The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

Like so many before him, that first skydive was more on a whim than anything else. Ending up at an operation not too far from his grandparents home, Alberto Avalis may have seen parachutes in the sky before, but it wasn't until after that first jump that he knew. Working a construction job to pay for his new habit, it wasn't all that long before he knew that skydiving was the life for him. Now, af...

You might think that the transition from a working risk management professional to a working skydiver might be a pretty over the top choice, and you'd be right; but to Dave Cicciarelli it was one of the easiest choices he ever made. With roots in skydiving that stretch back to the late 80's, and a career that kicked off properly when he went to work managing the AFP program for Roger Nelson, Dave'...

From skateboarding to rock climbing, Simon Whittle touched all the bases when it came to his beginnings in extreme sports, but the real hook came when his UK parents bought him his introduction into the world of skydiving in the form of a static line course. The UK being what it is, it took Simon a very long time to start racking up any real jump experience, but where the sky failed, the tunnel fi...

  For most people, making the decision to start a static line course is an accomplishment all on its own, but for some, you aren’t showing real dedication to pursuing a new experience until you’ve driven across multiple African countries to start it! Just ask Erin Shutes, who did exactly that. Working around the world in the field of epidemiology and doing her best to help those most in need,  it...

Gorazd Lah, AKA Nitka (and fellow Fuckinasshole) took a very European, and more specifically an Eastern European path in skydiving. Starting out on round parachutes then moving quickly into the world of Style and Accuracy, Gorazd managed to put his tough as nails upbringing and exterior to work for him as he became a champion in his chosen disciplines. Yet...  There's a lot more behind this born a...

Working hard at an incredibly demanding job, Andreas Mosling was looking for a way to entertain himself on vacation without killing himself in party mode, so at the almost offhand suggestion of a colleague he booked himself a trip to Sebastian, Florida and signed up for AFF. He completed the entire course in one day. The next day he basically doubled his jump numbers, and by the time he left Flori...

Back in the can to talk about his continuing adventures in all things airsports, paragliding, and more, the one and only Jason Moledzki! Skydiving beginnings aren't always blue skies and sunshine as Jason Moledzki can tell you. Sometimes the drive to make that first jump can come from a truly dark place, but it was a place that Jason found the drive and determination to escape through his love of...

The son of a world traveling diplomat, it was perhaps a childhood filled with fairly constant change and a need to adapt that made it easy for Max Lesziak. Easy to decide as he was about to tackle a fairly intense college environment that he should perhaps take a break for... well, for a while. It may have had something to do with the fact that he had the tendency to get bored easily, or it may ha...

It's been 4 years since we said goodbye to one of the greatest in his field, and it's well worth looking back at just a few of the stories and experiences of the one and only Jarno Cordia. From a young age he was drawn to air sports, and skydiving in particular, but having an uncle who'd broken his back landing a round years before, it would have been easy for Jarno Cordia to watch his dreams of f...

Pulling no punches has been Alix Raymond’s style, as anyone who knows her can tell you, and her time on the Lunatic Fringe with our returning host Mr. Zej Mski is absolutely no exception. Finishing our her term soon as the Southeast Regional Director for the USPA, she's got more than a few words to say on the sport of skydiving, the USPA as an organization with all its pitfalls and upswings, it's...

Back to talk about everything from the closing of the ORIGINAL Flyaway Las Vegas Indoor Skydiving facility, to the EPIC races in Abu Dhabi, Ray "Ninja" Kubiak shows just how strongly his bodyflight passions run. Total Fuckin' Ninja. In fact, I'd personally go as far as to call him not only one of the first true tunnel ninja's, but one of the prime players who has shaped modern body flight as much...

Although she didn’t know it at the time, her father’s Judo style antics throwing her around in the sand may have been exactly what started her down her extreme sports path. That being said, one could argue that Chloe Svolakos’s first foray into the world of extremes may have been working as a therapist and social worker in New York City. Through a chance encounter with a skydiver while participati...

Back in the can to talk about a pretty spectacular 2024, and what is shaping up to be an epic 2025 is JYRO's man for all things FLOCKING, Zack Rosser. At an age when most kids are still learning to tie their shoelaces unassisted, Zack Rosser was tossing on his kid sized climbing harness so his father could take him up on a tandem paraglide session; and before he was old enough to know he had choic...

Even though he's been gone for four years, the legend that is Moe Viletto and his brand Tailored For Survival is just as strong as ever. With epic stories for days, if you weren't lucky enough to have known or met Moe, you can still share in a small taste of what an incredible guy he was. Please enjoy one of the most amazing chats we've ever had on The Lunatic Fringe. With one of the most unique s...

It's become apparent that "extreme" simply means something different in Australia, and Vince Jarvis is yet another example of that fact. A skateboarder from a young age, he simply wasn't aware that you could take part in a sport that didn't require getting bloody. Wasn't aware until a chance opportunity led him to make his first jump. One of the lucky ones that figured out from the beginning how t...

Because... Happy Fuckin' New Year! Let's just call this one what it is. We all sat down in a very small room with some microphones and got as drunk as we possibly could while trying to talk about skydiving. Chances are you've probably done some version of it yourself, but If you haven't, we highly recommend you try it sometime. Until then, please enjoy this little Lunatic Fringe bunch of idiots ha...

Back in the can to bring us up to speed as we enter 2025, it's JYRO's one and only, Mr. Chris Stewart. He'd let his student down in a major way.  Quite literally the last thing she wanted to hear when asking her attractive, worldly instructor what had driven him to become a professional skydiver was "Google".  From a skydiving school with a "work placement" program, you wouldn't necessarily think...

The real world can sometimes be a tough one for passionate skydivers to navagate, because lets face it, being a full throttle jumper can be demanding; but if you're like Grant Bowen, then it's pretty simple. You work hard at your daily so you can play even harder on the weekends. When a few hours sleep on the DZ couch after a long weeks work is like a solid 8 hours in a 'normal' persons fluffy bed...

Finding a good balance between the life of a professional nurse and a hard charging, skydiving, wingsuit camp organizing BASE jumper might sound like a lot to take on, but if you're Anna Muller, you manage to do that and have extra energy to spare! an Aussie with as much grit as you might expect, Anna takes on the challenges both the 'real' world and the world of airsports throw at her with a deep...

A tribute re-release of Katelyn ‘Compton’ Escott and her story of incredible drive and determination. Blue Skies… It was an easy choice. $300 for a tandem skydive, or $200 for a first jump course and a 3,500 foot instructor assisted jump. Not really a hard decision for a then 19 year old trying to pay for it all. Growing up in a small town in Western Canada, getting started in skydiving wasn't nea...

Back in the can to talk, boogies, big game and top tear African adventures, it's the one and only Billy Sharman! Growing up watching his mom huck herself out of airplanes in California, not only making over a thousand jumps on rounds, but earning herself a California State Championship, there was simply no way that Billy Sharman wasn't going to at least try one jump.  Of course, as seems to be the...

Catching up with the one and only Jeff Weatherall, this Kiwi Aussie transplant is still hard charging, even if that sometimes includes potty training and a bit more of a domestic Lunatic Fringe... As a young Kiwi, starting out with sport was a pretty natural thing, and Jeff Weatherall excelled. Surfing seemed to be a natural fit for him, and competition became the standard at a young age; but as i...

As a kid, things like big wave surfing seemed to be his driving force, but if you ask Scott Hiscoe to describe his ability compared to his passion, he'd be the first to say it was lacking. In fact, when it came to surf boards and big waves, his greatest talent turned out to be recovering from gnarly wipeouts. So of course the next logical step for an injury prone beach bum was proximity wingsuit f...

One of the rare ones who saw his path from the very beginning, Phil Webley had his parents consent to his enlistment in the army at the ripe old age of 16. Back then, a 600 foot exit on a round parachute seemed… normal, but his real goal was the almost fabled Red Devils, and all that came with being a member. With a fire for jumping properly lit, it became freeflying, tunnel training, and eventual...

Raised in Mexico City along with his three siblings, it was a pretty normal childhood all and all; with one exception. At a very young age, along with the motorcycles and outdoor adventures, Norman Kent found what would become his lifelong passion. Photography. Making his first skydive at the age of 19, he will be the first to tell you the its as standard a first jump story as any, but his love of...