Fall Risk: A Skydiving Podcast

If you've never heard the name Kazu Oyama before now, then stop what you're doing and listen to this episode stat! Be prepared to laugh, so enter at your own risk! Far and away one of the most knowledgeable skydivers you'll ever meet, Kazu Oyama also possesses the unique ability to be simultaneously intimidating and hilarious. Clocking in at over 7 feet tall (a tiny exaggeration) and c...

Gorka Amian is a one-of-a-kind guy. That may seem like a cliche introduction, but there is nothing cliche about the man himself. Intensely focused, competitive, and unique--Gorka has lived, breathed, and slept skydiving for years. It doesn't matter what the discipline is--if he has a goal, he makes it happen, whether that task is to compete in VFS, FS, learn to judge skydiving meets, or taking...

Mo Schulz is a seriously awesome person. Not from any one place in particular, Mo has been in the skydiving game for most of her adult life, and traveled all over the country working at various dropzones in different roles. As such, she's learned a thing or two about the going-ons at various dropzones. In recent years, she's experienced some major life changes--she moved to the Midwest, ha...

Mike Silva is one of the best known names in the tunnel coaching industry. And for good reason--as one of the most experienced bodyflight coaches in the country, Mike has been around and coaching fliers of all shapes and sizes for what seems like an eternity. For years, he's been cultivating and sharing his knowledge about the dynamics of body flight with others. Everything from the four basic...

Scott Robinson might be one of the coolest cats on the dropzone. Just ask anyone who knows him--Scott is far and away one of the kindest, sauciest, and genuinely cool dude in the jumping community. From flying airplanes, to joining bigways, to working in a wind tunnel, or as a skydiving instructor, Scott has pretty much tried it all--making him an exceptionally knowledgeable member of our communit...

If you’ve never heard of it before, oxytocin is your “happy hormone.” It’s responsible for the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you interact or touch someone you’re attracted to. It has the power to regulate your emotional responses, including trust, empathy, gazing, positive memories, and bonding cues. But--how does this relate to skydiving? In this week’s episode, Sam is joined by four very exper...

Josh Evans of The Content Clearinghouse joins Sam again this week for a special episode completely devoted to an amazing skydiving event called “Echelon.” Created and operated by Andy Malchiodi and Matt Fry, the appropriately named event marks the coming together of some of the best freefliers in the world, to create unique and awe-inspiring skydiving formations, the likes of which our community i...

Two very special folks join Sam this week on Fall Risk -- enter Dan and Heather -- two of the nicest folks you'll ever meet on the dropzone. Join the gang this week as they discuss Heather and Dan's early days in skydiving and the tunnel. And hold onto your butts as they give everyone a rundown on their latest (and victorious) excursion to USPA 2022 Skydiving National Championships. Theirs...

Back at you with Part Two of comparing and contrasting Dropzone vs. Cutaway with Josh Evans, of The Content Clearinghouse! Next up is Cutaway! Plot synopsis: "A drug enforcement agent goes undercover on a skydiving team to track down illegal drugs." -- What's not included: "...where speedstars are the pinnacle of the skydiving community, and it's normal to see people sit on the...

Back at you this week with a double feature! The one and only Josh Evans, of The Content Clearinghouse, joins Sam to discuss two of the most famous skydiving movies ever created: Dropzone and Cutaway. First up: Dropzone! Plot synopsis: "A tough cop teams up with a professional skydiver to capture a renegade computer hacker on the run from the law." -- What should have been added, "...a...

Newly crowned, 4-way silver medalist Mary Dalman had the most fruitful summer of her skydiving career in 2022. She, along with her team, Cinnamon Roll Fight Club made the journey to 2022 USPA Skydiving. Nationals last fall, after an intense year filled with training, hard work, and perseverance from the entire team. Join us as she tells Sam about the entire process from start to finish, what she t...

Arguably one of the nicest guys on the dropzone, Ben Shafer is a man of many talents, and has been dipping his toes into a a wide variety of skydiving disciplines. Everything from working as a tunnel instructor, to competing in MFS, developing his skills as a videographer, working as a load organizer, and so much more! Tune into this week's episode to hear more about Ben's background and s...

Sean Kennedy joins Sam this week on Fall Risk! In addition to telling us all a little bit about his start in skydiving, he also shares details of his latest swoop competition adventure. While explaining how it all worked, he also seriously educates us on some key details regarding canopy piloting safety. Sean is a genuinely good guy in the world of skydiving, and has a lot of interesting takes on...

David San Pedro--or DSP as he's known to some--is truly a one-of-a-kind skydiver. He's kind, excited, and genuinely invests in the people around him. This week he joins Sam on the pod to discuss what it was like being a skydiver before becoming a tunnel instructor in Portland, OR. In addition to all that, they get to talking about his motivations as an instructor and coach, his dynamic 4-w...

Join us on this episode of Fall Risk to meet Travis and Brittany--two amazing people who met and fell head over heels (literally) while learning to skydive! They discuss their beginning phases of jumping, how the sport of skydiving has helped shape their relationship, and how this entire community and way of life have changed the trajectory of their lives. They give us listeners a little insight i...

Hold on to your butts folks, cause this behemoth of an episode is gonna require TWO listens. This week, Sam is joined by 1LightFilms production company owner, Stevie Kane--who also happens to be her go-to on all things movies, shorts, filming, editing, and production. Tune in to hear them go full send on breaking down seven different skydiving movie scenes, and join them in ranking each scene in t...

Jen Halvorson graciously joins Sam again on the podcast, for Part 2 to her world record journey. Join us as Jen explains what happened at the Project 19 Headdown World Record attempts, and we discuss ideas on how to keep pushing women forward in the sport of skydiving. Dave's draw generator: www.mspvfs.com

Karen Downes might be the nicest person you've ever met. Truly, she's a sweet, genuine soul who gives the best advice and warmest hugs. But underneath all that, she's a skydiver who loves the sport for the sport. After being a staple in our community for over 16 years, Karen sheds some light on a new perspective of being a jumper, and how her balance of skydiving vs. real life has chan...

Alli Privitt might just be a superhero. She's probably not, but it's fun to speculate anyway. From standing on the edge of a volcano, to deep cave spelunking, to swimming with sharks and canyoning down waterfalls, Alli has gone and been to places most of us only dream about. Alli is relatively new to skydiving, but don't let that fool you--she's an incredibly determined and excited...

Welcome back to Part 2 of Josh Evan's journey as a skydiving and tunnel instructor. In Part 2, we focus more on the tunnel side of Josh's skydiving career, specifically about how his methodology as a body flight coach, and how his approach to coaching students has changed over the years. In addition to that, we talk about the importance of communication when taking on new students, how to...

In this episode of Fall Risk, one of the best coaches in the country joins Sam to talk about his time as a skydiving and tunnel instructor. Josh Evans has been skydiving for over 20 years, and has worked as a tunnel instructor for over half that. In addition to competing in multiple disciplines in both indoor and outdoor skydiving competitions, Josh is also an accomplished podcaster and artist, a...

Dustin Lehrke joins Sam in this episode of Fall Risk, to talk about his time so far in the sport of skydiving. Additionally, he also provides some insight into what the life of a rookie skydiver is like, and reminds us all about what it was like to start out in skydiving as a student--something some of us haver perhaps forgotten over the years.

Look out, cause Megan Lundsten is joining Sam in this episode of Fall Risk! Megan is a funny, determined, straight forward instructor, with a "take no shit" kind of attitude. Expect all that and more in this episode, where Sam and Meggo get into the nitty gritty of working in the field, both in skydiving and the tunnel world. In addition to discussing what makes her passionate about flying...

David Dellanave joins Sam on this episode of Fall Risk, and they get to reminiscing on old dropzone shenanigans together, and they explore Dave's start in the sport of skydiving. Listeners will also get a peek into Dave's history as a strength training and weight lifting coach, and learn how he applies that same method to helping others in their skydiving progression. Not only is he an ama...

On this episode of Fall Risk, Sam is joined by her longtime friend, Kristen Cotten, and they get to shooting the shit about being female skydiving instructors, and all the shenanigans that go along with it, including the hilarious "Captain America incident." Kristen truly is a renaissance woman, she's literally done it all--from working as a full time AFFI, TI, and videographer, to BAS...