WATCH: Skydiving through the eyes of a skydiver

FOR skydiving fanatic and Kemptonian, Brendon Nortier (25), it is no longer nerve-wracking to plummet towards earth at about 200km/h but rather a mind-changing experience with every jump.

His team, the SpeedSloths, walked away with a second place in the novice two-way formation skydiving category at the South African National Skydiving championships at Pretoria Skydiving Club from April 28 to May 1.

Nortier, who is a salesman and manager for RB Fasteners in Spartan by day, started skydiving at Johannesburg Skydiving Club (JSC) in January last year and stands on 125 jumps and counting.

“My goal is to get to 200 jumps in the next four to five months so I can start learning to fly a wing suit. I have no end goal for skydiving. I hope to be doing this for several thousand jumps until I am old and grey,” says Nortier.

He has jumped out of various aircraft at an altitude of 11 000ft (3 353m) but mostly the Atlas Angel and PAC 750XL.

“Since I got my B licence (senior status), I have also jumped out of an R66 helicopter. This licence also allows me to jump out of hot air balloons and microlights but I have yet to encounter the opportunity.”

A routine jump consists of kitting up by putting on a jumpsuit, parachute, altimeter and helmet, followed by a gear checkup from the jump master to ensure everything is safe and in order before you get into the plane. After a 20-minute flight to reach the altitude you visually check that you are over the drop zone and jump.

An average skydive will usually include around 45 seconds of free fall and anywhere from three to 10 minutes of canopy time, depending on how big your canopy is.

“Skydiving has the miraculous ability to completely clear your mind. Everything you once worried about means nothing once you leave that plane. I am usually just in awe of how beautiful the earth is. The world looks very, very different when you are 3km-plus above it. This really makes me appreciate our planet and all the precious things contained on it. I would say that the experience is rather sublime.”

Nortier’s addiction of skydiving started growing after a lot of saving and talking about it with his friends. He explained to EXPRESS the rush of his first skydiving experience:

“On the Friday evening after work, excited and nervous beyond belief, I went and fetched my friend, Greg from the Gautrain station. Neither of us pretended to be brave as we were both quite stupendously scared.

“We slept in one of the cabins at the club, woke up early and got stuck into the day of ground school and gear training that is required before doing your first jump. We opted to do a static line jump on the Saturday afternoon with the rest of our class and since I was the heaviest one at the time, I had to exit the plane first.

“My heart was pounding harder than the bass from a Kempton Corsa Lite as I sat there next to the door of the plane looking this strange but kind female instructor in the face while she calmly gestured to me to breathe deep and slow.

“It is so difficult to describe how incredibly clear your head gets once that door opens at 3 000ft, every problem you have disappears, every worry evaporates as that same lady looks past your eyes into your soul and calmly shouts, ‘Are you ready to skydive?’

“Of course, I nod, calmly climb out onto the strut of the plane, fighting the strength of the wind, look right as she gives me the thumbs up and I just simply let go. On a static line jump there is nothing to worry about in terms of deployment. As you leave the plane your parachute is deployed for you, which is a good thing, since your brain pretty much blacks out the exit due to sensory overload and a couple of seconds later you are floating, a kilometer above the earth, taking in the sublime sunset as euphoria and adrenaline flood your body.

“A friendly coach with fluorescent orange paddles guides you in to land your stand, endorphins coursing through your veins as a new person.”

For those who want to skydive but are to afraid, Nortier’s advice is, “Just do it, it will change your life.”

“I would like to thank Beverly Cosslett: she is the most lovely person and has been supporting me and helping me learn since my first jump. A big thanks to Eugene Potgieter, Nicole Smith, Ralph Ridge and Shaun van Wyk: without them I probably would have quit in the beginning when things got tough. I have so much love for them and all the other members of the JSC.”
Nortier aspires to train hard to be employable on a permanent basis in the skydiving profession.