The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

Mad John made his fist skydive in 1969. With initial ambitions pushing him towards becoming a nuclear physicist, it would have been easy for his first skydive while attending UC Berkeley to simply be a one off, But that simply wasn’t meant to be. A lack of money to skydive, and grades not quite up to nuclear physicist levels, John ended up going in a different direction. When the opportunity to get his certification as a math teacher presented itself, John was easily able to complete the equation. Teacher equals summers off! Now with more years in skydiving than most jumpers have been alive, Mad John Has become a staple in many skydiving circles. With events like Lost Prairie being what Mad John is best known for, and travels taking him quite literally around the world, at 76 he’s nowhere near done. A lunatic from start to finish, this is exactly what we’re about.

Back in the can for round 2, professional race car driver, professional skydiver and the first ever NASCAR driver to ever skydive into a race, Matt Jaskol sits down to talk his beginnings in the sport of skydiving, how racing led him to our community and the unique opportunities it's presented him with. With days worth of stories that most "normal" people won't ever believe, it just goes to show, the Lunatic lifestyle works just as well with wheels as it does with propellers.

To say it's been a crazy ride for Daphny Morali would be an incredible understatement. It all started as a kid with a blanket and a window. Then it was aerial acrobatics and the circus. Add a tandem skydive to the mix, and you have a pretty good idea of where this story goes. Jumping and flying in the tunnel in Israel, she was told that making it "big" in airsports was going to be difficult, and when she lost her tunnel sponsorship just prior to the world championships a few years back she would have probably agreed... but with one Instagram post, it all changed. Now living, coaching and competing out of Germany, Daphny has no doubt that her next airpsorts Lunatic lottery ticket is just around the corner. 

This guy... It's been quite a while since we've sat down to talk with the one and only "Junior", and man has he been up to a lot… Having transitioned out of his full-time gig in the Middle East, a little bit of luck and a whole lot of skill has taken him in a whole new direction. A Lunatic Fringe OG and sometimes host, he's as experienced a skydiver and instructor as there is - hell... He's got more than 600 rides upfront helping TI's get their ratings. If that's not crazy, I don't know what is...

"The other Morrocan" in skydiving, Youssef Elmajdoub kicked off his skydiving career thinking he was simply going to the dropzone as moral support for a friend. Little did he know, a tandem skydive in Dubai had been purchased for him as well. That as they say wasn't exactly all it took though. Youssef continued in the sport not because he had an incredible passion for his newly discovered sport, but because he didn't think he handled it well enough the first time around. That mentality was a major driving force not only in his skydiving career, but in life in general. How can I be even better the next time around. Not always the easiest mindset to have, especially in a sport where a mistake can cost a lot more than just a little pride, as he would discover. Now, having recovered from an accident that could have easily taken his life, Youssef still approaches the sport with the same 'do better' mentality but now tempered with the realization that perfection isn't the goal. A Lunatic through and through, Youssef Elmajdoub embodies what skydiving is all about.

As a kid growing up in Ohio, the idea of jumping out of an airplane had been something Rich Grimm thought about often enough that when the opportunity to make a skydive came up he didn’t think twice. What did make him think twice was round parachutes and belly mounted reserves. Luckily not only for Rich but for skydiving as a whole, his relocation to Southern California and the advances in parachute technology got him back in the sport. A 30 year career as a professional firefighter probably did a lot to help Rich learn to deal with the stresses of skydiving in general, but as it turns out, also helped prepare him for his now more than 20 year career organizing some of the most iconic boogies in our sport. From Belize to Palau, Costa Rica to the Seychelles, even if you don’t know his name, you’ve seen what he’s created. Helping organize Lunatic parties around the globe, Rich Grimm has organized and inspired an entire generation of skydivers, and he’s not done quite yet.

Back in the can to discuss not just all things nylon, but the work that goes behind keeping it in the air, the Head Honcho of the USPA, Mr. Albert Berchtold catches us up not only on his beginnings in the sport and what it's like to sit in the big seat these days, but about an upcoming worldwide project, World Skydiving Day. A special event around the globe to celebrate the amazing lunatic community that is the world of skydiving on the 13th, the second Saturday in July.

She had always dreamed of dancing and flying. They were two dreams that did not necessarily fit together. At least not until she saw two Titans in our sport dancing in the sky. That moment, coupled with the fact that her father lived only a few kilometers away from a skydiving center, and Roberta Mancino knew it was for her. Balancing a busy career as a model, and her new passion for skydiving, it didn't take long for her to begin combining those two as well. Not only did she find herself working with fashion designers to find ever more creative ways to highlight both their creations and her skills, she began pursuing her desire for competition. Now, the veteran of multiple blockbuster movie stunts, wingsuit competitions around the world and more, Roberta Mancino helps coach not only the upcoming generations of the Lunatic Fringe, but continues to chase her own passions.

Like many long time skydivers, it was a great from pretty much the first jump for Sven Jseppi. With a supportive family, and the early realization that you could actually make money jumping out of airplanes, he had his path. Through luck with timing and weather he met his wife as she and her friend made their first jumps, and it's with her that he's carved out his own little corner of the sport as a successful tandem skydiving operator. Yet the competition bug was always something Sven had in him, and the canopy side of things got ahold just as the blossoming sport of canopy piloting was really gaining traction. Training, working, training, competing. It was a long road that he loved navigating, and it led him to reach the lofty goal of world champion. Now, occupying the top slot and with a little breathing room, competition is still a true passion, but without the need to push the limits no matter what. With his sights set on South Africa and a chance to defend his title, he's aiming once again for Lunatic Fringe gold.

A random off field landing. It happens all the time at skydiving centers all around the world; but this off landing in the early 90's changed the course of Steve Burrow's life. A working man and a father of two sons and a daughter at the time, skydiving may not have been the normal path to take, but it was the one for Steve. With a supportive wife and family, he became an active and passionate skydiver up until 2005, when he made the choice to step away from the sport and give his attention to his loved ones. Cut to almost 20 years later when for 26:40, the equivalent of an A license worth of free fall, Steve Burrow was dead. Coded and laying on a hospital gurney having fallen victim to a massive infection, it was the incredibly hard work of his medical team that ensured he would continue to fight another day. Now, just over a year after surgeries that left him a quad-amputee, Steve found himself drawn back to the sky. With the assistance of the amazing team at Skydive Spaceland in Dallas, Steve showed his Lunatic Fringe drive to live life to the fullest, regardless of what's been thrown in his way, embracing the truth that once a skydiver, always a skydiver.