The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

Another kick ass mid-week reboot with Highlight Pro Skydiving Team's one and only Kaz Sheekey!

Proper scared. Kaz Sheekey started out like I imagine a fair amount of us do in skydiving, but for her, just like most of us who decide to make a life out of it, that fear she felt on jump one became a positive driving force, not a deterrent. Immediately attracted to the lifestyle as well as her love of jumping, all it took was a "vacation" to the US to drive her into a 25 plus year love affair not just with skydiving, but with canopy piloting.  A kick ass competitor, Flight One instructor and demo team member to boot, as well as balancing life as a mom in these trying times, Kaz Sheekey takes a bit of her time to share with us her journey into the Lunatic Fringe.

Dani Roman. There's a lot of things that can be said, but by now that pretty much sums it up. It may have been from humble beginnings, but his career has been anything but ordinary and he has no intentions of going back. Through volcanos, check. Under bridges, check. In freefall below your landing altitude, check. Yes. You read that correctly, freefall below landing altitude! Dani Roman is a prime example of what "next level" really means, and as he prepares for new challenges both personally and professionally he helps to continually elevate the rest of the Lunatic Fringe. 

Another kick-ass re-boot with Espen Fadnes!

Born and raised in a part of Norway where sport wasn't just another choice, but a way of life, Espen Fadnes grew up roped up and climbing or skiing almost before he was walking. Being on the rock and in the mountains was beyond second nature, as were all the other terrestrial adventures Norway had to offer. Yet with Espen, from a young age, reaching the tops of the peaks he climbed and either hiking or skiing down soon didn't satisfy, and he found himself dreaming of flying where others walked. In an environment that back then was alien and overwhelming, his beginnings in skydiving were tempered with having to overcome something he hadn't really known before; fear. Now, arguably at the top of his game as a seasoned and highly respected BASE jumper, skydiver and instructor, Espen takes a little time to speak about some great and even no so great choices and adventures on his path with the Lunatic Fringe.

Running outside every time he heard his neighbors airplane flying low over his family farm, there was no doubt that aviation sparked something inside Dan Kluge, and the opportunity to watch a demonstration skydive was exactly the kick he needed to head out to the dropzone and start his own adventure. Running through his beginnings like most "working" skydivers do, Dan found himself chucking drogues for an extremely busy mid-sized dropzone, and a chance opportunity for a scenic right seat ride around the iconic Chicago skyline after dropping a demo lit yet another fire he was not planning for. Now, 16,000 jumps made around the world and flying opportunities that only skydiving can offer, Dan Kluge finds himself the chief pilot of Go Jump America based out of Southern California and Hawaii, and loving every second of his Lunatic Fringe life.

Another mid-week reboot with the amazing Hannah Betts!

If you're not the type to stay until the credits have all rolled, then you may just miss her name, but chances are, you know her work!  From an active duty police officer to a UK National and then World 4-way champion turned professional skydiving instructor, Hannah Betts is not a woman scared of change; so when the opportunity knocked, she decided to answer her call to the world of professional stunt work in a major way! From AFF to the "MeToo" movement, badass stunt people and both sincere and asshole actors, she's got enlightening stories to tell, and I for one am a real fan. Join us now and listen in on Lunatic Fringe Into the Void!

1959 may have been when she was able to successfully make her first jump, but Kim Emmons Knor had been trying to get out of planes for as long as she could remember. Never caring much about what society may or may not expect of her, it was somewhere around switching majors for her forth time her freshman year of college that luck and circumstance helped finally get her out on the strut. It may have also been a contributing factor in a set of downed power lines and a few cold nights for unsuspecting local residents. Packing for her new "club" almost immediately and soon after rigging work, her next step and driving passion was competition for the US; leading her on course for a headlong collision with the CIA, a Cold War defector, a brief career in smuggling and a hell of a lot of fun. Having returned to the blue after a pretty substantial hiatus for marriage, kids and then grandkids, Kim is now pushing towards a life long goal all her own… Her golden wings, 1000 jumps and a jump over the pyramids. The embodiment of the true "stoke" that is skydiving, Kim is a proud member of the original Lunatic Fringe, and will be for life.

Another kick ass reboot with the one and only Bill Booth! - Photo by James Macca Macdonald.

William Booth. Bill Booth. Bill "Lord of the Three Rings" Motherfuckin' BOOTH! Astounding is all I have to say.  When you stop to think about literally all of the game changing inventions this man has brought to our sport, any one of which would put him deep in the Hall of Fame, and then put them all together... WOW! You have a man who has almost single handedly shaped modern skydiving into what we know and love today.  I can't lie, at least a few times in this interview I'm literally gushing with gratitude, because let's face it, without the BOC throw out pilot chute, the three ring system, tandems...  How many of us would have a vastly different life right now?  A wealth of knowledge and a great and entertaining story teller, it is my great pleasure to present to you Mr. Bill Booth on Lunatic Fringe.

A third generation skydiver with an origin story stemming all the way back to World War II, Luke Aikins was literally born to be a skydiver. Growing up surrounded by skydiving in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, he had always known that his future would undoubtedly take place in the sky, but even back then he could have never predicted the amazing career he would carve out for himself. Both behind the scenes and up front for some of the most iconic stunts of our skydiving generation, Luke, his family and all his team mates and collaborators put one hundred and ten percent into every project that he takes on, and it shows. With RedBull helping to make even the most intricate and outrageous plans come to fruition, there's no doubt that the Lunatic Fringe has an ambassador for his as well as future skydiving and aviation generations to come.

Another kick ass mid-week reboot with Ryan Graney!

Teen climbing instructor and a bit of a lost soul, to a 200,000 a year oil and gas man, Ryan Graney made it pretty big pretty young, and exceeded expectations in more ways than one. A hard charging BASE jumper and professional party guy, you'd be surprised at just how much thought has gone into his crazy antics over the years. Articulating his desire not only to live a life less ordinary but one with real meaning, I think you'll be more than a little surprised and what hides behind the apparent show stopper personality. Join us on the next Lunatic Fringe.

Another alumni from the epic (or infamous) Cross Keys, Mr. Simeon Lott got his start with a very last minute decision brought about by an almost chronic Point Break viewing habit.  Skydiving courtesy of Her Majesty's military, his transition from regimented to out of control was pretty abrupt with his first week at CK seeing both awesome change and tragedy. Having now traveled the globe and having taken more than ten thousand tandem students, Simeon is a prime example of what the Lunatic Fringe can achieve when they put their minds towards a goal, ignore pain and soldier on.