At a recent Flight Camp I noticed a good number of women present who were flying well and bringing a lot of great energy. One woman caught my attention for her beautiful flying as well as her warm personality. That girl is Sol Genova, a South American freefly coach. I caught up with her for an interview so that we could learn a little more about who she is and what she’s up to in that part of the world.
Hey Sol – so nice to chat with you. Tell me, where are you from and where do you live?
I’m from Brazil and I currently live in São Paulo.
How many jumps do you have and when did you start skydiving?
I have made around 2,100 jumps and I’m a skydiver since 2012.
Are you working in the sport and if so, what’s your role?
About 2 years ago I started working in skydiving. My main objective is to encourage women to start freeflying and increase the number of females in the sport. Every month a good friend of mine and I try to organize a meeting of women who are starting the sport so that they can jump with us and not spend so much money. Because skydiving is very expensive, and one of the biggest complaints really is the financial part. So, I try to do my best to encourage them to keep jumping.
What is the skydiving scene like in Brazil?
The skydiving scenario in Brazil today is very good. We have athletes for all modalities growing more and more. Freefly athletes in Brazil have grown a lot in these last years. We have several camps during the year where beginners and experienced athletes have the opportunity to train and learn more and more. My husband and I in 2016, together with a good friend of us, Paulo Pires, decided to create a freefly school in Brazil called FLYON FREEFLY. Today we are 9 friends doing our best for the Freefly community in Brazil; helping it grow more and more in a fun and safe way for all of us by organizing several camps during the year. We also invite super-experienced skydivers and coaches once a year to train with ourselves and to expand the flying to the athletes in Brazil.
What have been some of your biggest accomplishments in skydiving?
I had a very special chance to participate in the Brazilian Freefly team with my husband Paulo Perini and our friend Flavio Santoro and win the Nationals in 2017. This opportunity to be invited to join the team was certainly one of the most memorable and incredible moments of my life because I had the responsibility to train and do my best to honor the invitation I received. And certainly, my participation in the female world record attempts for Project19.
Who are some of your mentors and inspirations?
Paulo Perini, Luís Prinetto, Luís Adolfo, Alethia Austin and Inka Tiitto
When you’re learning for your own progression, how do you approach learning and being a good student?
I still have a long way to go, one of the things I need to learn above all is not to push myself so hard and have more fun instead of just focusing on learning. I always try to understand my learning time and not compare myself with anyone, it also helps me a lot
What are your favorite kinds of skydives?
Angle for sure 😂 and sometimes some bigways
What advice would you give to someone just getting started in our sport?
Be patient, respect your time, don’t compare yourself to anyone, set a goal and don’t give up because you have a long way to learn.
Where can we find you in 2023?
South America 💜 You can follow me on my instagram @jemappellesol and @flyonfreefly is where I add the calendar events. Where I stay most of the year is in Brazil, traveling a lot around my country doing many camps and boogies.
