The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

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 to work not only toward the physical demands a rebab of his type takes, but the often un thought of mental hurtles he had to overcome, not simply to live a normal life and perhaps even skydive again, but to once again stand on the top of the podium at the US Nationals. Join in on this edition with the US National CP Champion Nick Batsch and hear in surprising detail all about his continuing journey with the Lunatic Fringe.

Multiple lives all rolling after and on top of the other.  Mitch Steere, software engineer, father of 2 teenage daughters.  Mitch Steere, sliding off a motorcycle at triple digits, dirty downwind on his first jump, downsize demon. Mitch Steere, building a full database on how to perform beautiful flock dives with as much safety and precision as possible. Having come through his truly "sketch" times with the help of a great mentor, Mitch and his crew are looking toward the future of XRW and canopy flocks with great anticipation! Check it out on this edition of Lunatic Fringe!

Matt Gerdes and Mike Steen of Squirrel Wingsuits may not have set out to reshape the face of BASE jumping and skydiving, but it seems they may have gone about 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 cutting edge wingsuits and BASE specific equipment designed to enhance performance, increase safety and push the boundaries of human flight. 

Right out the gate she was breaking the rules in skydiving!  Drawn into the sport with family, jumping instantly took over her drive and motivation, and it's led her to multiple records, world travels and skills both in the sky and in the tunnel that most will aspire to but rarely achieve. Naomi Kotzee is a highly sought after instructor, coach and organizer, and because she's one of my closest friends in the sport, she's now no longer a podcast virgin. Take the time to listen in as she shares part of her story into the Lunatic Fringe!

Join us for the second episode in our Spiked series with Alta Psychotherapy as Chloe helps us start diving deeper into the mindset of the extreme sports athlete, from novice to world champion, and how at every level your mental health plays the most vital of roles.

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 energy member of the Lunatic Fringe. Join in with Brian Casserly on this amped up chat.

Master Rigger, Tunnel Instructor, AFF Instructor, Tandem Instructor...  Fucking over achiever is more like it! Mr Rory Corrigan Started his jumping career at one of the craziest dropzone's on the planet at its peak, and has the stories to tell!  Tattoos, suspension (whoa) and body modification may have been his first stroll down the Lunatic Fringe, but Skydiving has become his life.

On this special edition of Lunatic Fringe, we are joined once again by Chloe of Alta Psychotherapy to begin our multi-part series called Spiked, where we begin what will be a deep dive into sports psychology in general, and more specifically in regard to skydiving and BASE—touching on everything from the mental side of personal gear checks to working through catastrophic injury, and even the day to day grind that can be a very real part of our Lunatic Fringe experiences. 

Hannah Parker PHD.  Fuck skydivers are amazing at themes (life changing course corrections), and this is one of my favorite ones by far!  Well on her way to becoming a full blown Doctor and researcher (did I mention the fuckin’ PHD?), Hannah and her friend decided to make a skydive to jazz things up a bit, at jazz it up it certainly did! Managing to finish off that PHD while fucking around at the dropzone, she gave her family the impression that she just needed some "down time" after all the hard work,  which is why she was pissing off to Portugal to go skydiving... Seven years later, she's still on that vacation from her original path! Join us for a fun look into the life and style of a hard working skydiver on this episode of Lunatic Fringe!