History:

JC Colclasure began adulthood thinking that he would spend his days in a classroom, educating others. Instead, the 38-year-old makes his living in the sky, and his profession constantly schools him – in the best possible way. “Skydiving changed my life,” says the world-record setting athlete. “I’ve traveled to over thirty different countries so far and continue to learn from everyone I meet and every experience I am given.” An influential advocate of blade running, JC is proficient in a wide variety of flying disciplines and captured a U.S. National title for accuracy. Plus, as arguably the most aggressive camera flyer in the Red Bull Air Force, he’s responsible for groundbreaking footage. JC’s love for teaching is still apparent, too: rated for advanced freefall, freefly, and canopy flight training, he instructs both U.S. military personnel and civilians. Sincere, though hardly shy, JC credits his wife and infant daughter with keeping his head grounded and his spirit soaring. He says he’d like to wingsuit through Heaven with a flock of angels someday, but in the meantime, he’s shredding the skies with his buddies on the RBAF. Born in 1970, John Charles Colclasure grew up in the heartland of Illinois. “I wanted to teach middle school and coach sports,” he recalls. But, “entranced” by stories from his grandfather, an airplane pilot and mechanic, JC spent his college vacations training for a pilot’s license. “And so the journey skyward began,” he smiles. JC made his first skydive in 1993 (he now has more than 14,500) and his initial BASE jump two years later (he’s logged close to 400 today). For a full decade of pro-level competition he ranked above average in all canopy piloting disciplines, earning a variety of championships, and he set a speed and distance world record in addition to manning the camera for other record-setting flights. Known for his smooth, powerful style and personal integrity, the six-foot three-inch athlete is also in demand in front of the camera (for example, flying tandem with Morgan Freeman’s stunt double in “The Bucket List”). JC finds blade running and speed flying to be “the most exhilarating fun under a parachute” and gets even more revved up about his more than 2,000 flights in a wingsuit. ”They’re the most stimulating, breathtaking jumps I’ve ever experienced,” he comments from his home in Hawaii. “Nothing compares to stepping off a 4,000-foot face with a few good friends and flying relatively close to granite walls and scattered pine forest at horizontal speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.”