John Lennon said: “If you tried to give rock’n’roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.’” If back then the Beatle had known the BASE jumper from New Zealand with the same name, he might also have come up with a synonym for “daredevil insanity.” In Part One of our interview Chuck talks about his most recent project: 36 BASE jumps from the world’s fourth highest building ...
Your namesake, in the meantime 81 years old, is one of the founders of rock’n’roll. What would you like to enter the history books for?I’d like to be known for pushing the boundaries of what can become possible. Using a positive approach to what some may think is impossible. Having a positive outlook to breathing life into your dreams and turning them into reality.
For Chuck Berry Sr. rock’n’roll meant rebellion. Is BASE jumping also a type of uprising – a revolution against the law of nature, against physical vulnerability, but also against your own fear?
I think BASE jumping is a rebellion against the laws of nature and gravity that bind us to this planet. The rebellion against the usual fears of wanting to cling on to the earth and the incredible sensation of freedom by being able to happily step into thin air with a rig on my back from sheer parts of the planet.
Some of your campaigns outwardly appear to be pure fun for you – like in summer last year when you jumped over Queenstown in a wigwam. How much do you think about the risks that are connected to your jumps?
I love the fun of turning an idea into reality, like the jump in a wigwam tent. Taking that dream and making it happen. I address all the risks I can see and put a lot of thought into the process, gear, design, all the possible outcomes and actions to achieve a positive result.
Your latest mission even sounds unbelievable to your BASE colleagues: in Kuala Lumpur you did 36 BASE jumps in three days. How did the idea for that come about?
My good BASE mate Grant Chapman and I decided to go to Kuala Lumpur together to indulge in the 3 day BASE event at the Manara KL Tower, now in it’s sixth year. We joined 100 other BASE jumpers who enjoyed lift access to the 300-meter-high tower and the roof where all the fun was to be had. I was lucky to meet a great buddy Miles Daisher from the US Red Bull Air Force. We began jumping and filming together, creating more and more fun tricks, jumping in groups, doing aerobatic jumps and handstands, hanging off the edge of the building by our hands, and jumping together, me hanging onto Miles while he opened his parachute while we flew away from the tower together.
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