What’s it like to break world records? How do you win tasks at World Cups? Find out how to train to truly go big from one of our sports most talented and dedicated pilots, Brazilian Rafael Saladini. Rafael has just returned from the PWC in Portugal were he was a remarkable 2nd place in two tasks and won the final task, and this just months after being a part of world history when he was part of the crew who flew 513 km last October with Frank Brown, Marcelo Prieto, and Donizete Lemos. Rafael bombed that fated day, but just weeks later flew a remarkable 500 km by himself. In this podcast Rafael takes us on a poetic, heartfelt journey from his early accident-prone days to flying farther than most people ever will. He discusses strategies and tactics at the world cup level; why the Brazilian team and his mentors are able to send such huge flights with so much style; why he left the sport for seven years and how he rediscovered the passion; how to avoid the “superman” illusion; coming back from accidents and fear; the importance of team and gaggle flying; where he thinks 600 km is possible and a LOT more. This was one of the most fascinating and fun talks we’ve had on the Mayhem, you’re in for a treat!
How Rafael began flying in Rio and got the nickname “the Sardine”
The importance of having good mentors and how to get them
Accidents early in his career and overcoming fear
Coming back to the sport after leaving for 8 years
Rafael discusses his world record in 2007 and chasing huge numbers in the past couple years with the best pilots in Brazil
Avoiding the “Superman” illusion
What training for a world record looks like
The Brazilian approach and style
Tactics for going big, the importance of team flying
The best place in the world for world record flying
How to find the passion again
How to tackle improvement for competitions
Mentioned in this episode: Nick Greece, Will Gadd, Frankie Brown, Marcelo Prieto, Rodrigo Montero, Ozone, Texas Encampment, Donizete Lemos, Ben Abruzzo, Bruce Marks
Speaker 1 (00:00:15):
Well. Hello there everybody. Welcome to another episode of the cloud based mayhem. Uh, before we get into this one, just want to apologize for the long gap. Uh, I have those of you who follow kind of what I'm doing. Uh, know that I did a big expedition, uh, across the Alaska range. Uh, the Alaska range traverse and they were calling it under the midnight sun, uh, with Dave Turner. Uh, took 37 days to complete a, had to go on solo after Dave had to leave day 32, I believe, uh, cause he had some other commitments in Europe and uh, let's face it. It was just going really slowly. So he had to bail. He had a bunch of other stuff he had to attend to. I continued on alone, got some fantastic weather and ended up finishing it pretty quickly, uh, with some good flights at the end.
Speaker 1 (00:01:00):
This podcast is not about Alaska. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back safely. Uh, thank you for the thank you for your patience in waiting for the next episode. I'm now back in Ketchum after Alaska, zipped over to Europe, did some quick training with Ben and Bruce, my ex ops team is, we're planning on doing that next year and I'm now home for the rest of the summer, so we're going to be able to bang out some more of these podcasts. Uh, Raphael salad Deni uh, I met Rafael this year down in Mexico at the Menorca. Uh, the guy's just full of brilliant light and energy. Uh, he has had an amazing year. Uh, it's not often you get to talk to somebody who's just won a PWC task out in Portugal, uh, as well as flown 500 K this year with the boys down in Brazil.
Speaker 1 (00:01:47):
Um, we talk about his, uh, chasing the world records. We talk about his world record back in 2007, uh, that broke will gads. Um, we talk about all kinds of things, uh, his early career with a bunch of accidents, uh, leaving the sport for a long time. Coming back to it, uh, having great mentors and just how he has excelled. You guys are gonna dig this, Rafael. I mean, it's amazing how poetic Raphael is in a second language. Uh, I've got to go visit him. I gotta get in there with this guy. It's just super inspiring, wonderful human being. Um, so, uh, I'll leave it at that without giving you too much. Enjoy this episode. And without further ado, Raphael Sadine
Speaker 2 (00:02:49):
[inaudible]
Speaker 1 (00:02:50):
Raphael, we have been trying to get together since, uh,G since the Menorca in Mexico. It is so awesome to, I have been so excited personally to talk to you about all
Speaker 3 (00:03:00):
the awesome things you've been doing lately. Thanks for coming on the mayhem. I'm really excited to, uh, sit down and have this chat with you even though you're, uh, where, where are you in Brazil?
Speaker 4 (00:03:10):
Oh, I'm, uh, hi Gavin. It's a pleasure to be here, uh, with you and w w with all this audience that you know, loves paragliding. Also. Uh, I'm in Brazil right now in Rio de Janeiro, uh, in my hometown. So I just came by to, to visit my family and my friends a bit before, you know, uh, jumping towards, you know, uh, the Northeast of Brazil and try to, to, uh, to, to build up another expedition. Maybe another world record is going to be done this year. Let's see ya.
Speaker 3 (00:03:41):
Cool. Now, well, actually before we get into the world record and where you're going and we're going to be talking a lot about that, um, you must, that must be an exciting place to be right now with the Olympics, uh, descending on you at what's, what's real like right now,
Speaker 4 (00:03:55):
Rio now, uh, it's getting ready. Uh, there is a lot of pessimism, uh, with, with the event, uh, because, uh, I don't know what's ha at what happens in people's mind here, but, uh, I'm not in this kind of person. I, I, I'm really optimistic, uh, as, as people thought bad, bad, had bad thoughts about the world cup, about, uh, many events we, we've hosted here, uh, at the end, everything is sorted out, everything works. And, uh, our government is struggling to, to organize the security part. And, uh, we're, we were just getting ready, you know, and, uh, as all the Brazilians, uh, we're just going to be ready at, at the last minute, but at the end, at the end of the event, I'm sure everybody's going to be happy and, and it's going to be a very nice atmosphere. And the Brazilian, you know, a way of life is going to be in this Olympics for sure.
Speaker 3 (00:04:49):
Yeah. You guys, uh, I, I do know this about the Brazilians. You guys know how to throw a good party. It's going to be a fantastic event and hopefully all these concerns that people have about security are just going to be, uh, you know, it'll just be overshadowed by the glorious event that the Olympics is. I'm, I'm pretty excited about it. Pretty excited to watch it. Um, Raphael, so the two main things I really want to talk about is the world record last year, uh, and an incredible team effort you guys put in with that. And then also your recent task when on the last day in Portugal. But, um, I think, you know, a lot of our listeners probably don't know a ton about your history and, and actually I don't as well. I was just, uh, Googling you before the show and, and there's, there wasn't a whole lot of information. Well, a lot of the information was in Brazilian, so I couldn't read it. So I would love to just, can you give us a kind of a synopsis on, on, uh, how you got into flying and the catalyst that, that, that started you into flying and, and, and kind of how you've gotten to where you are today?
Speaker 4 (00:05:54):
Yeah, for sure. Uh, I, when I was 14 years old, uh, my father, uh, decided to, to make a a hand gliding course. And he, uh, I went with him to a school here, a near Rio de Janeiro, but in the first day he quit. He thought it was, it was too dangerous for him. But at the end, I was at the end of the day, uh, I had the red touched a hang glider, I hang glide. Uh, I was really amazed if the sport with the atmosphere with, with the teachers. I saw, this was back I think in, uh, 1996 or 1997. Uh, and then I, uh, the sport was in my head and my cousin and a friend of mine, they started three years, four years later, uh, paragliding and I decided to follow them. I was a, a minor. I had just 16 years old, so I could not actually start the sport because here in Brazil we have a law that you should just start when you, you're 18.
Speaker 4 (00:06:50):
Uh, even though I found the instructor that he decided to teach me, uh, and he and I just started like that. I had to actually go to the takeoff here in Rio de Janeiro, which is really controlled by, you know, the Federation. I had to go, uh, in the trunk of the car. Uh, that's what that, that, that, that's, uh, from where my, my nickname comes from because all the Brazilians, they call me Sardinia, which is sardine, the fish, because I used, I, I used to go up in the car, in the trunk of the car, like a starting can, you know, the soap people would say, ah, you look like a sardine inside this trunk cause I'm big, I'm tall. And people you know, decided to to call me like that. And it's a horrible nickname, but that's, that's the way they call me. I love, I love it.
Speaker 4 (00:07:38):
And uh, I, I was really irresponsible. Uh, I was not, I was, I was trying to follow my cousin Hodrick Montero because he was already a PWC pilot, a guy that was going already to try to break records in Northeastern Brazil and I just grow up. I was, I was grown up with him together. So as a cousin, as my, my big, my bigger cousin and I tried to follow, follow him and I suffered many, many accidents. I was like the type of the guy that I would take off of and people would put their hands in their head and say, Oh my God, uh, it's him. You know, he just took off, be aware of him, you know, after a couple of accidents, I finally could actually suffer a, a may, a big important accident that changed my life. Uh, I broke my hip. Uh, I broke my, my left foot and my right arm.
Speaker 4 (00:08:33):
Uh, I explode. I almost exploded like a tomato, you know, in a, in a, in a takeoff, in the countryside of Brazil. So then I stopped, this was back in, uh, this was October of 1999 and I stopped. I was really traumatized and I came back just, uh, in 2003, because my cousin and my friend, they put pressure on me to start again. And I started. So, but I started, uh, committing probably the same mistakes. I suffered some little accidents also again. And I, I don't know what happened to me, but I think it was like a, a divine illumination or I don't know what happened. I just went when I, I, I was like two years of flying, maybe 2005, everything clicked. You know, in my head, I stopped to do, uh, to commit stupid mistakes. I stopped to think that, uh, I could manage every situation.
Speaker 4 (00:09:32):
So, uh, since then, I've never had any accidents flying just, I mean a reserve, uh, parish reserve parachute, which is really, I mean normal for a guy that it's flying competitions in high level and speeding full speed and having [inaudible] sometimes. So I had just won, uh, sexually reserved parachuting competitions. So, uh, that's pretty much my story. Uh, I started again in 2003, uh, with my cousin, uh, as my mentor. And after him I just switched my mentor to, uh, really, uh, uh, good instructors, uh, after who'd Rigo, uh, I jumped to [inaudible], which is a guy that actually, I mean, the guy just broke the world record again. Uh, in that time he had already broken 400 Ks in Texas. Uh, actually in the same day we get broke, the world record, he was there also flying. So the guy had a lot of experience. He taught me everything.
Speaker 4 (00:10:32):
I, uh, uh, uh, about big cross country flying and basically I jumped from nice, nice mentor to nice mentors. You know, I, I just jumped from one to another and that's why I could get a kind of shortcuts to, to develop myself really fast because a guy that started in 2003 and break a world record in 2007, it's just like, I dunno, five, four or five years. And, and I, I could just manage to do that because I had nice people in my surroundings, uh, with good knowledge, with the wheel of sharing this knowledge of actually adopting me as their, a student, uh, as they're, uh, you know, uh, uh, they're the guy that is supposed to replace them, the guy that is supposed to, to, to maintain their knowledge, uh, alive. And after that, Frankie brow also and uh, and another, uh, other, uh, Brazilian good pilots here also.
Speaker 4 (00:11:35):
And when I started to compete back in 2006, 2005, uh, I was, I was already surrounded by the best Brazilians in, uh, in the sport. And I think this made a hell of a difference in my life because, uh, I saw many guys that started in the same time as me and they could not develop themselves because they were not surrounded by the right people. And I think this is one of the most important things in this sport, especially because it's a life risk sport. You cannot, you cannot commit big mistakes as I used to do. And seeing and watching and observing the best ones, you see, how they behave, what is important, what is not important, uh, uh, what you should do, uh, to, to keep yourself safe, to keep your head in the ground, to, to not being, you know, uh, how can I say, uh, [inaudible] don't fall in this mistake, which is to, it's a illusion that you are like a Superman, that you were better than you are actually are. So, uh, basically I just kept my feet in the ground following the right people here in Brazil. That's pretty much my story, my beginning, you know, and after 2007 I was with, with the Brazilian team trying to break records in the Northeast. And this made my whole story in the sport. You know,
Speaker 3 (00:12:59):
there's a lot of things there. That was a really good history. Um, if you don't mind, I'd love to go back. Uh, you, you, you hit on quite a few things that I, I get a lot of questions through the, the podcasts from pilots that want to know things like I, cause I, I have a similar history in terms of the mentor thing I had, I surrounded myself with guys who were just, uh, so much better and they were just so giving of their time and uh, kind of like you, I think I was very aggressive in the beginning. Maybe I'm still aggressive, but I very aggressive and they would constantly try to kind of bring me back, uh, to, you know, to have your feet on the ground and not have this Superman syndrome. Like you said. I, I really liked that. How do you, how did you surround yourself with, with, uh, with those guys and, and that kind of ma?
Speaker 3 (00:13:52):
Is that really a Brazilian thing? Because I, I agree with you. I think the mentor side, I mean, certainly talent is a big part of it, but, and you have a lot of talent clearly, but you know, to go from probably those guys were seeing this kid that was having all these accidents and making really silly, stupid mistakes, and maybe it will, maybe we don't want to even teach him. He's a, he's a firecracker. How did you kind of break the end of that, uh, going, I'd love to hear more about that transition, uh, both mentally, but also from the mentor side. How did you recover from those accidents mentally?
Speaker 4 (00:14:26):
Uh, for me it was really hard because when I started to, to fly again in 2003, uh, was really traumatized. I had a lot of fear. Uh, I still do actually when I'm speeding close to the, to the ground, I'm not the type of a pilot, even though I'm competing in a high level, every time that I'm really, uh, close to the mountain or close to the floor, I remember, uh, my injuries, my situation over and I, I don't want to leave there that anymore. So, uh, that's really fresh in my mind still nowadays. 13 years after, uh, my transition, uh, uh, was not so easy, uh, because, uh, nobody wanted to have a bad students in their side, as you said. Uh, what I did, I just decided to train and train and train. I was like, uh, by that time when I started again, I was like, uh, 2019 years old, actually 21.
Speaker 4 (00:15:26):
And, uh, and for me, I had plenty of time to train. So I started, I started to go to every single competition that I could. I went to Mexico a couple of times, refrain cookie and, and I and I definitely followed the Brazilian league also a lot. And with my cereal glide during that time I used to fly a Sigma six and, uh, with the Sigma six, I started to actually, uh, take nice decisions regarding aggregation during the tasks. And then I would actually, uh, be like a rising star in the senior class. And that what I think that's pretty much what gave me these credentials to actually knock in the door of the good guys and say, Hey man, you see, I'm trying to learn. Uh, could you please, uh, help me out. And I think of course this is a Brazilian way also to, to do when you, when you were, you know, among friends here.
Speaker 4 (00:16:25):
Uh, we really want to share things. And the Brazil is a country that is really amazing for cross country flying, uh, with like us for example, we do have big communities hidden in the middle of Brazil that nobody knows. And uh, they don't compete. They just want to fly and have fun. They have this really familiar environment. They bring kids and fam play to the takeoff and they'll really leave the flying lifestyle. And they don't care about competitions, about titles, about anything. They just want to live the lifestyle fly and have fun. And uh, there is this little city in Brazil called Arusha, which is in the same province of governor Davala diaries, which is miniaturize, uh, Arusha is a city that, uh, you can fly, you can fly a more than a hundred Ks in 360 degrees. They have flights of 200 Ks, a flight of 300 K.
Speaker 4 (00:17:22):
so it's really nice to fly during the spring and you, we have an a very nice community over there and that's pretty much the place that gave me the credentials to, to become a, a good cross country pilot because I, I spent all my Springs over there. Uh, I got to know the best pilots of the city. I'm actually the godfather of a son of one of them. And uh, I would live there for three months, seven season, and that's where I could meet and, and straight in, in, in, and get my relationship with Marcello. Priya to a much closer and Marcello Prietto saw a potential on me and, uh, and he adopted me and brought me, uh, for the first time in 2006 to the Northeast of Brazil. As a student, as a guy, that's as a promise, as a potential to actually join the thing he was wanting to, to, to form, you know, to try the, the world record again. And that's pretty much from where I got this transition, you know, struggling training, competing learning and, and, and actually not convincing, but showing my results, two good guys that actually decided to adopt and share their knowledge with me. You know, uh, that's pretty much what happened.
Speaker 3 (00:18:47):
Take me through some of that training. Um, when you look back and you, you were kind of adopted by Marcello, uh, and he was assembling this team and, and, you know, started to really work on, on breaking the world record. Um, what, what were some of the things when you look back, were there kind of some aha moments where there's some things that, uh, in your own toolkit that really needed repairs? You know, some things that you were obviously doing wrong or was it just simply a matter of, uh, hours and flying more?
Speaker 4 (00:19:21):
Uh, the thing of flying, uh, in Northeast of Brazil and is huge distances here in Brazil cause we, we don't have the wind of South Africa. We don't have the window of a, of Texas. We don't have, Brazil is pretty much a place that you have 12 hours to fly. And by that time we were able to fly nine, eight hours in, in 30 minutes. So that's the, the, the, the, the, the, the jump of the cat. I'm not sure if you have this expression in a, in English, but the jump, the, the pretty much the thing that actually triggered the whole thing is a, is the teamwork. And, uh, when I was training cross country flight with, uh, with Marcello PREA two in, uh, in Arusha, he, he taught me the basic things of cross country, uh, lines of disturbances, how to read clouds, how to use cloud streets, how to position yourself in, uh, in, during the flights.
Speaker 4 (00:20:22):
How to actually, uh, read the forecast to actually know if it's a potential day or not. And that's pretty much the basic training he taught me. Uh, I cannot tell you what I was doing wrong because I was not doing it. I started to do with them, so I just learned the right way to do it, you know, uh, because I was not doing before I a student, I was a guy that has flown maybe 70, 80, 90 K and am I the first time I broke a hundred K bearer, I was with them already, you know, so I was actually sucking this knowledge from them, you know, getting this knowledge from the best source we have here in Brazil and this training of 2006 in our face to Brazil. I think this is, for me, it was the trigger that triggered the whole thing in my life because actually I S he saw a potential on me to join this theme work.
Speaker 4 (00:21:18):
You know, this, this thing too. For example, if we have like two or three pilots, uh, you don't need to talk in the radio. You don't need to communicate yourself with nobody. It's when we train together, it becomes like a flying organism. You know, we don't, we don't, we don't talk to, we don't say a word in the radio. Okay, let's go. Okay. To the right. Okay. To the left. No, no. We don't say nothing. We just fly, you know, together. And it's like a flying organism is automatic. And, and this is a matter of training and training and training and training to get there. Not, not alone. It's completely different than flying a gaggle in PWC for example, or in a competition because when you're flying high in a gaggle, you're competing against everybody. You want to make sure that you are in the best position.
Speaker 4 (00:22:06):
You want to make sure you are higher, you want to make sure you're faster. But to fly in a group, in a team, actually, it's not like firing a gaggle in a team. You have to fly in the same pace of your fellows. If you have a better position, you have to use your position to help them. Uh, going first, uh, showing the lines first. So you have to change. The chip cannot fly, uh, in our team in the same way we fly competitions, you know, and that's pretty much what I've learned back in 2006, that that's what he teach me. Uh, he taught me, uh, because I was committing some mistakes, like using him and you say, man, you're using me too much. You're not supposed to use me. You're supposed to help me. So if you're higher, go first, open wider, a fly a 50 K at most, uh, uh, sideways, you know, so use this advantage, this little advantages you have to help the team to fly faster because at the end of the day, that's when I make a hell of a,
Speaker 3 (00:23:11):
and are you guys spending quite a bit of time? So, you know, after a day that maybe doesn't work or there was a mistake or somebody bombs out, are you guys spending quite a bit of time, you know, discussing it and figuring out where you went wrong and um, or yeah. And, and in the air, you know, when I mean to, to the, to the wider world, that three people went the same distance and the world record is just so cool that, I mean, the style of that is because it, you know, we're, we're programmed as humans to be like in the PWC at some point you break away and you do it on your own. I mean, T for you guys to have that kind of diligence, is this something you really discuss or is it really just part of the, not the programming, but just I guess just the love for one another?
Speaker 4 (00:24:04):
Uh, [inaudible] in Frankie Brown, they flunked competing against themselves for, I don't know, since 1995 or 1996, something like that. Uh, and they just got fed up about, uh, racing against each other, you know, uh, the concept of flying together. Uh, it was B, it was created, I mean, in, in, in our point of view here in Brazil for the Brazilians by, um, Marcello Priya two and under [inaudible]. And [inaudible] is a very famous, uh, tandem world record breaker. The guy has a, I don't know, eight wreck a world record of open distance in a tandem. And, uh, and he's a guy that tried diff Marcello burrito for many years to actually, uh, uh, try to take off as early as six 30, you know, uh, to break this barrier of taking off at nine at eight 30, w a N N, Y the widening or making our window more, uh, longer.
Speaker 4 (00:25:06):
So now instead of taking off at eight 39 and flying to five 30, we're actually take you off six 30 and fly into five 30, which makes a hell of a difference in our, in the whole concept of flying here. So they created this style of flying, uh, together as a team, helping, helping one another. However, uh, the referee, uh, he was more into tandem, uh, records. And my got a bit a bit, uh, alone and uh, and Frankie started to fly with a saw paragliders, uh, backing in 2006 and seven. So that's when they could join, you know, they could actually join forces because before that they were friends, but they could not join in the same thing because, uh, masala would fly from Saul and Frankie would fly for Jane. So, uh, uh, uh, in that, in that season, they, they joined forces. And I was already with Marcel, uh, since this season before, since 2006 I was with Marcello, uh, training as a, as a team.
Speaker 4 (00:26:17):
And when we reached, uh, the season of 2007, I went alone first, uh, a couple of weeks before and I broke the South American record alone. And then my seller join me over there in 2007, like two weeks later, and he broke my ice off American record. And then Frankie joined the team and we started to, to fly together and to, to actually build this concept among ourselves is because it's not easy. You read the concept, okay, let's fight together. Let's help one another. Let's do this, do that. But that's really easy to read and it's really hard to do it because, uh, in many moments I catch myself competing with my fellows. Like you said, it's automatic. It's our instinct and that's not the right way to do it. You know? Uh, and Frankie, it's really, uh, it's, it's by far the most experienced Brazilian pilot and he can change the chip really easily, uh, to helping or to competing against.
Speaker 4 (00:27:21):
And he's read, experienced, and me and Marcello, we struggled more to actually change this chip. But at the end, we managed to, to do it because we've been flying so many times together and so many times alone also. And to fly alone in that immensity, uh, flying just by yourself, uh, with no friends around, it's not the same atmosphere when you, when you reach a [inaudible], when you reach a, an objective, you reach a goal and you have your friend beside you to share this experience. It's, it's completely different. It's, it's another atmosphere is another experience. You know, it's, it's, it's much more powerful because your memories is Irma is their memories, you know, are your memories. When you can share this memory with someone, then it becomes stronger. You know, it becomes a, a star with two points of view, more in reached by details. And that's why why we decided to actually make a movie also about that that we've done in 2007 also called silk clues. And that's, that's pretty much what's happened. You know, that's pretty much why I say that to share this experience was the best decision we've made.
Speaker 3 (00:28:39):
What I'd love to hear, I love, I love that Raphael and I couldn't agree more. It's just so much special, more special when you have the, when it's not just your own camera and your mind, but everybody else's is that when you land together, it's a, it's really what this is so precious I think about this sport. Um, take me back, I think the wider world. And before we started the show, you and I were talking about that, you know, that you guys have really looked around the world, uh, in terms of finding places to set the record in Texas and Australia and South Africa and Brazil. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on, on that. But also I think the, the wider world who haven't done these big, uh, downwind, uh, flatland flying, uh, you know, searching for these records, um, I think they under estimate, uh, underestimate really how scary it could be.
Speaker 3 (00:29:31):
Um, it's not just flying over a desert. Uh, tell me about, you know, some of the kind of mental things you guys have to deal with because as I understand it, I haven't flown Brazil, as I understand it, you really have to do a lot of low flying over some pretty sketchy terrain. I remember when Nick grease came back from Texas cause I always thought, you know, Texas sides, you know, like in my own mind that these, these flatland world records are really cool. But I, I didn't, I didn't really appreciate, I think how sketchy they can be. I mean, flying in wind is always a little bit sketchy, but, um, it's certainly in the mountains. It's really sketchy where I fly. But, uh, you know, when Nick got back from their world record attempts a couple of years ago with the ozone team, you know, he was talking about, you know, among other things, a lot of people with guns, but you know, fences and cactus and, uh, you know, places that you would really not want to put down a glider. Um, and I think that that's similar from what I understand. I mean, I know that you guys are dealing with what really windy launches, but take me through some of that side of it. I mean, is it, is it something you guys head into with a little bit of trepidation or is it just you've done it enough that it's, it's just no big deal? It's about finding the right day.
Speaker 4 (00:30:46):
Uh, the first thing, uh, that I want to say is that we were really lucky to be Brazilians because, uh, I've never flown in, in, in Australia. I've never flown in, in South Africa and in Texas, Marcel and Frankie, they've done, they've flown in taxes already. And actually they say that tax is pretty much probably the best place that's the world record. If we get a magic day in Texas, then it's going to be unbeatable. Uh, however, when you compare Brazil, uh, the Northeast of Brazil, even though this is actually a kind of a, how can I say, uh, a tricky thing, uh, uh, how can I say that it's a, it's a thing. It's really interesting because Brazil is not a safe country regarding security. If you compare, if you compare it with South Africa, Australia and the States, probably Brazil is the most dangerous countries between these four, right?
Speaker 4 (00:31:46):
Uh, regarding violence. But in this case of flying, I should say that probably is one of the safest ones. Uh, because Brazil, uh, the Northeast of Brazil, uh, you have paved roads all over. Uh, you have houses all over. You have really, really humble people living in these, those houses, they, they're willing to give you everything they have. They offer you food, they offer you everything they have, uh, to make your, your life more comfortable. Uh, the, the, they are really sympathetic with the sport because we're like, you know, angels that fall in the, in their reality and they, they, they got really amazed of what we do and they ask questions. They, they, they really change the, how they say imaginary world or their head. You know, we really insert some new new realities and concepts and dreams in their, in their heads. You know, when we compare Brazil with Texas for example, uh, what, what, what Marcello and Frankie told me is that even though Texas is the best place that's probably is going to be the, the final world record is going to be there.
Speaker 4 (00:32:57):
You know, like probably we can fly right now, 600 K's in Texas if we get to the magic day. Uh, even though it's the best place, you do have to deal with, uh, more, uh, like closed farms and old fences that you cannot go with the car to retrieve the guy, a huge, uh, huge areas that you cannot, you cannot land over there, uh, farms that are locked and, uh, and the border with Mexico. Do you, if the police, uh, I just saw that Johnny drew dura. I had this problem this time, uh, tempting a world record of it. There he was, you know, conducted by policemen out of the place he landed. Uh, and then if you compare these with South Africa also for sure, because South Africa, it's more wild. The flying over there, it's, it's higher. You take off from 1500, uh, you have more wind.
Speaker 4 (00:33:52):
Uh, [inaudible] you, you have more wind when you are landing. Uh, and in Australia probably say it's safe like Brazil, but it's not so inhabited. You know, you don't have that many houses. Northeast of Brazil, you have a house every 20, 30, K. so, uh, you never died there because of hunger, because of lack of thirst, uh, because of being lost. And not finding a way out. You know, this, this is impossible to happen in our Fiesta Brazil, you know, because they have paved national roads everywhere. You have houses, you have food, you have water in their houses. So, uh, I should, I should say that you should try to fly, uh, in, in Kesha de once or to SEMA to see how it's much easier then these myths that people talk about and people like to scare your others away, you know? Yeah. I should say, I should tell you that it's, it's much, it's, you're going to fly and Kesha die and say, uh, it's, is this what people were trying to, to say that it's scary. I mean, you've been in, in the Alaskan Travers right now. It just came back. I mean, when you compare the Alaskan Travers, I mean, uh, uh, Northeaster Brazil is a kind of, it's almost like,
Speaker 3 (00:35:11):
it's not exactly the same.
Speaker 4 (00:35:13):
Tell them thousands of people will run.
Speaker 3 (00:35:19):
Well, I, I do, uh, at some point here, I w I'd love to transition to the PWC and your, your task when in Portugal. But before we've, before we do, can you take me back to that December day last year because you have been a very Brazilian and in, uh, you've, you've said, uh, you, you were just so happy
Speaker 1 (00:35:38):
for your friends, but on the, on the five 13 day a, and we'll talk about your other day too, but the five 13 day, you bombed out really early. Uh, uh, take me, take me through that day. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:35:50):
Uh, we were in an expedition, uh, for a one mile. Okay. We started to fly on October 5th, and, uh, and the world record was broken in October 9th, uh, every day until October 9th. In October 5th, uh, Frankie bound out October 7th, Marcel bumped out October 8th, uh, eighth, uh, Donnie Zetsche bumped out. And in October 9th, it was my turn to bump out, but for the day to bomb out. But I tell you that for me it was the best thing that could happen to me because, uh, I mean, uh, to break a world record, it's, I think it's a, um, a resume of, of your life. You know, a life life is not easy. You know. Uh, I stopped paragliding, uh, from 2008 until 2014 and I just came back, you know, these guys, they've been struggling, going to North Frisco, Brazil every year, really focused on the world record. They could not manage to get a nice year.
Speaker 4 (00:37:01):
It would be easy in, in, in, I would be really spoiled if, if I was in the team breaking the record again. And, uh, the bottom line is that, uh, I did not strike, I was, I was not struggling enough to be in the team this year. And if you consider this organism, this flying organism that I was talking about of this, this connection that we have between ourselves this year, I was not connected to them because in 2007, I tell you, I was really connected to my celebrity at when Frankie Brown, we were like a flying organism, flying perfectly fast won't help you in other, no talking in the radio. Really, really, really, uh, uh, how can I say, uh, uh, together flying together as one organism this year, 2015 last year, I wasn't a part of the team. I was invited by them because I'm a former world record with them and I'm a member of the team.
Speaker 4 (00:38:06):
But in this case, you cannot Inforce someone. You cannot, uh, put someone inside the team and say, come on now this guy is a part of the team. Okay? He can be the part of the team, that theory. But when you go to the practical side, then, uh, if you're not working with them, uh, if you are using the team, if you're not helping the team, you're going to be left behind. Not because they want, but that's because that's because that's the way they organize behaves, you know, uh, in a certain moment I was just chasing them, uh, in, in, in the October 9th, I bumped out really early in the morning, so I did not have plenty of time to fly with them and checked and realize that it was not prepared. But when we try it again in, uh, November 3rd, I think that I could fly 500 and they re Marcel Linton is actually repeated 513.
Speaker 4 (00:39:01):
Uh, I realized that, uh, I was not, uh, you know, uh, I was not a part of the team that year. I was just using that. Um, I'm more, I was pretty much more like a parasite then a part of the team because I was every time flying behind trying to catch them, you know? And that's why when we reached 300 Ks, I decided I'm, I'm over with that. I'm not following them to the 500. I'm just going to make the rest of my flight alone. So then I'm going to fly. I'm going to land a much happier than just follow my, my fellows the rest of the day, you know? So for me it was really hard to realize that, but I think that's the part of life. Uh, I think we'll learn much more from our losses, from our disappointments, from our frustrations. Then just having good results, titles and everything comes easier, you know, easy and soft to our lives. And I think for me it was the best thing because I realized that, okay, I am a good pilot, but a world record is a world record and you've got to struggle. You need to deserve it. And in 2015, I did not deserve it this year, 2016 if you break it again, then I, I can come back here and tell you a Gavin this year, I really deserve it because I trained with my fellows. I was flying already for so many competitions, prepare myself for that. But in 2015 definitely I was out of the team.
Speaker 1 (00:40:36):
Tell me about this period then between 2008 and 2014 I didn't know about that. What was, uh, what was going on there?
Speaker 4 (00:40:44):
Uh, I was, it was the call of duty. You know, it was two things. First because I was really bored. Uh, I broke a world record. I was flying really nicely, but at the end I was flying so many hours every year that I was flying with bad humor, I would catch a Thermo and start complaining that, uh, Thermo was not perfect. Uh, it was not five meters per second. It was just two meters per second. And all my happiness was going towards better GLI. The, uh, if I, if I would go, uh, well in a competition, I was really happy if I, if I would go bad in a competition, I would be depressed. So I was pretty much like a bipolar person following my results in the sport. And besides, besides that, I have my family, my has businesses and they were really needing me to come back from this parallel universe that I put myself on.
Speaker 4 (00:41:40):
So, uh, I decided to, to help them and I just came back to my family business also to help them. And, uh, this too, this was this problem. Here are the two main purposes. I just quit the sport for a while and now I came back with another head more mature, uh, poutine paragliding exactly in the position that it should be. Uh, it's not my entire life anymore, it's just a part of it. So I, I'm pretty much thinking like a financial markets, uh, guy, you know, I'm just diversifying my happiness right now. You know, I have a family, I'm trying to have a kid now. I have my, my work and I have paragliding also.
Speaker 3 (00:42:21):
How do you then maintain the passion for something like a world record given all that? Um, I think that having the passion of free flight, uh, you know, when we first learn, it's just automatic. You know, like every sweater, every time you go off the Hill, just the absurdity of it all is, is so overwhelming that it's just you can't get enough. Um, you know, after a lot hours and a lot of comps and you know, it's, uh, it can be pretty hard for people to maintain that kind of passion, especially when you're chasing like a world record, just the hours and the retrieves and the dedication like I know, and will GAD went through all that back in the early two thousands, Jason, his world records. It's just a massive amount of time, uh, and energy that you have to, to commit to that. So how do you, how do you maintain that passion and are you as passionate now as you were back in the day
Speaker 4 (00:43:15):
in 2007? Uh, we could not, I could not even think about that because, uh, first we were just thinking about breaking the South American record. And after I broke it, uh, because a Portuguese guy held the, the South American record, it's, it was three 80. And in the first flight that did three 98, so then Marcello did 414, and when Marcello did 414 in Brazil then, and we thought, Oh, to 423 will gets world records. It's just a nine case, you know, so maybe it's possible. And that's when we started to dream about it. And this dream just lasts probably for three weeks because then we managed to break it. So, uh, it, uh, we, we ha we had a lot of, uh, how can I say, uh, uh, people were, people were really skeptical with the potential of Brazil to be the place to break, to break road record.
Speaker 4 (00:44:17):
And we've changed that in 2007, uh, now at days for me, uh, it's a hell of an experience is still, because it's not a matter of Joe just a freak in Denmark, you know, it's the journey. Uh, that's what I just told you, uh, when I was talking about deserving or not the world record last year, the whole journey is the most important thing, you know, to be with your friends, struggling to be in that environment in Brazil. Dry lands with that. People that humble people, uh, learning so many teachings from them. How to be happy with simple things, how to live with such, such a fuel, uh, resources. Uh, the whole atmosphere of this journey of trying the world record that in chance me, you know, that's, that's where I really feel alive. You know, that's where I really feel interesting about paragliding because competitions is really nice.
Speaker 4 (00:45:18):
But, uh, I, I really should tell you that I just go to competitions to evolve myself as a pilot to learn how to fly faster, to learn how to handle my glider better. But at the end, what drives me in this sport, it's pretty much this, uh, world record breaking attempts because that's where I feel alive. You know? That's, that's, that's where, that's what I F I like it from the sport. You know, like you did the Alaskan traverse. For me, it's much more interesting than going to a PWC or to a Brazilian nationals or to, uh, for the red trays or anywhere else, you know, this adventures, things, this, uh, breaking barriers, breaking the limits, uh, expanding our sports limits. That's what drives me, you know, that's what makes me happy about our sport.
Speaker 1 (00:46:14):
So how do we transition from that kind of intensity and chasing world records, um, to just enjoying free flight? You know, as you get older, uh, if you keep pressing like that, you know, the inevitable is, uh, that you're gonna probably get hurt or, uh, you know, you just don't have the re reaction time and the skills and the eyesight. So if you thought about that, and I know you're, you're a lot younger than I am, but, uh, how do you transition from kind of where you are? How do you see, um, your career moving forward? And then also maybe separate question. I'd love to ask you about your best flight. You know, is it the 500 you got, uh, after the world record went down? Um, or is it another one?
Speaker 4 (00:47:02):
Yeah. Uh, I, I have just 33 years old right now. Uh, I'm, I'm the youngest ones. Um, I mean the, the youngest one from my team, uh, I see Frankie with 46. He broke the record last year. We 46 or 48, I'm not sure. Uh, Masiello he, he's got 38, and the other guys, they have more than 40. So, uh, I see a big horizon in front of me, uh, regarding paragliding. But, uh, I'm not the type of person that is going to be doing paragliding for the rest of my life in this level, you know, uh, I really foreseen a future doing tandems with my wife, with my kids, having fun with it because I love to fly. I love to be in the flying environment. I love the friends I've made. Uh, I love the knowledge I, I've learned from the sport. I started to, to observe the world in a different way.
Speaker 4 (00:48:03):
And I think it's pretty much what, what, what I find so interesting about paragliding is not like swimming or cycling, you know, it's, which are amazing sports, but, uh, they don't teach you how to observe the world in a different way. You know, they don't teach you fi, uh, chemistry, physics, biology, uh, you know, it's, it's an amazing sport. So I foreseen a very nice future for sure. Not competing. Uh, I'm jumping out to sailplanes also, I'm starting to fly sailplanes so I, I'm not sure if I'm going to jump completely to sailplanes as I did if paragliding, but I'm sure I'm going to be flying both of them, you know.
Speaker 1 (00:48:48):
And so, tell me about your best flight when you look back at your career. Uh, was it the longest or was it, was it something else?
Speaker 4 (00:48:56):
My best flight for sure. It's my, my, my world record because, uh, uh, I, I really dreamed about it. I, it was a big pursue. Uh, I mean, it was an objective. We had, it was a, uh, us, uh, a barrier that my country had to break also because Brazil was known as a consistent flying country, a country that you could take off from a foot launch, uh, and fly really far away. But it was, it was not a country that would held a world record. And for me, breaking this barrier with my friends, uh, landing exactly in the same soccer field like we've done and sharing that energy, that vibe, that, you know, it was really powerful for me. So, uh, in my 500 flight, I went further. Uh, probably, I don't know, I must be like the fifth or sixth, I don't know the person to reach 500 Ks, but at the end I was alone in the middle of nowhere, uh, waiting for my retrieve just as if my camera, I didn't have no one to share this experience. And that's pretty much what I love now to fly with my friends. If you should tell me a Hafael. Uh, do you want to break the record again alone? I should tell you, uh, if I fly at least 80% of the flight with my friends, that's fine. But if I have to do all the, all the way, probably I would say that I'm going to get bored before and land for. And man, before you know,
Speaker 1 (00:50:32):
Rafael, let's talk about, uh, PWCs a little bit. Uh, I think I have a similar approach to you. Uh, when it comes to PWCs, I use them as tools to become a better pilot. Don't get too wrapped up in the results. Um, I think that can be kind of dangerous, but it sure is awfully fun to do well and you just did it incredibly well at the PWC in Portugal. You won the last task. I'd love to just hear about that. Take me through, uh, what that was like. Uh, but that was pretty incredible.
Speaker 4 (00:51:00):
Yeah. For me, uh, when I, I broke the record back in 2007, I became a, uh, a very good cross country pilot, but w but, but I was never a good competition pilot. I was never consistent. Uh, I would go, well in one day bumped out another. So this came back that I did since 2014 I came back more mature, observing this consistency, uh, being aware that I should be more consistent. And for me a winning two PWC tasks was one in Basha, one doing Brazil. And the second one now in Portugal for me was really important for my, uh, self esteem for my, uh, my confidence also. So to know that I'm really able to fly well competitions also. And, and I was really consistent. Now in Portugal, uh, in the first task I bumped out, but then the second task I was second, the third task, I was second also.
Speaker 4 (00:51:58):
And in the last and fourth task I was first. So if the second task had, uh, valued a thousand points, which, which we truth to, it was not the case. It just, it was just 300 points valid. Uh, probably I wouldn't be been the podium. But for me inside, I know that I've flown really consistent. And for me it was really amazed how I changed as a pilot to a more mature, more, more conscious pilot that then I used to be. So, uh, for me with PWC, uh, I don't care that much for the results, but for me, uh, to have a nice result, it's, it's really important, you know, to, to pursue more objectives in my life in this sport. You know,
Speaker 1 (00:52:44):
Raphael, what I'd love to hear about is, um, you know, maturity and how you've learned to, you know, I think, you know, many pilots can maybe go out and, uh, you know, crush one day, just kinda throw risk out the window, press a lot of bar lead out. Um, but it's pretty hard to be consistent and you know, day after day, you know, a couple of top threes, uh, and, and a win and a task, uh, at a PWC is really hard to do. Uh, very impressive. Um, can you kinda just take me through, uh, I imagine there's a lot of maturity, a lot of hours that's involved in that, but can you just take me through kind of your head space going into a PWC these days and yeah,
Speaker 4 (00:53:26):
tell me how you're pulling that off. What I realized is that, uh, observing my, my, my friends, you know, people that I admire, uh, is that you don't need to, to sh to prove nothing to no one. You know, you don't need to go in front all the time. You need to breathe sometimes. Uh, back in 2007, I was really mature. I thought that I had to prove that I was able to lead and I was just risk and risk and risky. And in a search certain point, something goes wrong and then I lose the whole task. Uh, even though in Portugal I've gone really aggressive, uh, in many times in the topic because Portugal is, is, it's not mountains because when I'm liking the outs or in the, in the Rocky mountains in the States, when I, I'm really deep in my, into mountains, I'm not a good pilot.
Speaker 4 (00:54:16):
I, I'm really scared. Uh, I prefer to fly flatlands that's my style. That's from where I come from. That's where my skills are made for. Uh, so Portugal, it's, it has some similarities in Brazil. So I was feeling really comfortable over there. I was not feeling threatened by the, by the environment. I was feeling really comfortable with the turbulence and all that. And for me, uh, uh, even though I was aggressive, flying really consistent and in with the first get-go and sometimes risking alone in front in many, many moments, I stopped after leading a while, I stopped. I let people go in front of me. I say, come on now I have an NF leading points. Let's just Thermo, let's just, uh, get high follow now. Uh, another person that's used now, the gaggle, let's, let's brief, you know, otherwise you get tired, you lose your concentration, and it's, it's pretty much, it's for me, it's pretty arrogant also to think that you're going to be able to lead a whole task of a hundred Ks in front of, you know, the best pilots in the world.
Speaker 4 (00:55:30):
I think you need to share this responsibility because there is no perfect pilot. And I think, uh, it's just a matter of understanding that and, and, and actually call the meta. And was the guy that, uh, inspire me in the last few years because I met him in a, in, in, in, uh, in the, in, in, in the spur, finally, Mexico. And I saw how he was flying. He went to Castello. I saw how concentrate and consistent he was. So for me, as some guys like Frankie Brown, like Andres Malacky, you know, like, uh, uh, Torsten Sego, uh, like a yamaka home, like, uh, uh, uh, Charlotte's Kazuo. This guy is the reading Spire me, you know, because I saw the consistency on them and I saw them, I observed them. And I see that they are not, uh, kids, they fly not to prove anyone to know about it. They fly to win. That's what I'm trying to do now, even though I don't care that much. But I'm trying to do it because just trying, I think I'm going to become a better pilot,
Speaker 1 (00:56:41):
a fail. It sounds to me like there's actually a lot of crossover between the kind of team flying you guys are doing in Brazil. You know, when you're in the air for 10, 11, 12 hours where you're really letting whoever has the most energy push a little bit more, but you're kind of allowing the gaggle to do the work. Um, which is a real key component of doing well in PWC is it sounds like there's, you know, there's, there's, there's quite a bit of crossover there. The strategies actually sound, obviously PWCs are much shorter tasks, a lot more bar. You're racing really fast. But um, do you see a lot of crossover between these kind of two? Uh, in some ways very different elements, but also the approach sounds pretty similar.
Speaker 4 (00:57:26):
Yeah. Yeah. Uh, that's, that's, that's actually the thing. Uh, w I have to learn right now to, to do it better, to use the gaggle and to risk less myself. That's what I'm trying to learn now. Uh, when we fly together, uh, as a team trying to break, break the record, uh, it's like a band of birds, you know. Uh, we, we, we share the, we share the leadership, uh, every thermal, uh, one time, uh, a person that, that it's really fit and not tired goes in front. There are others spread to the sides, but a bit, a bit, a bit in the back, and then you just, uh, make a, uh, how can I transition of, of leadership and it w we just exchange leadership the whole day so nobody gets too much tired, you know? And that's, that's pretty much what the best, uh, competition pilots they do.
Speaker 4 (00:58:21):
However, with this new formula. Now, if you don't actually lead for, for a couple of, uh, especially in the first third of the task, uh, then if you arrive with the gaggle end goal, you're, you're gonna lose precious the needing points. So this formula, this new forma now is actually pushing people to lead a bit, uh, to actually make the, the, the, the whole gaggle more aggressive. And I think that this is pretty much, this is pretty good because people are not just holding and waiting to see what the elders are doing. They, they're actually trying to lead, trying to be aggressive and trying to win the task with this strategy of leading a bit and then fly with the gaggle, not just fly with the gaggle. And I think this is really important and it's an evolution in our sport. You know,
Speaker 1 (00:59:11):
Raphael, I have to say, uh, for someone who speaks English as their second language, you are quite the poet. Uh, how you talk about paragliding is really mesmerizing. I to cut us off is I've barely even touched on a lot of the questions I had for you. Um, but, uh, I want to be respectful of your time. We're nearing an hour here and, uh, I just, I, I've been doing this Proust questionnaire for a lot of the people coming on the show and I haven't the last few times, but I went to a, a talk the other night by Salman Rushdie, the author of the state, tannic versus [inaudible], and he talks about the Proust questionnaire. So I'd love to fire you off some questions from that if that's okay and maybe we can get you on for if people really enjoy the show, which I know they will. We'll try to do, uh, a second one of these at some point. So I'll just take you through this real quick. Uh, what is your favorite word?
Speaker 4 (01:00:01):
Word love.
Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
Nice. And uh, what is your least favorite word,
Speaker 4 (01:00:06):
Kate,
Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
and what turns you on and what turns you off?
Speaker 4 (01:00:10):
What turns me on is, uh, discoveries, uh, limits. Uh, what turns me off is a big city.
Speaker 1 (01:00:21):
Ah, yes, you and I have that in common. Uh, what sound do you love and what sound do you hate?
Speaker 4 (01:00:27):
I love denies of nothing. I love the silence. You know, I love to be meditating when I'm flying, you know, that's, that's why I love huge cross country flights because I'm silent, I'm silent, the whole flight. Uh, and the noise I hate the most are traffic jam, you know, horns, cars and mass. This mass that we've been driven to.
Speaker 1 (01:00:53):
Yes. A humanity. There was a very little of that on the expedition in Alaska. And I have to say that was one of the most precious parts about that whole journey for sure. What profession other than your own would you most like to do? And actually I should ask you what your profession is. Are you a professional paraglider or, or, uh, something else?
Speaker 4 (01:01:13):
No, uh, I graduated in business administration. Uh, I'm pretty much for the financial part. So right now I'm just in the financial market, uh, uh, administrating my, my, uh, my family's a steak and, uh, I'm, I'm, I mean to the real estate market also, but as an investor, I'm not an engineer, but I build houses and little, uh, little buildings also. That's what I do now.
Speaker 1 (01:01:42):
Uh, okay. So, uh, going back to the question then from the, the questionnaire, uh, what, what, uh, profession other than real estate or finance would you most like to do?
Speaker 4 (01:01:53):
Ooh, I would like to be a product designer or, or, uh, a film director because, uh, I did one movie, uh, that that's called seek loose. Uh, the codel, the quality of the images are not so nice because it was actually the transition of technology for GoPro and all that. But it was in the, uh, uh, we won a prize in a, in Santillana to vet, uh, in 2010, I think, or 2011. I'm not, I'm not sure which year it was, but, uh, and now I'm doing another movie, the secrets to about the world record of my guys off my friends, you know, so, uh, I really have this little feat, this little foot on the, on film making, but nothing too serious. Just, you know, uh, my own movies really. It's not, it's not amateur, but people like it, but it's not professional, you know, it's not like the red bull ones you've done, you know?
Speaker 3 (01:02:57):
Right, right. Yeah. Of course, uh, you know, I've, I've certainly been at both end of the spectrum and the production editing end of things. And it is a lot of work. It's really creative and fun, but I'm quite enjoying just being the guy that they tell you go do this, go fly and, uh, let them do all the work. Yeah, absolutely. So what profession would you not like to do?
Speaker 4 (01:03:19):
Well, I would not, I would not like to be a, a transcendent of a country, you know, cause I don't like, I don't like to have enemies, so I don't like the, uh, powerful positions.
Speaker 3 (01:03:33):
Yeah. In Brazil has been a quite tumultuous lately politically as of course we have as well. But yeah. Geez. What a, what a miserable job.
Speaker 4 (01:03:43):
Exactly. So I would hate to be a politician, you know?
Speaker 3 (01:03:47):
Yeah. God, no kidding. Um, so last one, if God does exist, uh, what would you want him to say when you arrive at the pearly Gates?
Speaker 4 (01:03:57):
Wow. Uh, I would like to hear that, uh, that [inaudible] if it's true that I've done a good work to make my world better before departing from it. You know, cause that's what I try to help people and try to make the world better than then with my attitudes with my, to deliver a world better than I, I was brought into. That's what I want to hear. That's what I wanna hear. You know, cause that's what it's going to make my, my existence more fulfilled.
Speaker 3 (01:04:40):
Uh, very well said. My friend. Very well said, Raphael, thank you so much. That was a real treat. Uh, you and I have got to spend some more time together. I've never flown in Brazil, so that's uh, that's gotta be the next move. I gotta get in the sky with you. Uh, thank you for answering these questions. So honestly and um, poetically you're a near a great human being as a feel. Really, uh, fortunate to have spent this, this time with you. Uh, I've done a lot of sailing on the coast of Brazil, but I've never been up there in the air, so, uh, gotta get down your way. But thank you. I really appreciate it. Thanks for your time and, uh, fly far. Be safe. Uh, go
Speaker 1 (01:05:18):
big buddy.
Speaker 4 (01:05:19):
Thank you. Thank you for the invitation. And I would like to invite you one day to come here to fly with us and to get to know this and lose this Brazil, this, this myths that it's really sketchy and I mean to fly here big distances is going to be amazing and you're going to enjoy it and you're going to find really easy and really, uh, really friendly, you know, so a few free to come around and to fly with us and I hope I meet you soon. Uh, thanks for the invitation, man. It's, it's beautiful. This work you do, sharing the knowledge of everybody, every good, eh, all the good pilots in the world with everybody. You know. Thanks for doing that. You are making the world better.
Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
Oh, well thanks Raphael. I appreciate it. And uh, yeah buddy. We'll see you on the flip side. Cheers.
Speaker 4 (01:06:08):
Okay. Bye. Bye.
Speaker 2 (01:06:18):
[inaudible]
Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
Oh man. I hope you enjoyed that. And what a treat that was to sit down with Ralph for an hour. I've been trying to tie up with him for many months since I met him at the, uh, uh, this January. He knew he'd be great on the show. Man. So many strategies and tricks and uh, chasing world records and flying on the PWC. There's a lot there. If you're just discovering the podcast, really invite you to go back and check out some of the previous, uh, episodes, some really great stuff. Uh, some fantastic stuff on risk from Jeff Shapiro. Great stuff on gliding from Matt Beecher. If you want to just laugh hysterically checkout and increases or Nate scales, uh, interviewed a bunch of the XL ops guys, Acura guys, uh, this real real nuggets. They're just thrilled that I keep getting so much feedback that people are really enjoying this.
Speaker 1 (01:07:03):
Uh, really enjoying it on my end as well. Thank you so much for your donations. As always, all we ask for is a buck a show. Uh, it goes a long ways to making this more and more professional upgrade the gear and I will keep doing it and like I said, I'm just thrilled to be doing it. It's a, I think it's a great way to get out knowledge. We've got Isabella messenger coming up, Karrie castle, so we've got some great shows coming up for you soon. Uh, again, a top show, apologize for the delay in the last couple of months and not getting one of these out. And I was tied up crossing the Alaska range with a Dave Turner. The footage from that, what little I've seen is absolutely mind blowing pretty hard. You can't even really compare this one whatsoever to the Rockies traverse, same team with real water productions, uh, as a red bull production.
Speaker 1 (01:07:47):
But just man, we, we suffered and we flew and saw some just truly amazing things and I'm really excited to, uh, get this movie out. Those guys are banging away up in Squamish on the edit hoping to get the world premiere ready for Banff this November. If you haven't been to band for the film festival, I highly recommend you do. This is a much better thing than the world tour cause all the, all the world tour films get all cut down if you want to see them in their, all their glory. Uh, go to the band film festival the first week in November to really, they just put on an amazing festival. Love to see you up there. Yeah, that's about all I got for you. Thanks for listening. Appreciate it. Fly far. Be safe. Have fun. Cheers.
