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I remember this guy!

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/365208/3/John-Vincent-says-hed-jump-off-Gateway-Arch-again

Is it the same guy that did a drunk roll over from a bridge in front of a cop? :P

Not the same guy. I've done a couple skydives with this tar n feather dude, before he moved to Hawaii.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkpkpRBQax4

http://vimeo.com/15249873

Not the same guy, but close. If I remember correctly, John did roll his car over a pedestrian while drunk....

Yeah i remember him too-he was on MTV sports.He was the second base jumper i ever seen.

Funny you would mention that in this forum instead of the achievements that make John Vincent one of the most audacious, creative and important BASE pioneers that ever lived.

He did a spectacular jump from the World Trade Center that resulted in cool video and a completely clean and well-thought-out getaway.

He became the FIRST SPONSORED BASE JUMPER when he was made a poster for Vans or Skechers with him launching from the "mushroom" building in New Orleans with the Superdome in the background (I still have the poster somewhere).

His suction cup jump from the St. Louis Arch remains one of the coolest BASE jumps ever and one that has never been repeated.

His Sears Tower jump was foiled not because of anything he did but because some other crime happened in the area (a robbery or something) and suddenly the place was crawling with cops so he had to abort (I provided some locals for his ground crew on this one).

John also paved the way for Super Bowl jumps. There was a monster truck event at the Superdome, so John went in, told people he was the intermission entertainment, then IIRC made two jumps and was packing for the third before someone who knew there was no "intermission show" finally saw/heard what he was doing and they ushered him out.

The next year the same monster truck peeps invited him to do it for real, for pay, and when he said the money wasn't enough, they said, "Okay, then we'll prosecute you for last year." So he did the gig and it was a great success.

This jump led directly to the NFL hiring Marta and John the next year to jump into the Patriots-Green Bay Super Bowl; the Superdome peeps actually pitched it to the NFL after they saw how well it went off for the monster truck show, and the NFL said "Yes!"

As some of the old farts on this board may then recall, that Super Bowl was also scheduled to feature bungee jumpers, but one of them died during the Thursday practice when a non-knowledgeable tender lowered one of the jumpers before she stopped boinging. This led the NFL to cancel the jump because it would have reminded everyone of the fatality at the beginning of the game and that was not the tone they wanted to set.

However, the NFL never forgot the plan, and several years later, Marta got to do it again, this time with Jeb, Jimmy, Annie and one other jumper whose name escapes me at the moment, coordinated by Todd Shoebotham.

That jump, which went off as Steven Tyler was singing "Dream On," legitimized BASE in a way that could never be duplicated and opened many, many doors for us not only in the US but in many foreign countries, including China.

John Vincent is thus a top-shelf BASE pioneer and deserves respect and appreciation from all of us because to this day, much of what we are able to do legally and in terms of sponsorship can be traced back to John Vincent.


BASE 44
Founding Secretary, US BASE Association
Founder, Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists

I can directly cite John's appearance on MTV as the reason I am BASE jumping today.

My Dad had recently purchased a VCR and was trying to get every dime of value out of it that he could. This included recording hours of MTV for my sisters and me. One of those recordings was John's BASE jumping profile with the ripping Smashing Pumpkins songs in the background.

I never forgot that video, and the itch it infected me with has never left. (I don't know, maybe I'm suffering from a different itch now, but who knows.)

Just over a week ago, a buddy and I climbed and static-lined from [an unnamed object] that sits in the parking lot of a juvenile detention center and across the street from a Sheriff's station. The DNA for that mischief came from me watching John suction cup up the Arch. No doubt. We were giggling like little kids as we casually strolled away from the scene. It was every bit of my wildest youthful dreams come true.

Additionally, John's arrest and incarceration profiled in the MTV segment served as motivation to do our mischievous jump the right way: late at night, no spectators, only two jumpers, fast-in fast-out, no cameras, etc.

I loved seeing the MTV segment appear on YouTube some 20+ years later. And I loved that I could still recite the narration and dialogue word-for-word, including John's French countdown and salutation before exit.

Great memories! Great inspiration! Good times!

Have fun, and be safe out there!

~ Chris

Avery Badenhop

I would love to see this poster, if you ever find it. We jump that object regularly to this day. I remember seeing him jump at the monster truck show when I was young. I had never seen a parachute jump before, and was immediately intrigued. I honestly think that those jumps (he did two, if I remember correctly) were the catalyst for me to want to jump.

I love your historical knowledge and would love to hear more about the old New Orleans jumps!

I could probably help you there. JV was my BASE student and New Orleans was mine for the pickin in the late '80s. Back in the day when a BASEr could own a city :-)
JV took over after I moved to Z-hills. He took it to a new level.
Take care, and forgive me for rattling my own chain.
space

Space,

Years ago I saw a video of a television interview you gave. To disguise your identity you had a stocking over your head--bankrobber style. I fucking loved that and would love to see it again!!! Is that video still around?

And I hope you *do* talk about your own accomplishments and most more stories here. You are truly one of the characters of the sport.

Back to JV. Thanks Robin, for posting the list of his accomplishments.

Walt

Here are my log entries from my New Orleans jumps with John:


1SEP93(#47)
New Orleans
xxxxxxxxxx
Vision
PD 235
500 ft
2-second delay
Day
Slider down
0 degree opening heading

Love this building -- 20-30 ft overhang on all sides, surrounded by parking lots that are empty bright and early in the morning. Put our gear in office delivery boxes and take the elevator to the top, stay back from the edge, check out wind, put on our gear and swoop. Nice running exit, clean throw and opening. Plenty of time to set up for a turf surf and tippy toe landing. John had a 180 and almost tagged the building. "I saw my reflection coming at me, man!" he said. Clean getaway. Great jump.

= = = = = = = =

1SEP93 (#48)
Gondola Tower
Vision
PD 235
5320 ft
2-second delay
Day
Slider down

This tower supported the gondolas that were part of the 1984 World Fair and cruised across the Mississippi River. Easy climb up more of a steep stairway than a ladder. Land on the grassy dike below. Gretchen watched from the ground. I went first. Nice jump, short canopy ride, landed on the dike road right in front of the black Mercedes belonging to the guy who owned the property. He grumbled but smiled anyway, like a guy who wished we'd go away but remembered his own wilder younger days.

= = = =

20OCT93 (#56)
New Orleans
Gondola Tower
Sorcerer
Pd235
320 ft
Night
2 seconds

John Vincent, Mad Dog and I went up the Plaza Tower earlier today but squirrely winds and a dozen cops in the parking lot dissuaded us from jumping. They arrested us at the bottom anyway, mostly because they were mad because they didn't get to see the jump -- and didn't bring binoculars to confirm our ID on the rooftop. Anyway, we spent the day in jail until John's high-powered lawyer Ralph Whalen got out of federal court and talked to a judge and got us a PR bond out of there. Then we went home, got organized and did the gondola a couple of hours after we left the jail... thus the day ended the way we'd planned to begin it. Me first, John second, Mad Dog last. His lowest ever. No problem.

= = = = = = =

21OCT93 (#57)
New Orleans
Gondola Tower
Sorcerer
Pd235
320 ft
Day
2 seconds

John Vincent and Mad Dog and I went up while John's photographer Daniel Sturt stayed below with camera John held Mad Dog's pilot chute. Mad Dog and I do an open accordion exit. When our hands are pulled free, I throw. Nice jump, nice photo sequence, nice way to end my stay after spending a day in jail for a building jump I didn't do. Last jump on the gondola probably; they're disassembling it. Mad Dog got his BASE # a few hours later -- #357, a fitting digit considering how his head looked after he bashed it on landing because a toggle hung up. John stitched him up in the bathroom and the next day we all parted ways.

END

Also attached are pix of jumps I made in Colorado with John, whom I met when I helped him deal with the legal aftermath of a Denver BASE adventure. Jump #30 was our first jump together that, in classic John Vincent style, also involved multiple hot chicks. Jump #32 was a Christmas family affair: My parents and sister, his dad and girlfriend.


44

Rattle away, dude! John Vincent and Felix Baumgartner... pretty interesting pair you set loose on the world.


44

Very nice!

Man, I wish the gondola towers were still up. I used to ride that thing when I was younger.

As for the plaza...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC5cEtXcJi8

I've got about 35 off of it now.

Here ya go Walt.

BASEjumper.com Videos Tag now orleans

Take care and who is skydivermom? ;-)
space

That's the one--fucking classic!!!!

"Waiting in a white Mercedez Benz were two beautiful women acting as his getaway drivers..."

I'm going to be smiling and laughing all day after watching that Thankyou for taking the time and effort to dig that video out, digitize it and post it.

You're the man.

As for Skydivermom (on dropzone.com), she's a beautiful Texas woman who apparently has poor eyesight and questionable judgement in men. *Definitely* my kinda woman!!!

Walt

Fucking classic....

This link doesn't work for me?

Click on the downloadbutton

Thanks!