When you consider all that’s involved in skydiving, from prepping, to jumping, to landing, it most certainly involves a high level of dexterity. But sometimes when you love a sport, you figure out a way to do it, even when the odds are against you. That certainly applies to Jarrett Martin, as he gets ready to head to the World skydiving competitions as a competitor from the USA.
Martin grew up around skydiving, and loved it from an early age. He watched his father, and his grandfather jump, and joined in as soon as he was old enough. At the age of 18, something went wrong on a BASE jump and Martin was injured with a poor prognosis. Paralyzed from the chest down, it appeared that Martin’s skydiving career was over. He refused to accept his fate, and took his first jump as a paraplegic just 6 months after the accident.
It’s one thing to jump for fun, but Jarrett Martin still wanted to compete. In 2011, he returned to competition as the first paraplegic to compete in the US Nationals. Because of his performance at the USPA National Skydiving Championships the past 2 years, he has been invited to compete at the Dubai International Parachuting Competition in December of this year, as well as the World Parachuting Championship in Banja Luka in 2014.
Martin’s accomplishments at the National championships were captured by filmmaker Macaela Vandermost. A full-length documentary entitled Sky High was set to debut at the Boston Film Festival, but had to be postponed due to the Boston Marathon bombings in April. It will now premiere on November 7, 2013 at The Center for Arts at the Armory in Boston.
In the meantime, Jarrett Martin continues to train and participate in Base Jumps, such as his recent visit to West Virginia to take part in Bridge Day. He also helps other paraplegics overcome their limitations so they can experience skydiving too.
You can view the trailer of Sky High or rent the full length video at http://vimeo.com/ondemand/skyhigh
Below is a video of Martin before his accident
