History:

As manager of the Red Bull Air Force, Jon DeVore is part educator, part performer, and one-hundred percent visionary. “I’d like to teach the general public that what we’re doing is actually flying, not just dropping,” he explains. “Gravity is our engine. We manipulate the wind speed it creates off our bodies to fly forward and cover miles of territory, or to choreograph complex aerial routines at speeds of over two hundred miles per hour.” The 33-year-old continues, “Skydivers at our level are hands-down the fastest non-motorized machines in the world…AND we fly with the same or more precision than any aircraft.”

Because he knows that demonstrating his sport is the best way to advocate it, Jon’s every spare minute is devoted to imagining new maneuvers that use the latest canopy and wingsuit technology – and the talent of an amazing collection of athletes – to fly in ways never before dreamed possible.

Raised in the forty-ninth state, “Alaska Jon” (who now lives in California) took his first jump as a teenager and went on to win multiple national and world championships in individual and three-man freeflying. He’s also been a driver for organizing every world record ever set for freeflying head down in formation – that’s five records, with 69 people as the mark to beat – and he’s looking to add a sixth record in the future. Altogether, Jon has logged more than 16,000 skydives; but he’s as proud of his Red Bull team as he is of himself. “We’ve got gold medalists in every discipline, and there isn’t one of us who doesn’t do it all – from skydiving to B.A.S.E. jumping to swooping,” he comments. “I’m really stoked that so many people will be able to see what we can do when the ‘Human Flight 3D’ movie is released in theaters.”

In addition to planning for the next record, contributing to the film, participating in RBAF demos, and spearheading other group projects, Jon – a man who survived a one-hundred-mile-an-hour crash into a mountain when a stunt went wrong – has a new project of his own, which he calls the Seven Summits. “I’m planning to be the first to use a high-speed parachute to descend from the highest summit on each of the seven continents,” the athlete says. “I figure I’ll reach speeds of close to 80 miles per hour or more on the approach, and there will be lots of hazards in the landscape, so it’s super dangerous…but I’m training hard.” Clearly amped at the prospect, he adds, “Tackling this is going to be huge.”