Recognize the name Sketchy Andy? Sure you do. He was the guy who brought slacklining to the main stage during the Super Bowl Halftime Show several years ago alongside Madonna. (Sketchy Andy aka Andy Lewis was the one bouncing on the slackline in a toga. Ring a bell?) He’s also the owner of BASE Jump Moab.
Anyway, this year, Lewis and wingsuit expert Ben “Dicko” Dixon decided to throw their hat in the ring for GoPro’s Million Dollar Challenge. The second annual video contest challenges the camera manufacturer’s top athlete-creators to create the most jaw-dropping clip possible using a GoPro.
The duo’s submission involved suspending a 15- by 15-foot net 400 feet off the ground with an empty center for Dicko to target with a screaming wingsuit flight. Sounds pretty hairy, yes? Well, the team pulled it off, successfully earning the prestigious win over thousands of other submissions that GoPro received. (Check out the video below for many of the highlighted clips.)
The stunt was born in Moab, Utah as Lewis’s crew readied for the ceremonial opening of net-jumping season (which Lewis explains to GoPro is a special time, as the season only lasts a few weeks). At the gathering, several athletes participated in multiple BASE jumps, and then Dicko decided to attempt to ultimate needle-thread—that is, a high-risk wingsuit flight through the canyon’s small net hole.
The clip is absolutely mind-blowing, and certainly well deserved of the $1 million prize.
When asked what he plans to do with the prize money, Lewis told GoPro, “The earnings will go back into the cycle of amazing stunts and support the fun projects that we love to build. I am going to try to split the earnings accordingly between all the people who helped this come together.”
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/2SqH3cc
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