Episodes
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Timmi Thomsen!
Growing up seeing canopies in the air pretty much his entire life, the idea of going to make a skydive when he turned eighteen seemed like a pretty easy decision. Like more than a few jumpers, it didn't take very long until Timmi spotted the direction he wanted to take his journey in the sport. Seeing what at the time he thought was a fatality in action, but was in reality just another swoop did the trick. After a fortuitous job offer to go pack nylon in New Zealand, and a few mentors along the way, Timmi once again found himself on the good side of luck when after and impressive swoop with the help of home field advantage caught the eye of event organizers, he found himself doing demo jumps into one of the most impressive arenas skydive has ever seen, the Copenhagen Swoop Freestyle competition in 2015. Join us on this edition of Lunatic Fringe while we chat about nylon, tunnels and the real world with Timmi Thomsen.
-
Growing up in a kitchen helped toughen up Tom Gunes. Working his way from a sink full of dishes to a chef's knife, there's no doubt in his mind that the fiery environment a chef has to operate in helped prepare him for the stresses of skydiving, and he took to our sport from jump number one. With his beginnings at one of the most prestigious drop zones in the world, he's been able to soak up inspiration from icons in the sport, but long before he'd ever seen a parachute in person, he'd seen skysurfing. Yet it turns out for Tom, the hardest part of skysurfing turned out to be getting on the plane with a board... Now, having proven he can handle himself, he's busy working on his dream of bringing the 90's era discipline back into the mainstream, and with the help of some of skysurfing's OG's, its a goal he believes the Lunatic Fringe is going to embrace.
-
Missing episodes?
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Jeff Weatherall!
As a young Kiwi, starting out with sport was a pretty natural thing, and Jeff Weatherall excelled. Surfing seemed to be a natural fit for him, and competition became the standard at a young age; but as is known to happen when you push for the top, Jeff found himself burned out on the waves, and instead put all of his focus into a sport he'd never considered before, wakeboarding. On his way to becoming an international champion behind a boat, he happened to catch a bit of footage of a guy named Frank BASE jumping, and knew it was in his cards. Years after his first glimpse, and long after that very first skydive Jeff made his first BASE jump, and was off on a new trajectory in his life that would eventually lead him on to become a full-time skydiver, wingsuit and BASE coach, and lifelong member of the Lunatic Fringe.
-
He never could have imagine when at the ripe old age of seventeen and enlisting in the Army that he'd eventually be nudged into pursuing skydiving by open water and a big fish, but that's exactly what happened. Greg Windmiller knew pretty quickly that skydiving was for him. With what he admittedly calls a 'blessed' career, Greg found himself not just jumping with some of the best in the business, but leading the pack. With a passion cultivated between military and civilian operations, he found his perfect path. Now a long time sought after instructor, public speaker and owner/operator of Superior Flight Solutions, Greg is just as busy as he ever has been, redefining what retirement is, and truly enjoying his place with the Lunatic Fringe.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with The Darmon Brothers!
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 remain in the one handed down through the generations. Working hard every step of the way doing everything from manifest to packing, driving to jumping, it was not a straight line to the sky, but one that taught them almost every aspect of the sport, leading them towards the instructors, coaches and competitors that they are today, deep inside the Lunatic Fringe.
-
An absolute trailblazer in the world of freefall photography and the man who can almost single-handedly be credited with blueprint for modern tandem video production, Mike Mcgowan joins us once again to talk not only about his incredible career in our sport, but about a subject that holds just as much importance to him. Addiction. Having faced his own demons in the form of alcohol and drug addiction, Mike speaks frankly about his now forty years of sobriety and what it took to get him from a path of self-destruction to a Lunatic Fringe success story and a pioneering member of the skydiving community.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Will Lajeunesse!
Starting out at Skydive Crosskeys in the early 2000's was a fucking trip! Just ask Mr. Will Lajeunesse... From the dropzone fix-it-all man so he could jump his ass off, to a fully sponsored athlete, Will had the chance to see skydiving from every angle, both good and bad. From crazy highs to deep lows, he's had the opportunity to taste a bit of it all. Having become infamous for some seriously sketchy shit, to becoming zen in the alps, Will has some wonderful memories to relive and great advise to pass on that you're not going to want to miss.
-
Drawn to skydiving when higher education failed to engage him and it's social scene held no interest, Nicolas Armstrong couldn't help but feel when he went out to make his first jump on a weekend that also happened to be during the biggest boogie of the year that it simply must be his destiny. With more than 20 years in the sport, working as everything from a camera flyer to tandem instructor to AFF and competitor, he has more than his fair share of stories to tell. On top of that, having to navigate the sometimes difficult landscape of an athlete living with type-one diabetes has made his journey with the Lunatic Fringe one that for him has been well worth the challenge.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Shannon and Louise!
Living mirrored lives on different sides of the planet, Louise Kristensen and Shannon Seyb had a passion and drive for most all the same things. From Horseback riding and yoga, to tunnel flying and a love of the sky and our community, forming a team to spread the love and a positive vibes was the only natural thing to do. Biding their time until they can train for dynamic two way tunnel comps and get back in the air, Louise and Shannon take the time to tell me how they got their starts in the sport, and how they've spent their "down" time lately keeping it interesting here in the Lunatic Fringe.
-
EPISODE #300!
Fourteen years old isn't terribly early to be exposed to the wonderful world of skydiving if you're a second or even third generation jumper, but for someone with no connection to it... James Heck was that kid. Through random circumstance, James found himself packing parachutes almost right away, and even though he'd be required to wait what must have seemed like a lifetime to manage that first jump, he knew it was exactly what he wanted to do. Now a proud camera flying, TI instructing, pleasure swooping BASE dabbler, James knows what it's like to just decide to go after what you want full force, just like a good Lunatic Fringer should.
-
Back in the can after way too long, the one and only David Junior Ludvik catches back up with us to talk about his beginnings in the sport, the wild and wonderful ride that was a decade in Dubai, life after the sandbox and a more military take on the sport, and just some all around fun catching up with The Lunatic Fringe.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with the one and only Mark Norman!
In this episode I get the chance to sit down with one of skydivings true ambassadors. Having come up in the sport during times of great change and innovation, Mark recalls what it was like to be there "when". Through struggles with burnout and addiction, he's persevered to cultivate a love for skydiving, its community and all the lessons he's learned, and freely shares them with me.
-
Leaving Southern California for the North Shore of Hawaii Sounded like the perfect opportunity for a then 18 year old Robin Jandle, and it was. So when the opportunity to go make a skydive over one of the most beautiful places on Earth came up, she was... absolutely not into it. So, as good friends are known to do, they took her anyway and peer pressured her on to the plane. One grudging tandem turned into a second, then AFF in one of the most challenging places in the world to learn, and before she knew it, she had her sights set on a career in the sport. Now a competing member of the US Canopy Piloting team and a working instructor for Superior Flight Solutions in North Carolina, Robin Jandle happily embraces her place as possibly be the busiest skydiver in the Lunatic Fringe.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Ellis Danho Bourbonnais!
Ellis Danho Bourbonnais is the quintessence of a renaissance man to say the least, but most certainly not in the way most people would think. From surfing in the Gulf and then Hawaii, to MMA, skydiving, BASE jumping and climbing, Ellis is more at home pushing his personal limits than most people are on a sofa. Attacking new passions whole heartedly is where he's at his best, and he takes this time to give us a few of the reasons why.
-
in 2012 going out to make a tandem skydive in Poland was pretty much like everywhere else. You book it, you jump. But when Marta Molinska made her first skydive, she didn't even make it to the ground before she was asking how she could make it as a pro. Her instructor not only got her to the ground safely and aimed her in the right direction to begin her journey, but remains her biggest supporter to this day. Now, not just the AFF instructor she set out to be on that very first jump, but managing a skydiving operation and now one of the three people helping to organize what has become the incredibly successful European Skydiving Symposium, Marta has taken her initial passion for skydiving to the next level, and the next, and the next... Lunatic Fringe all the way.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with JYRO!
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.
-
“Imagine a free fall from an altitude exceeding 26 miles, breaking the sound barrier unaided, and ascending to the highest crewed balloon flight—this is Hera Rising. Their historic dive aims to leave its mark on history and in hearts, smashing records and lifting spirits.”
Meet Eliana Rodriguez, Swati Varshney and Diana Valerin, the Hera Rising teammates who, along with everyone at Rising United have aimed their sights higher than ever before., determined to take the Lunatic Fringe to the highest levels.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Mas Di Siena!
Mas Di Siena's entrance into skydiving wasn't exactly smooth, and was a start that would have dissuaded more than most from pushing to reach the level in our sport that he has. Hell, it would have kept most playing video games instead. Ex competitor, professional skydiving instructor and proud as hell meat hauler, Mas has managed to project a shiny outlook and happy disposition that most "working" skydivers should strive for, a great way to approach life in general, and a Lunatic Fringe kind of singing voice that's simply to die for...
-
On location at the absolutely beautiful dropzone located in Mombasa, Kenya, we get the chance to dive into the mindset of a destination boogie goer, the DZO, a first time tandem student, a 77 year old lifelong British jumper younger than most teenagers, and a few regulars to the podcast that help to try and define what it is that makes the worldwide Lunatic Fringe community so damn special.
-
Another kick ass mid week reboot with Simon Colmer!
It started with an accident onboard a commercial airliner over Austrailia, or at least the catalyst did. In an event that will forever be a part of Simon Colmer, part of learning to get past it was a bucket list that happened to include skydiving; yet for someone scared of heights dealing with the after effects of a traumatic experience onboard an airplane, it was one that took a bit of time to get around to. Now, splitting his life quite clearly between the "real" world of an IT job, and weekends as a freefly coach and up and coming canopy pilot, Simon takes time to tell us about his rough beginnings in the air, lessons learned through injury, experience and travel and a host of incredible characters and mentors, and how he keeps the passion going in a sport with changing trends and appearances as he balances between the regular world and the Lunatic Fringe.
- Show more