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 News Letter July 2011 R.I.P Mirko Schmidt Petter Bergsjø Tedd Rudd Czech Dave Ash White Hey all you crazy motherfuckers out there! Is there any one still alive to read my bullshit; and who is going to be the last man standing. That is fast becoming the million-­‐dollar question! But fear not, while I still have hands to type and a glorious drug and alcohol problem I will continue to rant, so sit back because here it fucking goes… My lack of contact, bullshit and videos of late is the result of one thing. I have been having the ‘time of my life’ for the last 8 months…way better than that pissy Green Day song! Lets start from December and I will inform to you the reasons why I have been having more fun than any other cunt on the planet! After finishing another shitty stint in sea jail, West Africa I headed back to my Beloved Switzerland for a couple of days of the sickest snowboarding I have ever done with super hot chicks all around us. 2 foot of powder all day and not the expensive kind that our nostrils love. It was fucking sick fun! Getting home as per usual turned into an epic, as yet again I fucked up my flights royally! This was a personal best though as I was booked to fly from a country I wasn’t even in at the time. Thank fuck all the airports were closed because of massive storms and after spending a night in a free hotel room the airlines sorted out my lack of grey matter and I was on my way home! Xmas day was pretty mellow but my Dad was in fine form and showed me exactly how to make 5 foot high flames come out of a pork roast on the bbq! What did it ever do to you dad? After Xmas we went on out traditional camping trip to the Victorian highlands for lots of beer, bombs and motorbikes. My cousin Adam totally rules on a motor bike and completely ripped me to shreds showing me why I should stick to base jumping. Fuck me it’s hard work and it fucking hurts when you fall on your head! Thanks BT for the loan of the bike!! Dads Great to drink with but no so keen on the drugs so it was off to the DZ for new years eve to party with all the Aussie crew and get completely fucked up for a few days. We took pride in our messiness and were totally professional about it, spending $1200-­‐ and not even doing a skydive. The recovery arc is a little longer these days I must say. Stupid body can’t keep up with the mind and the jaw! My whole reason for coming home was to do something that I’m really shit at, but really love, and that was to record some of my original music. I hooked up with producer Matt Koan who can turn my shitty voice and guitar playing into gold, well fools gold anyway! It was an intense 3 weeks but we came out with 6 great tunes by the end of it all. Although it may not sound like much, they are a huge improvement from my last 2 albums, which were recorded 12 years ago. If you can bear to hear it, go to: http://soundcloud.com/douggs/sets/live-­‐
to-­‐dare-­‐album/ I am hoping to finish recording the last 6 songs at the end of this year to complete the album. Lyrics to the songs are at the very bottom of this rant of shit! Thanks heaps Matt and Janelle for putting up with me down there! Whilst in Melbourne I got to party hard and also jump from a balloon and a super low power tower. Fuck that balloon jumping is a bit scary even after all these years! Cheers Ossie Khan and Mark. I also got a 3-­‐hour crash course in Kite surfing with my buddy Mick O’Leary. We fucked off all the safety bullshit for the day and just got stuck right into it. It’s fucking hard that’s for sure but I managed to get up and surfing by the end of it. Next time I will have to learn how to go the other way to save Mick the trouble of getting the kite back, oops!! With a quick trip to Wollongong before heading back to Europe for the year I got to do a couple of jumps with the worlds ugliest convicted felon, Feral and the gang. Remind me never to say, “if you go, I will go” again as the bastard made me free fall a 50 m cliff. I still recon it was smaller than that as I could clearly see two koalas fucking because I was that close to the trees! I also did my first skydive in 3 years in perfect ‘what could go wrong’ fashion into a mates 40th. No license, borrowed gear, no ditter and leading a tracking dive although I don’t think I was moving forward much. A brake off on opening with a tiny canopy ensured that I landed shaking like a leaf. Fuck that shit; too fucking scary for me, I’m going back to base-­‐
jumping. Happy B’day Poo Smith you old cunt! So it was off to Africa again to hang with people that have only just learnt to walk standing up and earn some cash for the year. But not long after getting there I was told we lost the contract and I was soon going to be unemployed. Some might get stressed about this sort of situation but for me it was a blessing. After a day of wanting to kill everyone in sea jail I decided to embrace the shit out of it and not work ever again, well, at least for 2011 anyway!! I said my goodbyes to all the people I have nothing in common with and headed to Switzerland to live for the next 6 months. I didn’t realize you cant stay more than 3 months in the Schengen region but I’m sure I will write more about this issue once I get busted and thrown out of the EU. But until then, read on…. After a few days of epic jumping in the snow it was time for my Morocco, Spain and Turkey trip. I was not disappointed. Myself and the Italian super stud Giamma had a ball in Morocco jumping from the awesome 750m La Cathedral that lies deep in the heart of the Atlas Mountains. Expecting desert, we were confronted with a ton of snow but also beautiful contrasting colours of white, brown and green that the desert mountains had to offer. The colours were so vibrant that I felt like I was on mushrooms. It was beautiful. The food was simple but awesome; who knew goat could taste so amazing! The people were awesome too even though they were a bit spooky in their wizard uniforms appearing in the night, cool shit! And yes, I did smoke Moroccan hash. Mmm, lovely! The Spanish leg of the journey was awesome, I was able to hook up with Spanish legend Emilio and his crew to jump some big wingsuit walls, some low cliffs, a dam and a chimney! But yet again there was a heap of snow for what I thought would be desert, I was a little underdressed! After a week of epicness, it was off to explore Turkey and fuck me that place is big! With 4 internal flight in 6 days we were run ragged, but we got to open up and jump some amazing objects including a safer and legal version of Australia’s Bungonia George, although I nearly tracked into the other side, it was pretty fucking intense. It was great to hang out with old school jumper Ronald again as well as meet Tracy and Beslan and the rest of the crew. As well as eating and partying like a rock star I also got to do my 2000th jump off a sketchy little building with Tracy. It was intense and stupid, but awesome. Still no broken bones in this sport after so long but don’t worry I know a big accident is coming and I must say, I'm not really looking forward to it!! For at least a short time I am calling Wengen, Switzerland my home as I now share a place with Chris and Dom above the stunning Lauterbrunnen Valley. It is great to be able to jump a 1800 ft cliff just so I can go and have breakfast! After a week of speed flying, paragliding and base-­‐
jumping with my mate Deano and the gang it was off to Mt. Brento, Italy to celebrate Easter in style with some awesome wingsuit base jumping and partying, in the rough, unemployed style that I have grown to love! Although a simple drive to go get Gelato turned into a full-­‐blown chopper rescue as one of the lads chose to grab onto the cliff rather than fly away from it. Lucky Spacey Tracy was there to make jokes and sweet talk the ladies and the police!! Shorts are not good tracking pants was the tip of the day on that one!! If you have the same attention span as I do then you are probably pretty much fucking over reading this boring bullshit. Go and roll yourself a big fat spliff and chug down a couple of beers and rub your nuts for a bit. I’m off to do the same… (That means you too DJ Higgins!) So are you suitably baked and half cut? Good….me too, now keep fucking reading…. Once back in Swiss I yet again found out why paragliding scares the absolute shit out of me when I had a collapse that wouldn’t come out and I nearly went into the trees. Throwing the reserve is not an option as that is even scarier. I wish they would invent a better way to go up in those dam things rather than bumpy thermals. When in doubt…panic and turn the music up. It seemed to work this time! Luckily before my paraglider could kill me I headed off to the USA again for 3 weeks of jumping and hanging out with my beautiful Jackie. First stop was AZ to catch up with Matt Frolich and gang to do a tour of all the jumps I could be doing if it wasn’t so fucking windy!!! We had a great time climbing and exploring anyway and managed to get a couple of jumps in on my way to the airport to head to SLC. Yet more wind in SLC so we headed down to Moab to hang with all the crew and managed to get a few awesome jumps done including ‘Dragons Nest’ and ‘Well Done’. If you wanted to meet legendary climber Lynn Hill, where would be the best place do it you think? Well, I thought it would be on top of Castleton Tower during a very crazy electrical storm. There is nothing like going “ hey Lynn Hill, nice to meet you” while you are getting electrical shocks in your ears and hands with 50 knot winds blowing as your exposed on top of a 400 ft tower 1500ft above the ground. I didn’t feel exposed at all, NOT! The only thing scarier was the 7 hours before that where we had to climb up the bloody thing, talk about being out of your comfort zone…Jesus.. luckily super woman Ellen Brennen was there to give myself and Jamie girlfriend belays all the way up as she led the shit out the climb. You can stick that up your arse for a first lead on Trad gear. Love your work Ellen, you have more balls than a plate full of rocky mountain oysters. It was back to SLC for some tunnel flying with the legend that Is Kai Kai and some cool hang time with all the awesome SLC crew. I finally learnt to sit fly in the tunnel although it was pretty rough. Love all you guys! After a 9 year hiatus I finally made it back to Portland to catch up with the old school crew of legends that are in alphabetical disorder: DJ Higgins, ‘Shotgun’ Ray Losli and Spence Bisley. My goal was simple, to make DJ drink a beer smoke a joint and cry. I will make him cry next time hee hee. We started out in true old school fashion with a cluster fuck of a jump off Crown Point, which ended up in a cliff strike by Michael the Nike boss whom I cant name because his wife will kill him.  People just don’t appreciate a simple cliff strike these days like me and Spence do. There were cops and fire trucks and rescue planes and choppers, and for what, he was fine and it was no big deal. But of course it made the news with the old…”here we are, live at Crown Point” I love the media! All involved were fine and it made for a great reason to drink beer at 9 am! It was great to see DJ out of semi retirement so we decided to head north for what I consider to be one of the coolest and more epic base-­‐jumping missions to date. Lets just say it involved slingshots, balls, and real base jumping skills and ethics, not like all this Lauterbrunnen and Prienne bridge bullshit jumpers that are being produced for profit these days!!! thanks heaps to DJ, Spence, Dr.Dan and Bill Beck for your legendary efforts, it will not be forgotten!!!! Also thanks to Ray for showing me his arsenal of weapons and well aged whiskey! I know where I will be hiding if it all kicks off! A huge thanks to Spence and Mable for having us! From Portland it was time to head to the party town of Las Vegas to finish the holiday in style. People kept asking me what I will be jumping off there? Ummm duh!!! Drugs and alcohol will be the only things I will be doing there thankyou very much! What a stupid question to ask!!! We did take the time out though to see 2 amazing shows that I highly recommend. The ‘Blue Man Group’ were fucking awesome as were ‘Cirque du solei’ with the Beatles theme of ‘Love’. I must be getting old as the show was so full of emotion it brought me to tears, fucking awesome stuff!!! After leaving the USA it was a super short stop in Swiss for some jumps before heading back to Spain for the Benidorm event. An awesome 450ft building just waiting to be raped and rape it I did, 20 jumps in 2 days and a 2nd place in the competition although that was questionable thanks to a dodgy target. Not that I give a fuck because win or lose it was party time once again!! But not before doing a super cool jump from the roof of an elevator, sounds boring except for the fact that you had to break onto the roof of the elevator and ride it up 400+ feet. It was pretty intense but a nice gainer off the top gave me some comfort! Thanks Carlos for the fun!! and thanks to all the Spanish crew for looking after me in my paralytic state once again! Here is a film clip from the cool band ‘Peachy Joke’ that played while we were jumping. Cool guys, cool song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=assfKmVjMj0&feature=youtu.be It has been a crazy 6 weeks in our world, which has seen the deaths of 5 of my friends through different circumstances. Whether it be by their own hand, going hard or a random act of our amazing, yet harsh sports, I have been left with an empty feeling inside and a puddle full of tears as have many others as each one of our friends touches the world in their own special way. When I found out the news that my best friend Ted Rudd had gone in on a tracking jump, my heart sank and a piece of me has flown forever. For those of you who knew Ted he was a true legend and an inspiration to all around him and of course, a messy and twisted unit. He knew the game he was playing and the high risks involved, but he played it anyway until the very end, sticking to his path whilst knowing what his fate was most likely going to be. But in true Ted fashion he touched people from beyond the grave with his awesome sense of humor and lust for life. His last wishes are below this rant for all to read and all will be carried through. Although I was heading to Heli-­‐Boogie, Norway anyway, it was a perfect place to have the one of many memorials for the great man. Perms, wigs, mustaches and 200 people on acid saw for one of the coolest and messiest send offs of all time. Oh yeah, and some great base jumps were done as well through it all. Check the photos below for some of the costumes! The legendary Midget Base crew chose this time to release the coolest film clip in base history called “Back on my Bullshit” check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSTZ9PobH6s&feature=related Next it was off to Voss for ‘Expense Vekk’ and a shit ton of rain. We got a couple of jumps in but basically it was yet another week long party with great friends. A huge thank you to Midget base for giving me the honor of being ‘Phony Ted’ during this time! I’m now in Scotland sorting Ted’s house out with Jackie and seeing the beautiful countryside for one last time, before sneaking back into the EU for some more good times! Finally my segment of Nat Geo’s ‘Tabo’ programme came out as well, its pretty funny and all the doctors speaking are full of shit, but at the end of the day they paid me to have fun and that’s all I give a fuck about. Judge as you want, it’s like water off a ducks back to me as to be disliked is way more interesting than to be loved hee hee! Check it out…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16qqLykmrjY&feature=BFp&list=WL1E2F43132663E
D52&index=1 So it seems the only people making any cash off my book are the dealers so good luck to them. http://www.basedreams.com/Index.aspx?id=21 But the good thing is that it has broken even now and I hope that the man behind it all, Jeremy Samson can make a few bucks off it as well as you deserve it brother for all your hard work. Fingers crossed they sell out before I go in so I can reply to peoples emails saying, “Get fucked mate, they are all sold out” ha ha So what’s coming up you ask, surely I must be out of cash by now… well, pretty much yes, is the answer but it’s not going to stop there. No fucking way! Not now, not never!! I’m off to Austria, Greece and Slovenia before the summers out as well as the Dolomites for this years “Flight Club” with the legendary Dr. Willy Wonka and gang. Bring that right fucking on!!! Then it’s off to China with some legendary crew led by the dark master Jeb Corliss, as he attempts to fly his wingsuit through a hole in the rock near the floating mountains of Zhangjiajie that inspired the movie “Avatar.” Whether he makes it or not, it is certainly going to be remembered! Isn’t that right Dwain Weston! Check this link out to see the beauty of this place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_mIJJNqqTk&feature=related Then it looks like I will have to head back to Oz again only to be back in China yet again for another event in the same region. Then and only then I will start looking for work unless I decide to go back to my old evil ways and do a month long credit card holiday to the USA. May as well finish the year like it began…living large and living free, after all, life is not a trial run, this is the only chance we get to live so why not grab it by the short and curlies and go as fucking hard as possible because once your dead, that’s it. Shit, it seems I haven’t mentioned god and religion in this rant… Well fuck God and religion and all its stupidity and bullshit. Phew….. That was close  I leave all you finger fuckers with a few quotes, photos and lyrics… Remember to hug everyone when you great them and when you say goodbye, for those who are truly living out their dreams, it maybe the last time you ever see your close friends and loved ones again! Stay True… Stay Hard… Stay Free… Hugs and love to you all Douggs  Quotes Four things you can't recover: The stone.........after the throw. The word........after it's said. The occasion........after it's missed. The time.........after it's gone. -­Tom Begic I feel sorry for people who don’t drink, when they wake up that’s about as good as they are going to feel all day  -­Pernilla Ahnstrom Landing is a given, it's easy, it's just when u hit something and your parachute stops flying. -­Alex Duncan The one who wanders is not lost ‘unknown’ "If you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." Owen Meany When I was 5 years old, my mum always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life! -­Unknown “God watches me shit and wank and I’m not comfortable with that” -­Ted Rudd “Ted watches me shit and wank and I’m not comfortable with that” -­GOD Ted’s Last Wishes A few things that probably shouldn’t be run in front of a lawyer but I’d like to happen anyway. If I should have an accident leading to my untimely death on any of my adventures, I’d like my belongings that I have with me to be distributed amongst the people I set out to travel with. My rigs/wings/boards/skis go to who ever is in the most debt (excluding home loans), wing suit and tracking gear to the person who can produce the longest nipple hair. Music equipment is for who can recite the longest poem, judged by the group. Camera gear goes to who ever was last videoed by me. Any money I had in my possession is to be spent on preferably illicit drugs, if none to hand, alcohol. Cremate me in the country I died in if it is legally cool, makes the return trip easier, and I’m guessing I won’t be fit for an open casket anyway. At my funeral, I’d like the song ‘I Just Want To Celebrate’ by Grand Funk Railroad played, and £2000 of my money to be spent judiciously on what ever substances the crowd feels like ingesting. Everyone present should get a perm, wear sweatbands, aviator sunglasses and a false moustache. That is not negotiable for anyone. It is a celebration of life and it’s absurd nature. Don’t like it, don’t come. God is not to be mentioned, unless in a sentence like ‘My god this MDMA is powerful’. My ashes are to be handed over to my wife Jackie to be dispersed amongst my friends in part at a southern NSW reef break of their choosing. An appropriate portion is to be mixed with liquid acid and taken just before the jump where the remaining ashes are distributed, north Norway please. My will is well out of date, so my house in Scotland and my van should be sold, the profits divided between my brother Ole Rudd, my darling wife Jackie Dodd and Dave Packham. Should be enough for three great parties in exotic locations. I would prefer if not a penny of it was spent wisely. That all said and done I’d like to say what a wonderful life it has been, I was constantly baffled by the enormous beauty of it all. I’d like to thank my Dad for my drive, and all my friends who made me the wealthiest man alive. I was a lucky co-­‐participant with some of the most inspired people in their fields. I love every one of you. Kia Kaha. Ted Te Hau Rudd Song lyrics from my 3rd album “Live To Dare” LIKE YOU I don’t need to be interested I don’t have to be committed Everyday my decisions change I’m all right but they think I’m strange I prefer to be on my own To be myself I must be alone Living life to conformity I wish someone would set me free I don’t need to be anyone like you I don’t need to be anyone like you Only noticed by your outside view Your lights aren’t on but that’s nothing new Inner self is nothing these days So fuck you all and your self-­‐image Just be yourself do what pleases you Don’t let the sheep try and conquer you Be comfortable and just be your self High on life don’t need no one else I don’t need to be anyone like you I don’t need to be anyone like you NOT ALWAYS EASY TO SMILE Who put out the light that shined down on me, All the pain here you cannot see, All the things that they want me to be, Seems like I’m always on trail Not always easy to smile (for me) Picking up the pieces of misery. Soon the nightmares will turn to dreams, Slowly slip into history, I need to rest for a while Not always easy to smile (for me) It feels this time it’s all gone wrong, Give me the strength to carry on, This life we choose the friends we lose, It’s not the end, but, With everyday the pain will fade, Although it never goes away, But this shining star will rise up in the end. So now the days are not filled with tears. Just remember the good old years. Looking forward not looking back, Almost found me a smile Not always easy to smile (for me) Not always easy to smile Find A Way Try to speak, I wont be warned, Far to deep, I will be harmed And I know I’m fighting hard here just to stay I wear these clothes to keep me warm I try my best to do no harm But at the end of it all my life is mine to make While I know which world to take When I’m free my odds are well against me With time elapsed I contemplate So many years ago I chose my fate No lies, just fantasize, You know you’ll find a way Surprise and with no compromise Tomorrow will be a better day My time seems short I need to run This adventure ends the next will come But I hurt the ones I love the most, it aches I wake each day my life is torn On these rust filled rigs a new day dawns And again I know my life is mine to make While I know which world to take When I’m free my odds are well against me With time elapsed I contemplate So many years ago I chose my fate And I love my fate. No lies, just fantasize, You know you’ll find a way Surprise and with no compromise Tomorrow will be a better day LIVE BEFORE YOUR DEAD WAKE UP EACH DAY WITH YOUR DREAMS IN YOUR EYES YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN FLY, LIVE YOUR LIFE CAUSE WE DIE. SO SHORT THIS TIME, MUST MAKE USE IN YOUR PRIME THE WORLDS NOT ON YOUR SIDE, BUT BE STRONG DO NOT HIDE. (CH) DON’T LISTEN TO ANYONE WITH THEIR NEGITIVE WAYS BE TRUE TO YOURSELF AND BE KING FOR A DAY EVERYDAY DON’T LET THEM BREAK THROUGH YOUR HEART AND YOUR HEAD ‘CAUSE ONE DAY YOU’LL BE DEAD THEN YOUR DEAD THEN YOU’RE DEAD, THEN YOUR DEAD, THEN YOUR DEAD DON’T GET SO SAD OR LET LIFE TREAT YOU BAD JUST EMBRACE WHAT YOU HAVE, AND JUST SMILE ‘CAUSE LIFES RAD THE JOURNEY IT SEEMS IN THE END MEMORIES THEY BUILD FEAR DRIVEN SCHEMES BUT PLEASE SEE THROUGH THEM AND DREAM (CH) DON’T LISTEN TO ANYONE WITH THEIR NEGITIVE WAYS BE TRUE TO YOURSELF AND BE KING FOR A DAY EVERYDAY DON’T LET THEM BREAK THROUGH YOUR HEART AND YOUR HEAD ‘CAUSE ONE DAY YOU’LL BE DEAD THEN YOUR DEAD THEN YOU’RE DEAD, THEN YOUR DEAD, THEN YOUR DEAD FIND YOUR WINGS Thoughts and words Of dark and light Shine and pray In the realm of night Out we fly To feast on fear Stand-­‐alone My cross to bear To fly the line In dreams you see Find your wings And follow me Lead astray So far from home Endless lands On which I roam Born to reign Without a cage Forever more We will fly through the ages To fly the line In dreams you see Find your wings And follow me LIVE TO DARE When I sleep the threatening voices Whisper from my past But I’m protected by the unknowing Of an ever changing world The thought of losing the life I’ve lead Or gasp my final breath The invisible path, it guides the way To my life or maybe death (CH) Live to dare Rocking chair Can’t believe that I’m still here All the doubts, the ups and downs Whilst always scared, I’ve never fucking cared This battle has been won Whilst fighting this unconventional war Maybe solace now lies ahead (for me) With no possessions and no home On this long straight dusty road The many corners hide the path And just when you think you’re through (the worst) It comes bites you in the arse (CH) Each and everyday a fork appears And this road becomes unclear But don’t just stick with what you know Or this journey then will steer You down to the point of no return With too much time to count the cost Of all the journeys missed And all the journeys that now are lost (CH) Even now I can look back and say That I’ve never missed a day Of living large and living free and living life my way Once again I can look back and say That I’ve never missed a day Of living large and living free I’m fucking stoked that I am me! (CH) Live to dare Rocking chair Can’t believe that I’m still here All the doubts, the ups and downs Whilst always scared, I’ve never fucking cared