I completely fell in love with this team’s Montreal World Championship (2017) routine. Having met them for the first time at Sakura, I found that the team is comprised of four huge characters, all of whom have their distinct roles within the team. I found their energy and beautifully positive outlook on life contagious and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them.
Here is a sneaky peek into the oh-so-zen world of Prana Vayu…
Jeff Dimock
Age: 38
Country: USA
What other sports do you do? I ski and snowboard, yoga, qigong (which is sometimes called Chinese yoga; half way between yoga and tai chi, although tai chi is a martial art and qigong is not), skydiving… basically I’ll do any sport put in front of me!
What do you do to help you relax before a competition? Breathing, a little yoga and qigong
Tell me a fact that we may not know about you. I am a qigong teacher and a yoga teacher
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? The horses (after a very long pause, whilst Jeff considered the options)
Would you rather wear a ski jacket for the rest of your life or be naked for the rest of your life? I guess I could do more things if I was wearing clothes (This prompted a long discussion about nude flying in the tunnel; the less said about this conversation the better…)
If you could eliminate one thing from the world, what would it be? War
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Rich! I thought I wanted to be a doctor, but it was just because doctors make a lot of money, so I thought it was a job where I could just play all the time!
On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate me as an interviewer? 9.3 (I asked how I could improve. Jeff told me that I could freestyle my questions more… “Be more tangential?” I replied. This was a word that we had joked about a lot during the interview. We giggled and Jeff upped my score…) Now you get a 9.4!
How would Timmy describe you in three words? Dad. Zen. Head-in-the-clouds.
Cole Fehr
Age: 26
Country: USA
What other sports do you do? Little bit of skydiving, riding motorcycles, snowboarding and that’s about it; most of my time is spent tunnel flying
What do you do to help you relax before a competition? Lots of visualising, especially with 4 way, going over the whole routine. We all part ways and visualise!
Tell me a fact that we may not know about you. I’m a First Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo!
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? 100 horses for sure… I’ll take them any day!
Would you rather wear a ski jacket for the rest of your life or be naked for the rest of your life? Ski jacket
If you could eliminate one thing from the world, what would it be? I would say poverty for sure
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a chef (Jeff paused and smiled) The ironic thing is, I suck at cooking now!
On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate me as an interviewer? 11 (We high fived)
How would Dave describe you in three words? Lazy. Passionate (about flying). Irresponsible.
Dave Retzlaff
Age: 34
Country: USA
What other sports do you do? I used to play semi-pro basketball. I played from age 3 to 25. I actually broke my back playing and it ended my career. I never intended to get into this sport. (Dave told me the story of his broken back and his incredibly speedy recovery. We are so glad that you did get into this sport, Dave!)
What do you do to help you relax before a competition? I like to put on peaceful music and do meditation, deep breathing and visualisation
Tell me a fact that we may not know about you. (Dave looked down at his socks. He was wearing long purple socks (see picture!) with little dogs on.) It’s my therapy dog; she goes almost everywhere with me!
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? (Dave looked intense while he considered this question) The horses!
Would you rather wear a ski jacket for the rest of your life or be naked for the rest of your life? Ski jacket
If you could eliminate one thing from the world, what would it be? Inequality
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? A professional basketball player
On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate me as an interviewer? 10 (We high fived) Best interview I’ve ever had!
How would Jeff describe you in three words? Loyal. Intense. Goofy.
Timmy Hunckler
Age: 28
Country: USA
What other sports do you do? Rock climbing, trail riding and slacklining. I also have 12 BASE jumps, although I’m not currently an active Base jumper. Oh… and skydiving!
What do you do to help you relax before a competition? I sit and meditate; sometimes I need to calm my mind. I also do lots of movement to warm up
Tell me a fact that we may not know about you. I haven’t had an address in two and half years! I’ve been living out of a van, at the DZ, in the DZ hangar and on couches!
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? Do I wanna be swarmed or take on the big one? I’d choose the big duck! It seems hard, but I like a challenge. Kinda like a warrior fighting his battle; isn’t that the greatest tale of humankind?!
Would you rather wear a ski jacket for the rest of your life or be naked for the rest of your life? I’m gonna choose wisely and go somewhere warm and be naked!
If you could eliminate one thing from the world, what would it be? Ego; let go of ego and you’ll find the flow!
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? I said this at my kindergarten graduation… I want to be rockstar drummer!
On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate me as an interviewer? 11 (We high fived!)
How would Cole describe you in three words? (He laughed) Intense. Silly. Annoying.
