Re: [Mikki_ZH] wanted: basejumpers switzerland
There are many angles to consider is this "age old" BASE dilemma. In the early days of the sport, when all jumps were clandestine in the U.S. or not yet blessed with "tacit approval" in Europe, we had nothing to gain from publicity, even the good kind. The standard thinking was, "The more we publicize what we do - the less we'll be able to do it."
To fully understand the reasoning behind that you need to know that all through the 1980s, a period when BASE was as underground as possible, we enjoyed several advantages that have totally vanished today. And the old saying about not missing something until its gone is only trumped by you don't miss what you never had. In those days getting popped going over a fence by a building security guard wasn't that big a deal. They had no idea what BASE jumping was and so bought whatever you told them, "I'm homeless and looking for a safe place to sleep," or "I'm a photographer just trying to get a shot." Even with a rig on your back this worked, and you walked.
If it did go further than that and you were caught red handed while landing your day in court abounded with wiggle room. A district attorney and a judge, who didn't realize BASE was an actual sport, that there were a lot of us, and that we were determined and passionate, didn’t take it very seriously. We were seen as comic relief in the long line of thugs, rapists, and murderers they dealt with every day. And a judge not seeing a trend won't go out of his way to make an example of you, so most cases ended with a sentence of the overnight time you already served and a few courtroom giggles.
In extremis some BASE jumpers would tell a street cop, "I was on a cross-country paragliding flight and had to come down here," or "We were skydiving on the beach and got blown inland." The implausibility of all that was lost on most wuffos, but it was dumping our baggage on another sport and I was always against that. But a policeman not knowing someone would actually jump from a building with a parachute would buy into it.
By the early 1990s that era was over. Too many "sport burners" publicizing their jumps, and too many BASE jumpers doing "pieces" for reporters let the cat out of the bag. Some of these jumpers were outright assholes using the sport for their own gain and some were simply duped by the "We're going to make your sport look good," type journalists.
In a last ditch attempt to stem the tide BASE jumpers started tar & feathering the assholes and endeavored to educate future dupes. But we were fighting something that surpassed some people's allegiance to the sport. That need of humans for fame. In skydiving being a camera hog was an old saw and meant nothing. In BASE the effects were devastating and far reaching. When someone like a John V. tipped off the local news media he was going to jump a Pittsburgh building that night with, "So come film me," it affected a guy named Sven who was trying to the same thing in Amsterdam but trying to keep it quiet.
Along about the time we resigned ourselves to the fact BASE jumping wasn't our little secret anymore another thing happened. Throughout the 80s we suffered a big disadvantage by virtue of keeping BASE underground. Whenever Bobby BASEjumper got himself hung up on a tower the local news media had no one to go to for comment or explanation. So naturally they went to the nearest drop zone. I'm not sure BASE jumpers today realize the animosity that existed between the two sports in those days but it was brutal. If we were lucky some DZO would just parrot the USPA line about BASE having nothing to do with skydiving, but we weren't always that lucky, and mostly we got, "Those knuckleheads have a freaking death wish and they make us skydivers, which by the way is a family orientated sport, fully recognized by the FAA, look bad, and they all should be thrown in jail, ba blah, ba blah, ba blah."
Those of us who were full time professional skydivers were hesitant to rebut any of that as Instructors, Jumpmasters, and Riggers were actually losing DZ jobs over BASE jumping. Worldwide the situation was so bad in Europe there were also repercussions as British BASE jumpers were being tossed out of the BPA (like our USPA) and couldn’t skydive anywhere in Britain anymore.
This was about time when "organizing" was the hot topic in BASE jumping. The divide was between old school and new school (yes, even then) and naysayer's screamed, "Don’t you dare turn BASE jumping into skydiving!" There were good arguments on both sides, but we were getting hammered by prejudice and half truths in the press.
Jean Boenish, who was the Norma Ray of her day, was urging us to unite and fight. But her World BASE Association was foundering as while we loved her as the "Mary" to our sacred father Carl Boenish when we'd listen to her for an hour we always then looked at each other with, "What the fuck did she just say?" We just didn’t "get" Jean but we got the underlying message and struck out on our own to form other organizations.
Once such was the CJAA (Cliff Jumpers of America Association.) And at the first meetings held in Davis, California we discussed the situation of mounting some kind of public defense for the first time. We also elected our first officers. Harry Parker was made President, even though he objected by saying he didn’t even have a phone. Moe Viletto and Dennis McGlynn were made to chair the "gear" committees, and yours truly was elected to oversee, "Safety & Training." But as there was no safety and training in BASE jumping in those days I begged off in favor of the Publicity department. It was then I, and few others, voiced the opinion we should counter the public attacks.
Up until this point we only got bad publicity as we hid our achievements and only our mishaps were making the news. What I didn’t realize at the time, and what dug us deeper into the hole, was not everyone could come off positively even when we initiated the press contact. Sadly most BASE jumpers, not being used to it, came off as blathering loons and the more they tried to explain BASE the deeper they buried us.
You can see the same phenomena even today. While YouTube, the USPA bringing us back somewhat into the fold, and these public boards, has, I'll reluctantly admit, gained us some public acceptance - the true message is still drowned out by one "Maggot" photo of the word BASE written in shit. Shooting ourselves in the foot will, I'm afraid, always be with us.
Then we had to contend with the underhandedness of the media. What starts as, "BASE jumpers wanted for article, TV spot, or god forbid, a new TV series," will mostly turn into a wuffo view because BASE is a very hard thing to explain and comprehend. Even with all I know about BASE jumping, sometimes I even think it’s absolutely nuts too.
The poster child for getting maimed by the media was my good friend Chris. The TV show "Eye to Eye" from CBS was looking to do a piece on BASE. However, by this time, about 1991, our forays into positive publicity already weren't turning out so well. Turned down by most locals Chris took the bait and got caught hook, line, and sinker.
Promised by the host, Connie (Cunt) Chung, the piece would be positive he allowed a film crew to follow him to our, so far, secret cliff near Perris. Seeing that site on CBS during primetime was bad enough but what they did in the end, and unknown to Chris, was also interview a Park Ranger in Yosemite. They spliced the two interviews together and whenever Chris blathered about the virtues of BASE, which he didn’t do very well, we than saw the Ranger saying, "These morons are being rescued by the boatload, and it’s your tax money that's footing the bill!" It was so devastating to Chris he never really recovered and his BASE career was essentially over.
If I can offer any warning in all this it’s the above.
The signs of a media shakedown are obvious if you've seen them before. First they will entice you, then they'll say there is no "real" budget available, and then they'll make you look like an idiot. It's happened over and over so ignore that at your own peril.
The smart play today is pass these folks on to your local association like is the style in Europe. In the States I always send them to either Tom Sanders, or one of the major BASE gear manufactures. In Tommy's case he's a BASE jumper, and a Hollywood pro, so if nothing else he makes them pay through the nose or call it off. The BASE manufactures, like Apex and others, aren’t swayed easily by pie in the sky so wind up with more control.
Here's a scary thing going on right now behind the scenes. Sometime ago MTV approached us with the idea for "BASE House" in Twin Falls. You got it, "The trials and tribulations of a houseful of twenty-something BASE jumping everyday as they deal with the angst of growing up while staring death in the face."
We balked, but especially at the mandate put forward that all the jumpers had to be, "cool, young, hip, and in their twenties!" I don’t know about you, but I used to watch TV to escape reality, and if this show ever gains the light of day I'll slit my throat . . .
NickD
BASE 194
