The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

Across multiple generations and varied backgrounds come the European branch of the PD Factory team to share not only the individual paths taken to reach one of the longest and most successful skydiving teams in the sports history; but to share hard lessons learned, paths to future successes through hard work and team training, the future of canopy piloting though hard earned experience and innovat...

Having covered skydiving from almost every angle, Andrew "Fordy" Ford had the opportunity to compete at a world class level in Skysurfing in its heyday courtesy of a proper military grooming, watch the creation of wingsuits from the beginning, and earn and exercise instructional ratings all over the world. As the story goes, "It all started with a beer. It always starts with a beer!"

Talk about a wildly varied life... Mr. Regan Tetlow has made the rounds to say the least! From bar tender and pub owner, to the meet and greet face man at Skydive Emporia Brava. From randomly being asked to announcing a swoop event on the beach to becoming the voice behind some of the largest skydiving events in the world (and if you can believe it, balloon races...). DJ and MC turned pro skydiver...

A professional pilot and true "aviator", Erik Von Kennel took a slightly less traditional route into the world of skydiving. A long time float plane Captain in the Caribbean, his eye was turned towards the sport when our paths crossed as I was taking my shot at a life in the "real world" of aviation. Having had to deal with situations that would make most pilots hang up their wings for good, Erik...

A third generation of jumpers that started with the 82nd Airborne, Rook Nelson comes from one of the most well known legacy families in skydiving. Having embraced the sport from an extremely young age, he's had the opportunity to try his hand at, compete and succeed in most every discipline the sport has to offer. Having been handed the reins of one of the largest operations in skydiving history a...

He may not say so, but I certainly will.  A pioneer and role model in the sport, Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld (or Dan B.C.) has to say the least done more than most to push skydiving forward, starting from his very beginnings in the sport. With drive and determination he set out to compete and dominate, and ended up helping form one of the most successful teams in our sports history. Surviving one of the...

"They call him Mr. Glass"...  or at least I do. In this podcast. Without a doubt one of the most passionate skydivers I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Mr. Jim Matthews has more flat out love for skydiving and aviation in general than you could possibly imagine. Why am I so damn sure? Because I literally don't know any other jumper that isn't dead who's had more serious accidents and surgeries t...

With more than thirty eight years and over thirty-thousand skydives under his belt, you'd be hard set to find anyone on earth with more overall experience than Mr. Craig Girard.  Multiple World Title and World Record holder, Craig was a member of not only the United States Army's Golden Knights, but Arizona Airspeed, one of the most highly decorated relative work teams in the sports history; a key...

Matt Gerdes and Mike Steen of Squirrel Wingsuits may not have set out to reshape the face of BASE jumping, but it seems they are quickly on their way to doing exactly that. With a ton of paragliding experience under their belts, their single minded goal soon became BASE jumping and wingsuit BASE; and in pursuing their lofty and dangerous dream ended up designing their own line of BASE specific equ...

In love with the sport and the community that it encompasses, and seeing a void in the market, "why not?" became the only reason they needed to start up the now beloved and wildly entertaining Blue Skies Mag.  As they approach their ten year anniversary with Blue Skies, Lara and Kolla sit down with me to talk about the magazines beginnings, it's contributors, it's vibe and it's future. Hate mail?...

Mas Di Siena's entrance into skydiving wasn't exactly smooth, and was a start that would have dissuaded more than most from pushing to reach the level in our sport that he has. Hell, it would have kept most playing video games instead. Ex competitor, professional skydiving instructor and proud as hell meat hauler, Mas has a shiny outlook and happy disposition that most "working" skydivers should s...

Ellis Danho Bourbonnais is the quintessence of a renaissance man to say the least, but most certainly not in the way most people would think. From surfing in the Gulf and then Hawaii, to MMA, skydiving, BASE jumping and climbing, Ellis is more at home pushing his personal limits than most people are on a sofa. Attacking new passions whole heartedly is where he's at his best, and he takes this time...

Total Fuckin' Ninja (nerd)! In fact, I'd personally go as far as to call him not only one of the first true tunnel ninja's, but one who has shaped modern body flight as much if not more than anyone else. Coming from humble beginnings in one of the first public tunnels in the world, Ray Kubiak went from being one of the most difficult students in the Las Vegas Flyaway tunnel to being a pioneer in t...

Melissa Nelson Lowe.  A stand alone name in skydiving to say the least. Professional skydiver, competitor and holder of an obscene number of world records, this is one lady that doesn't have to stretch her personal story one bit; yet as the twice published author of two books highlighting the outrageous and almost unbelievable adventures of her father, one might think she was an extremely creative...

On this episode of The Lunatic Fringe Into the Void I get the chance to sit down with two Trail Blazers in the world of Wingsuit BASE, hear about their start in the sport, close calls, up and down sides to the most dangerous of all the areal sports; and why they continue to pursue it with such passion, dedication, and above all else, safety.  Join me for a great conversation with Nick Scalabrino a...

On this episode of Lunatic Fringe Into the Void I get the chance to talk one on one with Jarrett Martin who at a very young age had already ventured far down the road of truly extreme sports. With age comes wisdom as the saying goes, and Jarrett's true and hard earned wisdom comes from living through and pushing far past what would make most fade into the shadows. Coming back from serious injury a...

On this episode of The Lunatic Fringe I get the opportunity to sit down with World Champion canopy pilot Cornelia Mihai and up and comer Olga Naumova about what its like to work, play and compete in what up until recently has been a male dominated corner of the skydiving world.  Funny and insightful, these two are happy and hardcore!

In this episode I get the chance to sit down with one of skydivings true ambassadors.  Having come up in the sport during times of great change and innovation, Mark recalls what it was like to be there "when". Through struggles with burnout and addiction, he's persevered to cultivate a love for skydiving, its community and all the lessons he's learned, and freely shares them with me.

In this super fun and insightful episode I get the chance to sit down for a heart to heart chat with husband and wife Pat and Shavon about their shared love for skydiving and its community, the pitfalls and snags that come with being a couple in an "extreme" lifestyle, the parties, the close calls and what might come next.

On Lunatic Fringe podcast number one, I sit down for a one on one chat with Mr. David Junior Ludvik to talk about how he got started with extreme sports and how he's gone on to become one of the premiere athletes in modern skydiving.  We talk about passion, loss, and all that an extreme lifestyle entails.