Another Kick Ass Mid-Week Reboot with Mr. Curt Bartholomew! Embry-Riddle. Not exactly what you would naturally think of as the training grounds for a world class canopy pilot. Perhaps a world class airline jock, or in his case even an air traffic controller, but not the founding member of one of the sports longest lived and most accomplished canopy pilot teams in the sport of skydiving. Curt Bartholomew began his career just like the rest of us; with that first jump. but then again, most of us d...
Jun 13, 2023•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 239
She may say that she was the less dominant twin growing up, but after almost being dared to, Shauna Finley changed up the entire trajectory of her life by leaving behind the track shoes and lacing up a pair of military boots. As a proud member of the Marine Corps, she was able to take the experience she gained during her 11 year career and take it on patrol as a State Trooper, which of course was a natural segue to skydiving...? Okay, not the straightest line to a jump career, but when you hear ...
Jun 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 234
Another Lunatic Mid-Week Reboot with the one and only Olav Zipser! The Father of Freefly. Was he the first person to be on his head in the air? of course not, but he was most certainly the first to go out of his way to stay there! Dancing around the clouds like Peter Pan for the last 30+ years, Olav Zipser has been "freeflying his mind" and traveling the world encouraging others to learn to do the same with not just technical ability, but with heart and passion. With ambitions that range from ca...
Jun 06, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 238
One got his start as a Las Vegas Flyaway tunnel rat back in the 90's. The other began as a 2nd generation Flyaway tunnel rat in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, and between the two, they've taken a love of body flight to the next level of obsession. Now with their sights set on not just dominating the body flight world but revolutionizing it, Mr. Cameron McMahan and Mr. Ray Kubiak are going big for their next chapter. With McMahan taking the reins as CEO of the next generation of Flyaway Indoor Skydiving...
Jun 04, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 228
Mid-Week Reboot with the man with the Jyro plan... Mr. Attila Csizmadia! From Nervous beginnings in communist Hungary on military rounds with a reserve he had to pack himself, to Four-Way world meets to a stint packing for the Golden Knights and test jumps on Icarus canopies that would be enough to make anyone lay the nylon down and walk away, Attila Cszmadia has come a very long way in his time in the sport; and as the long time GM of NZ Aero it's safe to say there's a whole lot more to come. J...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 237
As a second generation skydiver, there was no doubt in Will Penny's mind that he would not just make a jump, but become a skydiver; but even for him there was a moment when the decision had to be made between the so called real life he'd been studying to pursue and a life in the sky. Cut to years later when once again Will was faced with deciding between the life he had established for himself as a working camera flyer, and his dream of competition, and again with his desire to step on to yet an...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 231
Having made his way through school and started his career as an electrical engineer, skydiving hadn't been much more than a one time experience with a static line jump in college; yet as the real world started to exert itself on him, Mark "Trunk" Kirschenbaum decided to give jumping another go. This time around he could afford to pursue skydiving properly, and quickly found himself not just jumping but filming as well. Back then and especially for a talented electrical engineer, the shortcomings...
May 21, 2023•48 min•Ep. 229
Attempting to jump off his roof as a kid into his fathers arms may have been a good indication of what was to come. Although Jeff Provenzano didn't come from parents that lived an extreme lifestyle, he did come from artistic stock, which could explain a lot. Even though his beginnings in skydiving were modest and even what might be considered by many to be ordinary, where he's taken his career is anything but. From the beginnings of the swoop revolution in the States and then competitions worldw...
May 14, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 230
Tribute Episode 2 Jim Mathews who always made us laugh. Jim Mathews who use to call me "Skipper". Jim Mathews who liked to swap costumes on Halloween. Jim Mathews who rode the airport beacon. Jim Mathews who could break more bones in one landing than most people will in a lifetime. Jim Mathews who always had a smile for people, no matter what was going on with him. Jim Mathews who would never pass up the opportunity to tell a story, help a friend or make sunset load if he could. Jim Mathews who ...
May 08, 2023•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 233
Jim Mathews who always made us laugh. Jim Mathews who use to call me "Skipper". Jim Mathews who liked to swap costumes on Halloween. Jim Mathews who rode the airport beacon. Jim Mathews who could break more bones in one landing than most people will in a lifetime. Jim Mathews who always had a smile for people, no matter what was going on with him. Jim Mathews who would never pass up the opportunity to tell a story, help a friend or make sunset load if he could. Jim Mathews who was everyone's bes...
May 07, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 232
You could almost call it a storybook beginning. Groomed for a competition team before he’d even begun jumping, Shannon Pilcher was offered opportunities in skydiving that jumpers these days could only dream of. That’s not to say he didn’t he put in the work or earn his place because he most certainly did; but as he will be the first to say, it was the accomplishments of his team as a whole that helped carry them all to the levels they have achieved. From PD’s initial FS team to its iconic team c...
Apr 30, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 227
She hadn't even known it was a thing. It all came about from just a casual invitation to go make a skydive one evening. Less than two weeks after that fateful jump, Jenna Gygi had signed up for her AFF course, setting her on a completey different path than the professional one she had been on; and perhaps it was because she was coming from a professional world that she aimed herself toward earning her tandem rating, knowing that if you intended to earn a living in this sport it was the best path...
Apr 23, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 226
Admittedly skydiving with something he knew he would enjoy. Being the little brother of the famous, or shall we say infamous Will Lajeunesse (and now husband to the one and only Katie Hansen) it was clearly in his blood. Heading out to Skydive CrossKeys for that first skydive, being the drop zone that both his brother and mother frequented was not a hard decision; yet it wasn't until his first AFF that he truly realized what his new sport was all about. It was the same for BASE. After reaching t...
Apr 16, 2023•57 min•Ep. 225
It was an easy choice. $300 for a tandem skydive, or $200 for a first jump course and a 3,500 foot instructor assisted jump. Not really a hard decision for a then 19 year old trying to pay for it all. Growing up in a small town in Western Canada, getting started in skydiving wasn't nearly as easy for Katelyn Escott as it has been for others, but from even before that first jump it was something she was drawn toward. From jumping in Canada to shooting video in Australia, it was a series of fortun...
Apr 10, 2023•51 min•Ep. 224
It was her grad school bachelorette party and a strong desire to stay away from the standard “hen night“ that sparked the decision to jump. Vanessa Shirazi and a crew of 10 ladies headed to Skydive Chicago for a weekend, beginning an extraordinary and passionate career in skydiving. As a working neuroscientist, Vanessa has found a way to mix profession and passion in more ways than one, even blending the two together in a study aimed directly at skydivers abilities to handle stress. Now balancin...
Apr 02, 2023•49 min•Ep. 223
One slight miscalculation and more than a dozen broken bones was the result. There was really no question about why Jason Russell decided to give up on Motocross and begin his skydiving career. Wait... what? Yes, that's right. Part of his motivation to begin his life in skydiving was a conscious attempt to get away from danger; That, and the realization quite early in his time in skydiving that competition was a solid part of the sport. through a series of fortuitous events in his life, Jason we...
Mar 26, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 222
It’s yet another instance of skydiving saving a life. Fighting through difficult times and a past that wouldn’t let go, Dan Blakeley turned to skydiving with a doesn’t matter if I die attitude. Doesn’t matter, right up until he found himself in freefall wanting to live every second of life he could, having just literally fallen into his purpose. With luck in the sport that only a 90s skydiving newbie could appreciate, Dan was handed opportunities that allowed him to carve out a successful career...
Mar 19, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 221
As children, the desire to push back against what our parents do is as natural as breathing, even when what your parents do is cool as hell. Neither Anna Moxnes nor Hollie-Blue Allum were an exception to this almost steadfast rule. Both the children of prominent skydivers and having been raised on dropzones deep within our community, it was a completely normal atmosphere to them, and one that had them looking outside the bounds of nylon and prop blast for direction. Yet as has happened with so m...
Mar 12, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 220
From the very start there was no doubt in his mind that there were two things he would achieve in his life. Scotty Milne would be a soldier, and he would jump out of airplanes; yet there was no way even in his wildest dreams that he could have imagined the amazing adventure he was undertaking. A standout in the sport from the very beginning, he became a championship member of the famed skydiving team The Red Devils so soon in his career that many wondered how he was advancing so fast; right up u...
Mar 05, 2023•56 min•Ep. 219
Back in the can to bring us up to speed on life deep within the USPA, Highlight Skydiving Team and her own new venture, the one and only Melissa Nelson gives us a bit of personal history along with insight on why she decided to climb deep inside the belly of the beast to try and initiate change, the challenges of trying to bust down the doors of the "Old Boy's Club", the groundbreaking work of the Highlight skydiving team and the amazing ideas she's bringing to the forefront in student training ...
Feb 26, 2023•59 min•Ep. 218
For this guy, skydiving made perfect sense. Getting a very early start for someone not born into the sport, Shawn Carter managed to make his first 3 jumps out of the coveted C-130 as a military cadet in Canada, so when it came time to hit the nylon in the civilian world a couple of years later he was all in. With his rigging ticket in his pocket and a desire to travel, Shawn managed to become one of the earliest crew members of Skydive Dubai gaining knowledge and experience along the way. After ...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 217
When you're born and raised in a place like Anchorage Alaska, "extreme sports" isn't really a thing; add to that being born to a big wall and alpine style climbing father and its pretty hard to give that title to much of anything as Ben Nelson can tell you. Working as a paramedic in one of the harshest environments on the planet, the initial drive to skydive just wasn't there simply because he hadn't yet seen the big picture, but after transferring to Houston for work and looking for more out of...
Feb 13, 2023•59 min•Ep. 216
Skydiving beginnings aren't always blue skies and sunshine as Jason Moledzki can tell you. Sometimes the drive to make that first jump can come from a truly dark place, but it was a place that Jason found the drive and determination to escape through his love of skydiving and BASE. A multiple world champion dozens of times over with world records and accomplishments in competition too long to list, he and his crew were a major driving force in the advancement not only of canopy piloting and its ...
Feb 05, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 215
Growing up in Australia in a very supportive environment, Emma Thomson had always been encouraged to explore her interests, and after the gift of a tandem skydive on her 18th birthday jumping had most certainly become one of them; yet it wasn't until she found herself at a destination skydiving center with her boyfriend wingsuit carving around her and her tandem instructor that she realized there may be more to skydiving than drogues and uncomfortable harnesses. With her career in education well...
Jan 29, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 214
Aviation entered the life of Chris Kleinhenz at a very early age. having been aimed toward flight to focus his drive an attention, it was a series of fortuitous meetings, flight opportunities and the generosity of aircraft owners that helped him along the way. Add to that working hard to become a member of the US Air Force Academy skydiving team, and there was no doubt that airborne is where he preferred to be. Aviation and flying were his main focus for quite some time until he was in a positio...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 213
Once again, a skydiving career wasn't born from the first exit, but the first freefall. Argentina's static line course wasn't one that grabbed Juan Mayer, it was one that scared the hell out of him. Even after 52 jumps in a "kind of" AFF course and after freefall had shown him more of what our world may have to offer, it wasn't until a trip to Deland that he really saw the full picture. Having now traveled the world, working in and helping to create incredible projects that have included everyth...
Jan 16, 2023•51 min•Ep. 211
It is with sincere sadness that we say goodbye to another legend in our sport. Jarno Cordia was above all else a generous soul and an incredibly talented individual and we were lucky enough to spend a little time talking with him about what he truly loved, We at the Lunatic Fringe would like to honor him and his legacy with a re-release of Jarno sharing his journey in his own words at the beginning of 2021. BSBD Jarno. From a young age he was drawn to air sports, and skydiving in particular, but...
Jan 09, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 212
Even for charity it was a hard no. She'd managed to do what a lot of English people did when they wanted to skydive back then, and raised money for a charity jump; but after a less than idea ride on a round followed by an "assertive" landing, Maxine Tate had gotten her fill. Right up until she got her first taste of freefall about a dozen years and a high powered career later. Now, World record holder, Proud member of the Highlight Skydiving Team, Long time coach for Flight 1 and all around bada...
Jan 02, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 210
It's a huge Lunatic theme. Skydiving was not the plan. For Nicole Scappatura it wasn't even an idea. She just answered an add for a job that neglected to say it was for a dropzone. For Omar Mohammad, it went against pretty much everything he was busy training for, which was to be the guy up at the front of the aircraft, not the meat missile jumping out the back. With both of them honing their skills with some of the worlds best jumping with Skydive Dubai, they've been on the fast track for some ...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 208
Absolutely horrible. Having passed on the idea of a tandem and gone straight to AFF, Jamie Webster's instructors told him upon landing from his first jump that perhaps skydiving just might not be for him. Luckily, Jamie isn't exactly the type to take no for an answer, and from jump number two on things started looking up. Thousands up jumps later, and years of experience as instructor behind him he's solidly proved those first impressions wrong. Not that he hasn't had his close calls… In one of ...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 207
