New definition for skygod?

[bigbearfng 16]

Just an observation from a newbie nobody....
I've heard of the "skygod"; and yes competition RW folk are intense-but I've found that they are "real" people.
(Flame suit on) Now to me at least; the swoop pond is where the "skygod" mentality is at. Maybe it's just to an old ski-patroller, the whole swoop pond thing is like the first snow board parks- full of attitude.
And no, not all-but seems like the majority.
One of the RW competitors put it this way to me-take a kid and give him the equivalent of a Ferarri in a canopy and what do you expect?
OK, end of rant-just curious if it's just me that's seeing this or not.

[bigway 4]

i am not much of a swooper as i have not put the time in to learn this art, but putting it down to skygod mentalitty i think is rubbish. You know when you are freefalling and you pull off an excellent point or dock, well you are super stoked, I see swoopers as people that just show their style in front of you because they are landing and this is a disciplin. I think if you look at it wrong you will see an attitude but if you look at it right you will see the adrenaline coming out in them after they have pulled off a super cool swoop. Is this not the attitude we are meant to have, After all we are jumping out of planes and it never hurts to be proud of what you accomplish.
I wish i could do what half these swoopers do

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[obelixtim 102]

Anyone who believes themselves to be a "skygod" is most definitly a wanker, and proves it daily with their attitude, behaviour and desperate efforts to proclaim it loud and long.....big egos and big mouths to match......and there are quite a lot of them about in the skydiving world........

Always male.....easily recognised by the way they puff up when a pretty girl shows up at the DZ......or by their snotty attitude towards those they perceive to be below them in ability and experience......

Hands up if you've come across one of those types........

On the flip side, there are lots of people who have achieved an awful lot......but don't need to make a big deal about it............nothing to prove........and they are willing to talk to anyone......but quietly and without fuss.......

Being full of adrenalin after a jump, is a bit different from being full of shit full time.....

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[slotperfect 7]

From my experience "skygod" is used as a derogatory term amongst skydivers, describing those who are perhaps too arrogant and self-serving to mesh well with the majority of the skydiving community.

I believe this to be an individual trait and don't see it as being pointed toward a particular skydiving culture or discipline.

There will always be a "hot" discipline or skydiving sub-culture that dominates the pictures, articles, and advertising. I don't think that constitutes a label.

I personally know a lot of swoopers, and they are as healthy a cross-section of the skydiving world as I might find in other disciplines.

I have heard whuffos use the term "skygod" more loosely, pointing more towards a positive description. There are really much better words to describe someone that excels in what they do.

Arrive Safely

John

[bigway 4]

well said

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
.

[bigbearfng 16]

I didn't mean for my post to be derogatory towards swooping or swoopers in general. What they do is completely amazing.
I guess that this is just the first time that I've actually run into anyone that could fit into the "derogatory" definition of skygod and it was at the swoop pond circus.
I was beginning to think that the "derogatory skygod" didn't really exist and disappointingly this just really kinda popped my bubble of that expectation.

[jose 0]

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I was beginning to think that the "derogatory skygod" didn't really exist and disappointingly this just really kinda popped my bubble of that expectation.

Of course ego's exist. They exist in every discipline of skydiving that there is.

There are freeflying skygods that wont talk, or jump with anyone that isn't as good or better than they are.....

There are RW skygods who think they own the whole fucking plane everytime they are in it......

There are swooping skygods that believe that EVERYONE needs to look out for him and he owns the landing area.....

There are BASE gods that talk shit about the DZ people and will ignore/shun you when you attempt to get into the BASE scene.....

It's not a discipline attitude, its a personality that eminates from those that forgot what it was like when they were new and didn't know shit. Now that the person thinks he knows enough, his/her arrogance will show itself.

As far as the opinion of skygods being freeflyers and swoopers only, that's complete bullshit. It all depends on what side your on. I am into the swooping and freeflying stuff, so of course, I have more friends and understandings of such. Because I don't participate in RW much, I percieve the attitude that we are talking about to be more on the RW side. Not necessarily to myself, but to the discipline as a whole. In fact I know one girl who comes to our DZ once in a while from another DZ and is a total and complete fucking bitch to everyone not in her group, especially on the plane where the vibe needs, and usually is, the greatest except when her ass is on it. Now this doesn't make RW people skygods, it makes her one.

Basically, its all about mutual respect for others, no matter what they are doing. Never pass judgement on things and actions that you yourself would not participate in. Even if you think it was stupid, as your lack of education in the matter would cloud such, accept it and them for what it is......progression. (as far as freeflying and swooping is concerned)

And regardless of how long you have been in the sport as a RW guy, the hyper and loud freeflers/swoopers are who they are. That portion of the sport will not go away, it is the future. Learn to accept our differences and try not to let our enthusiasm jade your thoughts about who we are as individuals. Hell, you might even learn something from our crazy asses......

[freeryde13 0]

you must have read my mind man. the "skygods" or "SKYNERDS" as i think of them as as not only a skydiving enomally,( is that areal word?). the people that think skydiving is there identity..is who they are. but to understand this phenomenon, it may be easier to look outside of the skydiving world.

when i was in my early 20's, all i wanted was to be a super star. in the musician scene, there where and are a crowd of stuckup people who want to put there nose down at people who don't play or are in a not as hot band, but those same people are sucking the you know what of the people in better selling bands. not everyone has these atitudes, i never did, and would never use it to meet girls or whatever, but the people that do stick out more than the people that don't.

in the biker world it's kind of the same . guys with rigid think they can fight better or whatever. and they think people with out bikes ain't shit.

these are people with low self esteem and ientity, and the thing they do becomes their self eteem and identity.

i was a little surprised to see these skynerds when i got into this skydiving thing, because it is such a life and death thing. to me ....i don't want any bad karma on me up there.

it varies from drop zone to drop zone, but i've seen the nerds watching people land and laughing when someone wipes out, or when a radio student is landing they yell "cutaway".

oh well, there's alot more cool chill divers ot there than these primadona loudmouths. but i admit that they do get under my skin sometimes.

anyways..... peace out, stay cool......and enlightenment to the skynerds.....this skydive shit is real cool and intense and spiritual...and just one jump would last someone a lifetime.

_________________________________________

people see me as a challenge to their balance

[dj-seus 0]

greetings

somebody much wiser than myself once said that the more you understand that skydiving is something that you DO, not something that you ARE, the closer you are to where you truly need to be...

ever since i heard this, it is the attitude that i have maintained...

i am lucky to have a mid-sized DZ as my home... i've never found even a trace of a 'skygod' attitude from the folks that really get in to swooping that jump there...

-dan

[diablopilot 2]

YEp. And I'll add I've seen "skygods" in every disipline, and with varying numbers of jumps from 100 to 10,000

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[gemini 0]

I have heard a few new to mid (<500 jumps) jumpers refer to a few people as skygods unjustly. Because each of the people so labelled were willing to jump with me and others, I paid attention to those jumpers who were attaching the labels.

One jumper was never asked to participate in RW jumps because (1) he only jumped with 2-3 other friends, (2) he was heard saying anything larger than a 4-way was unsafe, (3) he would only come out and make 2-3 jumps per month, (4) he never participated in after jump activities with other jumpers.

A second jumper (1) only shows up at the dz around 1-2 PM and after 4, 6, and 8-way groups have been organized and made 3-4 jumps, (2) constantly belittles other jumpers if they offer constructive criticism, (3) acts like he is angry about something all the time (usually at himself over his last jump), (4) attaches himself to a jumper and expects him to drop everything to jump with him when he shows up regardles of whether the other jumper is doing coach jumps, and (5) never participates in post jump activities.

Still a third jumper (1) cannot take any type of criticism of his performance, (2) consistently slams into or speeds through the base, (3)insists that they didn't do whatever even if the video shows it, (4) is late to and talks during dirt dives.

Most skydivers like to jump with new jumpers and will always work a few into each formation as long as safety is not compromised. The new jumpers that get invited the most are those that pay attention, work hard to improve their skills, listen to the debrief and try to correct their mistakes.

Of course being friendly, volunteering to pick up out jumpers, catching tandems, and bumping yourself from a load so that a team is practicing doesn't hurt either and gets you noticed.

THEN as mentioned earlier, there are a few real "skygods" out there who were assholes before they were jumpers...just leave them alone since there are plenty of great jumpers out there who would like to jump with you.

Blue skies,

Jim

[airtwardo 6]

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I believe this to be an individual trait and don't see it as being pointed toward a particular skydiving culture or discipline.

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Unless they always jump in Black & Gold!




(just kidding!)

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

[chileanXaos 0]

to me a skygod would be someone that is really polite and cool , good people just dont have to show anything a skygod would be someone that , for some reason would jump with you if you have 100 jumps. if is not that way he only has more experince and he would be a assgod

[bigbearfng 16]

Jose, Gemini; my only perspective in this instance was as a volunteer working grunt. And the topper was when the swoop pond folk took the extension cord off the already setup and inflated accuracy tuffet to try and setup a PA without asking or mentioning it to anyone. Just really glad that the folk that were going to be using the tuffet looked at it first! Freeflyers-I've always found them to be one of the funnest groups!
And again, up till now I've never run into the "tude" in skydiving(sounding like lucky and/or havn't been around enough yet); and dissapointed because I'm just
naive about skydiving being one big happy family, and/or just still too new to the sport....so I'm taking all the above input to heart and won't make any blanket assumptions; just take it on an individual basis.

[somethinelse 0]

SKYGODS...

Well, this is the 2nd dropzone that I've trained at, and the 5th that I've visited to check out to jump at.

I really don't know much, but always checkout the vibe to see how things go down and the 'tudes.

Like others have already posted, the "skygod" superioity thing IS NOT LIMITED TO CERTAIN DISCIPLINE...
BUT
I do think that with the thrill and rush of adreniline, people may ASSUME it's an atitude when REALLY is the RUSH & EXCITEMENT eminated from them.

I was talking to some dz staffer one day about some of the showing off in the hanger and over& around the observervation area when some young, pretty college girls were waiting around for tandems. It was amusing...never had seen it before then. It was pretty obvious, entertaining and, well, understandable.

Later, when I ended a great dive with one of my first tippy toe landings, I strode across the field with a huge smile on my face. Later he acused ME of showing off, and I said, I said NO, it was NOT FOR THE SPECTATORS- BUT FOR SIMPLY THE JOY! OF A GREAT JUMP. That rush lingered a long time!

...Just the experience of this NEWBIE thus far. -LiLa.

[Airman1270 0]

...From my experience "skygod" is used as a derogatory term amongst skydivers, describing those who are perhaps too arrogant and self-serving to mesh well with the majority of the skydiving community...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Years ago I jumped at a DZ with a clearly-defined line between the alleged "skygods" and the mortals. The best jumpers always jumped with each other, with one real talented guy organizing the dives. Meanwhile, the rest of us novices/intermediates sort of taught each other how to skydive, with less-than-stellar results. (There were exceptions, of course, but many of the other talented jumpers were not available because they were working with students, etc. )

One day the "good" jumpers held a camp, in which we all jumped together and had a ball while improving our skills.

More than a year later, over beer, someone made a reference to the camp and one of the "good" jumpers said "Yeah, we should do that again." I asked "Why does it have to be a special event? Why don't you guys mingle with the rest of us on a regular basis?" He sat there in stunned silence.

I didn't mean to be a smart-ass. In fact, this guy was no skygod. He was a great guy with a great attitude who came out to the DZ to jump with his friends and do good skydives. Most of these guys were fine people and they had our respect. But the situation had evolved into one in which average jumpers rarely had a chance to jump with this group.

For me, the situation came to a head on a January afternoon. There were nine of us manifested on the Queen-Aire, and these guys did an 8-way. I followed them out and got real close, watching their dive from 50'-100' away before tracking out of the area. Before the year was out I found a new DZ.

Cheers,
Jon