Life is short...How long will the passion can last?

Hi all,

Life is short and we need to do what we truly love. But there may be some external or internal reasons that we quit from skydiving. 

Let me be clear. I'm a newest skydiver at Perris and going to do AFF in December this year. After my two tandems I've instantly got hooked and I'm really passionate about it. But sometimes I'm just wondering how long the passion can last. Right now, I hope it can last for LIFE! 

It's a different journey for every different person. Enjoy yours.

2 hours ago, gowlerk said:

It's a different journey for every different person. Enjoy yours.

Some people don't finish AFF.
Some people never get their license.
Some people get their license and drift away soon after.
Some people jump for a year or two and then disappear.

Some do it until they decide to become 'responsible' and quit. That may be their own decision or they may have 'help' with it.

Some jump until they realize how much time & money it takes to stay current and reasonably safe, or to progress beyond 'sorta good'.
Some jump until they get hurt, or see someone they know get hurt or killed. The danger isn't 'real' until then. So they quit.
Some become Tandem Instructors (or packers or even DZOs), then get burned out by the grind. 

Of course, some of us keep on despite all of the above and refuse to quit. 

You hit it on the nose Joe. Those are accurate and legit scenarios I have seen. My dad was a jumper in the 70's into the late 80's and was a static line instructor for the last 8 years in the sport. So it did burn him out. The other side of that is some of the people he jumped with are still in the sport and now I jump with some of them, and they are in their 60's and 70's. Bud Lewis jumped in to his late 70's (79) to be exact. Pat Moorehead made 80 jumps in a little over 8 hours in one day for his 80th birthday and that was in 2015 if memory serves me right( I was part of the ground crew/support) and he still jumps, and packs for himself. He started back in the 60's. His wife also still jumps.

So it is up to the individual to find ways to keep it interesting.

Quote

I'm just wondering how long the passion can last. 

At one point, I jumped with an individual named Scott-2. Scott-2 was very motivated to skydive, in the beginning. He eventually decided he had done everything he wanted to do in skydiving, conquered every challenge he wanted to attempt, learned everything skydiving-related he thought he could, felt there was no place left for him to go in the sport, and he quit skydiving. He had 79 jumps. 

He did come back for a brief spell. Ended up landing in some electrical wires and again, quit the sport. 

Everyone is different, and things change. 

15 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Some jump until they realize how much time & money it takes to stay current and reasonably safe, or to progress beyond 'sorta good'.
 

This is what happened to me. Not so much the money but I began to struggle with finding the time to stay as current as I felt I needed to. Life got in the way so the smart thing to do in my opinion was to hit pause for a while. I plan to get back in the air when i retire in 5 years and have more time to dedicate to the safety aspect of the sport. 

Thanks guys! I basically believe that skydiving is a personal journey and everyone has different opinions and feelings about it ! yeah I was just wondering about this question yesterday.... Blue skies from Perris! 

18 hours ago, gowlerk said:

It's a different journey for every different person. Enjoy yours.

I totally agree with you !! Thanks! !  Blue skies from Perris! 

16 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Some people don't finish AFF.
Some people never get their license.
Some people get their license and drift away soon after.
Some people jump for a year or two and then disappear.

 

Some do it until they decide to become 'responsible' and quit. That may be their own decision or they may have 'help' with it.

Some jump until they realize how much time & money it takes to stay current and reasonably safe, or to progress beyond 'sorta good'.
Some jump until they get hurt, or see someone they know get hurt or killed. The danger isn't 'real' until then. So they quit.
Some become Tandem Instructors (or packers or even DZOs), then get burned out by the grind. 

Of course, some of us keep on despite all of the above and refuse to quit. 

yes we refuse to quit! I've just started!! LOL

15 hours ago, tikl68 said:

You hit it on the nose Joe. Those are accurate and legit scenarios I have seen. My dad was a jumper in the 70's into the late 80's and was a static line instructor for the last 8 years in the sport. So it did burn him out. The other side of that is some of the people he jumped with are still in the sport and now I jump with some of them, and they are in their 60's and 70's. Bud Lewis jumped in to his late 70's (79) to be exact. Pat Moorehead made 80 jumps in a little over 8 hours in one day for his 80th birthday and that was in 2015 if memory serves me right( I was part of the ground crew/support) and he still jumps, and packs for himself. He started back in the 60's. His wife also still jumps.

So it is up to the individual to find ways to keep it interesting.

yeah I more agree that it's kind of personal journey! I've just started skydiving and I'm really looking forward to my journey!! 

5 hours ago, flyhi said:

At one point, I jumped with an individual named Scott-2. Scott-2 was very motivated to skydive, in the beginning. He eventually decided he had done everything he wanted to do in skydiving, conquered every challenge he wanted to attempt, learned everything skydiving-related he thought he could, felt there was no place left for him to go in the sport, and he quit skydiving. He had 79 jumps. 

He did come back for a brief spell. Ended up landing in some electrical wires and again, quit the sport. 

Everyone is different, and things change. 

wait what?? only 79 jumps and he though he did all he could do in this sport and he quitted??  wow! 

43 minutes ago, Phillbo said:

This is what happened to me. Not so much the money but I began to struggle with finding the time to stay as current as I felt I needed to. Life got in the way so the smart thing to do in my opinion was to hit pause for a while. I plan to get back in the air when i retire in 5 years and have more time to dedicate to the safety aspect of the sport. 

Blue skies from Perris! I understand it may be hard to change the life style in order to continue doing skydiving but I hope I can in the future! I'm just a student right now lol! I hope you can keep jumping! 

The best way to keep things fresh is trying to learn a new skill every year.

I only made 4 static-line jumps my first year.

Over that winter I earned a private pilot license.

The next summer I flew a bit and only made two jumps.

The third summer I made 60 jumps and earned my A license.

The fourth summer, I did about 50 fun jumps.

The fifth year, I passed the army static-line course and tried out for the Canadian Army parachute display team.

The sixth year, I earned a static-line jump-master rating.

The seventh year, I did another 50 fun jumps, plus a stack of exhibition jumps.

The eighth year, I earned a rigger rating and started flying jumpers.

The ninth year, I flew more jumpers and learned how to drop IAD students (1985).

The tenth year, I earned an Instructor B rating and tandem instructor rating and did a couple of BASE jumps.

I did not jump much while at university, but worked full-time in the skydiving industry for 18 years afterwards. Every year I tried to add a new rating or renew an old rating: Master Rigger, PFF instructor, Cypres installation rating, PIA Symposia, lecturing at PIA Symposia, wing-suit, Rigger Instructor, Rigger Examiner, Tandem Examiner Rating, etc. 

Eventually, I had to take a year off for knee surgery and cut back to only doing tandems on weekends. I finally quit jumping after the local CSPA DZ shut down and I  disagreed with a non-CSPA DZO about seat-belts.

If you try to learn something new every year, you will never get bored skydiving.

On 12/1/2019 at 9:54 PM, wolfriverjoe said:

Some people don't finish AFF.
Some people never get their license.
Some people get their license and drift away soon after.
Some people jump for a year or two and then disappear.

 

Some do it until they decide to become 'responsible' and quit. That may be their own decision or they may have 'help' with it.

Some jump until they realize how much time & money it takes to stay current and reasonably safe, or to progress beyond 'sorta good'.
Some jump until they get hurt, or see someone they know get hurt or killed. The danger isn't 'real' until then. So they quit.
Some become Tandem Instructors (or packers or even DZOs), then get burned out by the grind. 

Of course, some of us keep on despite all of the above and refuse to quit. 

I think you canT say it any better... its like that.. you just never know what happens in your life, things that are in your control and things that arent.. ill love to skydive till im 100.. but you just never know man! while youre doing it make sure to have fun and be safe and youll have a great time! ENJOY!

8 minutes ago, MathiasArtigas said:

I think you canT say it any better... its like that.. you just never know what happens in your life, things that are in your control and things that arent.. ill love to skydive till im 100.. but you just never know man! while youre doing it make sure to have fun and be safe and youll have a great time! ENJOY!

Thanks!! I enjoy skydiving so much!!! 

1 hour ago, riggerrob said:

The best way to keep things fresh is trying to learn a new skill every year.

I only made 4 static-line jumps my first year.

Over that winter I earned a private pilot license.

The next summer I flew a bit and only made two jumps.

The third summer I made 60 jumps and earned my A license.

The fourth summer, I did about 50 fun jumps.

The fifth year, I passed the army static-line course and tried out for the Canadian Army parachute display team.

The sixth year, I earned a static-line jump-master rating.

The seventh year, I did another 50 fun jumps, plus a stack of exhibition jumps.

The eighth year, I earned a rigger rating and started flying jumpers.

The ninth year, I flew more jumpers and learned how to drop IAD students (1985).

The tenth year, I earned an Instructor B rating and tandem instructor rating and did a couple of BASE jumps.

I did not jump much while at university, but worked full-time in the skydiving industry for 18 years afterwards. Every year I tried to add a new rating or renew an old rating: Master Rigger, PFF instructor, Cypres installation rating, PIA Symposia, lecturing at PIA Symposia, wing-suit, Rigger Instructor, Rigger Examiner, Tandem Examiner Rating, etc. 

Eventually, I had to take a year off for knee surgery and cut back to only doing tandems on weekends. I finally quit jumping after the local CSPA DZ shut down and I  disagreed with a non-CSPA DZO about seat-belts.

If you try to learn something new every year, you will never get bored skydiving.

Ok!! I will try to learn something new every year!!! Thank you!!! 

Freefall is still home to me after 30 years. I completed all of the goals I set for myself in the sport. Now, without something to chase I don't feel the strong need to jump all the time. So I'm happy with a few jumps a year, just for the joy of flying.   It's still a passion, it's just not the only one. 

On 12/3/2019 at 3:02 PM, skybytch said:

Freefall is still home to me after 30 years. I completed all of the goals I set for myself in the sport. Now, without something to chase I don't feel the strong need to jump all the time. So I'm happy with a few jumps a year, just for the joy of flying.   It's still a passion, it's just not the only one. 

 

Sorry I just saw this

what you said was pretty interesting!

I made my first jump in 1980. 
still not sure if I like, so I better keep trying.

54 minutes ago, grimmie said:

I made my first jump in 1980. 
still not sure if I like, so I better keep trying.

Many people dont last 5 years, Very few last 10 years. On this site you'll find people who have been doing it a long time (18th year for me) but we are not the majority.

HIPPI CHONKER ADVARNING

Oof. This is a big topic. Hits me right in the chonkeratøs. When I was in my 30's I decided to tell the "fuck offs" to a well paid and "highly respectable" career path, went back to college, sold my city apartment and moved my shit back to my parents house.

Wish there was some kind of training on this. There isn't. 

You want advice on how to determine the future. You can't have it. You won't know. 

You might do 100's more. You might do 1000's.

Who cares. 

Just exit the fucking plane. Do what you enjoy. Feel it. Appreciate the sensation, the people you meet, the places you visit, and those you connect with. Tell them. Accept what you cannot control but take charge of what you can.

And if you ever get caught up in a waterboarding situation, good luck with that.

1 hour ago, Squeak said:

Many people dont last 5 years, Very few last 10 years. On this site you'll find people who have been doing it a long time (18th year for me) but we are not the majority.

Skydiving came into my life when I officially turned 18 last year. I have a long way to go! 

6 minutes ago, Heckin Chonker said:

HIPPI CHONKER ADVARNING

Oof. This is a big topic. Hits me right in the chonkeratøs. When I was in my 30's I decided to tell the "fuck offs" to a well paid and "highly respectable" career path, went back to college, sold my city apartment and moved my shit back to my parents house.

Wish there was some kind of training on this. There isn't. 

You want advice on how to determine the future. You can't have it. You won't know. 

You might do 100's more. You might do 1000's.

Who cares. 

Just exit the fucking plane. Do what you enjoy. Feel it. Appreciate the sensation, the people you meet, the places you visit, and those you connect with. Tell them. Accept what you cannot control but take charge of what you can.

And if you ever get caught up in a waterboarding situation, good luck with that.

thank you  I've had an answer for myself now... exactly what you have said to me!! just enjoy the present and not worry about the future. I will jump again soon! focus on AFF and getting my license in next a few months. 

I feel like I'll do it till the day comes I can't do it anymore, for what reason whatsoever. However, you'll never know what life throws at you.
I did a tandem 20 years ago and I liked it so much that I wanted to do AFF, but my job consisted out of working 3 of the 4 weekends so it would have been difficult to get the jumps in. Plus I was too young back then and didn't have the money to spent, so I let it go and started to collect modeltrains and do martial arts. But I told myself 'someday...'.

10 years later I got a tandem jump as a gift from my wife because she knew I did it once before and that I liked it so much. Then the whole 'I want more' feeling came back, but I had a little girl who was 5 years old at the time and I decided to not pursue it. Again I told myself 'someday...'.

2 years ago I told my wife I wanted to buy a motorcycle but bounced on an immediate and very convincing 'NO'. I said, 'then I want to go skydiving'. 'Fine' she said. A week later I booked a skydiving vacation to get AFF and now I'm almost at 200 jumps.

I try to go as much as I possibly can but we have two girls of which my youngest is now 5 (ironic). My wife supports me but I have to keep the family/skydive balance even. I did 103 jumps in 2019 and that's my goal for 2020 too. At least 100 jumps. 

I don't think I'll ever stop doing this. My oldest daughter is almost 15 and wants to do a tandem, so who knows she's next