NEWS ARTICLES

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #31 Peter Parker I wonder if on some level all skydivers think they're superheroes. Not like we're invincible, but come on, we can totally fly... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #30 No Sh*t There I Was The ceiling was just at 3500, so the strut was a little slippery. I swung out way too far, swung back in, hit the wheel and then fell off the strut. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #29 Links In The Chain I had my first cutaway when I had 117 jumps. Then I went 7000 with zero. Zero cutaways in 7000 jumps. That's 10 years with no problems. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #28 Tape Your Head to Hers Skydiving is an entirely visceral, physical, remote activity. Most of us have to leave our home cities and drive out to the boondocks to get to our drop zone. When we get to the DZ, we're completely removed from our "regular" life. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #27 When We Can't Use A Parachute I'm the most annoying person I know right now. I'm really happy. When people ask me how I'm doing, I sound like I've over-polished a few nuggets so I don't have to tell the awkward so-so truth. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #26 Gold or Gutter Balls So I'm sitting here, two days before Nationals, totally nervous. Yeah, I am. Not joking. Every year the week before Nationals is this exercise in calming my anxiety, thinking positive thoughts, and letting go of any attachment to how I, or my teams, do. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #25 Venison Steaks So check it out, as a kid, I was forced to work at the family slaughterhouse. Not like against my will in the bad way, but you know, because I was a kid and my Dad said so. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #24 Deal-No-Deal So I already wrote my column this month. It's a really good one. I used situations paralleling a friend's current life for the sake of positive influence on the masses. I made relevant points through perfect metaphor, and of course used hilarious segues... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #23 Milli Vanilli Melsinore We all know how much I love and endorse the art and experience of making and starring in your own film festival videos. If you don't, I do. I honestly can say that all the movies I have made... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #22 Muttley So the story goes a little bit like this... I got to Australia in 1998 with 19 static-lines and a reservation for AFF Level 5. Was there "studying" abroad, but spent every weekend at the drop zone. Hmm, weird. Doesn't sound like me at all. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #21 Dysfunction So, I've started to train with my new VFS team, Dysfunction. (Ahh, the irony that I am a life coach and on a team called Dysfunction. It's comedy every time I think it.) Dysfunction is essentially a group of super cool guys and badass flyers. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #20 Zip-line Back to the Kitchen I'm a really social person. I've said it once, I'll say it again, I love people. I really do. I thoroughly enjoy making new friends, feeling inspired by new connections, and just joking around... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #19 Cash In On Your Pigeons I should buy some stock in Lowe's. I mean, I personally seem to keep the company afloat with the twice-daily hundred-plus-dollar trips I make there now that I'm a homeowner. Sure, I walk out of there with energy-efficient washing machines... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #18 Blink Away the Sunspots Honestly, I don’t feel like being all that deep right now. I just was on the phone with a friend talking about creating a business plan for my life coaching, and I gotta tell you, that feels like a much bigger priority to me right now than writing this column. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #17 Paint The Fence I’ve never been addicted to drugs. Well, not illegal drugs. I’ve never put a needle in my arm, smoked anything scary, or popped perpetual pills. I have of course had an addiction for the last 15 years to my own adrenaline nicely provided to me by the sky. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #16 Trust Your Ducks I have been skydiving for 15 years. I have jumped at Skydive Elsinore for 9, and have worked there full-time going on 6. My duties there effectively entail jumping with my friends, creating awesome events, training with my teams, and partying like a ridiculous rock star... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #15 Kapow So my column was due Saturday… It’s Sunday.. almost Monday. I’m just starting now. I mean, come on, I’m a person that thrives on dedication, respects others time, has integrity, etc. So why am I pushing this deadline? More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #14 Look Mel, No Floaties So I just got back from Nationals. Nationals is sweet. Highest level of competition in our country, like-minded skydivers all in one place, and a big fat week-long party that only gets bigger the more friends we make from one Nationals to the next. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #13 Have Fun With Your Fat Rolls Two out of the last three weekends I got paid to dance around in a dress made out of pull-up cords. Ok, so the paycheck was really for the daytime skydiving, but the fact still remains that pull-up cord outfits, in effect, have become part of my job. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - Issue #12 Gramma and Gandhi So I’m sitting here in my gram’s hospital room, being here for her in her final days. Why? Sure, she is my Dad’s Mom, and societally we learn this is what you do for your family... but is that the real reason... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - June/July 2010 Be One With The Whites Sometimes I feel like my head is like the highest most ridiculous level of Frogger on Atari. Remember that game? A constant barrage of cars/thoughts and info and to-do’s and ideas and everything racing by on the 4-lane of my brain waves. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - May 2010 Be Careful Brushing Your Teeth Just this month, I've had two good friends call me in confidence, with concern in their voice... and tell me they were afraid of jumping. Like it was this dirty little secret (and not the good kind of dirty)... More...

Blue Skies Magazine - April 2010 Miracles Past Potato Chips Once upon a time, we were all newbies. None of us were born knowing how to skydive. Sure, some of us learn more quickly than others, but the reality remains that at some point or another, we all sucked. And we loved it. More...

Blue Skies Magazine - March 2010 Crap is Awesome So you’re sitting in your cubicle, skydiving pics on every surface, covertly daydreaming about the upcoming weekend at the DZ. Like sugarplums at Christmas, visions of tracking dives, sweet 4-ways, and high-altitude hop-n-pops dance in your head. More...