AS TOLD TO
SARAH WARWICK
PHOTO
JÖRG MITTER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Austria’s most Googled celebrity made history last year when he broke the sound
barrier with his own body. He tells us what it feels like to be a living legend
Felix Baumgartner
I always wanted to fly.
Freefall
feels like flying, which is why I started
skydiving at 16. From the first moment it
felt natural. The air is my second home.
I’ve done 130 base jumps
since 1996.
The one that sticks out was from the
right hand of the Jesus statue in Rio de
Janeiro. That was a spiritual moment –
so quiet and peaceful. It also turned me
from a nobody into a somebody.
Breaking the speed of sound
was
the ultimate dream – the longest and
fastest freefall. But I didn’t just go from
zero to hero. It took six years and a lot
of money. That’s why I’m still alive. The
other guys who tried it just went up.
I wasn’t scared
,
because we’d done
test jumps at 22 and 30km, but it
was
different. The earth was more curved,
the sky totally black and everything was
more dangerous. If something goes
wrong with your suit it’s just 15 seconds
before you die. But when you stand on
top of the world, you’re the only person
to have seen it at that point outside a
capsule. That’s amazing.
You can’t practise
for supersonic
speed. Of course I have skydiving skills
but it’s so different because you’re
travelling at 1,357km an hour. You’re
400
km faster than a bullet, which is
insane if you think about it.
My dad was always
pushing me to
get a decent job. Well, now he can’t
argue any more. The first time he was
in Roswell he saw Mission Control,
with 350 people working to make sure
his son went up 39km and down in one
piece, he finally realised what I’d been
talking about.
I don’t want to go
back to base
jumping. It’s just not challenging any
more. I’m working on my helicoptor-
flying skills because I want to work as a
commercial pilot. I’ll be in Austria part-
time, working in mountain rescue, and
part-time in LA as a fire-fighter.
I never go on holiday
.
I travel all the
time for work so I’m just happy if I’m
at home – that’s my holiday. To relax I
meet my friends, have good food, a nice
bottle of wine and enjoy the moment.
When I’m in other cities
I love to
visit museums. They hold the dreams
of the mapmakers: people like Steve
Jobs, Da Vinci, Edmund Hillary or Neil
Armstrong. They have ideas that people
think are crazy but when these dreams
become reality people realise maybe
they’re not that crazy after all.
In 100 years
people are still going to
talk about the first guy that broke the
speed of sound in freefall. But you don’t
have to do that to be successful. I have
the same amount of respect for hard-
working housewives like my mum.
If you have a dream
and are willing to
go the extra mile, you will succeed if it is
big enough and valid enough... if it is the
most important thing in your life.
If you really want it
go for it, but
do it smart. Don’t rush it. Talk to the
right people and do it right. The most
important thing is to come back to your
family in one piece.
Space Dive: The Red Bull Stratos Story
is
out on DVD now
☞
Turn the page for Felix’s guide to Salzburg
You can’t practise
for supersonic speed.
It’s 400km faster
than a bullet
P L A N E
T A L K I N G
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T H E R E G U L A R S
