A Champion's Journey

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Ken Breeden, CW5 (Retired), is one of the most highly experienced aviators on the U.S. Army Parachute Team, "The Golden Knights." 

With over 40 years of experience as an Army aviator, Ken has logged over 12,000 hours of flight time in various rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and currently serves as a pilot and Chief Maintenance Officer for the Golden Knights. 

It was an incredible honor to share a conversation with Ken on the podcast. I hope you enjoy his stories as much as I did. 

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My next guests are nothing short of awe-inspiring. I was finally able to sit down and have a conversation with the incredibly talented Freestyle Skydiving team, XP Ascend. Using the term, “talented” however, would actually be somewhat misleading because Jason Brigmon and Jake Carlton, the dynamic duo who’ve turned XP Ascend into the international powerhouse it has become, have worked dilligently to forge their vision of excellence into a reality. Not only have they dominated the U.S. National and world stages of competition over the last two years, but through laser-focused dedication and a leaning towards innovation, they continue to break the barriers of what was previously thought possible in the world of multi-axis precision body flight. 

Jake and Jason’s meteoric rise to success has done nothing to diminish their humility or approachability and has only enhanced their energetic and effervescent passion to raise the bar of body flight and to help skydivers of all ability levels improve their skills and collectively ascend to higher summits.

Please welcome Jason Brigmon and Jake Carlton. 

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My next guest is Scott Festa. Scott is a former U.S. Army Green Beret Colonel, current business owner, Physician’s Assistant and adventure-philanthropist who creates intensive physical and mental endurance challenges  to raise money and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

In this episode you’ll learn how Scott prepares physically and psychologically to take on these incredible challenges while being driven by the mantra, “No child deserves cancer.” 

If you’d like to consider donating or finding other ways get involved, please visit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital website at stjude.org, that’s www.stjude.org.

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Kirk Verner is a current member of the US 8-way Formation Skydiving Team and is one of the original and founding members of one of the most successful 4-way teams in history - Arizona Airspeed. 

With a skydiving career spanning just over 4 decades, Kirk has amassed an impressive list of achievements. He’s a 2x 4-way Formation Skydiving World Champion, 4x 8-way World Champion and 1x Indoor 8-way World Champion. 

At almost 57 years of age, Kirk is one of the most relentless people I know and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. His mental and physical toughness are otherworldly and are matched by very few - of any age.

Kirk has been an inspiration and role model for me since I was just 16 years old and I’m honored to be his teammate on the US Team for the 2023 and 2024 competition seasons. 

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When I think of tandem skydiving, the first person who comes to mind is none other than Mike Elliott.

Mike was the tandem skydiving instructor who escorted former President George H.W. Bush on not just one but three separate occasions.

In this podcast, Mike tells us all about those jumps, his military service starting as an Airborne Infantryman, Air Assault Instructor, Airborne School Instructor, and Army, "Golden Knights" demonstration Team Leader.

Finally, we'll hear what motivated Mike to start the All Veteran Group and what has been most rewarding for him as President of that Organization.

Mike is a great storyteller and he had me on the edge of my seat for the duration of this interview. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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I hope you enjoy this special Father's Day Edition of A Champion's Journey Podcast featuring my biggest hero, my dad, Mike Davidson. He served 26 years in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Airborne Ranger and Physician's Assistant. Still practicing medicine as a full-time P.A., he spends his spare time serving as coach, mentor, and pilot for members of the U.S. Naval Academy Parachute Team.

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Drew Starr is a four time World 8-way Formation Skydiving Champion and is the Team Captain for the U.S. Army Parachute Team’s Competition Section. 

In addition to his four World Championship victories, he is also seven time  National Champion, current World Record holder for the highest single scoring skydive, highest scoring freefall average, and highest wind tunnel average in the 8-way Formation Skydiving event. 

Drew’s prior military experience includes serving as the Noncommisioned Officer in Charge of the 82d Airborne Division’s 407th Support Battalion’s Intelligence Section and the Detainee Intelligence Team of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435. 

Drew’s impressive list of consistent high-achievement manifested as a result of his strong character, forged through trial and adversity. Several times over and in many ways, his resilience was put to the test and each time he prevailed. 

The qualities I admire most in fellow competitors are resilience and heart. Drew Starr has an abundance of both. I’m proud to have served with Drew as a teammate and even more proud to call him a friend. This conversation was a special one for me and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.