Why do you skydive?

[JohnMitchell 16]

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My dad . . . .would take me to local airshows.
Many times there would be skydivers performing demonstration jumps...I loved THAT part more than any of the aircraft stuff.

The television series Ripcord was popular during my formative years and I never missed an episode.

It was everything I'd ever imagined and more.

38 years later I'm still as enthusiastic about skydiving as I was crawling outta the sandbox.

Paraphrasing you a bit, but same here. My dad was an aerospace engineer and we hit all the airshows. The planes were cool but the skydivers were gods that walked among us. I knew, though, it was something I would never get to do.

Then one day in high school at 17 a buddy of mine asked if I wanted to go jumping on a Saturday. Sounded cool so I went. Loved it. I finally found something that REALLY held my interest.

[vskydiver 0]

I got talked into it by friends in high school when I was 16. Ended up marrying the skydiving instructor. 30 years of wedded bliss and 4 grown kids later, we're still skydiving.

[Bear 0]

I feel 'ya. I think right now grad school is that big fat black hole that I'm throwing all MY money into!
:)

[Bear 0]

Ouch! No love for high education, I see! Personally, I liked it better before the department changed their name from Recreation and Leisure Studies.

[airtwardo 7]

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Ouch! No love for high education, I see! Personally, I liked it better before the department changed their name from Recreation and Leisure Studies.

I beg to differ Bear...a significant part of my education was procured while high!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[oldwomanc6 52]

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[popsjumper 2]

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I had a daredevil for a brother and he talked me into it. along with scuba, hang gliding, kart racing, and more. Pretty cool that all the very abbreviated training was free and the jumps were $5 IIRC.

I got off cheap at first....then the negative income started piling up....


I blame it all on him.

No fault of the evil drink smoke & women?

FIFY

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[skyjumpenfool 2]

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Ouch! No love for high education, I see! Personally, I liked it better before the department changed their name from Recreation and Leisure Studies.

I beg to differ Bear...a significant part of my education was procured while high!

Hey Twardo, how do you get the OP off your front porch......

...........Pay for the pizza!

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[nigel99 474]

I love the challenge and being able to fly my body. I don't like the fear and certainly don't do it for the rush or buzz.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[Mac 1]

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I have researched a lot of the threads previously posted and I have gotten a lot of good data from them, but most responses are why people continue to skydive. There aren't as many as to what were your initial motivations for doing the first jump.

Curiosity. I wanted to explore something different and what the feelings were like to go against everything your brain is screaming not to do.

The idea was always in my head from around aged 10. My 2 uncles had done a SL jump whilst I was a kid, and the memory of them talking about, with the excitement and fear they described, stuck with me, and so when I hit 18 I went off and did a SL round jump to understand what it was about. That was 21 years ago. I knew i had found something beautiful. My second jump and full entry into parachute sport obsession was 5 or 6 years later when I had the drive to fully commit.

Although I have been in and out of skydiving over the years, I have always had some participation within one parachute sport or another. Various reasons have kept me within the parachute world.

[Bignugget 0]

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i can't speak for these other guys.. but i just had too much money and couldn't find a big enough hole to throw it in

This.

I tried putting stripper's kids through college but I was still left with too much spending money at the end of the day.

[Andy9o8 2]

Here are 2 almost identical threads, based on basically the same inquiry as yours. (My own answer is in each of them.) Hope this helps:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2823462#2823462

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1411607#1411607

[skygypsie 2]

A guy I had just met one night & whom I was attracted, told he was a skydiving instructor at a nearby DZ.

I told him he was ...I had never even heard of a DZ !

Though I never planned to ever go for one myself, he invited me to go to the DZ one Saturday, shortly after meeting him.

After watching 34 tandem students load & land, I was the 35th !

Just watching in awe & hearing the elation from them after landing, was enough for me to overcome any thoughts of "why would anybody do this ".

Long story shorter; after a reserve ride on my 1st tandem, I was hooked...on him & skydiving

That was 7 years ago & it is still a very significant part of our existance... as we married & it is both our professions.
Skydiving changes you; physiologically, emotionally & for me, spiritually

[Squeak 17]

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Skydiving changes you; physiologically, emotionally & for me, spiritually

Changes some, for some of us it's an activity we do not a lifestyle or way of life.
I dont even identify as a "Skydiver", it's just something i do, it does not in any way define me.

Why do i continue to do it, mostly to try and get better at freeflying, Im, a slow learner in skydiving and over the past 10+ years I have struggled and continue to struggle to improve.

I enjoy it but it's not "All Consuming" which is no doubt, one of the reasons i am not as good as I'd like to be.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[airtwardo 7]

...it's not "All Consuming"

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Some 200 jump chump asked me today why I have 38 years in the sport & 'only' 4000 jumps...

Told him for the first 1/3rd of that most dropzones only had ONE plane and it held FOUR people...the last 2/3rds I figured out there's a whole LOT going on OFF the dz!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[dthames 0]

I have always liked aviation and wanted to fly but never pursued it.
The seed of human flight was planted by the 1969 movie The Gypsy Moths that I saw as a young adult in the late 70s.
In 1995 I rode the jump plane with the Golden Knights and I knew if given the chance I would jump, but I never pursued it.
In 2011 wingsuit proximity videos got me somewhat interested.
My mother (not knowing what she was suggesting) told me “If there is anything you want to do in life, be sure to do it before you are too old to be able to it physically”. Right after that I started skydiving at age 54 so that I could fly…namely fly a wingsuit.
Why do I continue? I have just started to fly wingsuits and I am not "there" yet. I mean my primary goals have not yet really been reached.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[MArista 0]

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Hello:

I am a master’s student in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism and I am writing a research paper on motivations for skydiving. I would like to know what made you start skydiving and why you continue to do it?
Thank you in advance for all who take the time to post.

Cheers,
Bear

Aren't you going to give us a long poll to take in which we're compared to drug addicts and criminals?

[oldwomanc6 52]

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Hello:

I am a master’s student in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism and I am writing a research paper on motivations for skydiving. I would like to know what made you start skydiving and why you continue to do it?
Thank you in advance for all who take the time to post.

Cheers,
Bear

Aren't you going to give us a long poll to take in which we're compared to drug addicts and criminals?

Mr. Smarty Pants!

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[airtwardo 7]

Aren't you going to give us a long poll to take in which we're compared to drug addicts and criminals?

[Whamie 0]

I won't lie about it..i do it for the ladies

[Amazon 7]

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Hello:

I am a master’s student in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism and I am writing a research paper on motivations for skydiving. I would like to know what made you start skydiving and why you continue to do it?
Thank you in advance for all who take the time to post.

Cheers,
Bear

I like getting high....

And since I am not into drugs.... ALTITUDE works for me

[Phillbo 11]

I was tricked into jumping :)

[skygypsie 2]

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...it's not "All Consuming"

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Some 200 jump chump asked me today why I have 38 years in the sport & 'only' 4000 jumps...

Told him for the first 1/3rd of that most dropzones only had ONE plane and it held FOUR people...the last 2/3rds I figured out there's a whole LOT going on OFF the dz!

----------------------------------------------------------
I now totally agree !
It had become all too consuming with us, as the sport became profession.
After 7 years for me working fulltime during jump season. with no other ability for outside life, & Brad the past 12 years....we decided we can longer live ONLY in skydiving.
We aren't even getting many "fun" jumps in, any longer
He just took a M-F /8-5 job outside of skydiving.
I know longer will pack full time 7 days/wk.
We will now be part of the weekend warriors, only.
That will be contigent if there is something else we decide we'd like to do.
Too much & too many have been missed, while commited ONLY to the DZ.

[IJskonijn 45]

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I won't lie about it..i do it for the ladies

Good luck!

[ShcShc11 0]

http://vimeo.com/62398328#at=0

Video explains pretty decently.

Cheers!
Shc