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MEGAN

1) What made you decide to start skydiving?
My sister had been skydiving for two years before I started, and she convinced me to do a tandem when I went to visit her. I was immediately hooked!

2) How long have you been a skydiver?
5 years

3) How many jumps do you have?
250. I know I know, I should have a lot more jumps by now but this is what happens when you're a broke college student

4) What container and parachute are you currently jumping? What was your progression?
Currently jumping a Mirage G4 with a Spectre 135. I had just downsized a few months ago from an old Sabre 1 150.

5) Have you had any cutaways?
None

6) What type of skydiving do you enjoy (RW, big way, crew, FF, swooping, etc.)?
Tracking, angle, rodeos, and wingsuiting. Basically anything with horizontal movement.

7) What’s your home drop zone?
Skydive the Ranch

8) Do you come from an outdoor family? What does your family think of your decision to start skydiving?
My parents are not outdoor people at all. My sister and I kept skydiving a secret for a while and they freaked out when we finally told them. They think it's really cool now, but they still worry.

9) Have you participated in any record jumps? If so what were they?
Nope, not cool enough for that yet!

10) What do you like best about skydiving?
It's fun and the best form of stress relief!

11) Why is Team Blackstar important to you?
I came from a small dropzone that really didn't have much diversity at all. Being part of Team Blackstar allowed me to meet a diverse group of skydivers from all over the country, which was really awesome, especially as a new jumper. Skydiving is a relatively small but inclusive community and I think it's a great way to bring people together from all walks of life.

12) What is the most challenging thing you’ve ever done as a skydiver? What was the scariest?
The most challenging and scariest thing I've done in skydiving was my very first AFF jump. I wasn't scared at all for my tandem because I trusted the tandem master. But when it was time for me take responsibility for my own life, I was terrified. I had no idea what I was doing! That's probably the biggest lesson I've learned in skydiving; trusting myself and my abilities.

13) What are the challenges of a sport that is 87% male and 13% female (that percentage drops to 9% when you consider instructors: TIs, AFFIs, etc)
I've met a lot of great people in this sport, but I don't think I've ever been hit on as aggressively as some of the male skydivers I've encountered... and I'll just leave it at that.

14) Have you been able to connect with other women in skydiving?
Yes! For the most part, I've had really positive experiences with other females in the sport, especially the older and more experienced skydivers. (Shout out to Lisa Bresson for lending me her wingsuit and sharing her knowledge!)

15) What made you decide to start wingsuiting?
Wingsuiting had actually never been on my skydiving agenda. But then I realized that my favorite jumps were tracking and angle, then eventually rodeos. I've probably done almost 30 rodeos now. The wingsuiters got tired of me riding them all the time and told me to just start wingsuiting, so I did!

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