Name – Brian Cumming
Birthplace – Weston-Super-Mare, England
CURRENT Home DZ – Skydive Langar
Jump Numbers – 3890
Cutaways – 5
Sponsors & Teams – Sun Path Products, Performance Designs, Cookie Helmets, Airtec (CYPRES) and Larsen & Brusgaard (Alti2)
Container – Javelin (x2)
Main Canopy – Sabre3 135 in my primary ki (I love the flare); Spectre135 in my second kit (for wingsuiting or busy AFF days)
Reserve Canopy – OP143 (x2)
AAD – CYPRES (x2)
- Where, when and why did you make your very first jump?
It was a 19th birthday present from my parents: an SL round, at Chatteris. Sadly, my AFF course was almost six years later. What a waste.
- What are your three favourite things to do when you’re not jumping?
Indoor skydiving, feeling the sun on my face and hanging out with my five-year-old daughter.
- What philosophy guides your life in general? If different, what philosophy guides your life in skydiving?
Life in general? Be the parking attendant. Give a compliment wherever you can. It came from this short video, which is well worth 16 minutes of your time.
I’m definitely a ‘carrot’ kind of coach.
In the sky and the tunnel, I use the phrase “learn through play” a lot. Why does everything have to be so serious? Why can’t we just fly – indoors and outdoors – for the love of it?
I did 4-way FS for ten seasons. I went to a couple of World Cups, representing the UK. I love the camaraderie and, especially when you are a new skydiver, it’s a great way to improve your skills quickly. It’s fun and cost-effective.
But the reality is that you score a point in FS by being on grips: by momentarily having static grips on each other. And to score lots of points, you must show you are also planning the dive to be as efficient as possible so that you don’t go too far from each other while building the next formation, making sure the movement doesn’t take too long. You’re reducing the distance flown from formation to formation.
To put it another way: you go up in a plane into the big blue sky – about three miles up – and when you jump out, you try to use the smallest piece of sky possible.
I don’t get it.
I want to use ALL the sky. I want to use ALL the tunnel. I want to fly. I don’t want to be static. I want to be dynamic.
This has largely shaped how I work in the sport. My jumping is AFF – chasing students all over the sky. Or wingsuiting for fun. My bigway FS events are either skills-based, or for fun we’re trying to use all of the sky possible. I have a style of bigway I call “Bigway Carnival.” In it, I’ve tried to break the mould of what a traditional static bigway jump is.
In the tunnel, the majority of my flying is dynamic belly flying. Over and under, through and around. You’re truly flying in all axes – and it’s fun and a great learning experience.
- What items on your “skydiving CV” are you proudest of?
Achieving both my BPA and my USPA AFFI ratings in an eight-week period was fun.
Setting two world records in two different disciplines: the 202-way 2-point FS, and 61-way WS large formations. Both took place at Perris in Autumn of 2015. The WS record was featured in the Guinness book of World Records. There’s a photo of me in that book. I may only be 3mm across on the page, but I’m there. A life goal achieved!
Representing the UK on the world stage was cool. 4-way FS World Cups: Prostejov, Czech Republic, in 2009, and Sarluis, Germany, in 2011.
There are two people out there with a tattoo of me on them. That blows my mind.
- Who have been your mentors in the sport, and what was the most important lesson each of them taught you?
An interesting question. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a proper mentor in the sport. It was a nomadic start to my skydiving. I’d jumped at four different DZs before I got my A licence, and that kind of continued. I’ve had plenty of coaches – especially during my 4-way career – but most of my learning has been from my peers. My progression has probably suffered as a result; I’m not as far along as I thought I would be at this point.
So, mentors… no. But support from my friends has been invaluable. Thanks to Craig for suggesting the podcast idea. Thanks to Ronny Holen for pushing me down the bigway route. Thanks to Pete Allum for showing me that belly flying doesn’t have to be static.
- What would you like every new skydiver to know?
You should have a goal. And you should always be evaluating that goal and resetting it when we achieve each goal. This sport isn’t a one-trick pony. This is a category – athletics – where there are so many things to do.
We’re all scared at some point. Before I got my A licence, I once drove halfway to the DZ and turned around and went home. We’ve all been there. But it doesn’t matter about the fear, as long as you have sufficient commitment and desire to achieve your goal.
It took me 41 jumps to get my A licence. It took me 102 jumps to get my FS1 (4-point 4-way). I never felt like a natural, and that’s what has trickled into my coaching (and my ‘no skydiver left behind’ ethos).
- What about the sport would you most like to change, and why?
The environmental impact of what we do. I realise I’m not setting the best example to my daughter regarding how to treat the planet and its resources.
- What has been your most challenging moment in the sport, and why?
The guilt from #7.
…and/or losing friends: both to mistakes in the sport, and to the black dog that follows us all at times.
This sport gives us unbelievable highs, but the highs are only temporary. You can’t run away from life; from the boring stuff. When I worked in finance, spreadsheets about skydiving were my favourite thing to do Mon-Fri. Now I am a professional skydiver, spreadsheets about skydiving are my least favourite thing I have to do.
- What’s the next challenge you’ve set for yourself?
More podcasting. More wingsuiting.
- What does it mean to you to be a British skydiver?
Rarely jumping enough. I think if I had the last ten years again, I’d move to a country near the Equator, for better weather on more days. Though, that said, when it gets dark around 5:30PM, you always have the evening to rest and recharge. Or tunnel. Or podcast. I love jumping right into the evening, but it definitely has an impact on how I feel the next day.
Secondly, being British means you should own good gloves.
