{"id":32050,"date":"2021-03-04T15:38:22","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T15:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=32050"},"modified":"2023-07-31T09:13:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T09:13:59","slug":"catching-up-with-armando-fattoruso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/catching-up-with-armando-fattoruso\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching up with… Armando Fattoruso"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you spend your entire childhood on a dropzone it’s no wonder the skydiving bug bites you hard\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Armando Fattoruso \u2013 Photo by Jason Moledzki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For Armando starting skydiving was easy. It was basically a family love affair and he knew from early childhood that he wanted to put a rig on his back. His father was his AFF instructor and most of his childhood memories have Skydive Salerno as background. Now, with over 11.000 jumps under his belt, he is a very talented member of PDFT<\/a> since 2018 and a Flight-1<\/a> instructor. The sky is still his happy place.    <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Armando, tell us who you are, where you come from, where you\u2019re at right now.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m 36 and currently working as a skydiving instructor at Skydive Spain<\/a>. I grew up on a dropzone in Southern Italy where my father was an instructor and rigger. At the age of 16, I did my first AFF jump. A year after, I filmed my brother\u2019s (Mario Fattoruso) AFF. Then we started competing together on a RW4 team. I jumped at as many dropzones as possible and always with different coaches. My first competitions were against my brother where we competed against those who went farther or faster. In 2006, I took part in the Italian Swoop Tour and in 2007, I won the first Italian canopy piloting championship. Now I\u2019m a member of the PD Factory Team along with my brother who is one of my teammates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Freefall happiness over Dubai \u2013 Photo by Javier Ortiz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tell us about the lifestyle behind these sports. How has it influenced your life?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I have a quiet lifestyle but I like to alternate between relaxing moments at home with friends and family with busy periods where I travel and compete. I spend most of my free time traveling with my parachute, but as soon as I can, I go back home to Italy to see my family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your normal training schedule like?<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Normally I focus on a specific training for at least one week per month or the days before the competition but I try to take advantage of each work jump at Skydive Spain to train when I can get to know my canopy more as well as work on technique and the mind process behind a swoop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\u2019d you get started in swooping and competitions?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is like a dream come true. When my brother and I were kids, we used to watch all their videos. The first time they came to Italy to take part in a swoop contest, it was memorable to see them and be able to speak with our \u201cskygods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Travis Mills, Armando and Justin Price during the Florence expedition, 2019
Photo by Max Haim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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How important are your teammates and how do they make training fun?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t image myself training solo, my teammates are essential for my training. We always try to change point of view and give feedback to each other, like this I feel I trained the double.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your favorite song to listen to prior to competing?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I made a long playlist with old and new songs. There are many different type for many different scenarios: attacking, lyric, relax, chill-house, hold the focus, disco, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you do to calm your nerves during a competition?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thinking to my beloved and my family<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Competition mood ON
Photo by Mordace Blq<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What is the one thing you always do after a good performance?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Long deep breathe out and at same time looking at the eyes of one of my teammates, their approbation is the best reward for my hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What mental tool do you use when under pressure?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I repeat to myself that the path that I chose to live bring me in this scenario so, the stress that I feel is part of the moment and I love to live the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Armando’s highlights <\/em>– video by Air Sports Group<\/strong>, 2018<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n