The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

With more than thirty eight years and over thirty-thousand skydives under his belt, you'd be hard set to find anyone on earth with more overall experience than Mr. Craig Girard.  Multiple World Title and World Record holder, Craig was a member of not only the United States Army's Golden Knights, but Arizona Airspeed, one of the most highly decorated relative work teams in the sports history; a key member of the 400-way team over Thailand and coach for some of the most competitive teams out there, he takes time to sit down with me to share some of his truly amazing experiences and insights into the Lunatic Fringe.

Matt Gerdes and Mike Steen of Squirrel Wingsuits may not have set out to reshape the face of BASE jumping, but it seems they are quickly on their way to 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 BASE specific equipment designed to enhance performance, increase safety and push the boundaries of human flight. 

In love with the sport and the community that it encompasses, and seeing a void in the market, "why not?" became the only reason they needed to start up the now beloved and wildly entertaining Blue Skies Mag.  As they approach their ten year anniversary with Blue Skies, Lara and Kolla sit down with me to talk about the magazines beginnings, it's contributors, it's vibe and it's future. Hate mail? Little old ladies with a taste for off-color humor?  Titties? Oh yeah, it's all in here...

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 a shiny outlook and happy disposition that most "working" skydivers should strive for, a great way to approach life in general, and a singing voice that's simply to die for...

Ellis Danho Bourbonnais is the quintessence of a renaissance man to say the least, but most certainly not in the way most people would think. From surfing in the Gulf and then Hawaii, to MMA, skydiving, BASE jumping and climbing, Ellis is more at home pushing his personal limits than most people are on a sofa. Attacking new passions whole heartedly is where he's at his best, and he takes this time to give us a few of the reasons why.

Total Fuckin' Ninja (nerd)! In fact, I'd personally go as far as to call him not only one of the first true tunnel ninja's, but one who has shaped modern body flight as much if not more than anyone else. Coming from humble beginnings in one of the first public tunnels in the world, Ray Kubiak went from being one of the most difficult students in the Las Vegas Flyaway tunnel to being a pioneer in teaching true human flight. Overcoming adversity and turning it not only into opportunity but in fact a blessing, Ray is the embodiment of heart and spirit in our sport.

Melissa Nelson Lowe.  A stand alone name in skydiving to say the least. Professional skydiver, competitor and holder of an obscene number of world records, this is one lady that doesn't have to stretch her personal story one bit; yet as the twice published author of two books highlighting the outrageous and almost unbelievable adventures of her father, one might think she was an extremely creative fiction writer and not just chronicling the exploits of a man who helped shape modern skydiving. In this episode of Lunatic Fringe you'll get personal insights into a life less ordinary, and what it means to try and step out of the shadows and shine brightly on your own.

On this episode of The Lunatic Fringe Into the Void I get the chance to sit down with two Trail Blazers in the world of Wingsuit BASE, hear about their start in the sport, close calls, up and down sides to the most dangerous of all the areal sports; and why they continue to pursue it with such passion, dedication, and above all else, safety.  Join me for a great conversation with Nick Scalabrino and Matt Munting from Squirrel Wingsuits!

On this episode of Lunatic Fringe Into the Void I get the chance to talk one on one with Jarrett Martin who at a very young age had already ventured far down the road of truly extreme sports. With age comes wisdom as the saying goes, and Jarrett's true and hard earned wisdom comes from living through and pushing far past what would make most fade into the shadows. Coming back from serious injury and adversity, Jarrett shows us firsthand through his experience just how strong people can be.

On this episode of The Lunatic Fringe I get the opportunity to sit down with World Champion canopy pilot Cornelia Mihai and up and comer Olga Naumova about what its like to work, play and compete in what up until recently has been a male dominated corner of the skydiving world.  Funny and insightful, these two are happy and hardcore!