The Lunatic Fringe Podcast

On location at the absolutely beautiful dropzone located in Mombasa, Kenya, we get the chance to dive into the mindset of a destination boogie goer, the DZO, a first time tandem student, a 77 year old lifelong British jumper younger than most teenagers, and a few regulars to the podcast that help to try and define what it is that makes the worldwide Lunatic Fringe community so damn special. 

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Simon Colmer!

It started with an accident onboard a commercial airliner over Austrailia, or at least the catalyst did.  In an event that will forever be a part of Simon Colmer, part of learning to get past it was a bucket list that happened to include skydiving; yet for someone scared of heights dealing with the after effects of a traumatic experience onboard an airplane, it was one that took a bit of time to get around to.  Now, splitting his life quite clearly between the "real" world of an IT job, and weekends as a freefly coach and up and coming canopy pilot, Simon takes time to tell us about his rough beginnings in the air, lessons learned through injury, experience and travel and a host of incredible characters and mentors, and how he keeps the passion going in a sport with changing trends and appearances as he balances between the regular world and the Lunatic Fringe.

Life was all mapped out for Even Rokne. After school and having spent his time in the military, he would be taking over the family business. A hardware store was his future. Right up until it wasn’t. As for so many before him, skydiving changed it all. There from the very beginning, Even vividly remembers Skydive Voss when it was just a club, and a very small one at that. One of the founders of Extreme Week, Even helped not only to shape skydiving in the area, but the very community that would come to embrace not just it, but so many different extreme sports activities. Using his experience to pioneer events around the world, in 2024 he and his partners will be trail blazing new landing areas across islands in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. Seychelles. With a story that many a skydiver can easily identify with, Even Rokne is clearly on the cutting edge of the Lunatic Fringe, and not walking away anytime soon.

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Team Airwax!

World Champions and always outgoing ambassadors to the world for skydiving, Team Airwax with Greg Crozier, Karine Joy and Ewan Cowie join me face to face in the studio to talk about life after lockdown, travel in the time of Covid, previous lives and what the future holds in store. We touch on what it takes not only to be a championship team in our sport, but how social media plays an enormous part in staying relevant not only to sponsors, but to future generations of skydivers, and how a 2006 Pommero is the perfect bottle of wine to sip while chatting with other lifetime members of the Lunatic Fringe. 

Addie's Lunatic Fringe Episode

Another kick ass mid week reboot with Taihuka Smith!

From a missed shot a military flying career due to a childhood illness, to a desire to skydive which lead to an off the beaten path flying lifestyle, Taihuka Smith has had quite a ride so far. Near death experiences in West Papua, peeing in a bottle over the Mediterranean and looking ahead toward an airline career, This is a fun one to give a listen to! (and he sings and plays guitar... Just sayin').

Skydiving was an absolute no for Amberly Brown. Sick to her stomach and feeling out of place, she was much happier on top of her surf board. Having grown up through turbulent times and spending much of her childhood in Alaska, going to college in Hawaii and spending her off time surfing had been an incredibly positive turn, and Amberly hadn’t really been looking to add airsports to the list. Yet through chance meetings with a member of one of skydiving’s most well-known families and a desire to continue to explore her own boundaries, skydiving soon became a driving force in her life. Now, a six-time world record holder, Amberly Brown is busy not only continuing on with her own pursuits through travel and the joy that is a good boogie, but looking for ways to give back to a sport that she still holds an incredible passion for in yet another example of the draw of the Lunatic Fringe.  

Another kick ass reboot with Joe Jennings, Part II

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.

Starting her skydiving career jumping round parachutes in her universities skydiving club, there was no doubt that if Vana Parker was going to be active in the sport, it wasn’t going to be in the UK. Luckily for her, South Africa was soon to be where she called home, and finding the nearest dropzone to her quickly became priority number one. With an incredibly competitive personal drive and even after dealing with early injuries, Vana found herself embracing formation skydiving and all that it had to offer. Now, having chased her competitive dreams over the course of an almost 30 year career, she and her fellow hard charging and incredibly dedicated team members have managed to stand at the top of the podium on the world stage with medals around their necks and their national anthem playing; but getting there wouldn’t have happened without absolute focus and determination, nor did it happen without disappointment and controversy. Yet through it all, Vana is still just as passionate today as she was when her journey began, and she’s the first to admit that there doesn’t seem to be any end to her Lunatic Fringe journey in sight. 

Another kick ass reboot with the one and only 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 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.