Back in the late 90's, I did dream work for the music band The Offspring. I was brought onboard by aspiring director Paul Jay Cobb of Black Fly's fame as the stunt coordinator and stunt-double (Base Jumper) performer in multiple segments in their video album “Huck It” (Conspiracy of One) and the earlier Americana music video. The video album was a first-of-its-kind Music, Video & Action Sports mashup released by a Major Record Label. I tapped in quite a few friends to help out with these ones, including accomplished Skydiver & Stuntman Alaska Jon Devore, legendary Ski cinematographer Tom Day, & Pro-Snowboarder Jim Rippey.

This was incredibly rad since The Offspring revived punk rock in the 90s (more pop-punk) and were synonymous with Action Sports & Southern California.  In addition, the lead singer Brian (Dexter) Holland is an accomplished fixed-wing pilot in his own right. Check out the videos below of the 3 segments I worked.

Prior to being shipped overseas to the Flying Bulls, I was lucky enough to get some quality stick time on several occasions. Chuck Aaron of FX helicopters owned several Cobras at Oxnard airport which he sourced parts and built up over the years. This particular airframe was setup up with dual flight controls with a side mounted stick located to the right of the front cockpit seat. This was the first time I had ever flown with such a setup and I was suprised at how well the stick felt, and the feedback you recevied from it. We had many more adventures together in Helis - especially getting the Aerobatic Helicopter program off the ground (more later). Thanks for the killer airtime Chuck! memories which I'll never forget

In the pre-GoPro era, you had to do it the old fashioned way - with real film cameras and digital DV Tape. I created this as my first aerial demo reel on the first version of Adobe Premiere.

We used various setups from Sony PC-7 min-DVs to the more rare AN-N6 GSAP Aerial Gun Cameras.  If you've ever seen a WWII Documentary with air to air combat footage, then you've seen GSAP footage. It's a small 16mm film camera with a 35mm lens.

Read more here: https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1391349

and some old footy here: https://archive.org/details/CS-3335

Aerial reel from the Red Bull Last Man Standing event in Bulcher, Texas where I put together the team, camera, and helicopter. I enlisted legendary film pilot Fred North to come shoot the event which was broadcast on NBC Sports. The riders were iniitally shocked that they had to sign a waiver about helicopters flying low, but quickly realised they were in good hands with Fred behind the stick.

Here's a quick n dirty highlight from when I was tapped in to live produce the 2010 Joint Service Open House Airshow at Andrews AFB. The F22 Raptor is one of the best demonstrations you can see live... IMHO...

TL'DR - I lived and the video is at the bottom of the post.

Before social media, people used to use the phone to make connections.
I got a call from a friend who mentioned that Fleshwound Films (Jon Freeman & Dana Nicholson) needed a clutch opener for their next installment of Crusty Demons motocross movie series.  At the time, Jon & Dana were at the forefront of Freestyle Motocross - Pre X-Games - Pre Streaming - Pre Social. Action Sports Films were the vehicle to display the amazing talents of those involved.  You were literally frothing at the release of the next installment of "insert action sports movie here" from skateboarding to snowboarding to surfing and they OWNED the FMF audience. This was the only way to you could hit legendary status outside of AMA Motocross. Check out Seth Enslow's interview about being immortalized forever in Crustys 1 here.

Here’s the hitch: the premiere was 3 weeks away.

My Inspiration came from the early days watching the TV Show 'That’s Incredible'. There was a segment with legendary stuntman Dar Robinson where he went FULL SEND by driving a sports car off of a cliff. Check it out, pardon the pixels and the french.

Pretty nuts for the time, especially when you consider the technology of parachutes and containers - specifically ones designed for low altitude openings - were literally non-existent. Rewind Dar's stunt 75 years to 1926 where Fred Osborne, an iconic stuntman of the time, attempted to what is quite possibly the first TRUE FULL SEND of any vehicle intentionally off a cliff just outside of LA on the coast:  

BTW - he lived. Those telephone wires 10 feet off the ground helped to break his fall. Fortune favors the Bold.

Let's get back to it - We needed a location, a bike, and a small team.

We would need to shoot in either Utah or Arizona. The reason being the OG BLM (Bureau of Land Management) - the this land is your land, and you can do whatever the F*ck you want on that land - would be a great choice for Sendy McSending a dirt bike off a cliff to its doom. After making a few calls to other jumpers who had filmed jumps with a crew (permits, no trouble, easy access), the recommendations were the Native American lands in Arizona and finding the right tribe who would grant a permit in relatively short order.

We scored some intel on a Navajo Tribal Council meeting happening in Cameron the next day. Time to rally. quite literally. At the time, I was piloting a 1986 911 Carrera. The car was a bit of a "beater" with 200k miles but mechanically perfect.  This was the car which taught me how to drive well and fast. Rear engine rear wheel drive with tons of torque? Oh baby. please. Side note:  Do you want to learn how to drive from one of the best? check out "Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook by Vic Elford" Yea - it's a book. not a video, however it's packed with tons of knowledge about driving and handling characteristics when racing fast cars (and not just limited to 911s).

After ripping through the must drive Westgard pass and the long straights through the desert, we arrived in Arizona to pitch the council. We negotiated a "no fee" permit in a few hours with a small "donation" of tendies.

The Fleshwound Films crew procured a bike from ex-supercross racer Brian Manley who appeared in the orginal Crusty Demons of Dirt. The single bike cemented the fact that whis would be a one-shot take and on 16mm film. Jon & Dana put a team solid team together (all legends in their own right): Matt Goodman, Tim 'Frezno' Boyer, Sam Boyer, and Pineman.

"That was easier than expected" we muttered.... but never, ever, ever, ever say that.

The Wrench

The summer of 1997 was one of the most active hurricane seasons on record in the Eastern Pacific yielding epic surf for Southern California.  A very strong El Nino had formed. and was fueling several monsters including the largest on record for the Pacific (Cateogry 5 Linda with a low pressure recorded of 902 mbar) until Cat 5 Patricia broke it in 2015 recording 872 mbar.  This type of weather scenario sends loads of sub-tropical moisture into the Southwest of the USA. The moisture meets the intense heat of the deserts and quickly creates crazy big thunderstorms capable of torrential downpours with little to no warning.

A week prior to our shoot date tragedy struck in a nearby canyon. A guided group of international tourists were exploring a slot canyon of sandstone and had no idea a large thunderstorm had just dropped inches of rain 15 miles away.  A flash flood was created and a 10 foot wall of water rushed through the canyon on a very sunny day.   The group had no idea what hit them.  All 11 tourists died, and the Indian guide was left naked clinging to a ledge in the canyon. F*cking nuts.

A Heartbreaking Tragedy Struck Arizona In 1997...And It Will Never Be Forgotten

The sudden arrival of a flash flood in Arizona can be deadly, just as it was for these tourists in 1997.

OnlyInYourStateMonica Spencer

How did that affect us considering it was 100 miles away? well, that was the 4th distastrous flood in a month in AZ. While we were inbound from LA and Tahoe, another round of moisture hit the state and again caused crazy flooding. We figured it would postpone us a few days. no big deal.

The next day we drove out to the location to scout and do some pre-shoot plannig and review. When you peer over the edge of the 1400 foot cliff into the Little Colorado River Canyon from the exit point, all you could see in both directions was an out of control raging river. Just wall to wall whitewater with huge standing waves. The forecast mentioned water levels subsiding over the next 48 hrs. If that was the case, the project was still doable, tight, but doable. At the moment, a patrol car sped up to our position, and we were approach by an Navajo Nation Officer.

"I need your permit" said the officer and he spoke in a tone that was more a demand than request.  So I reached into my backpack and handed him a photocopy of the permit, and he become irritated and bellowed:

"I need the real permit, not a copy"

"But why? all the information is on there"

"Because we're revoking your permit" as he put his hand on his service revolver, no joke. "and if you don't give it to me, I'm going to throw you all in jail. and this is our Jail, it's special, it's not the same as yours, you don't have the same rights, and you can sit in there and rot until we say so"

Oh Boy. OK. What do you do now? well, you give the nice man the permit. After a bit of a less tense exchange about the risks and the fact the Nation was fearful of being sued for the deaths of the tourists, we were told to go take it up with Window Rock (where the head of the nation resides / governs ) where we could negotiate another date. The officer thought we were still planning on jumping the next day, even though there is no way any of us were getting near that river due to safety concerns.

Do you know what time it is?

To Window Rock we go - 200 miles to the east with the clock ticking to complete the shoot for the premiere. We hopped in the car at sunrise and sped across the open desert. We arrived around 10am and checked in with the secretary, "Sit here, and we will be with you shortly"..... tick tock.... tick tock... yea, there was one of those clocks, the kind you had in a school classroom that seemingly were able to make time stand still. The irony and foreshadowing of this moment was soon to be revealed. After spending 4 hours in total silence in a tiny mobile office with another random human being (excellent power move btw), we were finally granted an audience with the powers that be.

The Navajo Leader welcomed us, and we quickly explained the situation which happened the day before and our need to quickly get a new permit so we can hit the deadline for the movie. He asked to see the permit and stared intently at the permit then back at me. There was a long silence which seemed to go on for an eternity, then he spoke:

See that clock on the wall? Before you people, we didn’t have clocks, so your urgency is of no importance to us. We can not issue a new permit.

Ouch. There was my answer. Initially, I laughed which wasnt necessarily seen as respectful, but I couldn't resist the META level irony of everything intersecting at the exact moment. Honestly, if the roles were flipped, I could not have said it better myself. I politely apologized with a quick explanation about my laughter reflecting my bumpy journey and not his comment on clocks and time being funny, yet it was funny when taken into context. He smirked and said it's time for you to leave..... lol. the META.

Plan B

With less than a week to go until the premiere and our primary location gone, we needed to find a solution fast. I reached out to Brian at Skydive Arizona and let him know our situation. They have been doing all sorts of cool hucking things out of airplanes for the past few years from cars, to refridgerators, to complete living rooms sets (no joke). It's not quite the epic vision getting some hang time off a cliff, but being the first to ride a motorcycle out of plane would work! ha.

In terms of a stunt, our prep work was lightning fast. Quick briefing - especially for Tim Boyer who would be in the landing zone getting the shot of the bike hitting the deck. Funny thing about things falling from the sky, when you're on the ground, you have no perspective on where it's going to land until the object gets close. Odds are it's not going to hit you at that exact spot, but it's still nerve wracking being down there, especially when you are trying to track the action through a camera lens, and GETTING THE SHOT.

We did some brief narrative setup shots. then loaded the bike in the Skyvan. I started running a few scenarios in my mind -  would the 2 Stroke bike even start at 9000 AGL? Could I even hang on to it once I left the aircraft?  Remember the aircraft is travelling at 100 knots, and as I leave the rear of the plane, I have a 100 kt tailwind. Would that cause the front wheel to catch wind and throw the bike off balance? etc etc etc... A non-start issue is easily resolved by the pilot tilting the aircraft up, and I would then coast it out the door. Ok, shut up already, it's go time.
As we took off in formation with the chase camera plane, I tried to calm my mind as best I could and run through the sequence of events that would play out in 10 minutes. One of the biggest concerns is getting hit by the bike in freefall - right at the moment of letting go - the relative wind could force the bike to move lightning fast in any direction. Getting tagged by a 250 lb metal object in freefall wouldnt be fun and most likely result in a you're f*cked scenario.

The pilot signaled we were getting close to the final approach and it was time to go. I took a deep breath, and started the bike. First kick, it fired right up. Phew. Don't have to fight with that. It was at that moment when I felt like I was both a spectator to my own actions AND being at the center of the universe in an elevated state - the surrealness of the situation was finally hitting me. Time dilation was kicking in while staring at the exit door lights and waiting for the green to drop. the seconds felt like minutes and then BAM. Green Light always means go.

A quick rev of the throttle, engage the clutch, drop it into first gear, and grab a handful of throttle - BRAAAAAAAP. Out the door we go. I keep the gas on as the bike travelled down the "hill" - the point where you transition from moving 100 kts forward to 110 kts straight down to the ground. I was suprised by how stable the bike was in freefall. (Rotational mass physics in action - spin a bike wheel in your hands, and it resists your movements). HOWEVER - the moment I let up on the throttle - the bike started getting wrenched from my hands, at that moment i gave a mighty push to clear the bike from me. Phew! got clear of it - a wave of relief overcame me - the most dangerous parts are done, just one last thing to do - pull my parachute and save my own life. hahaha. I landed safely next to the bike out in the wide open desert. CHECK IT, it's the opening scene for the movie:

Of note - Crustys III was Travis Pastrana’s first segment in a moto movie.
Fucking Epic trip and tons of memories - one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life. Since then, there have been several successful attempts at the Cameron location - from skateboarding to cars to motos - Congrats to those with better timing. Big thanks to everyone who took part of my mission. Somedays you never know what's going to happen when you answer the call.....

Couple of quick drone shots from riding the Vet Track out at Fox Raceway in Pala. A Great track with fun 3rd-4th gear tables and step-ups. nice dirt. Looking forward to heading back soon!

I was tasked with creating an pre-race opening aviation demonstration which would be broadcast live on television. Planes are cool and all, but the Airforce skydiving team always had huge impact during live events - and I wanted to give my team the premiere slot. If you've ever seen these guys land, they are coming in hot, and for sure they wow the crowd. I'm not talking about the old guys with big dumb parachutes. I'm referring to the legends of modern swooping with high performance canopies under high wing loading.

One of the most underrated and least talked about element of skydiving is the fact you get to do cool things with airplanes - besides jumping from them. With Twin Otters, you can climb onto the roof, or try and make it to the Landing gear or Hang from the Tail (rare). In Skyvans. you grab onto the floor exit "bar" and lay down while you're back buffets on the Air Flow or just flat out run and doing a big gainer / floater out of the back. The list goes on...

For years, this old picture from the skydiving wild west in NZ had fascinated many of us for years for many reasons. The biggest one was the dude hanging from the prop. How did he get there? Wing crawl, assist, cowling hug, slowly grab the prop while it was stabilized up top? How many tries did it take? Nail it the first time? So much RADNESS in one photo!  I only bet on things with my life, not money, but it's safe to say this wouldn't fly with the FAA.

We opted to go without the prop hang. ha. I sourced the pilot, Matt, and his killer restored Beech 18 aircraft out of LGB. The Chase plane, a modified Cessna 337 with a GYRON Stabilized camera and telemetry system was sourced out of Los Angeles through Wolfe Air.  

Here's a few shots from one of the practice days:

And now, The real deal from the live event, Enjoy!

This was a fun project which I had a last minute invite to join. I wasn't official crew, but I immediately cleared my schedule to fly from LA to Vegas with Fred North in a AS-350 and go stand on top of a building as a stunt camera dummy for the Wynn hotel Super Bowl Commerical in 2005

Being a BASE jumper, I'm not afraid of heights or doing stupid shit on tall objects (usually in the middle of the night).  This day presented some challenges to the norm (beyond standing on the edge of a 500 ft building with a helicopter 12 feet from your face). we were shooting in winter in Vegas and that means winds and cold temps. the gusty 30-40 knot winds added a level of excitement in addition to the convective heat loss of being exposed to the elements.  

The Trust Factor.  

From my view, this adventure was relatively low risk on my participation (roped in), with the lion's share of it placed on the Helicopter Pilot, Fred North.  Let's look at what's on his plate here: Flying camera in close proximity to objects and people trying to hover in a high crosswind scenario over a densely populated area. There's no one in the world I'd trust more than him to be flying here, and based on his credits, the industry agrees with me.

Scott Gardenhour looking at the live view during one of the test takes.  He's another gem of the industry having a brilliant creative eye, producing/directing talent, and a hilarious great attitude. The money shot was the tight Portrait of Steve Wynn talking marketing speak leading into the Helicopter fall away revealing the Logo and hotel. All in all - pretty EPIC.

And the final result, and yes, Steve Wynn stood on the edge of his own building, which is rad in itself:

During my tenure at Red Bull as the Aviation Marketing Director, I was very fortunate to experience a level of aviation magic second to none. One of the many highlights were times spent with the Blue Angels, both the F-18 pilots and the Fat Albert Crew.

Presented here is a snapshot from several moments: That time when we flew a formation flight with a Grumman HU-16B Albatross during Fleetweek (I'm in the HU-16) and at the Quad Cities Airshow in the cockpit during a JATO Assisted Take-off....IMO one of the more rare experiences a civilian can have during a ride-a-long.

The JATO Assisted take-off was definitely in my top ten list of coolest things I've done. I'm here with the legendary aviation photographer Erik Hildebrandt. Yes, I'm nerding out in this video - before social, before smart phones - just having a blast. Pardon the pun.

Check out more about the Jato here at Wikipedia.

What do you do when there are no waves on a Tuesday? You break out the drone and the dirt bike, of course!  Especially when you have a good friend who happens to be an award winning cinematographer stopping by for a quick shout out.

Here's a quick n dirty edit of me Riding my Honda CRF450R, with Ben Mullin on his Mavic Pro 2 drone.  just a couple friends killing some time.

music: bensound.com

A collection of images from the Vertical World

IMHO, There are 2 spots in the world which could carry the title of Super Bowl of BASE Jumping. In the USA, it's Moab, Utah; and outside of the USA, it would be Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.

What are the qualifications?

Above all else  #1 Access. Legal, Easy, Daytime Access.  

Take the exit point above - Tombstone - 10 minutes from town, park in the LZ, hike up 30 minutes, then jump. Before the days of GoPros, you needed to bring someone to take pics and video. Bonus here - nice sight lines and a comfy spot for the photographer to sit. We shot that location for a Merrell footwear print ad.

Qualifier #2: Number of Exit Points

Canyon after Canyon lined with 300-500 ft Cliffs with relatively easy access creates a virtual unlimited number of exit points. For the brave or stupid, Some exits are lower than 200 ft. Exits below: Wall Street, Wile E Coyote, Mineral Canyon

Qualifier #3 Environment

Environment, View, Surrealness, Visual Appeal, etc... many terms fit the bill. BASE jumping in itself is an out of this world activity. Often times, getting to the exit point is a majority of the adventure. Moab is the classic Southwestern beauty with its stark landscape, epic colors, and desert vibe. The POV and groundrush you get when jumping into a narrow box canyon goes beyond what words can describe. Same goes with the EPIC Vistas and colors you find at sunset. Wrapping this post up, enjoy the shots!

Pioneering Base jumps into Sporting Events

Location: NBC Gravity Games, North Coast Harbor, Cleveland, Ohio
When: August 3rd, 2002

This Demonstration jump was during the Freestyle Motocross Finals, in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000+ spectators. The Jump was broadcasted live on Pay-Per-View on August 3rd with a viewing audience 1.5 million+ people and on the network debut of The 2002 NBC Gravity Games in October with an est. viewing audience worldwide 25 million. I believe this was the first and only permitted exception for a single parachute jump with the FAA for a DEMO.

Location: Burton US Open of Snowboarding, Stratton, Vermont
When: March 15th, 2003.

This was another fun demonstration broadcast live in the US on NBC Sports to 9 million+ viewers.  Of note, I had invited the CEO of SoBe John Bello to come view the jump from the Helicopter which was a total hit. I suprised him by pulling the Adrenaline Rush drink from jacket, cracked it open, and took a swig before jumping.

The European Superbowl of Base jumping: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland aka Extreme sports mecca and tourist destination. This place is one of my favorite places on earth to jump with a seemingly endless array of exit points of all skill levels. The Valley cliffs range from 1000-2000ft with much larger and longer wingsuit jumps speckled about. Take a train or tram, hike 5-20 minutes and you're at an exit point. Jump, pack, repeat. Most shots here were taken around 2000.

Here's an early video wearing a Sony PC-7 DV Camera. Matt Gerdes in his early jump days - pre-founding of Squirrel.