Sunpathlete Spotlight – Ultimate Exposure
The latest entry in our SunPathlete Spotlight competition – to profile a Sun Path sponsored athlete
8 Intimate Questions with Ultimate Exposure – William Hunter and Shelley Andrzejewski, interviewed by Jeff Holmstock.
You can download the full pdf here or read below…
William Hunter and Shelley Andrzejewski DEFINE Ultimate Exposure. More than just multi-sport extreme athletes, William and Shelley’s commitment to skydiving is fundamentally based in their belief in the importance of “giving back” and being morally grounded to represent the good and positive aspects to those coming up in the sport. Team Ultimate Exposure has represented at more than 57 drop zones in more than 35 countries and 48 US States! Sunpath’s Newest “All-In” Sunpathletes – Exposed!
1) At what point in your life did you decide it was time to try skydiving and what was your reaction to your first jump?
BUG (Shelley): I never got to decide the time, because William surprised me with my first jump! He bought tandem jumps for me, him, and his business partner (his birthday present) and away we went! I was super excited but yet very nervous! I came down and said, “When can we do it again?!” And before I knew it, William was signing us up for ground course?! My first thought, “HOLY SH*T” “What did I just get myself into?” I was never prepared to do it on my own! Lol
William: Bug took my words, except for my reaction, My reaction was what the F$%K am I doing?!! We are not made to fly. There might have even been a tear or two. Lol!
2) What inspired you to color coordinate on those sexy rigs you have?
BUG: Just as you said it my friend… SEXY… need I say more? OK fine… POP POP POW… quite distinguishable!
William: As far as to coordinate it was because we are teammates and we wanted them to be distinct and we wanted everyone to know those are ours, because we are very proud of our sponsors and what they do for us and the support we get from them. So that is part. I had always wanted a bright pink canopy not because of the color but I wanted to be seen. It is scary up there with everyone in there air!
3) If you had the ability to increase the satisfaction, either adding something to it or changing the reality what would it be?
William: Right now the only thing I can think of is a way to get to 13500 feet faster. If Someone could come ups with a way to skip the plane ride, that would be great. Planes scare me!
4) What was the first thing that came to your mind when the door opened on your first skydive?
BUG: CRAZY AWESOME!
William: That I might pee my pants.
5) If you could choose to live out their life as any flying animal…what would it be?
BUG: Well I’d be silly not to say some kind of “BUG” right?!?! So a LADY BUG! They are believed to bring good fortune and prosperity. Also, they influence others to experience the joys of living to the fullest, which I believe all should do!
William: This sounds like a wingsuiter question. I love you guys! It would be a dragon. Just because of the myths behind them and all the different things they can stand for.
6) How can we better push the limits and come up with new aspects of the sport while keeping safety as a priority? Should this come from atop via BSRs or be better left at the local DZ level or solely be individual responsibility?
Bug & William: This is a trick question because obviously we have limits that are drop zones specific for us and obviously the BSR’s are put in place as a guide line. Now with all that being said we have gotten to where we are in the sport because of pioneers before us pushing the limits of the gear and what we thought possible. If you get a chance to talk with some of these people you will realize that even though it seemed to be crazy or out there at the time, these pioneers spent a lot of time talking to others about what they were wanting to do. They reached out to people and put in a lot of time training and tried to reach their goals in the safest way possible. There is always going to be some risk in pushing the limits, but if you talk to others and build a team around you to help, you can help eliminate some of the risks.
7) What do you want to be known for inside or outside the sport?
BUG: I want us to be known for inspiring others to educate themselves in the sport, to push themselves in the sport, and for our awesome friendly, kind personalities that welcomes all! Basically, we are friendly Cats!
William: I think that she said it pretty well. No matter how good we get (which trust me we have a long way to go) we will always want to help anyone in anyway we can. We want everyone to know that they can approach us and have a talk or go on a jump.
8) What advice would you give to an inspiring/sponsored skydiver?
BUG: Be yourself and focus on your end goal. Never take your eye off the prize, because in due time you’ll get there if you put your all into it!
William: The only advice that I can really give is decide what you want, find someone that will be willing to mentor you and go for it. Trust me there are many out there that are willing to help and pass along the knowledge without charging you anything. Well maybe a beer or two. Always take a chance to learn more. There are so many opportunities out there to learn. Go to boogies and talk to your vendors. If you’re in Deland or Raeford, stop at the manufacturers and take a tour. Go to PIA or the Hall of Fame events and ask questions. Trust me, it will all pay off!
More SunPathlete Spotlights
Good luck Jeff with his entry in our SunPathlete Spotlight competition – download pdf here.
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- Brian Cumming by Jemma Westing
- SDMW Chemtrails by Brian Torkelsen
- David Flynn by Kyle Rhoades
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