Basejumper.com - archive

There are many folks out there that think solid publicity will benefit BASE. They contend it will help open up objects and make things safer for jumpers.

I think most folks like the sound of that! (and Europe tends to lead.)

back in the US, I was thinking about a number of sports, trying to compare them to BASE...

Skateboarding.
despite tons of solid publicity (video games, X-games, etc.) it is still common to see "Skatingboarding is not a Crime!" stickers.

sound familiar?

Snowboarding.
once shunned and banned at many resorts, it is now accepted and encouraged. professional athletes and the Olympics surely helped. (I also bet it became more tolerated when business people discovered the possible sales.)

how can we monetize BASE?

Car Racing.
unorganized racing stoked the adrenalin for many. charging down streets, beaches, etc. became great fun. it still tends to be quite illegal. organized racing became an outlet, and it has proved wildly successful. unfortunately it is not for the common person, and requires a lot of financial backing.

will the few sponsored "Teams" take us down this path?

Skydiving.
Skydiving in the US HAS gotten solid PR. TV shows frequently feature jumps. Movies love skydiving sequences. USPA has hired a firm to promote the US Nationals. yet it is barely more accepted than Skateboarding. I bet having "real" businesses has helped (like Snowboarding).

yet some demos require special ratings to land in areas LARGER than student landing areas. this encourages the Professional Teams and discourages individuals.

it seems that GOOD publicity has no predetermined outcome. (obviously, it sure beats BAD publicity.) maybe we must just enjoy the ride, no matter where it leads?

so, I thought I'd ask, will GOOD publicity help the average BASE jumper?

No. Why? Because for every jumper that represents the sport in a responsible, positive, professional manner you have 3 attention-desperate clowns that will burn sites, repeatedly demonstrate that legal jumping shouldn't be allowed (a couple well-known sites come to mind), and post to Youboob daily to brag how 'extreme' and dangerous they are. Simple numbers.

Do I even have to say it?


99% of us in the US participate in illegal activities BASE jumping.

the reason it is sometimes frowned upon and a lot of skateboarding has been, is, and always will be a CRIME is because those morons that participate in it refuse to adhere to 'no trespassing' signs and 'no skateboarding' signs. weird huh? why can't they just stay in their designated liability free sell out parks where the equipment and media is proven, certified and safe? why can't they all travel to the same place in the country for every single jump...er...i mean skate session?


Hopeless, ladies. Hopeless. (and so is skateboarding, the ideas behind it are rooted in breaking the rules)

The fear the general public have about going over the edge of something high will never be dispelled by quick video and magazine articles... hell it still scares me...

The lowest common denominator will never understand, so why try and change their mind with dumbed down video and magazine articles..... playboy, please....


Some people do help understanding (I believe Jebb is one), but in most, others are just there for themselves and not the sport at large.

I am a non group, non legal place jumper... so the only effect on me is having non jumpers see the coverage and then ask me questions I cant be arsed to answer. In my eyes, I prefer no publicity....

My two pound fifty worth.....

So pitching a "fit" to the point of having a law implemented the makes Base jumping a felony in NYC is helping people understand ?

I'm of the opinion, as of recently, that it neither hurts nor helps. My opinions are volatile in nature though... I tend to bounce back and forth.

I think if we could get WBR in the Olympics it would help get NPS to let some bad ass US cliffs get jumped legally.

You have a point

I was thinking of his more articulate interviews.

only when your swinging from the steel of the bridge right? I mean about the bouncing back and forth.

99%.... You figures are WRONG!

Although not a majority, I feel that there are plenty of Moab TF and BD jumpers to skew that percentage!

Although I would consider that BAD publicity, that is a small part of what has formed my current opinion. I've run into several people that could care less that I hit the bridge. When I woke up in the hospital I was convinced I burned the perrine... not the case obviously.

your comparisons are flawed. one example
the reason ski resorts opened their slopes to snowboarders was to keep the money coming, the incentive was purely financial. tehy already allowed access to the public to make money, they just expanded the audience when the initial audience started declining.
Show me a building owner, that is currently charging tourists for access to an observation deck, who will say I can keep the money coming in by charging base jumpers for an elevator ride to the top, when the tourists quit coming for the view.

Pussuys

Is Curley still wWARPED

Are You a Pussy , CURLEY or Still wwArped

Looks what's Happening in over , or should we say in Western New York

You NEED To Get Over that warrped/Curley Image

Gerald

Ever Think of Rogain ?



1072


Big Pussy

can you name 5 that have more than 100 jumps that have never done an illegal jump?

 
I don't equate behavior which is responsible, professional, and representing base positively as exclusively being in strict adherance to the letter of the law. Moral/ethical yes, legalities no... and I think alot of people are in the same boat on that one.

The Go Fast Games rock. Taking a Jet Ranger into a Mexican national park for some serious big wall jumping is oodles of fun. I liked having cliff on four sides in the Mexican cave.

I haven't been to KL or Rotterdam but would expect fun there too.

Being somewhat reasonable in the eyes of people looking to rake in more tourist dollars directly or indirectly (as side show freaks) is good for access.

I have been jumping since 1993 and I have seen ALL forms of publicity tactics.
The 99% issue is NOT has anyone done illegal jumps, but rather where IHMO, YOUR mentality should be when engaging in publicity. If you think that 99% of all jumps are illegal, than your presentation is CERTAIN to come off negative!

Get you head into a positive light for the public, and you will find the positive light in publicity!

Not to mention, go to EU and I am certain there are far more than 5 people that have 100 jumps and no illegal jumps. It is not needed!

Mick's right. We all know that sometimes we tend to be a bit radical as BASE jumpers, but we really should keep it to ourselves. You just can't compare BASE to most activities nor the people that do it. Big thing is Appearance. We're not criminals and we're not crazy, but most people think we are. Our job is to be on good behavior if we get a legal BASE jump and try to educate people that this is just a magnificant way to celebrate the human spirit. Americans like this stuff, but do not like arrogance. I don't want or expect most people to want to do this, but why would we, we wouldn't be special ourselves if that happened. Bottom line, if you get a public gig, act professional and go to the trouble to explain to the public whuffos all about what your doing and why, to Celebrate the Human Spirit. People don't unjderstand how much a good jump can invigorate people to do great things, at work, in their private lives, or whatever. Message, what we all do, is about 99% positive. We usually respect the environment, but we just have this itch that can only be scratched by jumping off a tall object with a parachute. Guys, think about how wierd that sounds to most people. Be proud, but be sensitive about how whuffos will take the concept of BASE. By the way, My hat goes off to Mick Knutson. After the magazines died like BASELINE, there was NO meaningful exchange of information at one of the most critical times in our sport. Once Smitty stopped BASELINE, the sport started to grow big time, but there was no easy medium for exchange of information. The original BASEBOARD by Mick provided the first medium for finding out info about BASE. Mick, thanks for your efforts on the BASE Board and I must say, it couldn't have come at a better time as the sport started to expand.
Rick H.
#38

granted this is NOT a scientific poll, and the question might be framed poorly...

still. only a little more than 25% of respondents think GOOD publicity will help the average jumper.

this implies that few agree with the those seeking publicity. it suggests people seeking publicity are viewed as helping themselves, not the sport...

thoughts?

I just jump whenever I have time off from whatever objects I have available, so the legal event stuff really doesn't effect me much.

However, all I know is that if anything bad happened to me in the sport (big bust or serious injury), having a little bit of good publicity out there might help me show whichever boss I have at the time that I'm not completely insane and reckless and thus allow me to continue in my particular line of work.

As for other people's egos, I could pretty much care less. Everybody's gotta make a buck somewhere and they'll always be stuff to jump off of.

--Brian

Bridge day since 1983?

In Asia it have been done base shows and world champion ship competitions for now 10 years. Seen by billions. 2 times prime time in China´s biggest tv channel. Ostokina in Russia had couple of championships. Germany every year now for how many years? Legal jumping in Kjerag seen by millions world over, and many other legal stuff have been out there for long time.

Yes the publicity will change peoples opinions, and we will see how 60 minutes present the jumping in Norway, and maybe some other places they have filmed.

World BASE Race also now for 2. year if we succeed with another Zero Incident event will make a change for the average base jumper. We sow them we are just as other people around doing what we like to do, and not some idiots trying to kill them selves. Even some still think they event the wheel again, and think they are the coolest on earth because they jump of things. To those I just have to say, BASE is easy, climbing and free skiing you are stopped by your skills. In base it just to be stupid enough to jump off and try to survive.

So, you can't name any American experienced jumper who has no illegal jumps?

I think that most public decisions about how they feel about BASE have been made,

BUT, the more positive publicity the better, I do not disagree with that at all. The Royal Gorge GFG is an awesome event, I am very happy that I have been there jumping every year.

the general public sees BASE as a stunt, as a death sport. they do not want to hear about the thousands of BASE jumps that go perfectly safe.
Drama sells, and even a lot of the seemingly positive publicity events/coverage are just overly dramatized exploitations of simple BASE jumps.
que the tombstone handheld 1 sec delay slider down jump, "this jumper has merely 300 feet to deploy his chute. he has no reserve in case the chute fails this is the jumpers 55th BASE jump so he is a very experienced jumper"

anything to make it sound as dangerous as possible.

How many BASE jumps go badly and there is an incident? 1 in 500? how often are the headlines "BASE jump goes perfectly, 3 extreme athletes spend a leisurely afternoon on the mountain and fall 1000' and open their chutes landing safely"

how many times have your parachutes failed to open? seems like there would be a lot more than 130 fatalities of parachutes actually failed to open as many times as they are reported.

THAT SAID, I am very positive with my family, media, onlookers. Not sugarcoating, but not making it seem any worse than it is. It is dangerous, but it is not a death sport.

You can make something be, and sound dangerous, without it being STUPID!