{"id":38714,"date":"2021-12-07T12:43:47","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T12:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=38714"},"modified":"2021-12-17T13:22:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T13:22:50","slug":"catching-up-with-bruno-brokken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/catching-up-with-bruno-brokken\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching up with… Bruno Brokken"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bruno Brokken needs no introduction. The skydiving community was blessed when he put a parachute on his back, and even more so when he took a camera in freefall. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bruno – always ready to smile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For years his work as a camera flyer enchanted and inspired us while his journey took him to all corners of the world. His calm, competent, comical and always full of good vibes presence was a plus in every activity he carried out. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 2020 Bruno received one of the highest distinctions in the sport, being inducted in the Skydiving Hall of Fame.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Hey Bruno, how many jumps do you have and what made you start skydiving?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over 27,000 jumps now. I was always interested in aviation. My father was a military pilot, but he never jumped. He had a few crashes but never ejected. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 1980, there was a dropzone in my home town in Belgium, a little one, with a Cessna 172. I discovered it in a strange way. I had a friend and one day I saw her with a bandage around her knee. I asked her what happened and she said \u201cI was parachuting and had a bad landing\u201d \u201cWhere?!?\u201d \u201cHere, at the local airport\u201d. The next weekend I was there with a friend and checked it out and that\u2019s how it all started. My buddy did only a few jumps and I never stopped really. These were different times, there were no coaches for different disciplines, but at the end of the first year we were already doing some relative work and CRW. We all had about 100 jumps, it was great fun! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The beginning – early freefalls, Moorsele, 1981
Photo from Bruno’s collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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You flew camera for many records, which was the most difficult?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Normally on most record jumps there are several camera people, so the pressure is more on the participants. But of course every camera people tries to take the shots so the judges can validate the record. Nice pictures are a bonus. Technically most records are not more complicated than doing a normal camera jump, but for record jumps we usually go really high and there can be problems with the oxygen or the cold. I remember in 1996 for example, the World Team did 300-way attempts in Russia, jumping from big Mi-26 helicopters (4 of them) and the problem was that these helicopters had no door at the back, it was open all the time. We were going at 20,000ft so on the way up, the people in the back were really, really cold. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also for the 400-way jumps we went to an exit altitude of around 25000ft. All the participants had full face helmets with oxygen tubes directly connected to them. Most camerapeople had open face helmets. This and the fact that some tubes were not long enough to make it to the ramp of the C-130 made it a bit more complicated for us. These are the usual camera  problems at these kind of events, not necessarily the jump itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exit from four Hercules during World Team 357-way World Record, 2004
Photo by Bruno Brokken<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Of all the non-traditional skydiving places that you jumped, which ones did you love the most?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I  love to travel. The North Pole was really special because it is an amazing place and you always have to land facing South. \ud83d\ude42  We were thousands of kilometers away from dry land, it\u2019s only ice there. It was really special, but tricky with the gear though. I don\u2019t remember the exact exit altitude, I believe around 10,000ft, but it was COLD. There could do only one jump there. Immediately after landing you need to put the camera gear in a bag and close it, to prevent having it destroyed by the humidity combined with the freezing temperatures (this was 1994, long before digital photo cameras).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I really prefer warmer places like where the exotic boogies happen. I\u2019ve been doing that since 1993 almost every year. These boogies are or were organized by groups like Exotic Sky Adventures, Thai Sky Festival and more recently Tsunami Skydivers. I\u2019ve been fortunate to jump all over the world, more recently in the Maldives. That was nice. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What are your Top Ten favourite non-standard skydiving places?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n