By Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld

In my 40+ years of skydiving I’ve realized that there are two reasons why every skydiver I’ve ever known jumps.
1) They love having turned their fantasy of human flight into reality.
2) They treasure being a part of our very special skydiving family.

After quarantining for a few months I appreciate and value these things more than ever and promise to never take them for granted again. It’s a privilege to get to play like we do.

Skydive Perris is a premier DZ for holding large National and International events. P3 (Perris Performance Plus) organizes many of these events. So far in 2020 all of these had to be canceled. But as June was approaching and restrictions were being lifted we decided to try and salvage some kind of P3 Power Play. The Power Play is an annual event that normally welcomes 48 to 64 very experienced FS jumpers who come from around the world to get together and do some incredible skydives.

In May we sent an email out to the Power Play gang asking who wanted to come if we held the event. One third said if we held it they would absolutely be there. One third said there was no way they would come no matter what. The last third said it was too early for them to decide.

In June we sent another email telling everyone we were hoping to try to do something. We didn’t know what “something” was going to be. It might be a 13way or 30way. It could be one group or two. We told everyone, “we need to know if you’ll come no matter what we do.”

As it turned out we had a 20way. And I can honestly say it was the happiest group of 20 skydivers I’ve ever seen! They were all just SO GLAD to see each other. SO HAPPY to get to jump together. We had an amazing time and did some fantastic jumps.

We all followed the Skydive Perris COVID 19 Protocols. Yeah, it’s a bit of a pain in the ass to wear masks, sanitize our hands before we board the plane, leave the door open and take everyone’s temperature before they come on the DZ. But it’s just not that big of a deal. A small price to pay for all of us to be able to comfortably get together and play games with our friends in the skies!

A BIG thanks to Dr. Bob Domeier for helping us figure out a good plan and Dr. Steve Briggs for the great post copied below:

“Dan – Thanks for all the work that you and the Perris Valley Skydiving staff put in to make this happen, and for doing it with scientifically based viral defense protocols that ensured our jumps – including those from 18,000 ft above sea level – were all we had to worry about. You and Skydive Perris have always been champions of safety for our sport and incorporating best practices to prevent viral infections into your drop zone operations has set the standard for the skydiving world.”
-Steve Briggs

It is so great to have Skydive Perris open!! We’re being Covid careful AND having a blast seeing the gang back at the DZ, sharing the skies and appreciating our friends and amazing sport more than ever!!

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With 40 years in the sport, 30,000 jumps, 36 US National Skydiving Championships, AFF, Tandem and Static Line ratings, Pilot and Rigger licenses, being one of the youngest DZOs ever, and more parties and boogies than he can remember, Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld has seen a lot.  Questions were flying and laughs were had by all in this no holes barred question/answer session with Skydive Perris‘ long time Manager.

Skydive Perris is the premier dropzone if you are wanting to skydive near Orange County, Los Angeles, or San Diego.  Check out our website for for more information.

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Skydive Perris‘ General manager Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld’s safety briefings are legendary for being the most thorough and complete of any in the sport.  That is why the United States Parachute Association asked Dan to do one for USPA to release on Safety Day.  This video has been seen more than 65,000 times.  In it Dan talks about what every skydiver must do on every jump to make every skydive as safe as it can be.  It’s about the attitude and approach to skydiving it takes to make safety cool on your DZ.

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For licensed skydivers, our sport is the epitome of self-reliance.  The United States Parachute Association recognizes that part of taking responsibility for yourself is making sure your gear is ready to jump before you put it on.  Doing a good gear check is step one.  Make sure you have a process for consistently doing a gear check and do it before every jump.  On this video Skydive Perris General Manager Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld reviews why gear checks are so important and demonstrates his process.  DO TRY THIS AT HOME!!  It’s important to get proficient at doing your gear check.  The best way is to practice doing them while you’re at home.  “Learning” to do a gear check only when you’re ON a jump simply isn’t enough. Practice at home so by the time you’re getting ready to put your rig on, you’ll be great at doing a gear check!!

For a great read from Dan covering topics such as this and more check out his book “Above All Else” by clicking here.

For a list of skydiving gear manufacturers and their recommendations you can also check out their homepages by clicking on any of the manufacturers links below.

SunPath Products
Rigging Innovations
United Parachute Technologies
Mirage Systems
Aerodyne Systems
Firebird
Velocity Sports Equipment
Wings

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Skydive Perris Manager Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld was asked to do a webinar on visualization with the Women’s Skydiving Network.  The WSN’s Project 19 has been working all year towards doing a 100way Women’s FF World Record in celebration for the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment of the US Constitution giving women the right to vote.  They had made huge progress and were on target to accomplish this goal when it was abruptly shut down due to the COVID-19 crisis.  In this webinar Dan explains how they can use the skill of visualization to continue to build their skills, stay current and maintain their momentum towards this achievement even while they’re not jumping.  The Project 19 team plans to be ready to go as soon as the record is back on the schedule.  And it will be back on the schedule!!

For more information on visualization see these excerpts from Dan’s book, “Above All Else” or visit the Skydive Perris website for more general information.

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Below is an excerpt from Dan BC’s book “Above all Else” on visualization.  What better to do right now than visualize successful practices if we can’t actually physically practice skydiving during this quarantine? If you’re interested in reading Dan’s highly acclaimed book “Above All Else,” it is available on Amazon by also clicking here. We highly recommend the inspirational read.

Visualization

Visualization is the ability to create clear, detailed and accurate images in your mind of something that you want to reproduce as physical reality. In essence, quality visualization is much like a very well trained imagination.
The images created by people who have practiced this skill are complete, precise and specific. We see the image and feel the movement and even the emotion so vividly that it almost seems as if we are actually doing it.

A great deal of experience and research has proven (references) that people with highly advanced visualization skills can create through visualization the same experience in their mind as that of the actual physical activity. Our minds don’t recognize much difference between full sensory visualization and actual physical training. Time spent practicing our skills through visualization can be equally as beneficial as the real thing.

Training your visualization skills:

This is very similar to training your physical skills.

• Find a quiet place where you can be without distractions. Relax, calm your mind and slow down before you begin.
• Have a clear picture that you want to start with. For instance, if you are an ice skater it would benefit you to have an actual photo of yourself at the moment when you are paused in preparation of attempting a particular move. Having this picture will help you to recreate the same image in your mind. It will then be easier to visualize a frame by frame execution of this move because you have a vivid image to start from.
• It is also very useful to previously have watched moving images of yourself, or other people performing the move you want to visualize. Watching a DVD of yourself or others executing the same skills will put a blueprint in your mind of the pictures that you want to paint.
• Take the time you need to produce the correct picture in your mind. Start with something simple. The more complex the image, the more time it will take. This can be frustrating – be patient. If the picture in your head gets scrambled stop, erase it, calm down and start again. Don’t try to force it.
• As you begin to visualize a particular action try it first in slow motion. As with training physical skills, your initial visualization training will require you to think through each part of a particular move as you create the image of that move in your mind. Once you are able to really see the correct technical move in your mind repeat the process again and again.
• With repetitions and practice your mind, like your body, will start to learn the particular skill on its own. It will develop its own mental muscle memory. Soon you will be able to think less because your mind is familiar with the picture and creates it effortlessly.

After training the ability to visualize particular images you will be able to create these images in your mind with minimal preparation. You won’t need to find a quiet place or take time to slow down and relax. You will be able to flip the switch and clearly visualize what you have practiced in any place and at any time you choose to.

Positive Visualization And Reaching Your Full Potential

Turning new skills and habits into instinct can only be done through repetition. There are no short cuts. Quality visualization allows you the opportunity to dramatically increase the amount of repetitions you can do. It gives you the chance to practice the perfect move a hundred times in only a few minutes. If your visualization skills are well trained, this practice you do in your head can be just as valuable as actual training time.

To get the most benefit, do the visualization training alongside the physical training. Work on visualizing the same skills in the evening that you are practicing during the day. As your visualization skills improve so will your actual performance. As your performance skills improves so goes your visualization. By working your visualization skills in parallel with your physical training you will reach your performance goals in a far lesser time.

Learning to visualize requires the same commitment as learning physical skills. The benefits are every bit as valuable. Some would even argue that at times the skill of creating vivid, full sensory, positive images in your mind can be just as powerful as training the physical skills themselves. I personally had two experiences which proved this to me…

I had been competing in 4-Way Formation Skydiving for 12 years and my visualization skills were excellent. I could close my eyes and see myself and the rest of the team in perfect detail. I could see my moves done correctly as well as the technically perfect choreography of the entire team. I could see the jump from above (the judging video angle), from my own eyes and even from any teammate’s point of view. I was able to run it in slow motion, or fast speed with the same precision. I didn’t need to slow down and relax. I could immediately create the images at any moment even while involved in other activities. I didn’t even need to close my eyes. I could see the correct pictures as if they were superimposed over what I was actually looking at.

All of my senses were active. I could feel the jump in my muscles and my mind would anticipate one move ahead. I was aware of my breathing and the mental calmness the sport requires. My visualization even had the confident, competitive attitude I wanted to exhibit on the skydive. For all practical purposes, I was doing the jumps. It felt the same in nearly every way.

“I could immediately create the images at any moment even while involved in other activities. I didn’t even need to close my eyes.”

The funny thing was that I took all of this completely for granted. I had no idea how good my visualization skills actually were or how crucial they were to my performance. I had practiced them frequently and thoroughly but mostly by accident. It was fun and seemed like the right thing to do. I hadn’t had a specific visualization training plan as such.

My team Arizona Airspeed won the National and World Championships in the 4-Way Formation Skydiving event two years in row. In addition to continuing with 4-Way we decided to also enter 8-Way. The rules are the same and it requires mostly the same individual flying skills. The real difference is the actual pictures that we see. 8-Way formations are twice as big as 4-Way formations. To see an entire 8-Way formation we must look much further and greatly expand our awareness. During the transitions from one formation to another there is twice as much going on and people are moving twice as far.

All in all, when you add it all up, 8-way was exponentially busier and noisier than 4-way. All of this activity made it very difficult to create the same clear images in my head that I had in 4-Way. But since I took for granted how good my visualization skills were in 4-way, I also discounted how weak they were in 8-Way.

As a 4-way competitor I was fast, precise and confident in my abilities. I deserved to be; we had just won two consecutive National and World Championships. I was sure this would carry over to 8-way. I was wrong.

When we started training 8-Way I basically stunk. I was making mistakes that could only come from a novice competitor. My flying was soft and my anticipation dull. During the video reviews of the jumps I was embarrassed. What had happened to me? I’m a World Champion. Had I lost it? Should I have quit while I was ahead? I punished myself with as much self-doubt as I could come up with.

The next day we were in the airplane on the way up for an 8-Way jump. I was visualizing the jump as I always do on the ride to altitude when it hit me. I wasn’t seeing anything. There weren’t even 8 people on the screen in my mind. There was just me, fumbling through a mass of bodies. I couldn’t even see what the formation looked like. I suddenly realized that I had no visualization skills for 8-Way. If I couldn’t see, or even imagine, what a good jump was going to look like, the odds weren’t very good that it was actually going to happen. And if it did, it would be due to nothing but pure luck. I certainly couldn’t make much of a contribution to a good effort if I didn’t know what one looked like.

“If I couldn’t see, or even imagine, what a good jump was going to look like, the odds weren’t very good that it was actually going to happen.”

Our team had two weeks off. During that time, I spent two hours (eight 15-minute sessions) a day dedicated to visualization training. I didn’t have to learn the skill of visualizing, I had extensive experience in practicing the skill with 4-way. I just had to apply that skill to a different event.

I looked at video and photographs of the formations that were taken from above and then practiced creating the same still photos in my head. I switched the “camera angle” to my point of view and practiced creating the image that I would see while in the same formation.

Once I was able to see these still photos I added movement and began working on producing the picture of what the team looked like when transitioning from one formation to another. I had to slow it way down so that I had time to paint the picture in my mind.

At first it was difficult and took quite a bit of time for each picture. But once I had accurately created the picture the first time it became much easier. With frequent, consistent training, the skill of producing the 8-way images in my mind was quickly learned.

On our first jump back after the break I was again visualizing the jump we were about to do while on the ride to altitude. I could see everything perfectly. I knew exactly how the jump was supposed to go, what I had to do to make it go that way and that I could make it go that way. I could see every detail of every person during every transition to every formation. It had a calming effect on me. The images were so clear that it felt like I had done them hundreds of times before. I knew from experience that if I could visualize the jump this clearly, all I had to do was calm myself down and let it happen. The rest would be automatic. My confidence soared.

We exited the airplane and the jump went just as planned, just as I had seen it in my head. It was amazing. I had visualized a performance level in 8-Way before actually ever performing up to that level. During our two weeks off my athletic potential didn’t change. I was the same athlete with the same skills and abilities. I already had the potential to be a good 8-Way competitor. The visualization training helped me to reach my full potential in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. It happened in my head first, and my physical reality followed in line.

We exited the airplane and the jump went just as planned, just as I had seen it in my head. It was amazing. I had visualized a performance level in 8-Way before actually ever performing up to that level. During our two weeks off my athletic potential didn’t change. I was the same athlete with the same skills and abilities. I already had the potential to be a good 8-Way competitor. The visualization training helped me to reach my full potential in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. It happened in my head first, and my physical reality followed in line.

“It was amazing. I had visualized a performance level in 8-Way before actually ever performing up to that level.”

Visualization Can Replace Training

I was the player/coach on the team AIRMOVES when I was seriously injured in the middle of the training year. I wasn’t able to jump and was very limited in the physical activity I could participate in. The National Championships were only a few months away. Given my condition I had to be replaced on the team by another jumper. When we arrived at the meet there were still certain types of jumps the team was weak at. We decided that because of my experience it would be a benefit to the team if on these jumps we could substitute me in for one of the other team members.

The long recovery time had greatly reduced my strength, endurance and flexibility. I was still wearing support equipment to protect injuries and was 20 pounds under my
“fighting” weight. How could it be possible that I would improve the team’s performance, or even be ready to compete at the National Championships at all, when my physical condition was marginal at best and I had barely made a jump in six months?

During my recovery I was constantly looking at videos, visualizing skydives and dreaming about jumping. As their coach, I had watched every jump the team had made at least 50 times. It felt like I was almost on the jumps with them. For these six months, I had spent more time visualizing than I had ever done before, much more. When I stepped in on the jumps I was in a different position each time. I was the skydiving equivalent of the quarterback on one jump and a wide receiver on another.

My physical condition and currency in the air were greatly compromised. The only thing in my favor was the extensive amount of visualization I had done. As it turned out, the visualization proved to be worth more than the actual training could have been. In the airplane I was able to visualize the jumps perfectly. I felt confident and ready to do any job required of me. It seemed like I had done all of these moves only yesterday because basically I had. All the positions and moves felt familiar.

Even though all the physical evidence would dictate otherwise, when visualizing in the plane I felt like I had every reason to expect we’d have great jump and my confidence was high.

The extensive visualization training I had done basically replaced the lack of any significant physical training. I don’t recommend this as a training plan, but it does demonstrate how powerful quality visualization can be. Don’t underestimate it. Be sure and give visualization training a valuable place in your training program.

If you’re interested in reading Dan’s highly acclaimed book “Above All Else” it is available on Amazon by also clicking here.  We highly recommend it as it’s a very inspirational read. 

The post Visualization: An Exercise for Success appeared first on Skydive Perris.

We at Skydive Perris were very happy to see that the Safety Day video United States Parachute Association – USPA did with the Manager of Skydive Perris, Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, went viral and has already been viewed over 58,000 times. You can watch the USPA Safety Day Video here.

With so many of our skydiving family across the world quarantining themselves to some degree, we have received several requests for Dan to do other interesting videos. That’s why we wanted to share his keynote address at the 2013 PIA Symposium. It’s an interesting firsthand perspective on how the sport has advanced over the last 40 years (let’s face it, we could all listen to him talking about anything for hours anyway). We hope you enjoy.

By the way, have you read Dan’s book, Above All Else? It’s a great read about a story that is ideal for social distancing times! If you’re interested, it is available on Amazon by also clicking here. We highly recommend the inspirational read.

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Perris Newsletter | March 2018

It’s truly amazing how skydiving has expanded, grown and continued to develop over the years. The dream of flight has reached new heights and is still climbing.  I’ve been fortunate to have had a front row seat to much of this and I’ve recently realized that the development cycle within each discipline has been much the same.   

In the early days “sport parachuting” was only about having the balls to jump from a plane and burning a hole in the sky. It was more falling than flying. It was all about being or getting “stable” on your belly.  On your belly, you had the best chance of your very questionable parachute working and saving your life.

Then one day someone came up with the crazy notion and thought, “I think I can fly.  I think if there was another jumper in freefall with me I may be able to actually “hook up” with them.”  After many unsuccessful jumps flying near and far from each other with marginal (at best) control, the first two people docked and Formation Skydiving was born (they called it Relative Work then). 

As more people learned to do it and got better at it the groups grew and started doing different formations. They began to see how fast they could get together, how many formations they could do on one jump. It became a competition. “We want to go bigger, faster than we’ve ever done before!” (That doesn’t sound like skydivers at all does it?) It evolved into 4way and 4way became the foundation for going bigger. FS jumpers did the first 100way. A new sport was off and running and after 60 years we still haven’t found the limits.

FreeFlying was exactly the same. I remember being on the plane every day with Omar and Olav watching them, jump after jump, completely unstable and out of control (They could hardly get to, much less stay on, their bellies. What were they doing???)  Finally one day they did it, they hooked up while flying on their heads and FreeFlying was born. 4way VFS started. Sequential records are popping all over. FFers broke the 100 ceiling with the first 108way.  The scores go up, speeds increase, records keep falling. Limits?  I think not.

CReW was the same. Except if I recall, I think it started with a canopy collision. The two jumpers lived through it and thought it was fun. But, that it would be much more fun if they actually planned it next time. 4way, 100way….(you get the idea).

Wingsuiting is going through the same cycle.  At the Nationals in Perris last fall it was amazing to see the Acro Competition. 2way teams doing sequences of formations.  It was a thing of beauty, incredible to watch.  If 2 can do it now it will be 4way soon. The 100-way won’t be far down the road.

I’m happy to say that at Skydive Perris FS, FF, WS, CReW and all other jumpers share and enjoy the DZ, planes, and sky together equally. We all are amazed at what the others are doing, cheer each other on and support one another.  It’s really cool.

Each of these disciplines is so much the same yet also unique.  They are all about that dream of flight that we share, but enjoying it in a slightly different way.  They all start with individuals who, first and foremost, had the balls to make their first jump.  And they all evolve into and grow out of 4way.  (You knew that’s where I was going with this, right? :) ).

Come and fly in the skies with us at Skydive Perris!!!

The post From the Desk of Dan BC – March 2018 appeared first on Skydive Perris.

Perris Newsletter | November 2017

We’ve finally recovered from the Nationals!! What a great two weeks it was. The chance to have a front row seat to watch state of the art performances in every freefall discipline was incredible. And to see the mutual admiration, respect and camaraderie amongst all the athletes from those disciplines was a true statement of who skydivers are and the amazing community we have. Perfect weather, as many as 130 loads a day and nearly 19,000 jumps with only three minor injuries made it one of the best USPA Nationals I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot. Special thanks to our staff, everyone who came to watch and especially the competitors.

The Nationals also enjoyed a lot of good media coverage. One comment made by several reporters was that they’d seen few sports like skydiving that are gender neutral, where men and women compete against each other. I explained to them that there is no advantage in skydiving regarding size and strength so men and women compete on an even playing field. Not only that but every year there are plenty of both on the podiums during the medal ceremonies. They were quite surprised by this as they were under the impression that skydiving is a very male dominated sport.

Male dominated sport?? That is definitely not the case at Skydive Perris! Sometimes I feel like I’m the only guy around! Melanie owns the DZ. Shazza runs the school. Sheila is in charge of the Tunnel. Selena is the boss at the loft. Laura is behind the scenes keeping all of us in line. Grace Katz leads the Perris Organizers (Mark Brown thinks he’s in charge but that’s only because Grace lets him believe that.) Kate Cooper-Jensen is the Big Way Master. Christy Frikken is the head FS Coach. Taya Weiss is the WS Guru. Jeanine Bonvin organizes the FF Organizers. There are so many more great female coaches, organizers, instructors, riggers, tunnel instructors, pilots, manifesters, as well as Perris Skydiving School, Bomb Shelter, Wind Tunnel and Square One employees that I can’t mention them all here. Should I continue?

Male dominated?? I don’t think so. No one dominates this drop zone. It’s enjoyed by women and men of all colors, religions, sexual preferences, professions, nationalities, political parties, ethnicities, back grounds, economic statuses and with more opinions than there are people.

But all of them follow the same three, very strict rules we have at Skydive Perris:

1) Don’t be dangerous
2) Don’t be an asshole
3) Have fun.

And we have a lot of fun coming up on the schedule!!

NOVEMBER 9 – 12   FF CALIFORNIA RECORD 100WAY
NOVEMBER 11           VETERANS DAY
NOVEMBER 16 – 19  P3 16 TO 60WAYS
NOVEMBER 24          TEAM BUILDER
NOVEMBER 25          GHOST NATIONALS
NOVEMBER 26         TURKEY SCRAMBLES MEET
DECEMBER 2, 3       XRW CAMP
DECEMBER 26 – JANUARY 1   PARTY IN PERRIDISE BOOGIE

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Talking to Dan Is Better Than Coffee (And Always Inspiring, Too!)

Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, or “Dan BC”, as most people refer to him, is one of the most decorated skydivers in the world. He’s also one of the world’s best-known skydivers, known internationally for his autobiographical book, Above All Else, for his TED Talk and for his outreach as a keynote motivational speaker. We’re deeply proud to count Dan in our Perris family, as he’s a standout ambassador for our sport at large– and has had an enormous, positive influence on the safety of the sport, and its capacities.

We cornered Dan the other morning–no small feat, as his job as General Manager at our always-bustling dropzone doesn’t leave a lot of spare moments–and nudged him to share a few stories and a little wisdom. Here’s what he had to share. (Spoiler: Dan never disappoints when it comes to stories and wisdom.)

What’s the thing that always keeps you looking that next level?

Dan: It amazes me, sometimes, when I realize I’ve been skydiving intensely for 37 years now. There were years when I was doing a lot of team training. Our team would do over 1,000 jumps a year–and then I was still doing other organizing, coaching, and fun jumps–so the number ended up being more than 2,000 jumps a year.

Sometimes, I thought “I need to get a life and get this skydiving thing out of my system. I know what I’ll do, I’ll jump twice as much. If I’m doing 2,000 jumps a year I’ll definitely get sick of it. But the more I jumped and the more involved I got, the more I liked it…so that strategy backfired completely (laughing).

After all these years, I still just love the sport. I love jumping. I love getting on airplanes. I love being up in the sky, and I am amazed at how much I appreciate every jump that I do, even when I’m doing a solo–to simply fall through the air, to be one little speck in a huge sky; to appreciate how cool that is. Right now, when we jump, we’re looking at snow-covered mountains out one side of the plane and the beach out the other. It’s so beautiful.

Pursuing skydiving takes more than ambition. It requires that love. But in skydiving, it’s not enough to just love the sport. You also have to love the community, because the sport–no matter how much you jump; no matter how many jumps you do, and how active you are–won’t sustain itself if you don’t love the people. Think about it, the actual jumping is such a small portion of your day. Even if you crank out ten jumps from sunup to sundown, that’s only 30 minutes out of your entire day that is actually spent skydiving.

Luckily, it’s easy to love the community. It’s so special. All the different people from different walks of life. People from 18 to 85 with different personalities, nationalities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, economic backgrounds. Skydivers are an incredible group of people who have a real appreciation for life itself–because you have to have one to be involved in this sport.

No matter how you like to play the game, jumping out of airplanes is so damn cool and skydivers are such awesome people. As the Manager at Skydive Perris, I get to be involved with everyone, FS, FF, WS, CReW, CP, students, and military jumpers. We’re all definitely one community at Perris, it’s great.

This is a dream job for me. If I won the lottery and never had to work again, I would still be doing exactly what I’m doing. Right here.

Of All Your Achievements, Which One Are You Most Proud Of?

Dan: Well, I was really, really happy to finally win the World Championships after all the years and effort we put into it. [laughs] We worked hard. It’s interesting, in meeting these challenges, how much you really test yourself; how you develop, not just as a skydiver but as a person when you’ve got a goal that big. But after you achieve it, you realize that it was more the journey than the actual win that you remember with the deepest fondness.

When I look back on it all now, I am more proud of all the things we learned and friendships created along the way. Those championships and records were single moments in time. What you accomplish on the road to them lasts forever. Even if you never actually achieve the particular goal you were aiming for. Of course, having tried them both, winning feels far better than losing, but I tend to be more proud and grateful of the path than the destination.

But it’s truly what we think of as the “little things” that jumpers and especially great Instructors, Coaches and Organizers do every day that makes such a huge difference and that I’m most proud of.

For instance just last week, there were two really great guys here, and they were having a hard time passing Level 5 of their AFF progression. They had repeated the level several times and just could not stop spinning–which is not an uncommon problem for students. They were getting frustrated and losing confidence. These were two guys who were really passionate, and wanted to become skydivers but were starting to think, maybe this isn’t the sport for me; maybe I don’t have ‘it.’

Shazza, our school Manager asked me if I could take them to our tunnel. We walked up to the tunnel, flew 10 minutes with each of them and had them back up for their Level 5 within the hour. They both rocked those jumps. They got it, they got it, and it was so satisfying to see their faces afterward. In that short time, they realized a dream, and I was able to be a part of that.

So many of us have experiences like that all the time. When, as an Instructor, Coach, Organizer or Mentor we have the chance to really make a difference in someone’s life. I’m as proud of those experiences as I am of any world championship or world record.  

Tell Us About Your Background in Big-Way Formation Skydiving– And Where That Discipline Headed.

“Big Way” skydiving is the epitome of combining the love of the sport with the love of the community. It requires amazing flying, awareness, and teamwork to bring large groups of people together in freefall (or under canopy for that matter). And few things are more rewarding than looking across the completed formation and feeling the excitement of the whole group enjoying their success. It’s a super-charged moment that you’ll remember and be able to share and enjoy with many friends for many years.

If someone has the skill to be able to dock on a 4way every time, then they are ready to start learning how to jump with bigger groups, they just need the chance. But many DZs don’t have the aircraft to do bigger ways. Or some have the aircraft but the organizers only want to jump with people who already have the experience.

The P3, “Perris Performance Plus” Big Way Camp is that chance to learn to do larger formations in a very controlled environment. We start off the first day with 16 or 20ways exiting from two planes. With only 8 or 10 jumpers in each plane, it puts everyone close to the base right from the exit. It takes the feeling of having to “rush” out of the jump and allows the jumpers to practice a smooth controlled approach and dock. Being so close also gives us the chance to break off high and practice tracking as teams, the most important part of doing large formations. The second day we do the same size groups but out of a single airplane giving everyone the chance to do longer dives and floats. Each day progresses from there usually leading to 50ish ways on the last day. By the end of the camp the participants have flown a huge variety of slots and feel much more confident and comfortable with large groups.

All the other P3 events including the 100Way Training Camp, 16 to 60 Way Sequential Camp, Spring Fling and Power Play build from there doing larger and more intricate challenging formations.

The Perris Organizers are basically doing the same every day of the week at Skydive Perris.

What Are You Expecting From This Year’s USPA Nationals?

Dan: A big turnout! There are a lot of teams that will go anywhere in the U.S. for the Nationals; they don’t care how far they have to travel. But then, we also have a lot of Southern California jumpers who wouldn’t be able to travel if the Nationals were elsewhere, but they’re going to be here at Perris for the event–and all our hometown teams, too.

Selfishly, my favorite part of the Nationals scene is participating. This will be my 34th Nationals! We have a very strict rule for any formation skydiving teams training at Skydive Perris. If they are ever down a teammate and need an alternate they have to ask me first (it’s great to be able to make the rules myself ?). I don’t punish the freefly teams with the same rule. [laughs]

The Landscape Of Skydiving Has Changed So Dramatically In The Last 15 Years, And You’ve Seen The Changes In Detail. What’s Your Take On All Of This?

I’m amazed at having watched over the last 37 years as disciplines have constantly developed and evolved. The first canopy collisions evolved into CReW. A couple of guys ran into each other, sorted it out, thought it was cool and said let’s do that again, except intentionally this time–and a whole new discipline was born. Before you know it, they’re building 100-ways. That’s how the sport evolved then, and it’s how it evolves now–curiosity about what’s possible.

Skydiving was a much simpler sport when everybody got out, fell straight down, free-fell for about the same amount of time, deployed at the same altitudes and flew the same canopies. It was way easier to coordinate then. Now you’ve got people in freefall from 30 seconds if they are doing speed skydiving to a handful of minutes if they’re wingsuiting. Some fall straight down; some go for miles across the sky. I think that sense of crowded sky perhaps contributes to the inter-disciplinary rivalries.

No particular discipline owns the sky, the sky owns us. It’s important for dropzones to figure out how all the disciplines can safely share the skies together. We’re very active about that at Perris. Even if we don’t all do each discipline, we all respect and appreciate what the others do, which makes for a really good environment on the dropzone and a better environment in the sport in general.

Through all the changes, I’ve kept my sense of wonder. Even though I may be an expert at one–I suck much more than I’d like to in some other skydiving disciplines. But I love seeing what skydivers can do, what the people around me come up with. The Perris community never ceases to amaze me.

To learn more about Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld and his inspirational story of overcoming incredible odds to become one of the greatest competitive skydivers in the world, check out his book: Above All Else: A World Champion Skydiver’s Story of Survival and What It Taught Him About Fear, Adversity, and Success. 

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