Cloudbase Mayhem Podcast

Paul Guschlbauer has become one of the best adventure cross-country pilots in the world and showed his amazing skills this year in the 2015 X-Alps by coming in 3rd place and giving Chrigel a hell of a run for his money. In this episode Paul grants us an intimate view of what he's done right, what he's done wrong, some hard lessons along the way and a lot more like the pressure of making a living from sponsorship. And most importantly- can Chrigel be beaten? Listen to find out.

The post Episode 14- Paul Guschlbauer and conquering the Red Bull X-Alps first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Veselin ("Veso") Ovcharov is a cross-country and acro ace. A long-time Red Bull athlete Veso was the first Bulgarian to nail the Infinity and has traveled the world perfecting his craft, pushing the limits of what can be done by paraglider. In this episode we travel back in time to find out how Veso got into the sport; the many hurdles he had to jump to become one of the very best (including literally spending the last few cents to his name before signing with Red Bull); how he has approached progression and safety; the difference between acro and cross country (you might be surprised!); and a LOT more.

The post Episode 13- Veso Ovcharov and Finding Balance first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Aaron Durogati is only 29 years old, but he's already been a world champion, gotten 6th and 7th place in the last two Red Bull X-Alps and has a LONG list of podium finishes. A Red Bull athlete and ambassador for several other brands, the "Italian Stallion" is making a good living in the sport of paragliding and in this episode we dig into how he does it. From learning how to fly at the tender age of 15 we find out how he's approached progression, how he won the 2014 Superfinal in Colombia, how he's been training for the X-Alps (and what he'll change for the next one), what it's really like to fly in the "toughest adventure race on Earth", and ton more. Enjoy!

The post Episode 12- Aaron Durogati and Training to Win first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Gurpreet Dhindsa is India's top ranked pilot, and has been for some time. He is the only certified instructor in the country and has 20 year passionate years in the sport. Gurpreet has been on the podium six times and has been a very integral figure in pushing paragliding in India and has truly given his life over to free flight. In this entertaining episode we discuss the political and bureaucratic difficulties he's experienced as a pilot in India, the importance of being in the moment while flying, how he's recovered mentally after two friend's accidents, the value of struggle, changing strategies in order to learn and now worrying about scores, and how he's learning to fly his own line and why he's chosen to take less risk in competitions. This is a fascinating talk with a fascinating member of our community. Enjoy!

The post Episode 11, Gurpreet Dhindsa and flying psychology first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Josh Cohn has been the most consistent competition pilot the US has ever seen. His competition CV reads like Kelly Slaters. Soon after Josh learned to fly at age 16 he has been dominating the US comp scene and has notched up not only state distance records (New Mexico, Hawaii, Texas) but PWC wins, two National Championships and task wins at the Worlds to boot. In this episode we dig into how he's maintained his consistency and passion, accidents, reserve throws, what can be done on non-comp wings, the current state of the CCC class since banning open gliders in 2011 and a LOT more. Josh talks about how he trains, his best and worst flight, best and worst wing, advice he'd give to his 16 year old self after all these years, and how important it is to switch gears- and how you know when to do it.

The post Episode 10- Josh Cohn and Staying Consistent first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Thomas de Dorlodot is probably the most enviable pilot in the world. He's made a living out of traveling the world and documenting his expeditions. A 5 time Red Bull X-Alps competitor and Red Bull Athlete Tom started flying when he was 15 years old. He's flown above 7,000 meters in Pakistan, paramotored over the Marquesas in French Polynesia, glided over volcanoes in Guatemala and Tanzania, hucked acro over Victoria Falls and is currently working on sailing around the world. His accolades and accomplishments are too many to even list here, but it hasn't all been a rosy romp through la-la land and in this episode we dive into his two accidents this year, one a major accident during his Adriatic expedition with Paul Guschlbauer and the other that ended his X-Alps campaign on day 7; we talk about how Tom approaches risk; how he plays the sponsorship game; how he prepares mentally and a lot more.

The post Episode 9- Thomas de Dorlodot and the Endless SEARCH first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

I met Nick Greece in Haiti in 2012. I was living in Morocco trying to figure out how to become a better pilot, and getting an invitation from Nick to fly around in the sky wasn't something I could pass up. Nick has become a great friend and one of my greatest mentors. We have worked together on film projects like 500 Miles to Nowhere, and Malawi and I'm forever trying to figure out how he's always at the top of the stack. In this episode we learn how Nick got started, how 9-11 affected his choice in careers, what brought him to Jackson Hole, his epic 204 mile flight in 2013, winning US Nationals in 2014, why the US Team hasn't done well in the Worlds, and all his own mentors in his own journey to the top.

The post Episode 8, Nick Greece and Progression first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Mads Syndergaard started paragliding in 1987 and it quickly became his life. He began competing in 1994 and hasn't looked back since. From learning how to soar in Denmark to becoming one of the leading wing designers in the world with UP gliders, Mads has been has been a vocal figure in the comp scene for twenty years. In this episode Mads discusses the mental attitude necessary to win; his thoughts on the dissolution of the Open Class and how we got to the CCC class; the debacle last year with Ozone's Enzo 2; what he calls "priming" your head to fly and a lot more. This is an awesome talk with a living legend and we go DEEP on topics like safety, risk, making good decisions, anarchy and a lot more. Enjoy!

The post Episode 7- Mads Syndergaard and the Art of Winning first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Ben Abruzzo was the guy who turned me into a machine for the 2015 Red Bull X-Alps. My knees are a cartilage wasteland and I'd never done any endurance training or racing in my life. But when I approached Ben about doing the X-Alps he was all-in and had zero hesitation that he could get me there. This episode is kind of an "inbetween-cast" of the usual Cloudbase Mayhem in response to all the myriad of questions we've been receiving about how I prepared for what is billed as the hardest adventure race on Earth. In this episode we go deep on Ben's approach and methodology and what came down to handling not only how to get me ready physically, but how he supported me in the actual race and helped keep my head together.

The post Episode 6, Ben Abruzzo and training for the 2015 X-Alps first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.

Nate "Papa" Scales got his first flight in 1991 on a glider that had 11 cells in Sun Valley, Idaho. The next day he moved to Utah to learn how to fly and hasn't looked back since. I've never met anyone as passionate as Nate is about flying nylon and string and he's even more psyched today to go big than ever. We cover a LOT of ground in this hysterical episode. Nate discusses the value of competitions; his only (and very wild) reserve toss; risk and safety; his recent decision to step down to an ENC glider after flying comp gliders for more than 15 years; his "dream" line; learning from failure; and we go way back in time and talk about the days of taking pictures of waypoints before there was GPS; his 2007 X-Alps campaign and much more.

The post Episode 5 Nate Scales and Staying in the Game first appeared on CLOUDBASE MAYHEM.