{"id":17974,"date":"2017-07-07T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T07:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skydiveperris.com\/?p=17974"},"modified":"2023-10-29T09:30:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T16:30:28","slug":"interview-with-dan-brodsky-chenfeld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skydiveperris.com\/blog\/interview-with-dan-brodsky-chenfeld\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview With Our Very Own Dan BC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Dan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Talking to Dan Is Better Than Coffee (And Always Inspiring, Too!)<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, or \u201cDan BC\u201d, as most people refer to him, is one of the most decorated skydivers in the world. He\u2019s also one of the world\u2019s best-known skydivers, known internationally for his autobiographical book, Above All Else<\/a>, for his TED Talk<\/a> and for his outreach as a keynote motivational speaker<\/a>. We\u2019re deeply proud to count Dan in our Perris family, as he\u2019s a standout ambassador for our sport at large– and has had an enormous, positive influence on the safety of the sport, and its capacities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cornered Dan the other morning–no small feat, as his job as General Manager at our\u00a0always-bustling dropzone doesn\u2019t leave a lot of spare moments–and nudged him to share a few stories and a little wisdom. Here\u2019s what he had to share. (Spoiler: Dan <\/span>never <\/span><\/i>disappoints when it comes to stories and wisdom.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s the thing that always keeps you looking that next level?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dan: It amazes me, sometimes, when I realize I\u2019ve 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. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dan BC – 1987<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, I thought \u201cI need to get a life and get this skydiving thing out of my system. I know what I\u2019ll do, I\u2019ll jump twice as much. If I\u2019m doing 2,000 jumps a year I\u2019ll definitely get sick of it. But the more I jumped and the more involved I got, the <\/span>more I liked it…so that strategy backfired completely (laughing).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all these years, I still just <\/span>love <\/span><\/i>the sport. I <\/span>love <\/span><\/i>jumping. I <\/span>love <\/span><\/i>getting on airplanes. <\/span>I <\/span>love <\/span><\/i>being up in the sky, and I am amazed at how much I appreciate every jump that I <\/span>do, even when I\u2019m doing a solo–to simply fall through the air, to be one little speck in <\/span>a huge sky; to appreciate how cool that is. Right now, when we jump, we\u2019re looking at <\/span>snow-covered mountains out one side of the plane and the beach out the other. It\u2019s so beautiful.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pursuing skydiving takes more than ambition. It <\/span>requires <\/span><\/i>that love. But in skydiving, it\u2019s <\/span>not enough to just love the sport. You also have to love the community, because the <\/span>sport–no matter how much you jump; no matter how many jumps you do, and how <\/span>active you are–won\u2019t sustain itself if you don\u2019t 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\u2019s only 30 minutes out of your entire day that is actually spent skydiving.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, it\u2019s easy to love the community. It\u2019s 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 <\/span>have <\/span><\/i>to have one to be involved in this sport.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019re all definitely one community at Perris, it\u2019s great.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019m doing. Right here.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of All Your Achievements, Which One Are You Most Proud Of?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Arizona
2000 Arizona Airspeed with Mark Kirkby, Dan BC, Kirk Verner and Jack Jefferies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/span>hard<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s interesting, in meeting these challenges, how much you really test yourself; how you develop, not just as a skydiver but as a <\/span>person <\/span><\/i>when you\u2019ve 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. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s truly what we think of as the \u201clittle things\u201d that jumpers and especially great Instructors, Coaches and Organizers do every day that makes such a huge difference and that I\u2019m most proud of. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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, <\/span>maybe this isn\u2019t the sport for me; maybe I don\u2019t have \u2018it.\u2019 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/span><\/i>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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s life. I\u2019m as proud of those experiences as I am of any world championship or world record. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell Us About Your Background in Big-Way Formation Skydiving– And Where That Discipline Headed.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBig Way\u201d 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\u2019s a super-charged moment that you\u2019ll remember and be able to share and enjoy with many friends for many years.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t 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. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The <\/span>P3, \u201cPerris Performance Plus\u201d Big Way Camp<\/span><\/a> 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 \u201crush\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Perris Organizers<\/a> are basically doing the same every day of the week at Skydive Perris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Are You Expecting From This Year’s USPA Nationals? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dan: A big turnout! There are a lot of teams that will go anywhere in the U.S. for the <\/span>Nationals<\/a>; they don\u2019t care how far they have to travel. But then, we also have a lot of <\/span>Southern California jumpers who wouldn\u2019t be able to travel if the Nationals were <\/span>elsewhere, but they\u2019re going to be here at Perris for the event–and all our hometown <\/span>teams, too.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selfishly, my favorite part of the Nationals scene is <\/span>participating<\/span><\/i>. This will be my 34th\u00a0Nationals! 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\u2019s great to be able to make the rules myself ?). I don\u2019t punish the freefly teams with the same rule. [laughs]<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m 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 <\/span>let\u2019s do that again, except intentionally this time<\/span><\/i>–and a whole new discipline was born. Before you know it, they\u2019re building 100-ways. That\u2019s how the sport evolved then, and it\u2019s how it evolves now–curiosity about what\u2019s possible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skydiving was a much simpler sport when everybody got out, fell straight down, free-fell <\/span>for about the same amount of time, deployed at the same altitudes and flew the same <\/span>canopies. It was way easier to coordinate then. Now you\u2019ve got people in freefall from 30 <\/span>seconds if they are doing speed skydiving to a handful of minutes if they\u2019re wingsuiting. <\/span>Some fall straight down; some go for miles across the sky. I think that sense of crowded <\/span>sky perhaps contributes to the inter-disciplinary rivalries.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No particular discipline owns the sky, the sky owns us. It\u2019s important for dropzones to figure out how all the disciplines can safely share the skies together. We\u2019re very active about that at Perris. Even if we don\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through all the changes, I\u2019ve kept my sense of wonder. Even though I may be an expert at one\u2013I suck much more than I\u2019d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>.<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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