Has skydiving lost the "hippy" vibe?

[Dean358 0]

You get back what you put out.

www.wci.nyc

[JohnMitchell 14]

You sure do. Skydiver friends can be some of the best in the world. It takes a lot of trust to jump through the air with some one. That trust can translate into great times on the ground too. But the hippy vibe? I'm okay without it. The people haven't changed, really, just the styles they wear and maybe some of the party habits. There's still plenty of love at the DZ. It just doesn't have a Grateful Dead soundtrack all the time anymore, and that's fine with me.

[rehmwa 2]

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I thought this sport was all about making 1 jump from 8500ft out of a 182, free love parties, tie dyed shirts, people smoking bongs after a day of making 1 jump, flailing around on the air like the brown acid will make you do and doing whatever you can to stop "the man" coming down on you.

I've been in the sport 20 years, and those assholes were/are usually avoided (other than the tie-dye) as unsafe in the sky, and pains in the ass any other time. (go back another 10 years, maybe you'll find something else, I wouldn't know)

Skydiving is a cross section of society. Always will be. Those looking for it to 'define' themselves have weak character.

edit: Sure, this is a gag thread, but the idealization of that lifestyle is only done by people that haven't experienced it firsthand or secondhand to realize how sad it is.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Newbie 0]

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I thought this sport was all about making 1 jump from 8500ft out of a 182, free love parties, tie dyed shirts, people smoking bongs after a day of making 1 jump, flailing around on the air like the brown acid will make you do and doing whatever you can to stop "the man" coming down on you.

I've been in the sport 20 years, and those assholes were/are usually avoided (other than the tie-dye) as unsafe in the sky, and pains in the ass any other time. (go back another 10 years, maybe you'll find something else, I wouldn't know)

Skydiving is a cross section of society. Always will be. Those looking for it to 'define' themselves have weak character.

edit: Sure, this is a gag thread, but the idealization of that lifestyle is only done by people that haven't experienced it firsthand or secondhand to realize how sad it is.

You don't own a 3 piece suit and work for a hedge fund by any chance?

PS

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[northcave 0]

As a complete novice skydiver who only found this site a few weeks ago ....

I found there are a lot of unfriendly people out there who seem post simply complain or bitch,,,, having said that a lot of people have been really helpful and understand the enthusiasm of getting into the sport. either way i think there will always be people in any sport up their own rectums.

[rehmwa 2]

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You don't own a 3 piece suit and work for a hedge fund by any chance?

Three piece suit?

- I have 2 one piece suits with grippers and great big booties - I normally wear it while on my belly or back or on my knees

- 2 one piece suits with no grippers and a looser fit (I normally wear that either upright or upside down)

- maybe a 2 pice dress suit, but it doesn't fit anymore,

Hedge fund - I have seen a picture of a hedgehog. Does that count?



Excuse me, I need to go exercise some stock options. I have to go buy an altimeter pillow that matches my sunglassess and helmut.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[airtwardo 6]

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an altimeter pillow

DooD...that is SO 80's!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[DougH 270]

This thread cracks me up. I am going to start jumping in my dress clothes.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[riggerrob 558]

Jumping in a dress?
That is going a bit too far!
Maybe you should limit yourself to Rainbow Boogies.

[riggerrob 558]

When you dress like a "nobody," cops and border guards ignore you.

The best cop is one who does not quite know what you are doing, but - more importantly - does not care.

[DougH 270]

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Jumping in a dress?
That is going a bit too far!
Maybe you should limit yourself to Rainbow Boogies.

Low blow.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Butters 0]

"I hate hippies! I mean, the way they always talk about "protectin' the earth" and then drive around in cars that get poor gas mileage and wear those stupid bracelets - I hate 'em! I wanna kick 'em in the nuts!" Cartman

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[2shay 0]

I like to make 8-15 jumps a day and then go bs around the fire at night.

don't try your bullshit with me!!!

[Vallerina 2]

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unless you have a matching rig/jumpsuit/sunglasses/helmet colour coordination going on, 100 hours in the tunnel and a personal trainer (see: world class coach) on tap, making a minimum of 500 jumps/year at multiple locations around the world,

If I could afford all of that, you bet I would! I can definitely understand the mentality of those who do all of that. Maybe it's not for everybody...maybe some people just want to be laid back about skydiving, and that's fine. But, there's nothing wrong with pushing yourself hard either.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[steve1 5]

Some of those most hard-core jumpers in the world were hippies during the 70's. I was a red neck, cowboy, but I got along great with most everyone I jumped with back then. That might have been because I tried not to be overly judgmental. They accepted me for who I was, and I did the same with them.

The way a person dresses or looks is superficial in my mind. Who cares if someone is popular or not. What counts is if they are a good, safe, dependable jumper. Hippies or not, we were all brothers when we went up to jump back then...Maybe that attitude is changing.

I can show you pictures of B.J. Worth, when he looked like a hippy. And who has done more for our sport than he? No, he doesn't look like a hippie today, but he did once.

I imagine Jerry Bird still looks more or less like a hippy (wherever he is at today). He was another one of my heroes from the past.

So, anyhow, that's my twisted view on this subject....Steve1

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Jerry Bird still looks a bit "hippyish", but he routinely walks around in khaki shorts and polo shirts these days.

[stayhigh 2]

where the hell is this DZ where you can blaze all you want??? im so moving..

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[DougH 270]

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where the hell is this DZ where you can blaze all you want??? im so moving..

[Towely]Number, what number...[/Towely]

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[BlueSBDeath 2]

Yes, and thank GOD (or whom every you pray to), because us old "Hippies" just want to live happily ever after and skydive without all the BS.

Peace Out

Arvel

[rehmwa 2]

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..maybe some people just want to be laid back about skydiving, and that's fine. But, there's nothing wrong with pushing yourself hard either.

here's the normal issue - the ones that "pose" about being laid back are the ones that get bent out of shape whenever someone else wants to push themselves, even if they aren't jumping together

while the ones pushing themselves seem to live and let live

I'd think it would be the other way around, but it typically isn't - there's a lot more behind the mentality of many, not all that pose as laid back

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Butters 0]

I think the first thing that needs to be done is to define "hippy". It appears as though your definition of "hippy" is someone who sits around smoking pot, having sex, and occasional doing something against "the man". If this is the case I would recommend studying the shepherds and not the sheep of the "hippy" generation.

PS: Life is short, work hard and play harder.

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[skr 1]

> recommend studying the shepherds and not the sheep of the "hippy" generation

Zen arrow.

[Andy9o8 0]

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> recommend studying the shepherds and not the sheep of the "hippy" generation

Zen arrow.

This is probably as good a thread as any to tell you - how should I say this? that your posts provide a certain, uh, Windowpane into the world.

[skr 1]

Ah, peer recognition, very inspirational ..

> Windowpane into the world

It's funny you should say it that way.

I remember, about 1970, sitting on the front
porch of my apartment near UCLA, staring out
over the city, and thinking that while "Spaceship
Earth" was a better formulation than the then
current planetary pillage and plunder with no
thought of consequence or future, that that
was still inadequate.

It put humanity outside the system, when
actually we are a component, a part of.

We are "Earth Fruit", that was the phrase that
came to mind, the Earth, the Universe, grows
us in the same sense that an apple tree grows
apples.

We are like nerves in a bigger nervous system,
nerve endings through which the Universe is
self aware, windows through which the Universe
is observing itself.

And the reason I was confused and unable to
see clearly was that my window was dirty,
and my primary job in life was to clean my
window. It was a window pane insight.


I learned later that I wasn't the first person
to notice that.

I also learned that such things didn't fit well
in resumes and job interviews.

And many decades later I learned that that
was because I was looking for the wrong
kinds of jobs.

We're still talking about skydiving here, right?

I thought so ..

Skr

[stratostar 5]

Wow farout man.......that's the lowest I've seen anyone pull before, you got any more of that 4-way.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo