The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

in 2012 going out to make a tandem skydive in Poland was pretty much like everywhere else. You book it, you jump. But when Marta Molinska made her first skydive, she didn't even make it to the ground before she was asking how she could make it as a pro. Her instructor not only got her to the ground safely and aimed her in the right direction to begin her journey, but remains her biggest supporter...

Another kick ass mid week reboot with JYRO! Back in the can to talk all things nylon are Julien Peelman, Chris Stewart and first timer Chris Snell who are quite literally the ABC's of canopy development, design and production for New Zealand Aerosports. From concept to the production of Proto types to test jumping, we sit down to chat about exactly what it takes to put together the industries lead...

“Imagine a free fall from an altitude exceeding 26 miles, breaking the sound barrier unaided, and ascending to the highest crewed balloon flight—this is Hera Rising. Their historic dive aims to leave its mark on history and in hearts, smashing records and lifting spirits.” Meet Eliana Rodriguez, Swati Varshney and Diana Valerin, the Hera Rising teammates who, along with everyone at Rising United ha...

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Mas Di Siena! 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 managed to project a shi...

On location at the absolutely beautiful dropzone located in Mombasa, Kenya, we get the chance to dive into the mindset of a destination boogie goer, the DZO, a first time tandem student, a 77 year old lifelong British jumper younger than most teenagers, and a few regulars to the podcast that help to try and define what it is that makes the worldwide Lunatic Fringe community so damn special. 

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Simon Colmer! It started with an accident onboard a commercial airliner over Austrailia, or at least the catalyst did.  In an event that will forever be a part of Simon Colmer, part of learning to get past it was a bucket list that happened to include skydiving; yet for someone scared of heights dealing with the after effects of a traumatic experience onboard...

Life was all mapped out for Even Rokne. After school and having spent his time in the military, he would be taking over the family business. A hardware store was his future. Right up until it wasn’t. As for so many before him, skydiving changed it all. There from the very beginning, Even vividly remembers Skydive Voss when it was just a club, and a very small one at that. One of the founders of Ex...

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Team Airwax! World Champions and always outgoing ambassadors to the world for skydiving, Team Airwax with Greg Crozier, Karine Joy and Ewan Cowie join me face to face in the studio to talk about life after lockdown, travel in the time of Covid, previous lives and what the future holds in store. We touch on what it takes not only to be a championship team in ou...

Addie's Lunatic Fringe Episode  

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Taihuka Smith! From a missed shot a military flying career due to a childhood illness, to a desire to skydive which lead to an off the beaten path flying lifestyle, Taihuka Smith has had quite a ride so far. Near death experiences in West Papua, peeing in a bottle over the Mediterranean and looking ahead toward an airline career, This is a fun one to give a li...

Skydiving was an absolute no for Amberly Brown. Sick to her stomach and feeling out of place, she was much happier on top of her surf board. Having grown up through turbulent times and spending much of her childhood in Alaska, going to college in Hawaii and spending her off time surfing had been an incredibly positive turn, and Amberly hadn’t really been looking to add airsports to the list. Yet t...

Another kick ass reboot with Joe Jennings, Part II On the conclusion of Lunatic Fringe with Joe Jennings... From the X-Games to Good Stuff; from Hollywood to the Super Bowl, Mr. Joe Jennings has helped to shape not only modern skydiving through the lens of his camera, but was instrumental in bringing our sport to the forefront of pop-culture, entertainment and the masses. Like most, his first jump...

Starting her skydiving career jumping round parachutes in her universities skydiving club, there was no doubt that if Vana Parker was going to be active in the sport, it wasn’t going to be in the UK. Luckily for her, South Africa was soon to be where she called home, and finding the nearest dropzone to her quickly became priority number one. With an incredibly competitive personal drive and even a...

Another kick ass reboot with the one and only Joe Jennings! From the X-Games to Good Stuff; from Hollywood to the Super Bowl, Mr. Joe Jennings has helped to shape not only modern skydiving through the lens of his camera, but was instrumental in bringing our sport to the forefront of pop-culture, entertainment and the masses. Like most, his first jump wasn't just entertainment, it was transformatio...

Raymond Adams Found his calling early in life. Well, he found his first calling... Deciding at the ripe old age of nineteen that he wanted to take a more artistic path and that hairdressing was how it would begin for him, Raymond sought after that particular goal with singular determination. He would eventually pursue skydiving with just as much passion and drive, which would lead him to photograp...

Another kick ass mid week reboot!! Anas Bekkali.  Like a lot of us, he got his start in "Air Sports" almost completely by accident, and like most of us, it totally took over his life, and damn has he made the most of it!  Starting off as a pure "tunnel rat" and transitioning to the sky, he's managed to do a whole lot with his ten or so years in the sport.  From skydiving over Everest with the Moro...

Practically born in her families Cessna, Fleur Jones was all about aviation from the very beginning. Traveling almost every weekend to different fields around the UK, it was inevitable that she would eventually come face to face with skydiving. But... It wasn't quite skydiving's time in her life just yet. With urging from her mother, Fleur pursued her dream in dance as a ballerina, and did incredi...

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Omar Alhegelan and the Family! Being a champion many times over is amazing. Having a reputation for riding the cutting edge of the sport you love is spectacular. Thinking outside the box and embracing new and bold and daring in a sport full of daring people is wonderful. But let's face it, being the parents your nine year old daughter looks up to and admires m...

The old quip in our sport goes “If you’re not any good at skydiving, you may want to consider golf”, Yet James La Barrie came at skydiving from a decidedly different angle. Raised on Antigua, what most would call a remote island in the Caribbean, James knew almost instinctively that how you treated a person was just as if not more important than the services you offered them. It was his customer s...

Another kick ass mid week reboot with... Death! On this edition of Lunatic Fringe, Omar Alhegelan, Junior Ludvic and I tackle the difficult subject of death, and how we as skydivers deal (or don't deal) with the end.  From denial to humor, we speak about how we and those around us cope with it, and try and speak openly about a subject that most skydivers work really hard to avoid; when we at last...

Getting his start in skydiving at the ripe old age of ten years old, Max Heidenfelder dedicated the entire day he did his first jump to skydiving. Then he didn't make another jump until he was twenty eight. For Max, the tunnel was the real kicking-off point. It led him to skydiving through not only his growing love of airports, but through friends. Exactly the combination that would take him to Du...

Another kick ass mid-week reboot with Ray Ferrell! I think it's safe to say he may have pissed off a few people in his day. I also think it's safe to say that he gave more assholes like me with a little potential a chance to shine than most ever would. From a true country boy with a real desire to fly to the owner and operator of one of the longest running mid-sized dropzone's in the US, Mr. Ray F...

Skydiving since 1994, Jason Moledzki is about as deep into skydiving as you can get. 14,000 skydives. 1,400 base jumps. A PD Factory Team legacy member with 60 gold medals. Cofounder of Flight-1, the absolute industry standard in canopy courses and cohost of the popular podcast Trust the Journey, Jason has had the opportunity to see airsports from every angle, and with all those varied views comes...

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Michael Washburn of Sky Trash! Don't let the package fool you.  Michael Washburn, or should I say, Officer Washburn, Retired US Army Ranger may not be large and imposing, but this guy has been there and done that! Coming to civilian skydiving later in life after a military freefall career that left him less than thrilled with the sport, it was a chance meeting...

Starting his skydiving journey later in life than most has given Marshall west a bit of a different perspective on our sport. Growing up in Northern California as an avid skateboard and water sports enthusiast, Marshall definitely had outlets during his younger years. It wasn't until after he was deep into family life that skydiving entered the picture, but his initial impression of the sport didn...