The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

Back in the can for round two, this time with a lot less alcohol, Tai Smith shares how it's felt going  from a low time Otter pilot to a few thousand hours, low time jumps to hitting it with a wingsuit, and how hardcore COVID rules have put an real exclamation point on incredible experiences like our spectacular trip across the Mediterranean.  Join us on this edition of Lunatic Fringe for a few pr...

From the top of his game with multiple US National and World championship titles under his belt, to wondering if walking would ever again be an option, the journey Nick Batsch has been on over the last three years is a tough one to imagine. Years of training and top level athletic reflexes turned a landing that could have just as easily taken his life into the challenge of a lifetime, pushing Nick...

Only in the sport for 4 years, Dario Basile's time in both skydiving and BASE has made quite an impact in his life, and those that he meets. From A license to D, this base jumping, bull running, world traveling Tandem Instructor from Sussex NJ is absolutely going to let you, the guy sitting next to you and pretty much everyone else in earshot know that he is a skydiving, chili pepper eating high e...

In our second of two episodes, we pass on a little more knowledge, passion and joy from the one and only Mr. Tom Noonan. "It's never goodbye, its only see you next time" - T.N   It's the return of Mr. Tom Noonan to talk a whole lot about safety!  At a time when more skydivers are less current than they've ever been, Tom has great information, tips and advice on everything from canopy choices and g...

The sport of skydiving lost one of its most generous this week. He was one of the sports most avid cheerleaders, motivators, teachers and first and foremost, passionate jumpers. Please, take a step back in time to relive with us here at Lunatic Fringe a little of the positivity and joy for our sport brought to us each and every day by Mr. Tom Noonan. "It's never goodbye. It's only until next time....

  From the moment Per and Kim first met each other, it seems SkyGod had a plan in mind. From love at first sight and a shared passion for all things adventure and, well…pigs,  these two were a match made in the clear blue.  For 2021,  this amazing couple decided to "Downsize" and take their passion on the road, and that’s exactly where they’ve been found.  There’s almost no doubt that more than on...

He's left an indelible mark on skydiving beyond any shadow of a doubt, with more than 50+ Parachutist magazine covers, countless centerfolds, world record attempts and cutting edge development projects; add to that the fact that he was the pioneer for what is now a world wide multi-million tandem jump a year video legacy, Mr. Mike Mcgowan most likely either had a hand in why you became a skydiver,...

Back in the can once again, Cornelia Mihai and Olga Naumova join me to talk about a successful 2021 competition season, or at least mostly successful... With travel difficulties and Covid restrictions, half of the challenge was just getting to the events, but both of these competition swooopers managed to put forth great showings in each of the events they made it to, and talk about not just the d...

Back in the can for another round, Matt Munting and Nicholas Scalabrino Bring us up to speed on the ever evolving adventures on the Matt and Nick show. From Alpine adventures including ice axes and crampons, to jumping the tallest building in the world and a night flair jump with an extra added pucker factor, these two are going strong, learning lessons, making friends and continuing full steam ah...

As a "trad" rock climber, Hayden Galvin had started down his own lunatic path long before skydiving hit his radar. By the time BASE first made its appearance in his life he'd already had enough close calls on the rocks to know he had the chops for it, and learning to jump at what he described as a pretty sketch DZ back then in Coffs Harbor Austrailia only reenforced it. Drawn primarily to BASE, bu...

Taking over the hot seat and adding to the Lunatic Fringe team with his fresh take and incredible energy for skydiving, Mr. Zej M'ski sits down for his first ever shot at it, talking all things skydiving with the one and only Greg Windmiller. Owner and head honcho of Superior Flight Solutions, with a resume that includes an incredible run with the US Golden Knights, an Airborne Ranger, Tunnel inst...

Back in the can to talk all things boogie and fun, Brian Casserly catches me up on what it's been like hosting Lunatic Fringe (when he can remember it), love in the time of Covid, boogies, Speedo's and how his family tries to cope with his endless antics! Confirmed Lunatic to the end...

Back in the can, this time on location in North Carolina living the boogie life, Pussfoot's Brian Casserly sits down with Mr. Todd Thompson, who's life in the sky started out as more of an "order" than a desire, care of the US Military.  Wanting more of the freefall taste than Uncle Sam was gonna provide, there was no way that Todd wasn't going to end up a proper jumper on his own.  Working now as...

Sammy Vassilev may just have himself an unofficial world record. One of the most unique at that... managing to rack up well over 200 jumps, if you can believe it, in the womb. Son of a world champion Style and Accuracy mom, Sammy was literally born with skydiving in his blood, so there's no doubt in his mind its the path he was always meant to be on. Having found a creative way out of communist Eu...

Back in the can after what has to be the most successful bout of gorilla marketing in skydiving ever attempted, Zej Mski managed to work his way  into the hearts and souls of a whole bunch of New Yorkers and Skydivers to win the full boat ride to Summerfest, and damn, did he have some fun! Fun, after what can only be considered an insanely brutal year of frontline work handling COVID face to face....

Back in the hot seat, the one and only Brian Casserly sits down with freeflyer, iFly instructor, Tandem meat hauler and drinking buddy James England to talk and toast all things jump on this edition of Lunatic Fringe.

A lifelong journey is the only way to describe Melissa Lowe's participation in the world of skydiving. Having firmly planted her feet on her own reputation built of hard work, good fun and amazing accomplishments, the now "Madam Director" of the USPA takes her time to sit down once again with me to discuss her role in "the Machine", her thoughts on change and improvements to our still growing spor...

Globe trotting, skydiving, Speedo sporting helicopter pilot, who along the lines of Cher, Beyoncé, Fabio and Liberace prefers to simply be known as "Hatz!" sits down with the one and only Mr. Brian Casserly to talk all things "up'! It's an upbeat and entertaining chat fueled with great stories, insights, and a fair amount of booze, making it a perfect addition to the Lunatic bonfire.

Taken from the pages of one of the greats, Mr. Moe Viletto, Brian Germain sits down again for something a bit more like story time, bouncing from naked jumps, bowling balls, the highs and lows of AFF instructing, living through your own fear and dealing with fear for others and the fact that like it or not, luck plays a part in it all (its just how much luck you're comfortable with). With 35 years...

Starting out in 2013 at a time when "something" was exactly what she needed, Shauna Finley came across exactly the right something. Taking over quite quickly, Shauna found that her passion for skydiving wasn't just the sport or even the people itself, but a drive to give back as much as she could to something that gave her exactly what she needed.  Master Rigger, PRO rated sponsored athlete, Easte...

Back in the can for another round, Mr. Derick Massey, 26 plus year veteran of the tandem game plugs in to talk to me about some of the most memorable, and flat out stupid moments he (and I) have had both in the air and on the ground. We talk about skill, luck, bad decisions with good outcomes, and what it's like to look back on more than a quarter century of experiences after paying the sometimes...

On this edition of Lunatic Fringe, I take a back seat and give my tired stories a rest while Mr Brian Casserly takes over the hot seat to talk all things skydiving with his Pussfoot cohort and load organizer Kevin Boorom.  From which boogies have the most ridiculous parties, to just how many jumps you need to have before you can go out and have fun with them, Brian and Kevin get down to a proper b...

On this edition of The Lunatic Fringe, old friends and favorites to the podcast, Olga and Junior sit down to talk about, among other things, old injuries and new, and how sometimes the ones you thought were no big deal can have a way of coming back to haunt.  With a few suggestions, tips and stories about what not to do, the three of us flop our bent and broken selves into the studio to see what w...

Back in the can for another virtual bonfire, Pablito Perazzoli, Master Rigger, Tandem Examiner, world traveler and a curator of one of the most spectacular handlebar mustaches this side of the 1800's sits down to talk a little about rigging, jumping, travel, loss and life. Join us for a fun catch up and informative chat with another wonderful life-long member of the Lunatic Fringe.

Back in the can for round 2, Chris Stewart and I dispense with the more formal "get to know you" podcast, and just go straight to talking lifestyle, parties, close calls, wild times and stupid decisions!  As a test jumper for NZ Aerosports, you might be tempted to think that Chris's close calls all came hanging under untested nylon, but you'd be underestimating his desire to test out daredevil stu...