Jumper Spotlight: Blake Strong

1. What attracted you to the sport of skydiving?

Blake: I grew up around skydiving. When I was little I used to go to the drop zone with my father, later on he opened up his own skydiving place and I started spending more and more time there. My dad was the one who attracted me to this sport.

2. What influenced you to actually make the phone call to make your first skydive?

Blake:My dad had a skydiving company and that helped immensely, and one weekend I decided to jump from a large aircraft called Casa (which isn’t a bad aircraft to make your first skydiveJ )

3. What’s the most memorable skydive you’ve ever been on?

Blake:They were all memorable but jumping at sunset on to Bald Head Island landing on the beach and walking up to the bar was a perfect way to end the day, plus stopping and getting ice cream before we took the ferry back to the airport :)

4. Who / What inspires you?

Blake:My family and my friends inspire me the most, I feel the people you are around and how you treat your family tell a lot about a person.

5. Of the places you have visited – what is your favorite place and why?

Blake:The most memorable place I have visited is an island in Spain called Mallorca because of the great history, warm weather and beautiful location. Also, that’s where I proposed to my wife (brownie points!;) )

6. What other interests do you have outside of skydiving?

Blake:I love travelling, snowboarding, playing ultimate Frisbee, billiards, and running. In general, I like staying active.

7. What is something about you that few people know about?

Blake:My dad taught me how to drive a stick shift on a busy highway and I was terrified.

8. If you could meet anyone in the world for a coffee and a chat (alive or deceased) who would you wish to meet with?

Blake:I would meet with Thomas Jefferson and ask him what he thinks about politics and government today.

9. What do you do for work? If you could do anything as an occupation – what would it be?

Blake:I work on metering systems at an electricity distribution company. If I could do anything as an occupation, I would be the owner of the private island and I would have water, sky and land adventure sport business there.

10. What are your future goals?

Blake:My future goals are to continue skydiving, traveling and living a happy life.