Photo Credit: Jetman.com being fully focused throughout the flight, so that we’re able to respond fast in case something goes wrong. I’m not a big fan of taking high risks. I love life. For sure in our sport there are many people who perform aerial stunts without training, but that’s not the way I learned the discipline and it’s not the way we want to represent what we are doing. Our mentor and team leader, Yves Rossy, has also contributed to instill in us the respect for a safe progression, in line with the most authentic aviation codes. Down here on Earth it’s so easy for us to get caught up in our little bubbles and sweat the small stuff in life. What is it like to experience how expansive life really is? V: When I’m on the ground I get caught up in my own thoughts about life, like everybody. But when I’m in the air, I forget everything. It’s like entering a different dimension that I get to share with my friends and family. It’s so nice to be able
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to disconnect, especially from social media. You see so many people spending so much time with their smartphone on Facebook - not even looking at each other or talking to each other. When you’re up in the sky, it’s just you, your feelings, and your friends. I’m thankful for that. Do you do any particular training to prepare yourself mentally for wing suit flight? V: My teammate Fred and I have taken part in many competitions - and won several times. When you have to prepare a skydiving jump, you visualize what you will have to do, what’s going to happen in the air, what might go wrong, etc. So when you get in the sky, it becomes more of an instinct. Sometimes though I just go up in the sky for fun and in that case I don’t have to think about it, it becomes pure improvisation. Often times fear shuts people down. What’s your method for shutting
down fear and ploughing forward? V: It’s good to have fear in a way, especially in our sport. You just have to recognize what kind of fear it is and work with it. When I’m on top of a mountain, just a few seconds before BASE jumping, my heart is beating really fast. But that proves that I’m alive. The emotions could easily take over, but instead I transform the fear into good energy and strength to make me succeed in what I have to do. Sometimes though, I have another kind of fear, a gut feeling that tells me it’s not safe; in that case I stop and decide not to jump. It’s important to listen to your instinct when it tells you that something can go wrong. What are the physical sensations, the sounds, and the emotions like at peak speed with the jets? V: When I am flying the Jetwing my whole body is completely straight and tense. Any movement would completely affect my trajectory; for example, turning my head