Lunatic Fringe Into the Void

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 wasn't just entertainment, it was transformation, and on part two of Joe's chat on Lunatic Fringe, I get the opportunity to sit and talk with Joe, and my guest host Omar Alhegelan about the making of not only a world class camera flyer, but of some of the most iconic skydiving videos ever to see a screen.

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 transformation, and on part one of Joe's chat on Lunatic Fringe, I get the opportunity to sit and talk with Joe, and my guest host Omar Alhegelan about the making of not only a world class camera flyer, but of some of the most iconic skydiving videos ever to see a screen.

On this, his first time in the host seat, the familiar Mr. David Junior Ludvik takes the time to sit down with fellow skydiving instructor Kareem Madoor.  Working as a management consultant, Kareem started to wonder if there weren't a little more to life than office walls and deadlines. With his first foray toward the Lunatic lifestyle, he found an affinity for scuba, then moved on to kite surfing, first as a student and then eventually as an instructor.  By the time the idea of skydiving hit his radar there wasn't any second guessing; he was just ready to jump. Now as a kite surfing and skydiving instructor, he spends his free time traveling the world to chase his passions, leading him to epic experiences like free falling over the Giza Pyramids in his home Country of Egypt. Join in on this first time in the hot seat episode with Junior and Kareem as they chat all things Lunatic.

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 is known to happen when you push for the top, Jeff found himself burned out on the waves, and instead put all of his focus into a sport he'd never considered before, wakeboarding.  On his way to becoming an international champion behind a boat, he happened to catch a bit of footage of a guy named Frank BASE jumping, and knew it was in his cards. Years after his first glimpse, and long after that very first skydive Jeff made his first BASE jump, and was off on a new trajectory in his life that would eventually lead him on to become a full-time skydiver, wingsuit and BASE coach, and lifelong member of the Lunatic Fringe.

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 flying stay nothing more than childhood fantasy; but his desire to get in the air was much stronger than any fears he or his family may have had. After finishing school at 17 and a top notch career for the taking, he was able to use his early start in the professional world to put aside time to pursue his passion for flight both in skydiving and BASE, most specifically with wingsuiting. As has been for many a jumper, the drive to fly found a way to push career aside, and almost without thinking, he found that his passion and profession were now one in the same. With his partner and teammate Jenna Gygi at his side, @teamflylikebrick continues to lead him to almost every side of the Lunatic Fringe.

Kim Worthington.  Now known as Kim Turnbull. Wife. Mom. Upstanding citizen and all around normal person. But back then, well...  Kim got her start skydiving like a lot of us did, with a tandem and an instant love for the sport. With one trip to Spain it was game on for her, and straight into a career as an AFF instructor (Via manifest) coach and a run all around the US that culminated in one hell of a stint at the then infamous Skydive CrossKeys, the craziest DZ in the world (at the time). On this episode of Lunatic, we get the chance to talk with someone who's put their skydiving life well in the past with no plans to return, as she looks back at some of the seriously wild and sometimes twisted adventures that make up some of the best, and possibly most difficult memories of her life. Time to chat with one of the crew that helped give this podcast its Lunatic roots.

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 shuffle off this mortal coil.

Just another last minute plan is how it started for Flavio Almeida. At the ripe old age of 16 years, he found himself doing not just his first, but second static line jump on his first ever trip to a small Brazilian dropzone near the rainforest, and never imagined then the path he'd just started himself down.  From jumping in his home country, to studying, jumping and working in Canada (which ended in rather spectacular fashion) and then the states and eventually around the world, Flavio found that he could actually manage to make a life for himself doing what he had assumed could only be a part-time sport. As an AFF, tandem instructor, camera flyer and eventually swoop competitor, this multi-lingual well traveled skydiver takes the time to fill us all in on his adventures so far with the Lunatic Fringe.

A Vegas OG, Brian Moler, and in fact pretty much the entire Moler family have either been a part of, or heard every story there is to tell about skydiving in Las Vegas, Nevada. For a city not at all known for skydiving, you'd might just be amazed at just how much has gone down in Sin City, and he is most certainly the man to talk to. From failed contracts put out on a DZO's life (kind of), to warring tribes of Elvi, man eating dust devils and a huge Outlaw failure with the FAA, Brian Moler has more than 30 years of dirt and a whole lot of fun to share on this edition of Lunatic Fringe.

For Tim Jones, the decision to become a skydiver wasn't a difficult one. A half planned road trip from the UK into France and a tandem skydive was about all it took. As sometimes seems to be the case, skydiving and Tim fit together pretty easily, and through a fortuitous friendship formed with Andrew Ford, who he would later find out was "somebody" in skydiving, he found himself working ground control at a very busy multi-aircraft turbine dropzone. With quite a few challenges, but also a number of valuable learning experiences, Tim managed to work and jump his way into the world of camera flying, and then eventually to tandems, finding pleasure not just in the work and the community, but in the potential for travel and experience in the small but extensive world of the Lunatic Fringe. Join in on this episode for an upbeat chat about all things jump.