Felix Baumgartner
Aviation - and space travel, in particular - have always been especially captivating.Collection: Travel
Heroes don't wear diapers. It's just not cool.Collection: Cool
Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are.
If the Wright brothers hadn't put their lives on the line, we would not be flying around the world these days. So we need pioneers.
People should decide 'are you willing to spend all this money to go to Mars?' I think the average person on the ground would never spend that amount of money - they have to spend it on something that makes sense and this is definitely saving our planet.
I base jumped off the Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro.
At a certain R.P.M., there's only one way for blood to leave your body, and that's through your eyeballs. That means you're dead.
I always feel the danger because you might always be subject to an unexpected or emergency event.
I like to challenge myself.
Let me tell you - when I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble. You don't think about breaking records anymore, you don't think about gaining scientific data - the only thing that you want is to come back alive.
To jump and break the sound barrier will not be a mere record breaking experience or another extreme event that ends once the mission is accomplished.
I'm now a member of a pretty small club.
They call me Fearless Felix.
I started skydiving because I loved the idea of freedom.
Normally, when I skydive, even in winter, I wear very thin gloves. I want to be flexible, with fast reactions.
This claustrophobia was the only weakness I had. It's not my fault. It's just in my mind.
I feel comfortable with what I do and I guess that my girlfriend feels the same.
Well, I jumped for the first time when I was 16. I just loved it and immediately realized that it was what I wanted to do.
As a little kid, I climbed a lot of trees because I always loved the bird's-eye view.
I have a lot of fears that normal people have.
I had to work with a psychiatrist.
If I do something, it's always 90% obvious and 10% unknown.
I'm retired from the daredevil business.
I want to find a nice decent job as a helicopter pilot.
I don't like to rate myself; others can do that.
People are fascinated about the world above them because it seems so out-of-reach.
I can't bear the thought of my mother having to push me around in a wheelchair. I'd rather die quickly.
I have no privacy anymore.
You have seen on TV how hard it is to go up 129,000 feet and how hard it is to come down.
Of course my life has changed because now everybody knows who Felix Baumgartner is.
I always had the dream of flying, and the cheapest way is to become a skydiver.
I base jumped off one of the highest buildings in the world.
I'm more a competitive person.
I was crossing the English Channel with a carbon-fiber wing on my back.
I'm 100 percent sure I'm becoming a really good helicopter pilot.
I've done a lot of things in a business where you're lucky to stay alive, so when the time comes, I'll be happy to pass my knowledge along and help someone else.
The stratosphere is a hostile place.
Well, to me, my past accomplishments weren't crazy. They required a lot of skill and careful planning.
That spin became so violent, it was hard to know how to get out of it. I was able to get it under control and break the speed of sound...I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it.Collection: Air
Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are.Collection: Positivity
The only limit is the one you set yourself.Collection: Limits
Never accept your limitations - because there are NO limitations.Collection: Accepting
Learn to love what you've been taught to fear.Collection: Taught
When you stand up there on top of the world, you become so humble.Collection: Humble
Engage your life with enthusiasm; grasp your life aggressively and squeeze from it every drop of excitement, satisfaction, and joy.Collection: Joy
It feels great to be on top of the world but the greatest feeling is when your feet are on the ground.Collection: Feet
One of the most exciting moments was standing out on top of the world, 30 seconds before stepping off.Collection: World
Don't live life as a spectator.Collection: Live Life
I know the whole world is watching now. And I wish the world could see what I can see. Sometimes you have to get up really high to understand how small you really are. I'm going home now.Collection: Home