Miles Daisher | D-23227
Profiles
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Miles Daisher of the Red Bull Air Force is seemingly always smiling. Since the age of eight, jumping off the family roof with a bedsheet or umbrella, he has wanted to fly. Once, seeing a jumper land on his soccer field during a game, he became hooked on the idea of skydiving himself. More than 12,000 skydives and nearly 30 years later, Daisher has traveled the world several times over, making some of the most breathtaking skydives in our sport’s history. And when he’s not falling out of airplanes, you might find him on the side of a bridge or cliff, as he is one of the most accomplished BASE jumpers of all time.
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“With a deep love for life and a profound respect for all people, Miles effortlessly lifts up everyone he encounters. He has a rare gift for making everyone feel valued and respected, no matter who they are. There’s no one else like him, and I’m lucky to call him a teammate and friend.” -Amy Chmelecki, Parachutist profilee #46
Nickname: Miles D. Manimal, the Human Circus
Age: 55 and still alive
Height: 69 inches
Year of First jump: 1995
Birthplace: Warner Robbins AFB, Georgia
Marital status: Married to my love, Nikki, for 20 years
Children: Dorothy, Audrey and Eli
Pets: Three dogs, three cats, four goats
Occupations: Parachutist; demonstration skydiver and BASE jumper; skydiving and BASE coach; semi-professional, part-time announcer
Team Names: Red Bull Air Force; The Lake Tahoe Dust Devils; Team Huckasoreass; Cliff Ryder and the Hucking Outlaws; Birds of Prey
Sponsors: Airtec Cypres, Akova Skiwear, Larsen & Brusgaard, My Wicked Dude skis, Red Bull, Squirrel
Container: Velocity Infinity Northern Lite III
Main Canopy: Performance Designs Spectre 120
Reserve Canopy: Precision Aerodynamics r-Max 128/168
AAD: C-Mode Cypres
Disciplines: Wingsuit and freefly
Home Drop Zone: SkyDance SkyDiving (I feel at home at most drop zones), Perrine Bridge
Championships/Medals/Records: My mom, Ellen, says I’m the best!
Associations/Club Memberships: The Last Man Standing club, USPA, USHPA, Swiss and Italian BASE, SAG, Delta Sky Club
Total Jumps: 12,669
Freefly: 5,000
Wingsuit: 3,000-5,000
FS: 2,000
Demos: 420
Skyak: 68
BASE: 7,266
Cutaways: Four tandem, four sport jumping and six testing the MARD system for Tom Cruise.
How long do you plan on skydiving?
I’d like to keep skydiving as long as my body can handle the openings and landings. My brain and heart love this sport, and it heals me in a way. I love air therapy and thrive in the sky with my friends. I’m sure I’ll walk away from skydiving someday but hope to delay that as long as possible.
What do you like most about the sport?
I love all kinds of things. The bird’s eye view on the way to altitude. Camaraderie with fellow jumpers. The jokes. The speed of the wind and how your body feels while swimming through it on the way down to activate your magic backpack. Flying parachutes is super fun. The sense of freedom to fly your body. The awareness and sense of urgency. There are endless things to love about this sport, but I’ll say mostly, I do it all for the nookie. C’mon!
What do you like least?
Not enough free ice cream.
Who have been your mentors?
Frank Gambalie got me into skydiving and BASE. Frank took me under his wing and showed me the way to the sky, rekindling my desire to become a skydiver with his fancy videos. I’ve looked up to many other people who have helped me along the way too: Hollywood Jon Devore, No-Chute Luke Aikins, Jeffro Provenzano, K-Pow Kid Andy Farrington, Sean MacCormac and Amy Chmelecki. But not Mike Swanson. He is too hardcore and competitive and always beats me. He yells at me in freefall. Still.
Is there one jump that stands out the most?
At Oshkosh, the Red Bull Air Force performs demos a few days every year. One year, I was flying a wingsuit down the flight line with Mike Swanson while Kirby Chambliss flew circles around us in his Edge 540 aerobatic plane. I called out to the audience before the jump, “Place your bets! Can the skydiver land on his hat?” and threw my hat down before we took off in Aaron Fitzgerald’s B0-105 upside-down helicopter to jump. After we flew, canopy and airplanes together, I swooped in on my Spectre and smashed my hat while making eye contact with the crowd. I’m two for three now on hat landings at Oshkosh.
For BASE, it was the Troll Wall with Shane McConkey. I first saw a video of Frank Gambalie tracking from that cliff, and I thought, “Wow! He is flying his body! I wish to do this.” He and I jumped Pro-Fly wingsuits, and I flew it like an anvil; I didn’t really try to fly. I was just looking around and enjoying the view. Shane was gung-ho to jam out super far and go for distance, but kept coming back to me and yelling, “Let’s go!” We just laughed at each other and enjoyed the sky time together. Fast forward to now and I’m in the exact same place where that motivation came from.
What safety item do you think is most Important?
Awareness. Where everyone else on the same airplane is, while you all fly parachutes to the same place. Canopy collisions aren’t fun, as Jimmy Halliday and I have figured out the hard way. Keep your head on a swivel. Take care, be aware. Know how to be predictable and fly a pattern that makes sense to everyone, including the others in the sky, as well as the guy eating Cheetos on the ground.
You are pretty fit. How do you keep up?
I use diet and exercise. Keeping it moving is a philosophy for a shark’s life. I’m not saying I’m a shark, but I like to keep it moving. Fit for life.
What are your future goals?
To enjoy flying. To make magic in the sky with my friends and to continue to support my family while working in the sport. Hopefully, one day, to be able to crack the code and invent something that can help this sport such as how Bill Booth made the 3-ring riser system. But mostly my future goals for skydiving are to be awesome and look cool! Also to survive this sport and enjoy getting old with my honey bunny Nikki Sue.