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Bruce Travis, born and raised in Montana, has spent decades as an engineer and skydiver, achieving incredible milestones in each. A graduate of Montana State University with a degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering, Bruce served in the U.S. Air Force as a Combat Controller during the Vietnam War, providing close air support while assigned to the 82nd Airborne.

Bruce’s professional career is equally remarkable. He played a role in designing the engines for the iconic F-15 and F-16 aircraft at Pratt & Whitney before embarking on a long and successful tenure at Duke Energy, where he held leadership positions overseeing operations, engineering, and nuclear safety.

In skydiving, Bruce’s achievements are nothing short of legendary. With over 9,400 jumps and 167 hours of freefall, he has competed in 4-way, 8-way, and 16-way formation skydiving for decades, making the podium more than a dozen times. His record-setting accomplishments include participation in the 300-way, 400-way, and several multi-point big-way formations. Bruce has also been a key participant in elite events like the Arizona Challenge and the P3 Power Play, and he won first place in the 2010 POPS/SOS World Meet in Italy.

At 78 years old, Bruce remains an active competitor and a respected member of the skydiving community, with a career that spans military service, engineering excellence, and unparalleled contributions to our sport.

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Bruno Brokken, originally from Belgium, has dedicated more than four decades to the sport, amassing over 27,000 jumps and a reputation as one of the most skilled aerial photographers and videographers in the world. His work has captured the essence of skydiving, from world records to exotic boogies, and even high-profile commercial projects for brands like Coca-Cola, Armani, and Xbox.

Bruno began his skydiving journey in 1980, at the age of 17, and quickly fell in love with the sport. After moving to Skydive Empuriabrava in 1987, he became one of Europe’s earliest AFF instructors, a tandem master, and a professional camera flyer. Bruno’s career highlights include filming numerous world records, such as the historic 400-way formation skydives in Thailand and the 100-way canopy formation world record in the United States. He’s also a two-time freestyle world champion videographer and has earned accolades in canopy piloting, including European Champion in 2005.

Over the years, Bruno’s passion for skydiving has taken him to breathtaking locations worldwide, documenting iconic moments and pushing the boundaries of aerial photography. His contributions to the sport were formally recognized in 2020 when he was inducted into the International Skydiving Hall of Fame.

From his early days as a musician funding jumps to becoming a global skydiving ambassador Bruno’s story is one of creativity, resilience, and boundless passion.

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Olav Zipser, born in Simmern, Germany, began his skydiving career in 1986 and quickly revolutionized the sport by introducing non-traditional forms of body flight - in other words departing the known world of flying on your belly to flying on multiple axes, namely on your head. His innovative approach led to the development of FreeFly, a discipline that has transformed skydiving techniques and competitions worldwide.

Since his first jump nearly 40 years ago, Olav founded multiple free fly schools around the world to recruit others to “Freefly Your Mind.” Olav has trained 14 world champion skydivers, and he was instrumental in bringing free fly to the FAI making it an official category in competition. His achievements also include jumping from the stratosphere in 1995 from 47,000 feet, winning an Emmy Award for his performance in the X-Games, creating the Space Games, inventing the space ball, and has successfully survived more than 25,000 skydives in his career.

In October of 2024, Olav was inducted into the International Skydiving Hall of Fame where he was presented by a free fly prodigy in his own right, Rook Nelson.

Very impressive accomplishments considering that Olav was on the path to becoming a dentist until he made a skydive in Texel, in the Netherlands in the mid-80s where he learned to, as he describes, swim in the ocean of air.

MEDIA

VIDEO: Olav Zipser FreeFly Cross Wind
VIDEO: Freefly Astronaut Project
VIDEO: The Best of Crosswind

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