The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

Like a lot of us, Andy "Bad Andy" VanHandel went out to make his first jump with his then girlfriend. How did that first jump go? Truth is, he couldn't tell you. It was complete overload... Yet something in that first experience drew him back. By jump number 3, he knew he'd found his sport. Working toward his coach rating, then static-line instructor, and eventually to a very busy weekend warrior TI, Andy had found not just a passion, but a community to share it with. Still deep in the tandem game, Andy has gone out of his way to support one of the most deserving causes out there. Veterans. Working closely with the veterans group HOOAH on their incredible project Freedom Freefall, it's an event designed specifically to help vets suffering from PTSD find a new direction and passion in life. With this years event falling on July 13th, which just happens to be World Skydiving Day, and July 20th registration will end May 15th. Head to hooahwi.org/freedom-freefall and help Andy and the Lunatic Fringe give something back to an incredibly deserving group!

Although Dawson and Olivier started their journey in skydiving at the same time, it was the tunnel that first sunk its hooks deep in both of them. Growing up in Canada, all the usual sports were on tap for each of them, from snowboarding to rock climbing, but it was the tunnel that showed them something exciting and new. As with most, finding both the time and money to maintain turned out to be the biggest challenge, and although Covid threw a proper wrench into the machine for everyone, both Olivier and Dawson survived the two year long tunnel shut down, pushed forward with the skydiving side of their journey and into the world of competition in the tunnel. Now have their sights set on helping smooth the way for newer generations of both skydivers and tunnel flyers with a YouTube video series designed specifically with them in mind, helping to pass on the Lunatic Fringe way of life.

Anyone in skydiving for any length of time hears amazing stories, both in the air and on the ground. For those outside the sport, some of them are truly hard to wrap your head around... and Rhino Jon? Well, he has more of those stories than almost anyone. From wealthy beginnings Jon decided to go a different way. His path led him toward the military, then special forces, then covert style operations, drug smuggling, art theft, and of course skydiving. With a 12,000 acre "garden" in Kenya to tend to, he keeps himself busy not just skydiving out of his personal aircraft, but tending to his 270 wild rhinos, elephants, lions and more, as well as ensuring that any poachers are... removed. The author of 5 books including one entitled For the Love of Art, Rhino Jon pretty much wrote the book on the Lunatic Fringe.

The first time Lee Crudgington thought about jumping out of an airplane he was just in search of a plan for the future. He wasn't prepared for the military recruiter telling him paratrooper training was the way to go. Being fit and young, his training went well, all except for being deployed first to his paratrooper regiment in Iraq without having gone through jump school; yet once he did finally earn his wings, it was the fast track for Lee. Becoming a member of the heralded Red Devils from the very start, it was only the beginning. Through years of demonstration jumps and competition, Lee went on to become an incredibly important member of the team, happily pushing the limits. Yet it would be a vacation and a plan to go speed flying that would change everything, and challenge him like nothing before. Now, coming back from years of surgery and the most demanding physical challenges of his life, Lee once again has his sights set on beating the odds, proving that paratroopers never give up, and showing everyone he's a dedicated member of the Lunatic Fringe. 

Another kick ass reboot with Marat Leiras! Originally aired Aug 2020

At 17 he knew. Well, he knew after he talked his mother into signing the release anyway. Marat Leiras showed his dedication to the sport of skydiving almost right away with a 400 kilometer drive one way to the dropzone just to get through AFF. With some serious skill, some wonderful luck and a whole lot of great timing, Marat managed to travel the world, train and jump with some of the best the sport had to offer and even marry the Iowa girl of his dreams; all without ever overstaying his visa!  join us as we talk about everything from wind tunnels and BASE jumps to what a crowd of 70,000 looks like from above.  All on this edition of Lunatic Fringe Into the Void.

From a pretty standard 'that one time I had some money and free time' start to skydiving, to it becoming an almost singular pursuit, Jimmy McCarthy discover in himself not only a desire to pursue his dream of flight, and his passion for teaching, but also an almost core desire to be his own boss. Now a successful load organizer, tunnel coach, and partner with his wife in a budding real estate empire, he's bouncing around from country to country, teaching people to fly and setting aside enough time in his busy schedule to grab a beer in Helsinki with another lifelong member of the Lunatic Fringe.

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Junior! Originally released Jan 2021. 

Back in the can with the Fuckin' co-host Junior Ludvic, he's got some good tips and advice on taking care of your gear while it's down for the winter months, keeping or getting current, dealing with injuries and what the future holds, this time around on The Lunatic Fringe.

Like anything, being raised within a sport or activity can either draw you in or push you away, and skydiving is no exception; and although skydiving didn't push Anna Moxnes away from the idea of jumping, it didn't exactly call to her. At least not like music did. At a very young age, Anna found herself on the road as a backup singer in a working band, and it wouldn't be until a random opportunity to make a tandem skydive for charity came about that the idea of jumping surfaced. Even then, it would be another year before it really kicked off. Yet from then on, it's been full speed ahead for Anna, setting her sights on everything from becoming world champion, to being a liaison for our sport with the beginning of The EdgE agency back in 2008. Now a world champion, world record holder and successful business woman, Anna Moxnes isn't just a member of the Lunatic Fringe, she's helping lead the way.

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Timmi Thomsen!

Growing up seeing canopies in the air pretty much his entire life, the idea of going to make a skydive when he turned eighteen seemed like a pretty easy decision. Like more than a few jumpers, it didn't take very long until Timmi spotted the direction he wanted to take his journey in the sport. Seeing what at the time he thought was a fatality in action, but was in reality just another swoop did the trick.  After a fortuitous job offer to go pack nylon in New Zealand, and a few mentors along the way, Timmi once again found himself on the good side of luck when after and impressive swoop with the help of home field advantage caught the eye of event organizers, he found himself doing demo jumps into one of the most impressive arenas skydive has ever seen, the Copenhagen Swoop Freestyle competition in 2015. Join us on this edition of Lunatic Fringe while we chat about nylon, tunnels and the real world with Timmi Thomsen.

Growing up in a kitchen helped toughen up Tom Gunes. Working his way from a sink full of dishes to a chef's knife, there's no doubt in his mind that the fiery environment a chef has to operate in helped prepare him for the stresses of skydiving, and he took to our sport from jump number one. With his beginnings at one of the most prestigious drop zones in the world, he's been able to soak up inspiration from icons in the sport, but long before he'd ever seen a parachute in person, he'd seen skysurfing. Yet it turns out for Tom, the hardest part of skysurfing turned out to be getting on the plane with a board... Now, having proven he can handle himself, he's busy working on his dream of bringing the 90's era discipline back into the mainstream, and with the help of some of skysurfing's OG's, its a goal he believes the Lunatic Fringe is going to embrace.