Why did you start skydiving?

[piisfish 135]

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I never made it to go-karting.

go jump in Empuriabrava.. You'll go-kart earlier than you think

I started skydiving to impress the chicks

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[lisamariewillbe 1]

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I started skydiving to impress the chicks

me to

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[piisfish 135]

and then you stalked me



More seriously, I always wanted to try it, receuved a tandem for my 30th bday, needed to do it again to feel the same high on exit. Still looking for it again...

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[lisamariewillbe 1]

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and then you stalked me Unimpressed

Second luckest day of your life...

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More seriously,

Crap this isnt bonfire, okay all seriousness... my Grandma and her son both jumped before I was born, I didnt want to but felt I had to, I cant explain that part, I for real no shit thought I would die. So instead of going by myself, I convinced 9 others to come with me, that way there were people there to call 911... I am the only one who got the bug, at least enough to completley change my way of life so I could afford to be a part of this world. And also I knew I was supposed to stalk fishies and froggys...

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[Vertifly 0]

always kinda wanted to do it since the marines. someone i went with wanted to do it so we went. next day, aff starts. after aff, a packer called Robson told me about head down flying - he was cool. started some T's, standing, freestyle stuff. a trip to Z hills got me even more into freefly. And a long desire to be acrobatic, flexible and athletic, and a long-time understanding of aerodynamics (step dad was a pilot and i had already worked for 4 years on jets) gave me a good reason to feel like i had something to contribute to the sport of freefly. then the dedication to flying my body began. i absolutely love flying and wish everyone else did too. that is why big-ways rock. peace.

[yeyo 1]

I always wanted to do it. One day on my car listening to the radio I heard "The 3rd caller wins a tandem skydive", and I won. I started saving $ for AFF and 8 months later I went and did my free tandem. Next weekend I started AFF...

HISPA #93
DS #419.5

[irishflygirl 0]

I started flying airplanes when I was 13 and had always wanted to jump out of one, but never had a good reason to.

The night before my 30th birthday I was telling a friend that I didn't feel like I had "done everything I was supposed to do" by 30. She asked "Like what?" Not even thinking, I blurted out in a pout, "Skydive..." And she says, "That's IT! That's what we're doing tomorrow! I'm taking you skydiving!!!!"

After much protest, I was jumping out of an airplane 12 hours later. Never in a million years did I think I would ever do such a crazy thing again... And a week later I was doing my second tandem, and a few months later I was going through the AFF course...

My videographer said he could tell the minute I landed that I had been bitten and would be back... (Truth be told, I think I had instantly fallen in love with skydiving AND him - I'm not sure which I came back for... hehehe) My only regret is that I didn't start sooner.

My family was initially horrified. I got a phonecall-a-day from my father begging me to stop this "nonsense." After 2 years of explaining how it all works, he claims he's going to make a tandem this summer. We'll see!

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"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace." -- Amelia Earhart

[Ugali 0]

Dad is a skydiver. Mum was a skydiver.
Been running around DZ's as far back as i can remember.
It was gonna happen sooner or later

Tom, Tom Tom, Tommy, Tom Love

[JacqS 0]

A skydive movie in the cinema in the seventies.
The skydivers were dressed like to play in a fairy tale, there was a witch on a broom flying around and they had so much fun.
Would like to see that movie again.
I think that it was made in Russia.

[ImGunnaJump 0]

It was always one of those things that when I saw it on t.v., I'd think "That looks cool! Someday, I'd like to try it." But that's as far as it ever got. I didn't know anyone who was in the sport, so it never came up as a reality. It was something that "somebody" out there did.

Then someone I worked with was talking about her weekend skydiving...she convinced me to come w/her after I watched her tandem and student tapes (as much as I wanted to try it, a jump somehow still equaled death to me...the more I watched her tapes, the more I was convinced it could be done w/out dying). I was soooo scared the night before - I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. I almost backed out. But yet, I went. There was something about jumping that drew me to it.

After I came down from my first tandem, I was overwhelmed w/sensory overload, but most definitely happy & hooked!

"...I've learned that while the "needs" in life are important (food, water, shelter), it's the "wants" in life (ice cream, chocolate, sex) that make it worth the effort." Kbordson

[firstime 0]

My son and his friends were going and I sort of blew them
off, WTF I am 46yrs old until one of his buddy's said
" your old man is a pussy" now they call me a crazy bastard

[agent_lead 0]

when i lost her..the feelin really scared me inside
i started skydivin cuz i didnt care if i died

-agent


that was then...this is now...

skydiving gave me a reason to live...thats weird isnt it?

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www.facebook.com/agentlead

[Vertifly 0]

I think that it is ironic. Skydiving seems to have taught a lot of people how to live better.

[kallend 1,623]

I did it so I could post on DZ.COM without being called "whuffo".

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[divegoddess 0]

I always wanted to, but I never wanted to go alone. Then I convinced my ex boyfirend that we should go on the one year anniversary of our first date.
The guy who took me on my first tandem was really nice. The plane ride was amazing. When it came time to exit I was calmer than I expected to be. I did doubt my sanity for a split second while I was in the door.... and then I was in free fall.
It was the most beautiful moment I had ever stumbled upon in my life. And when the canopy opened I had never heard quiet like that. It blew my friggin mind.
As soon as I landed the boy came over and gave me a huge hug and started to tell me how glad he was I made him do that and how amazing it was yad yada yada..... but I wasn't really there with him... I was looking at the sky. The way I felt at that moment... I never wanted that feeling to leave me.
My tandem master gave me a hug and said "welcome to the brotherhood" He immdeiately began to tell me about AFF and how I could get licensed. He said he knew the moment we exited the plane I would come back and see him some day as a skydiver. When he told me how much it was to get training and gear I told him he was crazy... He said " that depends on your perspective" For weeks after that I couldn't forget the amazing sense of calm after skydiving. I forgot everything in my life, for 60 seconds and it was so amazing I couldn't even put words to it... I spent the next few weeks looking at the sky and I started putting money away for AFF.
Now I'm licensed and I'm planning a trip to go see him and get some coaching. ( I was many many many miles away from home when i made my first jump)
The more I skydive, the more I like it. My friends are all annoyed by how much I talk about and I do feel a bit silly sometimes because of my new obsession.... I'm selling stuff I used to really like and I'm looking into a cheaper living situation so I can jump more.... and I don't regret it at all.
Skydiving has completely changed my life for the better and I wish I had done it sooner.

end of rant.

[agent_lead 0]

yeah you definitly got the bug...

same as i...


good times..

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www.facebook.com/agentlead

[Dumpster 0]

I started jumping for the sole purpose of pissing off nearly all my relatives and draining all my financial resources dry.

Oh - and the chicks. I heard it was a great way to meet chicks.

Cheers!

Easy Does It

[Stumpy 256]

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Oh - and the chicks. I heard it was a great way to meet chicks.

They fooled you with that one too huh??

Damn marketing people!!

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[Yossarian 0]

did a fjc when i was 16 with the airforce, but couldnt afford to keep it up, just seemed like one of those things that had to be done. then got to uni, the student loan in my account was the most amount of money id ever had (a whopping £1,000) and i saw the skydiving stand at the sportsfair, and 1+1 made 2! never looked back, even that time i spent two weeks eating rice and tesco value beans with hp sauce so i could afford 2 jumps. if it hadnt been for skydiving i would either be rich or not have much liver left, as it is im permanently at the bottom of my overdraft and trying to justify every jump, and failing, but doing it anyway cos this sport is more addictive than heroine and probably more fun!

[micro 0]

It has always been my dream to be a pilot. Initially, that meant I wanted to be a test pilot for the military. Well, an incompetent orthopedic surgeon ruined my chances there and so I chose a different career path. Skydiving was a way to fulfill this life-long dream of flying. Also, the "family" I started skydiving with at Tennessee Skydiving Center in 1995 filled an incredible void in my life. I was fresh out of college, new job, living in different state from my then-fiance, and living in a new city where I new no one. They accepted me as I've never been accepted before. It was an incredible time in my life and I was hooked from before I took the first tandem.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[Jurzak 0]

1994 livin with a buddy in an apt. Downstairs neighbors were a Brit couple and she did a static line jump in Tecumseh MI. My friend and his brother decided it'd be cool to jump as well so we went and learned to jump form 'ol Harold Lang the military way. Shiteload of PLF's!
I fell in love and was the only one to carry on.
Did AFF in Deland in 95. (Some "Mad Dog" guy with a Yosimite Sam stash and Mark Procos from SA) Got cranked out in three days and was told that rentals are availabel, go jump!
Man,AFF and license training has come a long way! My family finally gave up worrying after 11 years.
Being the heaviest toad on the very first load, I got to jump first out of the three of us. Just rember looking down 3500ft to the ground when the door opened and then to look up at my instructor inflating his cheeks as he checked the spot.
Made me chuckle.

Fly through the sky and eat at the Y!

[cdhezel 0]

always played hard, thats why I tried it. what kept me there is a fascination with total awareness and self control

When I go, I want to pass away in my sleep, just like my dear old Grandmother, NOT screaming like the passengers in the car she was driving.

[superyami 0]

I was 6 years old at that time and i was using plane for the first time of my life.. i will always remember this moment.. plane taking off.. the speed.. couple of hours passed on until my dad managed a breakthrough to the cockpit. i just asked to my dad when do we jump? which made him laugh but the pilots too.. guess years after i finally went on to live this dream.

[sundance 1]

I was intrigued with it from as early as I can remember. When in grade school (a long time ago) I spent repeated school recess periods bailing out of the swingset at the highest point I could obtain and practised my plf's. I thought I was impressing the girls too. I rememeber jumping off of house and garage roofs, and using my plf skills to tumble and break the fall. I tried an umbrella once to break the fall but it collapsed backwards... bad idea.

Then at about age 12 I started jumping on trampolines and had my friends take pictures of me belly to earth from the ground angle because it was cool and looked like I was in freefall. By the time I was 16 I was sidetracked for a few years by scuba diving, which became a passion for many years and lifelong enjoyment. Finally, at 18 while in my first year of college I made a static line jump with a friend under a round canopy (ram airs did not yet exist). It was the supreme highlight of my life and I even landed 5 feet from the outer edge of the pea gravel target, but other things got in the way for 28 years, like marriage and family, Kart racing, then open wheel formula cars, boating, wake boarding, skiing, etc... until a few years ago when I woke up one saturday morning feeling a compelling need for new adventure and a desire to feel more alive. That morning I simply got fascinated with the idea of skydiving. It just felt like time to look back into it.

I had been divorced for 2 years at the time and felt like, what the hell, I can do anything I want and I want to jump. I had been having a lot of flying dreams too, and was very curious if skydiving might be similar to these exotic and fascinating dreams. So I looked up the nearest dropzone online that day, got in my car and went out to just check out what was going on.

Two minutes after I walked in the door, the friendly staff had me sitting in front of the tandem training video and I made two tandem jumps that day, knowing after the first jump I was hooked and would become a real skydiver. I had to wait until the next spring to go through aff due to winter setting in. It was the longest winter of my life. I was obsessed with getting back up there and read everything I could about skydiving that winter. In March, I was at the dropzone taking ground school, immediatly entered aff and was off student status in a few weeks.

I found out to my delight that skydiving was very much like my flying dreams, only more vivid and real. It is real.

My only regret in taking up skydiving is that I didn't do it 28 years earlier, but I am trying to make up for lost time now. The dropzone I jump at is awesome, the people are family to me and I can't imagine my life without skydiving being a part of it.

One of the surest signs that intelligent life exists in outer space is that none of it has tried to contact us.