Johnny's Essay on, "Why I Base Jump

From the time he was two years old, and sailing off beds and couches, Johnny wanted to fly. As a young boy he stood at the front of the boat, arms spread wide, relishing the wind sailing past his body and face. In third grade he drew a picture that depicted him jumping from a hot air balloon. He titled it, “The adventure begins here!”

That desire to climb to new heights and meet every adventure challenge never left Johnny. By the time he finishes elementary school, he’s tried pretty much everything, including surfing, skateboarding, tee-ball, peewee football, soccer, BMX bike racing, gymnastics, ice hockey, and roller hockey. Those activities weren’t enough for him and he expresses interest in paragliding and adventure racing, only to be discouraged when his parents tell him he’s too young. 

Climbing the Grand Teton with his mom, Dianette, Johnny turns his attention to mountain climbing. Following in his mom’s footsteps, he turns his sights to conquering the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each continent. He garners the world record for the youngest person to climb Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. 

In between climbs he begins paragliding and loves the sense of flying that it provides. In 2009, before he had completed high school, he triumphantly summited Mount Everest and became the youngest person to climb all Seven Summits. He was seventeen.

He turned his attention to skydiving and was invited to attend “What Makes a Young Champion?” event at the National University of Singapore. He pushed back a semester at the University of Southern California to move to Las Vegas to further his skydiving training and learn to BASE jump. Johnny takes BASE jumping to a new level when he BASE jumps from an 1,800-foot cliff into the Grand Canyon with Jace Ramsey, one of his mentors from Vegas. In the process, he earns himself a starring role in a Bear Gyrlls “Escape from Hell” episode. 

That same year, he vowed to become the youngest person to complete “The Explorer’s Grand Slam,” which includes the Seven Summits, and visiting both the north and south poles. He completed that personal challenge.

Supported by sponsors, Johnny decided to become a professional wingsuit BASE jumper and proximity flyer, which is the dangerous sport of flying close to solid objects such as trees and cliffs. In October 2015, he flew to Switzerland to do more of what he loved, proximity flying. Johnny never returned. Johnny died on the second proximity flight of that trip.