Subscribers

The Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is dedicated uniquely to Free Flight and your support makes it possible. These extra segments, Ask Me Anything Shows, Full length shows and other bonus material are a little extra to thank you for your support. I’m tremendously honored to have a community of people who value what we do. Your generosity enables these conversations and I believe they go a long ways towards helping our community.

If you can’t support us financially that’s TOTALLY OK, we get it. We will NEVER put any content behind a paywall. Just email me and I’ll set you up with a lifetime account, no questions.

Thank you,

Gavin McClurg

Want to listen to the bonus content on your phone or via whatever podcast app you use? Simply “subscribe” using our bonus content RSS feed (copy this):

https://www.cloudbasemayhem.com/feed/ask_me_anything/

On many apps you just paste this url into the search bar, the show will load and ask you for your username and password (this is the same that you use on cloudbasemayhem.com) and you’re all set.

For example to add to Apple Podcasts: go to your Library, tap the three dots in the top-right corner, select Follow a Show by URL, paste the feed link (https://www.cloudbasemayhem.com/feed/ask_me_anything/), and tap Follow. It will then ask you for your username and password.

HOWEVER- on some players/apps- if it doesn’t ask you for a username and password you will need to encode the above URL with your username and password, or add the Apple Podcasts URL (hover over three dots upper right corner in apple podcasts and “copy url”). Note that if your username or password has special characters you will need to use “url safe” characters- just copy either and ask google what the url safe characters are, then copy and paste. FOR EXAMPLE- the @ symbol in your username must be converted to “%40” without the parenthesis.

So an encoded url would look something like this:
https://username:password@www.cloudbasemayhem.com/feed/ask_me_anything/

If you are still having and problems, or cannot log into the Cloudbase Mayhem website, just email me, I will get you up and rolling. Again thank you for your patience! Here are specific instructions for some of the bigger podcast apps:

Cross-Platform Apps

Pocket Casts: Works on iOS and Android

Castbox: Supports custom RSS link additions on both mobile platforms.

Player FM: Available on Android and iOS, though you must register an account first to import private feeds.

Podcast Republic : Android app with robust manual feed and URL support.

AntennaPod: Open-source Android app that handles any custom RSS source seamlessly.

iOS-Only Apps

Apple Podcasts: Go to Library, tap the three dots, and select “Follow a Show by URL”.

Overcast: Tap the “+” icon or search field to add a manual URL.

Castro: Paste the private feed link directly into the internal search box.

Downcast: Select the “+” or manual add podcast option to paste the link.

Android-Only Apps

Podcast Addict: Offers dedicated options to add custom RSS/auth-token feeds.

PodcastGuru: Simple interface that accepts direct manual feed entries.

#283 In the Blink of an Eye with Joe Stone- FULL VERSION

October 12, 2026 by Gavin McClurg

On August 10th, 2010 twenty-five-year-old Joe Stone went out to take a few laps on his speed wing, something he did nearly every day. But that day didn’t go as planned. Joe woke up over a month later and nothing was, or would ever be- the same. This is Joe’s incredible story of resilience, hope, inspiration and ultimately- gratitude. When your life goes upside down the little things become everything. This one isn’t easy, but it will leave you with a profound awareness of what’s possible, what’s important, and what we all miss in the hidden joys of just being alive.

#282 The Future of Hang Glider Design with Tim Swait- Full Version

September 27, 2026 by Gavin McClurg

British Hang Gliding Pilot and designer/ owner of Avian Hang Gliders Tim Swait shares his long journey from aviation enthusiast to innovator in hang gliding, discussing the evolution of the sport, technical advancements, and his groundbreaking work on the seventh generation hang glider. Discover how new designs could revolutionize performance, accessibility, and the future of free flight. Hang gliders agree that the last major evolution in the sport came with the six generation topless wing in the late 90’s. That’s about to change.

#281 Risk and Reward: Mastering Extreme Environments with Thomas Lone- FULL VERSION

September 11, 2026 by Gavin McClurg

Norwegian adventurer, mountaineer and pilot Thomas Lone doesn’t do anything halfway. He’s the youngest Norwegian to summit the Seven Summits — the highest peak on every continent — and now he’s setting his sights on the 2027 Red Bull X-Alps. Meanwhile, he and his wife just welcomed their first child into the world, guide paragliding, backcountry skiing and snow kiting tours, and Thomas has quietly become one of the more formidable race-to-goal pilots on the circuit.

#280 Breaking records and building robots: the future with Jeremy Soper- FULL VERSION

August 27, 2026 by Gavin McClurg

In this episode British hang gliding pilot Jeremy Soper shares his journey from overcoming a fear of heights to becoming a record-breaking pilot and innovative robotics entrepreneur. We explore the future of AI in physical labor, using robots to weed instead of using pesticides, the thrill of extreme flying and chasing distance around the world, including a midnight flight where the date changed, a personal call-out to other hang gliding pilots who are losing the records race to paragliders, and an optimistic view of the future of AI.

#279 The ultimate flying migration with Benjamin Kellett- FULL VERSION

August 12, 2026 by Gavin McClurg

In this episode, adventurer and filmmaker Benjamin Kellett returns to the Mayhem by popular demand to share his rather awesome adventurous paragliding journeys across the Himalaya, Karakorum, and Europe in what has become an annual migration. Ben discusses the challenges of high-altitude flying, gear choices, and the evolving landscape of tandem paragliding regulations and a LOT more. Discover insights into character-building expeditions, the impact of weather phenomena like the “Super” El Nino this year, and future plans for exploration. Ben chases the aesthetic of flying better than just about anyone.

#278- Patagonia Convergence, Acro Mastery, and the Truth about SIV with Kris Holub- FULL VERSION

August 10, 2026 by Gavin McClurg

Kris Holub is one of the most versatile pilots in the American free-flight community — an accomplished acro competitor, XC pilot, and SIV/acro instructor who has spent the last four years running clinics out of Oludeniz, Turkey. Gavin sat down with Kris in person during a weather day at the US Nationals in Chelan this June to talk about his extraordinary winter season in Bariloche, Argentina, where he and his friend Marcos Rosenkjer explored one of the most underrated and unknown and seriously awesome XC destinations in the world — and capped it off with a 345km convergence flight into the Patagonian desert.

Bonus Episode- Thermalling with Mitch Riley

September 18, 2025 by Gavin McClurg

Veteran PWC pilot, long-time paragliding instructor, Red Bull X-Alps competitor and 2025 US National Champion Mitch Riley explains how to climb more efficiently during a weather day of the Red Rocks Wide Open this September 2025. He covers ground from the basics to the expert and everything in between. Looking to fly faster or farther? Tune in.

#248 The art of being Bold with Antoine Girard

June 8, 2025 by Gavin McClurg

French pilot and serious adventurer Antoine Girard has laid down some of the boldest lines on Earth, and he’s been doing it for a long time. Antoine competed in the Red Bull X-Alps four times, starting in 2013 where he found himself on the podium (3rd), again in 2015 (4th), 2017 (badly injured), and 2019 (retired due to continued trouble with the injury sustained in 2017). He’s pulled off some of the most extreme expeditions in paragliding and mountaineering in Pakistan on 6 different trips, flew from west to east across the Andes, was nearly killed in Eritrea (by people, not flying), flew the length of the south island of New Zealand, and is currently traversing the United States from the Mexico border to the Northern Canadian Rockies.

The Wanderbird Podcast with your host Gavin McClurg

January 7, 2025 by Gavin McClurg

In this bonus episode your host Gavin McClurg sits down with Red Bull X-Alps legend, Red Bull athlete and world adventurer Paul Gushlbauer. Paul and Gavin became friends during preparations for the 2015 Red Bull X-Alps (Gavin’s first of 4) and have had some pretty remarkable adventures together, including during the filming of North of Known, when Gavin and Dave Turner crossed the Alaska Range by foot and paraglider in 2016 (Paul was one of the film crew’s bush pilots).

Bonus Episode! Decoding the Invisible with Calef Letorney

November 3, 2023 by Gavin McClurg

The bonus episode on leaving the nest with Calef was such a big hit we decided to do another show, call it the “201” version, or the next step. At this stage pilots are a couple hundred hours in. They are chasing cross country, getting more comfortable with bumpy air, they’ve hopefully done an SIV and are actively trying to decode the invisible. We take a deep dive into finding the special sauce of flying XC.