At this event you started with a run-of-the-mill jump and added tricks with each one. Do you really only see the world’s fourth largest skyscraper as sports equipment the way others might see a diving board at the swimming pool?
Absolutely! We were privileged to have such good access to this wonderful piece of recreational equipment. On the roof I met the previous mayor, who played a part in having the tower built. It was grand to be able to thank him for helping create such a wonderful structure and allow the BASE jumpers to come and play to our hearts content.
Two of the most spectacular jumps in Malaysia were the “Hell-o-copter” and the “Totem,” which you performed with Miles Daisher. Please tell us a bit more about those processes.
The ‘Totem Pole’ was a two-person jump where Miles climbed up my back and stood balanced on my shoulders while we teetered on the 50-centimeter-wide tower edge, 325 meters above the earth. Once there, Miles leaned forward and I pushed off, holding Miles’ feet, maintaining that position in freefall. Miles opens his parachute while I held his feet, then it was my turn. Incredible fun!
The ‘Hell-o-copter’ was dreamed up by Miles. I stood on the edge of the tower while Miles got a 20-meter run-up towards me, increasing his pace, reaching out and grabbing my outstretched arm, wrenching us both into space with much momentum to spin like crazy around each other in freefall. The visuals and sensation are fantastic, watching the tower and landscape spinning around us and wondering which way we’ll face when it’s time to let go and open our parachutes in the predetermined sequence.
In these three days you became famous and infamous as the Red Bull Display Team. What brought that about?
We were constantly doing different and new tricks, as well as being rather vocal about how much fun we were having. We jumped together as a team, displaying our Red Bull colors, and had great fun landing in a high speed, exciting fashion together in a tight landing area at the bottom of the tower where we could interact with the public and media.
You say that your hobbies include “anything fast, exciting and pumpy.” Is there no part of life in which you’re as normal and boring as the rest of us?
I love to excel in everything I do, and I get great satisfaction in everything I do well. The more you push yourself and learn in life and sport, the greater the sense of achievement and the reward. I love it all. We can all rise above ‘normal,’ achieve more and take anything to a whole new level.
And finally, looking into the future: What’s your next BASE project, where will it take place and why are you particularly looking forward to it?
My next BASE project is to climb and jump a 670-meter sheer cliff in Milford Sound, New Zealand called Lions Head. This is particularly challenging as far as access goes. The geography is incredibly steep, having been formed by glacial action with areas of dense wet native bush to negotiate. Our party will have to climb a dense bush-covered ridge behind the cliff up to 1200 meters, then descend via ropes to the 670-meter level to find the launch point. The jump is over the sea of Milford Sound, creating the excitement of attempting to land in a raft attached to our retrieve boat. This is a BASE jump I’ve wanted to do ever since starting BASE in 1989.
Rebel against fears
John Lennon said: “If you tried to give rock’n’roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.’” If back then the Beatle had known the BASE jumper from New Zealand with the same name, he might also have come up with a synonym for “daredevil insanity.” In Part One of our interview Chuck talks about his most recent project: 36 BASE jumps from the world’s fourth highest building ...
Your namesake, in the meantime 81 years old, is one of the founders of rock’n’roll. What would you like to enter the history books for?
I’d like to be known for pushing the boundaries of what can become possible. Using a positive approach to what some may think is impossible. Having a positive outlook to breathing life into your dreams and turning them into reality.
For Chuck Berry Sr. rock’n’roll meant rebellion. Is BASE jumping also a type of uprising – a revolution against the law of nature, against physical vulnerability, but also against your own fear?
I think BASE jumping is a rebellion against the laws of nature and gravity that bind us to this planet. The rebellion against the usual fears of wanting to cling on to the earth and the incredible sensation of freedom by being able to happily step into thin air with a rig on my back from sheer parts of the planet.
Some of your campaigns outwardly appear to be pure fun for you – like in summer last year when you jumped over Queenstown in a wigwam. How much do you think about the risks that are connected to your jumps?
I love the fun of turning an idea into reality, like the jump in a wigwam tent. Taking that dream and making it happen. I address all the risks I can see and put a lot of thought into the process, gear, design, all the possible outcomes and actions to achieve a positive result.
Your latest mission even sounds unbelievable to your BASE colleagues: in Kuala Lumpur you did 36 BASE jumps in three days. How did the idea for that come about?
My good BASE mate Grant Chapman and I decided to go to Kuala Lumpur together to indulge in the 3 day BASE event at the Manara KL Tower, now in it’s sixth year. We joined 100 other BASE jumpers who enjoyed lift access to the 300-meter-high tower and the roof where all the fun was to be had. I was lucky to meet a great buddy Miles Daisher from the US Red Bull Air Force. We began jumping and filming together, creating more and more fun tricks, jumping in groups, doing aerobatic jumps and handstands, hanging off the edge of the building by our hands, and jumping together, me hanging onto Miles while he opened his parachute while we flew away from the tower together.
