Basejumper.com - archive

The media are vultures:

http://www.hbo.com/...full-seg-wingsuiting
or
https://youtu.be/QBOccBN2CWU

What a myopic and one-sided piece, unilaterally focusing on danger and death, while neglecting the joy of flight or the spirit of pushing the limits of human endeavor.

"How many people do you have to lose...?" The question presupposes that Steph should quit jumping based on the interviewer's opinion. Jon Frankel is a vacuous jackal, feasting on Steph's grief for a few more clicks of advertising dollars.

We have nothing to gain and everything to lose by speaking to the media. Please stop talking to them. They are not your friends. They are not going to get you your sweet energy drink sponsorship. Let's stop thinking we can explain things to people who have a vested interest in making us appear insane, foolish, or ill-prepared.

If Jon Frankel jams a camera & mic in my face at exit, he's coming with me and I'm not doing a two-way.

Big talker.

Personally, I thought Douggs and Steph represented themselves and their motives for jumping well.

It's not going to be all sunshine, rainbows, and fucking unicorns. I commend them on their work on this and hope it came out as they expected. If it didn't, I know that--at least for me--they communicated well and represented how I feel about jumping, too. And it was good to have it represented by people who've seen the highs and lows and have been consistent in the sport.

I say bravo to them.

Unsurprisingly, your first words Collin are a personal attack. My 'threat' to the reporter was quite obviously a [bad] joke. Apparently you missed that.

I totally agree that Douggs and Steph represented themselves well. Bravo to them indeed. Jeb, on the other hand, is another (shitty, macabre and self-serving) story.

Jebus Christ, buddy. Don't be so soft. Personal attack? Really?

Take things a little tongue in cheek, as you advise. Clearly you're not going to kill a reporter. Sorry, didn't realize I couldn't respond facetiously to a facetious threat.

Point being, it's not going to be sunshine and fucking rainbows and fornicating unicorns to anyone, in or out of sport. Second, recognize it for what it is: it's the media. The mainstream media at that. Lower your expectations. But again, I didn't think it was a bad piece. Look for macabre and you'll see it. Look for the positive and you'll see it.

My apologies - I didn't realize you were being facetious.

Seriously though, I generally don't respect reporters. Low expectations indeed.

I do think it's important to relay to bright-eyed newbies that it's not sunshine, rainbows & unicorns. But I also think we should do it behind closed doors to avoid the Jeb'esque characterization of BASE to media & non-jumpers, since those parties already espouse that perspective in spades.

Wingsuiting is a very divisive issue. It's divisive because of the extreme facade it produces for the outsider. I absolutely love what Douggs and Steph had to say. The sad thing is, I am sure there was so much more that didn't get aired because it didn't fit some preconceived notion of how the story was to be displayed by the media.

As a community, we will NEVER be represented fairly via the internet. You have to be with us to "get it". You have to be in the Alps, watching those sunsets with your friends about to fly down a mountainside. To be in that tangible universe and feel the camaraderie that exists between people who were only strangers days or hours before. It's an amazing thing, even when we are walking down from unfavorable conditions, there's something to be said about our beautiful community. I've shared so many special conversations walking up and down to/from exit points that I am not sure any context will ever fulfill. There's a beauty in doing what we do that most people probably don't see, and that's totally fine because it shouldn't be for them, it should be for us.

We are in a losing battle. The more exposure we get, the more people who will never have a chance to experience it in person get told a story. Unfortunately, that story will always sell better as adrenaline, crossing death, and tragedy than one of spiritual exploration and growth. Just like the people who don't understand why anyone would want to ski down a big mountain slope where there's a risk of a deadly avalanche when there's perfectly ok groomed runs in ski resorts. The reality is a lot of people are content without pushing through fear and don't want to see what they are capable of in that context. They won't understand what it means to challenge your personal fears to such a degree and in such a chaotic environment. That's not a bad thing, because this sport is an individual one, and nothing more. I firmly believe it is that chaos that produces clarity for me and it has ultimately benefitted my life more than I could have ever imagined it would. I remember when I first started and how "special" I felt to be doing such an activity. As time went on, that feeling of being special was completely ripped apart and humility of what all of this actually means set in. I'll never forget the moment, and for me, it's not something I really care to share because of how impossibly bad I would describe it if I tried to use words.

As this massive waves of jumpers roll in, I can only hope the trend reverses. The impatience, the ego, the complete separation of where one's ability is at and where one thinks they are at.

Maybe one day, the tides will turn and we can ask the questions to the media. Until then, they will profit off of where they can and throw anyone under the bus behind them. It's not indicative of wingsuiting, it's politics, social issues, and whatever else appeals to people's shallow prefrontal cortex.

Deck chairs on the Titanic, bro.

It's out and people will think what they want, but believe it or not, [I think] it needs both--no, multiple--angles. Give whoever both sides, n sides, to think about. Not one, multiple. One perspective tells them what to think. Multiple perspectives make them think.

As to the above...

"Big talker." ;-p <-better?

That made me angry but she handled the answer well

I thought it was a pretty good piece but it would have been nice to see the camaraderie between jumpers and some more beautiful visuals to help lay people understand why others would take these sorts of risks

Douggs is a good spokesperson though, comes across really professional and gets his passion across

Well said. Though I do hope this type of 'reporting' is just a passing fad - or maybe I am just naive.

I was in LB when they were shooting this and the crew seemed like decent people. They bought beer at the Horner for everyone one night and got a lot of footage of people just going about their business having fun.
It's a shame someone afterwards apparently saw fit to turn it into a shallow death-fetish piece. Due to the help they got from the jumpers involved they definitely had the opportunity to make something a lot better.

HBO is the modern day carnival. Death defying stunts titillate and actual death excites the audience. Don't expect anyone from the land of Joe Public to ever understand any of this. They are by virtue of the fact of genetics, no longer wired to seek danger or to even face it. I agree with with the general consensus. Douggs and Steph did a commendable job. As for Jeb and his multitude of interviews past and present that have focussed on death and dying, well that's just his honest personality and unfortunately for us the media bit down on that a long time ago and haven't let go yet.

I don't think it's going to get better any time soon. There are similar problems of misrepresentation in many other misunderstood communities as well.

It's worth noting that the guy in blue and yellow has well over 100 jumps (probably over 200), with a lot of tracking experience in the area. I don't know the original content of that interview, but it was certainly cut to make it seem that he had only done 15 jumps prior. I suspect he had done 15 wingsuit jumps so far on that trip.

I think the best thing we can do as individuals is to avoid media in general, and when unavoidable or necessary, present yourself as a calculated, knowledgeable person. The recent Moab wingsuit bit from Discovery is a good example of what right looks like.

i just wanted to say i agree with Brian. fuck the media.

while i truly love many of the people that were interviewed in that piece, you know damn well that's not what was expected as an outcome, starting with the fucking name of it.

with as many youtube stars as we have now, why don't we just stick to making our own videos with complete creative control... there will always be plenty of people making shitty ones at the news stations.


anyway... wingsuit videos still bore me.

I honestly didn't think it was that bad. Douggs and Steph did well and I think presented the sport fairly. Jeb is Jeb. Highly animated and pretty much tells the same story every time. I think that over the years he's done more positive things for the sport than negative, so I give him a pass even if he is a bit eccentric.

If we're being honest, "world's deadliest sport" isn't an unfair characterization is it? We certainly don't want to wear "Deathwish" patches on our gear and of course we would prefer that the media focus on the positives but the reality is they aren't lacking in evidence when they point out the negative aspects of what we do.

It is much easier for people to say we are idiots than it is for them to understand BASE. It's a defense mechanism. Of course every youtube commenter has WS BASE on their "bucket list" but the reality is very few ever put in the time, work, energy, money, and take the risk to actually do it. So in order for their egos to survive they label those who have made it crazy/stupid/etc. It's a lot faster and they can move on with their lives feeling equally confident about their d*ck size.

That said, it's easier for the media to confirm these defense mechanisms than challenge them. It's also more profitable.

Talk to them if you'd like but be measured. Be careful about what you say and how you present yourself, and get paid. If they aren't willing to pay you then offer to let them borrow your rig so they can get their own footage.

The problem is that a lot of people throw all common sense out the window and think, "I'm an amazing snow flake everyone will know how amazing I am."

Narcississm.

True. But as I said on FB, purveying the narrative that BASE is all death and danger overshadows the bliss, sense of presence, and camaraderie that it's really about. And that mainstream perception certainly doesn't make it any easier to explain what we do to whuffo friends and family.

There's your first mistake!

 
The piece was interesting and had some great footage. It also was very graphic. When they showed dead people I was kind of blown away. I respect a lack of censorship, but I was shocked.

My complaint is that it did not show enough of the light-hearted, generous, happy, joking and laughing sides of Douggs and Jeb that I know and with a full 18 minutes, you gotta figure there was room for that.

Douggs and Jeb are both classic dudes who laugh and joke far more than they talk about death and serious stuff, but the fact of the matter is that they don't beat around the bush either. If asked a question, they answer without the use of a filter and that is also something that I very much respect.

People that have achieved what Douggs and Jeb and Steph have, have a level of focus and commitment to the direction in their life that really does not leave room for giving energy to being anything but real. Jeb was intense, sure, but KNOWING you are going to die is a pretty intense thing. Douggs shared some dark, dark memories, but the fact of the matter is that that shit went down. These guys are survivors. Same with Steph. Imagine losing the two men that you ever committed yourself for life to. That is gnarly.

But the piece lacked accuracy. I spent some days with Douggs in March and April and we laughed our faces off and took life lightly. I spent Wednesday with Jeb and we did the same damn thing; chilling, laughing, jumping out of planes, hanging with friends, dishing it out and taking it right back again.

It also missed the whole experience of hiking, enjoying sights and the company of good friends... you know, all that feel good stuff that makes up %99 of a day of wingsuit BASE jumping. It also leads the audience to believe that this is all that these guys do. Jeb dives with sharks and enjoys a mellow beach town lifestyle. Douggs, skis, climbs, speed flies, surfs, and grows flowers on his balcony.

TV is TV... Take it with a grain of salt.

Our sport shines on.

Well said, JT.

solid.

carrying on.

Yeah, IDK though... (Shaking Head) ...I think Jeb has been deceiving us for years.

He "says" he doesn't do drugs; won't even take pain meds.

But I think he's in love with the CoCo.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPM-1LSpLk

I do not understand why so many are upset.

Seem like good story by whuffos FOR whuffos. The story was not for us!

Jeb and Steph got to say the truth too - yes people die but they won't stop because they love it and they love making ancient dream of flight come true.

Another thing -- the 'focus' on danger and death is what whuffos focus on so they talk about it but the VISUAL focus was on the joy and power and fun of it and as old American saying goes 'one picture worth 1,000 words'.

So maybe not grumble to each other about it - ask your whuffo friends what they think.

Mine think it is a cool story and the danger-death part does not matter much because it's so obvious it is dangerous and people die in a sport like that, and they love the video and they thought all three jumpers were very cool people in their own way.

C

I thought they were pushy and irritating, and after asking if you wanted a camera shoved in your face and questions bombarded at you while gearing up would do it anyway no matter if the answer was yes or no.

It's as good as you're going to get in a 15 minute piece. You cannot begin to cover all aspects of such an emotionally complex and exerting sport in such a short timeframe.

If you want a more comprehensive exploration on the question of "what it means to be a base jumper" try watching sunshine superman.

I thought the interviewees handled themselves well and represented the sport well. The last question was kind of dick, but aside from that it was mainly reasonable and not nearly as demonizing as I would expect.

And the reality is those are very fair questions that you stick around long enough you are going to ask yourself.

That's not what I was thinking watching unedited footage of Dwain's fatality.

Your answer make my point, the visuals focused on the beauty not the carnage, compare screen time of carnage v beauty and beauty win big.

C

Caveman running from a dino

Anyone who knows Douggs knows he is a very, very religious man. And the bible says man and dino walked the Earth at the same time. Don't question him.

I think the story contained old footage as well as the new interview with Davis. Corliss had that accident in 2012 and the interview with him was obviously filmed at the time, so the guy with 15 jumps may have been done at the same time i.e. in 2012. Not great journalism really.

I agree some of that footage was dated, but that interview was conducted about 7 weeks ago.