever opportunity to take over the hot seat, Ray Kubiak sits down to chat about all things air, whether it be tunnel flying, skydiving, or the world of aviation as seen through an airline pilot eyes with the one and only Rusty Lewis. To say that Rusty Lewis has a few irons in the fire is a dramatic understatement. Professional airline pilot, S&TA for the International Bodyflight Association, skydiving instructor and sit suit advocate, Rusty has been going strong in both the...
May 02, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 175
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Cody McMains may not have known he was destined for an "extreme" lifestyle, but apparently he mother did. Having followed the L.A. dream with a fair amount of success, but without the happiness that he expected to come with it, a well timed chance comment by a close friend set him on a completely different path. Finding himself in the strangest of living situations in one of the least known areas of the state, the sky and the tunnel soon took over, lea...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 174
One year almost to the day of the release of not only one of my personal favorite episodes, but of the most popular, it is also soon to be the one year anniversary of the passing of the one and only, Moe Viletto. He's the skydiving icon that most of the younger jumpers will have never heard of, even though there's little doubt they've seen him in action. For as sad as we are that we don't have Moe around anymore to tell those incredible and sometimes unbelievable stories, we are all lucky that h...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 173
Back before the hanger. Back before the smiley face that greeted every jumper and spectator. Back before The Tiki Bar, the swoop pond, the back deck or the Maxi Pad in the ghetto, there was a little dropzone in the middle of nowhere New Jersey called CrossKeys started by a guy named John. As far as CK people go, Bert Navarrete and just a handful of others are about as OG as you can get. Having been there for everything from Johny 9-Lives street skiing up the runway dragged behind a car, to the "...
Apr 10, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 172
For Monica it was pretty easy to get started. For Alejandro, not so much. As the Niece of one of the few intrepid skydivers in Mexico at the time, Monica watched her uncle Tony jump throughout her entire childhood, so when given the opportunity to take that first leap, she didn't hesitate. For Alejandro it was quite a bit different. Not knowing how, but knowing he wanted to fly, he spent his childhood trying to come up with his own ways to do it, until the first time he saw someone skydiving. Bo...
Apr 04, 2022•46 min•Ep. 171
Growing up watching his mom huck herself out of airplanes in California, not only making over a thousand jumps on rounds, but earning herself a California State Championship, there was simply no way that Billy Sharman wasn't going to at least try one jump. Of course, as seems to be the case, with a first wonderful experience at Skydance in Davis, CA and a little salesmanship from Ray Ferrell, Billy was well and truly hooked! A few bumps in the road (or ditch) aside, he was well on his way to wha...
Mar 28, 2022•51 min•Ep. 170
Simply Badass. there really isn't any other way to put it. Starting her skydiving career as a twenty-something in 1968 Kansas, at the insistence of her friend, Alice Hicks and a few intrepid friends spent a day jumping off picnic benches to perfect their PLF techniques, and then just went and did it. With a bit of a reputation as a "sidespinner", Alice didn't have the chance to jump with too many others during those early times, until on her last jump back in the day, her then boyfriend (now hus...
Mar 21, 2022•51 min•Ep. 169
Back in the can to talk all things air sports, travel, artwork and Barney? Well, one thing you most certainly have say is that Mr. Regan Tetlow has made the rounds to say the least! From bar tender and pub owner, to the meet and greet face man at Skydive Emporia Brava. From randomly being asked to announcing a swoop event on the beach to becoming the voice behind some of the largest skydiving events in the world (and if you can believe it, balloon races...). DJ and MC turned pro skydiver and act...
Mar 14, 2022•50 min•Ep. 168
20 years is a long time for any profession, but especially when its one as physically demanding as working with concrete. Having made his first tandem skydive years back, Grey Milner thought it was just about the most amazing thing he’d ever experienced and was ready to go all in, but as it has a way of doing, life got in the way. It wasn’t until recently that he found himself back in the air on tandem number two, and just like the first, his immediate desire was to go all in. This time, getting...
Mar 06, 2022•44 min•Ep. 167
Back in the can for another addition of Lunatic Fringe, Jarrett Martin and his father Brett take the opportunity to sit down and talk with me about what it's like handing skydiving down from generation to generation. having dealt with injury and loss first hand, yet pushing through to continue to compete and excel in our sport, both Brett and Jarrett understand the drive and determination our sport can sometimes demand. Running a successful rigging and manufacturing loft with Summit Parachute Sy...
Feb 28, 2022•50 min•Ep. 166
At an age when most kids are still learning to tie their shoelaces unassisted, Zack Rosser was tossing on his kid sized climbing harness so his father could take him up on a tandem paraglide session; and before he was old enough to know he had choices available to him, he'd already made his. With paragliding not as accessible in his area in Australia, his father took him out to the local DZ when he was twenty, and set him up on a tandem skydive to see if that might be a good fit. In no time at a...
Feb 21, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 165
From a very early age, Dave Singer knew exactly what he wanted, which was exactly what most other 8 year olds do. A sewing machine... wait, what? Okay, so Dave may not have taken the more traveled road, but it the path that he was absolutely sure he was suppose to be on. From military jumper and rigger, to civilian camera flyer and eventually on to the Mecca of the times for cutting edge skydiving in Perris Valley, Dave never had a doubt that skydiving was his life. Working his way through colle...
Feb 13, 2022•59 min•Ep. 164
Having taken up skydiving as a way to fill the void left by the challenges and disappointments that come with a racing career, Matt Jaskol found more than just a sport, he found the community and "Family" atmosphere that racing never gave him. From his first jumps 7 years ago during his on again, off again career as a professional race car driver to the once in a lifetime opportunity to be the very first ever NASCAR driver to skydive into his own race, it's been a hell of an amazing couple of ye...
Feb 06, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 163
Third generation skydivers, brothers Marcos and Franco were literally born for aviation. Through luck, both good and bad, their grandfather and father built the family airfield and operation literally from the ground up, and these two brothers took to it like ducks to water, although not as quickly as one might think. With Business and Medicine the original goals, it was conscious decision to change course and follow in their fathers foot steps, walking away from the "real" world to instead rema...
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 162
From skateboarding to rock climbing, Simon Whittle touched all the bases when it came to his beginnings in extreme sports, but the real hook came when his UK parents bought him his introduction into the world of skydiving in the form of a static line course. The UK being what it is, it took Simon a very long time to start racking up any real jump experience, but where the sky failed, the tunnel filled the gap. Working his way through the ranks as a tunnel instructor, by the time Simon found hims...
Jan 23, 2022•57 min•Ep. 161
Ray Kubiak, an OG tunnel Ninja, "retired" skydiver and all-around air sports badass sits down for a proper discussion about all things windy tubes, Las Vegas, bad places to stick your head and apparently good places to stick your junk. Join in on the Lunatic fun with Ray both here and on YouTube as we cover old times and new on Lunatic Fringe Into the Void with NZ Aerosports! Music by Zach Kimsey
Jan 16, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 160
Self proclaimed "Bad Skydivers" Matt Porter and Courtney Skaar knew they wanted to get into skydiving, and like a lot of jumpers they were aimed toward it by friends that had already crossed over to the Fringe; but when Career Army Officer Matt and Clinical Psychologist Courtney came across Mr. Brian Casserly during their first boogie, both freshly "Stamped" A License newbies, they received the full and irreversible welcome to the "real" community of skydiving initiation, happily solidifying the...
Jan 10, 2022•58 min•Ep. 159
He was the first of many guests on Lunatic Fringe, Sharing his amazing journey from his static line beginning to world champion swoop freestyle competitor, and now he is the first Lunatic to join us on YouTube. Recapping some of his incredible stories, as well as touching on many we've never spoken of before, this is another entertaining and informative chat with Mr. David "Junior" Ludvik.
Jan 03, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 158
Pulling no punches has been Alix Raymond’s style, as anyone who knows her can tell you, and her time on the Lunatic Fringe with our returning host Mr. Zej Mski is absolutely no exception. Finishing our her term soon as the Southeast Regional Director for the USPA, she's got more than a few words to say on the sport of skydiving, the USPA as an organization with all its pitfalls and upswings, it's new leadership and more. As a full-time "real worlder" as well as flying camera and instructing, the...
Dec 26, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 156
Vegas born and raised, Blane Moler was bound to go big in one way or another. With his brothers A.J. and Brian paving the way, he began his 30 plus year career in the sport of skydiving as a packer, bus driver and occasional target for big brother A.J's dirty biker style temper, not being allowed to really start to earn his chops as a working jumper until he'd been well past his D license; which back then, in that town was a whole lot. With the temptations of the Vegas lifestyle standing in the ...
Dec 19, 2021•55 min•Ep. 151
Both hard charging full fledged Red Bull Athletes, Dani Roman and Sebastian Alvarez have more than a few things in common. They both knew that skydiving was for them at a very young age, and they were both willing to take proper life-changing risks to follow their passion. From tossing it all and traveling across the planet to try and get a job in a country where he didn't speak the language, to walking away from a sure thing lifelong career as a military pilot, these two went all in on a gamble...
Dec 12, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 157
Dabble may be the word that Scott Callantine uses to describe his varied interests in the sport, but the truth of the matter is he's hit it from pretty much all angles. Huge into wingsuits, he was pulled that way as a pilot, but he's competed in 4way and 8way, flown CRW, hucked tandems, worked as an instructor... Now he sits down to welcome back our returning host Mr, Zej Mski to let people in on the new and exciting direction his journey is about to take, still deep on his own Lunatic path. pod...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 155
First jump fears aside, both Brandon Johnson and Debi Brown took to skydiving pretty much from go, although from very different angles. Brandon's military background would leave you to believe that it stemmed from that profession, but as it turned out, the military lifestyle was what was getting in the way, right up until it wasn't anymore. Debi Brown on the other hand was well and deeply entrenched on a course set toward the medical profession by her family, but it was a choice that hadn't been...
Nov 28, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 154
Back in the can to talk all things nylon are Julien Peelman, Chris Stewart and first timer Chris Snell who are quite literally the ABC's of canopy development, design and production for New Zealand Aerosports. From concept to the production of Proto types to test jumping, we sit down to chat about exactly what it takes to put together the industries leading wings that help keep the lunatic fringe in the sky.
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 153
DK Live! The one and only Mr. Danny Koon has got to be one of the most upbeat, positive-vibe skydivers on the planet, and this after having spent more than half his life in the sport, 25 years to be exact. Starting out in what could only be considered one of the most challenging places to learn, the high desert of Las Vegas, Danny got his start almost completely by accident. From scrubbing toilets and packing, to video, freeflying and swooping, he's traveled all around the country working and pl...
Nov 15, 2021•46 min•Ep. 149
Back in the can for round two, this time with a lot less alcohol, Tai Smith shares how it's felt going from a low time Otter pilot to a few thousand hours, low time jumps to hitting it with a wingsuit, and how hardcore COVID rules have put an real exclamation point on incredible experiences like our spectacular trip across the Mediterranean. Join us on this edition of Lunatic Fringe for a few proper laughs and a couple of songs with a proper Kiwi jump pilot.
Nov 08, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 148
From the top of his game with multiple US National and World championship titles under his belt, to wondering if walking would ever again be an option, the journey Nick Batsch has been on over the last three years is a tough one to imagine. Years of training and top level athletic reflexes turned a landing that could have just as easily taken his life into the challenge of a lifetime, pushing Nick to work not only toward the physical demands a rebab of his type takes, but the often un thought of...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 152
Only in the sport for 4 years, Dario Basile's time in both skydiving and BASE has made quite an impact in his life, and those that he meets. From A license to D, this base jumping, bull running, world traveling Tandem Instructor from Sussex NJ is absolutely going to let you, the guy sitting next to you and pretty much everyone else in earshot know that he is a skydiving, chili pepper eating high energy member of the Lunatic Fringe. Join in with Brian Casserly on this amped up chat.
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 147
