What it Means to Take it to the Extreme
The word extreme is overused in almost all aspects yet when we see something that is new, aggressive and dangerous we automatically dub it as extreme. For decades athletes have constantly tested and pushed the envelope as to what a human can achieve. From skateboarding to skydiving these thrill seekers set out to push themselves further than anyone before in order to be a pioneer in that field. We are attacking obstacles in ways that our parents could have never dreamed. We are continuing to break ground and records on new extreme sports. We call it extreme because it takes either complete professional with years of training and adaptability or completely fearless daredevil types that desire glory more than common sense. We now can take a kit and wakeboard and jump a bridge under just the power of wind. We can now surf waves that could crush a cargo ships hull. We leap off bluff sides with suits mimicking those of flying squirrels and touch the sides of mountains at terminal velocity. Since the introduction of social video internet sites we are now placing more and more content of ourselves trying to defy gravity and the natural code. As most of us sit in our office chair and throw our caddy comments into the comment box, these people are out there achieving goals that were non-existent a few years prior. During the 1950’s we were set on the jet age and expected that in another 50 years time we would be using that technology for personal transport yet we are a decade plus past that and have only achieved a controlled fall. We recently got to experience Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy “Jetman” who launched from a helicopter and free falls before starting hit four engines that allows him to actually climb in elevation before he runs out of fuel and has to parachute to the ground. This is the first step in the pioneering of personal powered winged flight and for that we say that Yves is truly an extreme individual.