Light at the end of the Tunnel

From the abyss to the sky...

2009-11-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Ever get that notion when you wake up and roll out of bed that something just isn’t right in your life? I got it once. It was about my job. A little over 2 years ago I worked for an electronics retailer and had to commute 60 miles a day for low pay. It was the same routine every day; the same nagging customers; the same management team that pushed you to sell when there really wasn’t much incentive to do so. Electronics retail is a huge, unfulfilling abyss that I despise.

In July of 07’ my friend Matt got this job interview that he was super stoked about; when I asked him what his job would entail he responded with an exertion of enthusiasm , “I’m going to be teaching people how to fly!”. My response put so eloquently… “BULL SH**”.

About two months after Matt got the job and returned from his training course in Utah and asked me if I wanted to come in to fly. Again my response was an eloquent one, “HE** YEAH!” After my awesome flight experience I was the most envious person in the world of his job. A couple weeks later Matt told me iFLY needed someone to help with all of the IT work in the facility as well as help out at the front desk making reservations and what not, and he had recommended me to his boss and he wanted to interview me. My response was, “WHOOOOOOOOOOO!” Notice all happiness, no swearing.

Without even thinking about the consequences the next day I put in my two week notice at the abyss without knowing how my interview would turn out. Everything fell in to place; I got the job, and a few months later my supervisor resigned and there was no one to fill his shoes as far as IT and infrastructure so a position was created for my particular niche. Since then I’ve have been fortunate to grow in many different positions around the work place; flight instructing, operations, and even management responsibilities. My job is fulfilling; new challenges every day, many happy customers, and a great team of awesome people. Oh yeah I forgot; I get to FLY… FOR FREE!!! What more could one ask for? Vertical wind tunnels are something I am going to be involved in for the rest of my life. My job and flying have become a passion. I am grateful for what I do and for being able to share such an awesome experience with as many people as I can. Come fly with me. You won’t regret it.

Trevor Costanza
Infrastructure Manager
iFLY SF Bay

The Smile of Fear...

2009-10-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

As an instructor at iFly Hollywood I have discovered that taking people for their “first flight” is quite an experience not only for the flier, but also for me. The expressions that are left on people once they have flown are always priceless. I think the best expressions come from the kids. I’ll never forget this one little girl who was 3 years old and a very afraid of the giant wind tunnel she was about to step into. At first, she sat on the bench in her bright pink flight suit shaking her head, “No, no.” She did not want to fly. After a little bit of encouragement, I was able to get her to come to the door. She was a little more than curious about what all the wind was about. She peaked her head in, got a taste of the air, backed up, took a big deep breath and said, “Ok! ” I saw the bravery come over her like a magic wand had given her special powers. I told her to put her arms up like she was Superwoman and I took her into the air. At first she grabbed on to my arm, frightened. Then a few seconds later, she realized, “Hey…I’m flying! “ Immediately her hands were out in front of her, she was donning a huge smile and looking like she was having the time of her life! I was able to let go of her and she was flying on her own. Amazing for a 3 year old who just a few minutes before was struggling to tie her shoes. Once the flight was over, I took her to the doorway noticing she still had a huge grin on her face. She high fived all of the others waiting for their turn then proudly took her seat on the bench as an accomplished flier. After the other customers flew, it was her turn again. This time she did not hesitate. She jumped off the bench like she’d been doing this for years. I told her to stand back, then run and dive into the tunnel. Amazingly, she was not the scared little girl she was before her first flight. Now she was a daredevil ready to take on anything! She stood back, got a running start and jumped right in. She flew around, able to go higher this time, still with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on a child. When the flight was over she was ecstatic, smiling, jumping and yelling to her parents who were watching outside. I gave her a Flight Certificate providing official proof of all she accomplished in her first flight. She took pictures with me and thanked me for letting her fly. As she walked away she still had the same big smile she had after the first flight. Knowing that I was a part of helping her overcome her fear and experience something amazing puts a smile on my face as well, and I was reminded of what a great place iFLY Indoor Skydiving really is. Not only do we give people the ability to fly, we help them overcome their inner fears and make them realize they can do something extraordinary in their lives, and this may only be the beginning.

James Halski
Infrastructure Manager, Instructor
iFLY Hollywood

Flight on the mind...

2009-10-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

With this week's "Balloon Boy" story it seems flight is on many of our minds. I don't know about you, but while I suspected something fishy, I couldn't help but worry about a six year old child flying through the air, unattended, in a jiffy pop bag. Then I started laughing. My head told my heart that the child wasn't in there, something wasn't right and all would be ok. I cannot help but keep asking myself, why is everyone so caught up in this story?

There was the element of bizarre, there was the speculation of hoax, but there was also the well known fact that most people and children have a serious curiosity about flight. How do I know this? I see it all the time. Every week at iFLY I see indoor skydiving bring actual flight to actual people. No false pretense, no virtual reality...the real deal. I see children discover it at our Kids Club, or at each others birthday parties. We have all kinds of families from locals to Pierce Brosnan to Cindy Crawford or Amber Valletta come check out that amazing feeling of flight. Older men, younger men, moms, grandma's and everyone in between. They fly in our wind tunnel because they were told it is just like flying in the sky. There is a reason millions of people try it every year. It is satisfying. It is fun. It brings a reality to that dream you had that you were flying, and when you woke up, you wanted to fall back asleep so you could feel it again. Flight is special. Everyone at iFLY knows this. We want to share it with as many people as possible, because we know it really is THAT good.

We do recommend coming to the tunnel though. Jiffy pop bags do not look safe.

News

2009-09-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it feel like every single piece of news you get lately is bad news? It doesn't matter the medium, everything from prime time news to our own Facebook pages, it is all gloom and doom. I fight this everyday. I will not go to bed at night until I have found "what's good about this?" It has been especially difficult lately to be so positive. It often comes in threes...and it did at my house this week, along with a four, and a five. I felt like a cast member of Grey's Anatomy as I kept saying "seriously?".

I realized during this tough time that certain things are essential. One, keep your friends close, and your family closer. Two, figure out what is to be learned in the process, and learn it. Three, find a way to take yourself out of the situation and find a little peace. For some this is a walk on the beach or a hike in the hills. Some will garden, some will surf, some will meditate. Most moms I know will settle for a long hot bath and consider it a trip to Fiji for an hour. For me, it's getting my feet off the ground. Body flight is my peace. Would I like to be skydiving over a beautiful jungle in Puerto Vallarta? For sure. Can I do that today? No way. But what I can do is jump in the indoor skydiving tunnel right here at home. I can get in my car, drive 5 miles to iFLY Hollywood and leave this earth for a bit. I can soak in the smiles. I can focus on being airborne. I can feel the freedom. This is something special that I know I have and am grateful for it every single day. What brings you peace? If you don't have something...I challenge you to try mine.

Heather Simon Risinger
Director of Public Relations,
iFLY California

Photo: Katey Segal, a woman I admire, "Sons of Anarchy", "Married With Children" and more

My favorite thing...

2009-09-01T11:33:00.001-07:00

The actual feeling and sensation of flying offers a freedom and peace of mind that is hard to put into words. I get to share this with people every day and I love it! The best part….the atmosphere at iFLY San Francisco Bay. I sit in my office and over hear customers leaving. They talk about how amazing their flight was, how much fun they had, how badly they want to do it again, and their desire to master tricks and flips that their instructor showed them after their flight session. It is an excitement that I feel partially responsible for as the General Manager.

The culture and atmosphere at iFLY SF Bay is full of smiles and laughter. I think back to some of the jobs I have had in the past and can’t recall a staff more fun or a product more unique. On days I feel especially over whelmed, a quick jump into the tunnel reminds me to get back to the core of what I do. I get the unique privilege of teaching people how to fly! How many people can say that? I love my team I work with and I love my job and I love to fly. I have gratitude because I know there are not many people out there that leave work every day with this kind of outlook.

While some only view it as flying, others are having their wildest dreams come true. Either way, everyone will agree it's a really cool experience. I personally enjoy being able to share flight with the world and seeing the light bulb go off in their head every single time when they “get it”. Putting smiles on people as young as 3 and as wise as 94 is something I don't think will ever get old or boring. iFLY Indoor Skydiving provides more than just a place to experience human flight. It provides good clean fun for friends, family and colleagues to bond and enjoy something unique together. Where else would you possibly want to!?

Travis Richards

General Manager

iFLY SF BAY

Coolest Mom in Town?

2009-08-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

In this day and age it is awfully hard to impress our kids. The one thing my kids love to tell their friends is "my mom is a skydiver!" I've always got a chuckle out of this. I'm often asked why I love to fly. I find myself explaining how amazing it is to prove to your kids you can do anything you want to! One day, I set my mind to skydiving, accomplished my goal, and now enjoy the gift of flight. Working at iFLY Indoor Skydiving I get to enjoy this gift even more. I've come to learn that indoor skydiving is even a cooler playground conversation. "Really, your mom works at iFLY?" The pride that comes over my kids' faces fills me with the kind of feeling that runs a chill through my veins. Imagine my joy when my 10 year old son, Sam, begged me to have his birthday party at iFLY. I watch other kids have their parties and how much fun they have all the time. How is it that I thought my own kids wouldn't see how special it is? I assumed they had become complacent because they get to fly every Saturday morning at our Kids Club. We scheduled Sam's party, and I became the customer. I got to experience an iFLY Birthday Party from a different perspective. The kids had a blast, the dads begged to fly too, everyone was hyped up, taking pictures, and three went home and asked their mom if they could have their party there! This just warmed my heart. Sam's party reminded me that I work somewhere special.

Dreams do come true

2009-08-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

You would think that working in customer service for more than a year, things would start to get repetitive or redundant as far as working with the customers, explaining how things work and accommodating them throughout the entire process. But for me, that does not seem to be the case having been working at iFly Indoor Skydiving for over a year. Without a doubt, I still get a kick out of seeing the excitement that this experience puts on our customers faces, and their response when it is all over. I couldn’t have been any more proud to be a part of this company when a few weeks back we were able to make someone’s dream of flight come true. A twelve-year-old boy from Connecticut who was diagnosed with a form of cancer had no other dream but to fly and the Make a Wish Foundation and iFly SF Bay was able to make that happen. They came out to the San Francisco bay area to fly with us and we were able to make his dream a reality. Sure... everybody has dreamed of flying at some point in their life but never as much as this boy. When his experience was over the look on his face and his reaction was priceless. I believe the staff of iFly SF Bay never really knew what it felt like to truly make someone’s dream come true until that day, and it is definitely a moment we will never forget.

Justin Germono

Under pressure?

2009-08-10T09:18:00.001-07:00

There's something about control that appeals to the human condition. It's a natural and inherent inclination that we possess to seek the stability and comfort found in control.

Flight breaks the logic of control and forces you to come to terms with the fragility of that control. And it is in this paradox where I've found the most interesting moments of freedom. The iFly experience forces you into a posture of trusting a seemingly uncontrollable and invisible force that leaves you at its mercy. The first time inside the tunnel was an exhilarating introduction to such trust, and once that relationship is developed, once that trust is given over to both the instructor's experience and the power of the wind to be able to hold you up, there is freedom.

Then, as suddenly as it’s taken, power is returned. Analogous to almost any time in our lives where we find ourselves in an uncomfortable and foreign environment, stability is returned in time. It is one of the most fundamental balancing acts of our existence, the contrasting desires for new and old, exciting and comfortable. And the more time you spend in the tunnel the closer you are to achieving this balance. iFly. Do you?

Written by Jeremiah Choi, CSF Winner and intern at iFLY Hollywood

Looking into the light....

2009-08-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Six years, $8.5M dollars, more stress than I could possibly imagine, and more fun than anyone could possibly ask for in a lifetime.

I started thinking about leaving my regular old job at a Silicon Valley high tech company after 7 layoff rounds. OK, looking back, maybe I was a little slow. I was thinking about what else I could possibly do, a restaurant? marketing consulting? may-be-not... Instead I took the family to a cheap vacation in Florida to de-stress a little. I had seen indoor skydiving when I was out in Orlando for some trade shows but never had a chance to fly. Saturday afternoon, 2pm, 5 tickets please...."I'm sorry sir but we are booked for the next three days and our first flight is at 10pm". OK, when I go on vacation, whip out the credit card, I want service.... but we waited, and it was incredible.

Two days later, our second indoor skydive. A sixty year old lady did it with us because her six year old grandson did it at a birthday party. She said, "I will never jump out of an airplane, but I have always dreamt of flying". My brain, and adrenal gland were out of control. 6 to 60? Indoor Skydiving? Not risking your life? Pretty much addicted from the start.

Sounds like bull but it is the absolute truth, two days later on the same vacation, my boss called and told me that there was ANOTHER layoff round. He would not be there when I got back on Monday.

Things started to, well, not fall into place, but connect to each other. Facing a high tech layoff....or building a vertical windtunnel in California? Steady income from a billion dollar company every two weeks or the stress (and joy) of owning my own company, driving my own destiny? "Showing up to my cube" 5 days a week 8-5pm, or living my work all the time?

I don't exactly exactly remember my thoughts but one feeling was clear and strong. I absolutely knew that if I did not try, take the chance, bring tunnel flight to the SF Bay area, I would hate myself forever.

Fast forward six years. Now two tunnels Hollywood and SF Bay area. 40 people trying their best to fly customers from all over the world in a safe, fun, amazing machine, invented in America, designed by NASA engineers, all to fly humans.

We have flown grandparents with their grandkids, loads of skydivers, birthday boys and girls, moms, dads, and OK even the occasional dog, bird, frozen turkey (for Thanksgiving!), rubber chickens, and robotic dinosaurs.

The economy is terrible now. People suffering all over the world. We are all doing what we can to survive. I have the privelege of leading an amazing group of people in building a completely new industry in these difficult times. So much work to do: Improve the customer experience, build our team, delight and surprise our guests.

I feel so incredibly grateful for this opportunity. I hope that this blog can be a place for our team to dialog with the world of indoor skydiving enthousiasts. Any ideas about how we can make it better, please let us know.

Kent Sessions
iFly California