420lb male skydiving. Possible? Yes, but how?

[SEREJumper 1]

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Sure it's easy to say lose 200 lbs, but I challenge you to name a diet type that I haven't ACTUALLY tried.

Diets don't work they are short term, you need a permanent lifestyle change.

Commitment, proper nutrition/ training, lots of physical activity/ workouts = weight loss.

I'm sure you've seen "BIGGEST LOSER", they do it every season. Not a slam at all, but you could use your goal of skydiving as a selling point to get on the show.

If you are willing to drop some serious cash on a custom rig and skydiving training, take that money and use it to lose the weight. It will open up a ton more doors than just achieving a short term goal of jumping a few times.

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[mchamp 1]

Just putting this into reference, but Christopher Boykin aka Big Black (Rob Dyrdek's bodyguard) from MTV show Fantasy Factory as well as Rob and Big weighs 414lbs and is 6'6.

For info regarding lift ticket prices all around the world check out
http://www.jumpticketprices.com/dropzones.asp

[artard 0]

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I guess I should elaborate a little more. Yes, I am 420lbs, been +\- 5 lbs for the last 6 years. I might need to remind people that bone weighs much more than muscle... I nowhere said I was a bodybuilder. (or a sumo wrestler) I do have a lot of muscle mass, and I have some fat on me...

You're delusional. But I'm not really surprised because you would have to be a master of self-deception to get up to 420lbs.

http://www.mixcloud.com/prajna
http://vimeo.com/avidya

[amstalder 0]

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I guess I should elaborate a little more. Yes, I am 420lbs, been +\- 5 lbs for the last 6 years. I might need to remind people that bone weighs much more than muscle... I nowhere said I was a bodybuilder. (or a sumo wrestler) I do have a lot of muscle mass, and I have some fat on me...

You're delusional. But I'm not really surprised because you would have to be a master of self-deception to get up to 420lbs.

Not only that, but perhaps he should know that bone is actually quite light. Less than 10% of an average person's body weight, and I hate to tell ya, but bones dont get bigger as you pack on the pounds ...

But hey, good luck to the OP with this venture. I really do agree with losing the weight, though. Not only will it be cheaper (hey this is an expensive sport at its cheapest) and safer, but it lowers the risk that someone may see you pound in and shatter some body part(s).

[deltron80 0]

I'm suspecting this is a troll... most people over 400 lbs seem to intuitively know not to jump out of airplanes

[d_squared431 0]

I have seen some patients between 5'4 and 6'5 and 350- plus let me tell you, you are not in good shape for your size. It is very sad to see morbid obesity in patients. If we have to refer a patient some where we have to make sure that facility can care for the person of size. You have a ton of limitations to face daily regardless if you want to see and except those that is a different story.

Even working daily being your size is a liability for an employer and you want to skydive?

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

Is it possible?

Sure. They drop fully crewed armored vehicles out of planes (Russian airborne troops).

But is it practical?

#1-Cost. You would need a custom harness on a modified tandem contianer. The Tandem rigs are good for about 400# of load, but that's with 2 people in 2 seperate harnesses. 200# for the TI and another 200# for the passenger is doable, but I don't think 100# for the passenger with a 300# TI would work. Neither of the individual harnesses is that strong.
The custom rig with very large custom canopies would easily run $15,000. Probably more. And you would need to pay for it before you make your first jump.

#2-Safety. Can you walk around with a backpack weighing 50-75#? Go up steps? Can you sit on the floor and stand up with it on? You would have to do those things to jump.
Can you take a fall of several feet? Can you do it with a backpack that weighs 35# or so? (weight of container and packed reserve).
I know I can jump off an 8-foot high wall, PLF the landing and walk away unharmed. At your weight, can you do that off a 3 or 4 foot drop, even without any extra on your back?

#3-Liability. Can you find anyone who will take the risk to train you? You are so far from the norm that finding someone willing to train you, and then put you out is going to be a challenge. Even with an ironclad waiver, the obvious risks of someone of your size jumping would put many (if not most) DZs in a position they wouldn't be willing to go.
At the very least, you would likely be required to get a physician to sign off on your health to jump. Not just tell you that it's ok, but to actually give you a signed statement that you are in good enough shape to jump.

I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think it will work. The practical aspects are going to get in your way. There are probably more than what I wrote, those are just the ones I came up with while walking my dog.
I know that morbid obesity can have genuine medical causes (glandular and metabolism issues) and that losing that weight can be nearly impossible, but until you do, I think you are stuck on the ground. I wish I could tell you different, but I don't want to blow sunshine up your skirt, and build up false hope.

I hope you prove me wrong. If you do, I'll be among the first to congratulate you and buy you a beer.

Good Luck.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[TheCaptain 2]

Losing weight suck a$$ but it can be done. Very simple the caleries you take in have to be less than the caleries you output, I used that simple formula to lose 110 LBS when I was 18. Weight does not come off ease but it will come off. Also have you thought about trying out for the biggest loser tv show.
Plain and simply weight loss is the only answer to skydiving.
Good luck

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[Zlew 0]

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collective wealth of knowledge of the skydiving community. I thought that's what this forum was for, not to get shot down.

There is something about message boards and forums that make people talk and treat people differently (worse) than they would in person. Lots of egos, attitudes, and opinions get amplified over the web. The skydiving community is full of great people, but a forum isn't always the best place to be able to experience that.

I think you probably get the bottom line from the replies: it is possible, but not easy (or cost effective). Hoping you are not a troll, best of luck to you in whatever you decide.

[ChrisRomp 0]

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There is something about message boards and forums that make people talk and treat people differently (worse) than they would in person.

see also ;)

[menopause 0]

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There is something about message boards and forums that make people talk and treat people differently (worse) than they would in person.

Another thing anonymity does is make it easier to tell someone they are too fat to skydive when in person it might be kinda awkward.

[jakee 1,255]

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collective wealth of knowledge of the skydiving community. I thought that's what this forum was for, not to get shot down.

There is something about message boards and forums that make people talk and treat people differently (worse) than they would in person. Lots of egos, attitudes, and opinion get amplified over the web. The skydiving community is full of great people, but a forum isn't always the best place to be able to experience that.

What forums also do is make people more blunt but honest than they might be in real life.

To be blunt, someone over 400lbs is absolutely massive by any reasonable or unreasonable standards, and skydiving at that weight will be very complicated, difficult and dangerous and will involve arranging a lot of non-standard gear and instruction.

Second, someone who blames part of that quite astounding weight on their bone mass (seriously, how much extra bone can a person possibly have without suffering from an extremely debilitating disease?) is probably in serious denial about the severity of their condition. This makes me think that, despite protestations to the contrary, this person is probably capable of dropping a large amount of weight with the right kind of exercise and sustainable improved diet. Though this will probably involve more work (gasp), it is by far the more sensible course of action.

This is basically what most people have been saying here. The OP now has two choices: he can recognise that, even if it's not what he wants to hear it is the best advice available; or he can decide that anyone who's not saying what he wants to hear is just a random anonymous ego who's obviously a dick and therefore he can discount their advice and warnings and carry on with his distinctly sub-optimal course of action.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[davelepka 4]

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Thank you very much to the people that think it can be done. And for the people out there naysaying, you don't need to follow this thread anymore. I have made up my mind.

Look man, I'm a naysayer, but you have to understand that this isn't American Idol. What you want to do, or what you believe you can do is not the decieding factor here. There are some physical limitations to what we do, and all of the gear and aircraft we jump are designed around those limitations.

You will never find an manufacturer willing to take on the liability of building a rig to fit you, or converting an existing rig to fit you. The reason is that every canopy currently made is certifed to a weight and speed that are below your weight, and the speed you will be going at deployment time.

Beyond that, you will never find a DZ willing to take on the liability of training you, or having you jump there. It just won't happen.

I'm not down on the idea of you learning to jump, just the idea of you doing it at your current weight. Many good people have pointed out practical reasons why it's not possible, and not a good idea in general.

Here are the websites for the two companies who currently manufacture tandem equipment in the US -

http://unitedparachutetechnologies.com/
http://www.strongparachutes.com/

- you will need a parachute to jump, so start there. E-mail them with a request to convert a tandem rig to a solo jumper configuration, and include your height and weight. If you get anything besides an outright refusal, post the positive reply in this thread, and I for one, will get on your side and help you find a DZ to train at. No parachute no jump, so take care of step one.

[PhreeZone 15]

Another factor that I was thinking about on this is the pure size of the harness needing to be created. The typical waist is around 34-38 inches with a main lift web of 16-22 inches. For the size body for this rig you are looking at needing a 65 inch waist and at least 28+ inch main left webs. Once you start to get that far outside the norm you get to introduce all sorts of new issues like length of the reserve ripcord needing to be customized and additional geometry issues on the rig. Really small girls have major issues with rig geometry, I image it will be the same at the larger ends also.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[maxmadmax 8]

Damn....if you do it,

somewhere

somehow

The I guess that you are a Super Anvil.

Ciao,
Mad Max

Don't go away mad....just go away!

[TheOneBigMike 0]

Hank you all for the help so far. I can understand where the skepticism can come from. I was trying to upload a picture, but can't figure out how to do it from an iPhone, so next time I'm on a computer I'll upload a picture so I can clear up that, even though I may be ugly, I'm not a troll. I'm currently sitting at a 52" waist with 28" thighs. I have sent emails off to a few manufacturers and have called a couple. My plans are to get all the gear I need before locating a DZ. This way I figured they will see how serious I am and be more willing to help. I think as far as the harness is concerned, I think I'll look into the military equipment and getting it heavily modified and beefed up if I can't find someone to build one from scratch. (anyone know the manufacturer of military gear?).

As for sheer size and bone/muscle mass... When you see me, you won't believe I weigh in at 190kg, but if you can find a scale that goes that high I'll prove it. The last job I started, including the physical I had to do, I had to locate an industrial scale as doctors scales only go up to 350lbs. The physical ability part... Believe me if thought long and hard about the high stress it will put on my body, between harder deployments and possibly really rough landings. I'm quite physically active. I can be frequently found out on my mountain bike (downhill and shore style only, I don't deal with going uphill well), dirtbiking, quadding, snowmobiling, wakeboarding, sailing, etc. I know I could tuck and roll (do I even need to tuck? Haha) from the height mentioned above, I just don't find myself jumping off of ledges for no reason unless I'm on my bike. I know everyone thinks I'm only deceiving myself, but I'm not, I know I'm a big boy, but I bet my wrist (with barely any skin tissue on it, just bone and cartilage) is the same size as the ankles on most of the people on here. Size 15 footwear, and even huge teeth according to my dentist. Haven't you ever met someone that was just plain huge? I bet you know someone that's tiny, maybe 95lbs soaking wet but you don't question the fact that it's even possible...

I'll make sure to keep everyone on here posted. I'll be spending my spare time next week trying to get everything lined up, I would like to do it before the end of summer. Anyone that feels the desire to be a part of this, please don't hesitate to send a PM. Super anvil?? Hmm sounds like a name I could live with... Better than "the falling rock" haha

[david3 0]

May be able to help?...

http://military.aerostore.com/

[TheOneBigMike 0]

Also, I understand this will have to be done in baby steps... I don't plan on going out and getting a minute freefall on my first jump. I understand I'll have to start off with a jump where the chute opens immediately after seperating from the plane then eventually progress to AFF. Also what is static line?

[TiaDanger 0]

While you *may* be able to get gear rigged up for you, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for people to keep up with you. Heavy people fall much faster than light and normal weight people. Because of your weight, you will 'sink out' because you just can't fall slow enough to stay with a group of jumpers in the air. Also, jumps don't always go as planned...exits can go to shit, people knock into each other and fall into each others' burbles...If you fell into a burble at your size and hit into somebody in the air you can seriously injure another jumper.

I'm quite the opposite. I'm too light, and spent my fair share of jumps spectating from above because I couldn't get down. It's really frustrating when you can't stay with a group, as you will no doubt see. I now have to wear a 16.5 lb weight belt when I jump so I can fall as fast as everybody else.

People are not trying to be mean. Many of these people are some of the best in the sport and know what they are talking about. There are many stories on dropzone.com of heavy people wanting to skydive...they work their asses off and lose weight so they can fit in the gear and skydive SAFELY. I would suggest to you to start on a serious program to lose weight. Your body and your wallet will no doubt thank you for it. When you reach a weight where you will no longer be a liability, start looking around for gear manufacturers that can put you into something.

Just my $0.02

Good luck

And for the record: the appropriate ranking of cool modes of transportation is jet pack, hover board, transporter, Batmobile, and THEN giant ant.
D.S. #8.8

[PhreeZone 15]

You've already been directed to the main supplies of military gear hat will talk to civilians also.

uptvector.com
Strongparachutes.com
Jumpshack.com

The other main company that makes military freefall gear won't even take phone calls from civilian riggers asking questions on their gear so those are your only real options.

Delivery time on one of the companies is around 20 weeks for their containers right now.

You described a Static Line jump in your other comment. I don't know if AFF is even an option since no instructors will be able to fall with you in freefall.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[discovery4 0]

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dirtbiking, quadding, snowmobiling, wakeboarding, sailing

While I know next to nothing about skydiving as I just graduated from AFF, I spent 12 years competing as an amateur and pro wakeboarder.

There are ZERO wakeboards that are manufactured to be able to float a rider anywhere near your size. I would call it a safe bet that there isn't a board manufactured that COULD float you at a speed of less than 30 MPH.

It would be impossible to overcome the forces of the water resistance on the board and yourself (400+ lbs is displacing A LOT of water) to achieve anywhere near 30 mph. I am fairly light and I can pop up at 5 mph. Anyone who wakeboards will be up before 10 mph and if they aren't up, they aren't holding on to the rope anymore because it was ripped from their hands. If not obvious, dock launching would be impossible.

On top that there isn't a boat that is designed to pull skiers or wakeboarders, that could pull you out of the water. Sure, a go-fast boat has the power to get you out and I've even seen a few people ride behind one just for the hell of it but, I really doubt that's what you "did."

You are either
A: troll
or
B: delusional - although I don't know how you could be SO delusional that you believe you could wakeboard so you say it to try and fake credibility. Who knows, maybe you're on a wakeboarding forum saying you believe you are able to wakeboard because you've been skydiving.

[davelepka 4]

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I think as far as the harness is concerned, I think I'll look into the military equipment and getting it heavily modified and beefed up if I can't find someone to build one from scratch. (anyone know the manufacturer of military gear?).

That is not an option. The military gear holds a 360 sq ft canopy, which is too small for your weight. Furthermore, unless you're the military, good luck getting a military product custom made for you. The rigs are built to a mil-spec standard, and have limitations on their use, and nobody but the military is going to change that.

You're not seeming to understand. This isn't snowmobiling or mountain biking. This is a federally regulated sport under the authority of Federal Aviation Administration. They are kind enough to stay out of our way for the most part, but one area they are not flexible about is the certification and design limitations of the gear. Jumping an illegally assembled or packed rig is grounds for the pilot who flew you to lose his license, not a chance any pilot I know is going to take. This does not require an incident to occur for this to happen. An uneventful jump on an illegal rig can cost the pilot the same fate.

You may be in great shape. You may really want to jump, but 420lbs of body mass is way too far outside the scope of sport skydiving, there is no way around it. Even if you were slim and trim standing 9 feet tall, 420 lbs is too heavy for what we do, that is a non-negotiable fact.

[Mailed_Fist 0]

Mike - skydiving at your weight is not an option. Anyone who tells you otherwise is blowing smoke up your ass. That's not doing you any favours.

If you can lose 200 lbs, then you'll be OK. Otherwise, this is not for you. Try bowling.

That's not smoke.

You said you couldn't post your photo - but which body type are you? 6' isn't tall enough to carry that much weight, that's for sure. You brought it up so I don't mind following:

1 - 400 lbs

2 - Nearly 400 lbs

3 - 450 lbs

4 - 400 lbs

5 - Around 400 lbs

6 - 400 lbs

M

[deltron80 0]

best. thread. ever.

[burtonjm 0]

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I'm suspecting this is a troll... most people over 400 lbs seem to intuitively know not to jump out of airplanes

My old boss from last fall who is around 350# just told me the other day after having me work for him and talk about skydiving he's been thinking of trying it. I couldn't bring myself to tell him it would be impossible at his weight.

I'm 6' 195 # and sometimes have trouble staying with other jumpers if I don't dress right. Today I went out in shorts and a t-shirt and was as de-arched and big as I could get to try to stay with the formation. Then again I was jumping with girls who are all under 130

This shit, right here, is OK