If recent studies have it right, about 70 percent of you are reading this sitting down right now. And not to be alarmist, but apparently sitting can kill you. There are plenty of small ways to mix things up and get your blood pumping (dorky treadmill desks—not so dorky anymore?), but as inspiration, here are five extreme daredevil athletes living at the very edge of very unique sports.
Roberta Mancino is the first woman to ever skydive naked. Full stop. That’s a headline in and of itself, but it’s certainly not what we love most about this Italian-born freeflier, BASE jumper, and wingsuit pilot. Her feed is an action-packed tour through the high-up skies, deep-dive underwater exploration and some beauty modeling gigs here on earth. This woman needs a GoPro 24/7 (and she often has one).
Motocross X Games gold medalist Nate Adams makes us want to put drones all over the California desert just to keep track of his aerial stunting. His specialty is freestyle motocross, and he’s outspoken about wanting the scene to grow. Meanwhile, watch him settle into the life of fatherhood to twin boys. Bikes, babies—his Instagram’s a great place these days.
At the tender age of eight, Clair Marie made a decision: she was going to become a world-class BASE jumper. It only took her eight more years to get there, and at sixteen, she cold-called the producer of her then-favorite Skydive video. (Her first jump was from a 480 foot antennae in the middle of the night…) Now, she’s become an outspoken inspiration for women in the sport, and a perfect model for high fashion at high heights—click here to see what we mean.
Gravity just does not exist within the orbit of Ryan Doyle, the Parkour expert and free runner. He’s passing on his knowledge not just by teaching at Airborn Academy, but also posting truly eye-opening videos of his training.
He’s not only a legend of mountain biking, but he’s also a pioneer of the freestyle ride—plus, he’s consulting on how bikes and courses are being built. Also among his interests: family trips to Disneyland, video editing, long-exposure photos. His feed is truly a romp.
One of Brent Witt’s biggest contributions to the sport of free flying—among his acrobatics and photos diving in just his underwear—is that he’s passing on his adrenealine junkie ways to a new generation of fliers, teaching at Atlas Freefly. He’s making the sky one of the coolest places to hang out. But don’t take our word for it. Check this, and this.