Dianette Wells
Adventurer ~ Athlete
Author ~ Speaker
Johnny Strange
Scroll Down or Select Below to View
"The day I let my fear deter my ability to follow my dreams, I have already died. I will die someday, but on this day, I was more alive than I had ever been before."
— Johnny Strange (1991-2015)
Johnny Strange with mother, Dianette Wells
Why I Base Jump
by Johnny Strange
As I get ready to leave again on another Wingsuit BASE jumping trip, it's probably important to write down why I like to do this. With all the death in the sport, people always ask me why I don't quit or think i'm crazy. Imagine though, if you could pick up your phone and text any hero or role model you ever had, and not only be able to text them, but be friends with them too. I walked into Apex base (gear sponsor) and they gave me a Lobo parachute to use on my trip.
Imagine walking into a Ferrari dealership, being on a first name basis with the owner and having him hand you the keys to one for free. There is no greater feeling than proximity flying wing suits. The only thing similar is big wave surfing, and if you're thinking it has something to do with fear and adrenaline you are completely wrong. It's a total misconception, at least how I view it. Flying down a mountain makes you present in a way that can't be described, completely in tune with nature. A monk meditates his whole life to reach a point I feel I've captured while racing though mountains powered purely by gravity and intuition. When I hear people say, "If I die doing it, it's worth it" I cringe. If I were to die flying, it would not be worth it. Life is the most precious thing on the planet, and flying brings out the absolute best in life. If you die proximity flying however, you die twice. Once physically, the other is the death of your legacy. The public outside of our community may love watching the videos, but if the worst happens the comment section on the articles show no respect. I remember after Dean died, someone who had lived more of a life than most could imagine, was viciously attacked on how he lived. If you eat until you're fat and die of a heart attack it's a tragedy, but if you die on the cutting edge of imagination you're an idiot. I watched people attack Dean after his death without him able to defend himself, and I'm sure the same would happen to me. They would say I should have died on Everest, they would say flying wing suits was insanity. But with everything going on in the world, I can say I have things that make me happy, experiences that you can't buy.
Johnny Wanted to Fly – A Brief Biography of an Adventurer’s Life
From the time he was two years old, and jumping off of beds and couches, Johnny wanted to fly. As a young boy he stood on the bow of a boat, arms spread wide, loving the wind sailing past his body and face. In third grade he drew a picture that depicted himself jumping from a hot-air balloon. He titled it, “The adventure begins here!”
That desire to climb to new heights and meet every adventure challenge never left Johnny. By the time he finished elementary school, he had tried pretty much everything, including surfing, skateboarding, tee-ball, peewee football, soccer, BMX bike racing, gymnastics, ice hockey, and roller hockey. Those activities weren’t enough for him, and he expressed interest in paragliding and adventure racing, only to be discouraged when his parents told him he was too young.
Johnny on boat bow enjoying his favorite, feeling-the-wind, pose.
Johnny on cliff face while learning
to climb in Jackson, Wyoming
Johnny (front) paragliding in New Zealand while his mom participates in Eco-Challenge NZ.
Climbing the Grand Teton in Wyoming with his mom, Dianette, Johnny turned his attention to mountain climbing. Following in her footsteps, he turned his sights to conquering the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each continent. While pursuing his goal he earned the world record for the youngest person to climb Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. Then, in 2009, before he had completed high school, he triumphantly summited Mount Everest and became the youngest person to climb all Seven Summits! He was seventeen.
That same year, he vowed to become the youngest person to complete The Explorer’s Grand Slam, which includes the Seven Summits, and visiting both the North and South Poles. He completed that personal challenge.
Below: place cursor on any image to stop slide show and read caption; click any image to enlarge photo.
In between climbs, he began paragliding; he loved the sense of flying that it provided. Upon turning eighteen, he turned his attention to skydiving and was invited to attend What Makes a Young Champion?, an event at the National University of Singapore. He pushed back a semester at the University of Southern California to move to Las Vegas to further his skydiving training and learn to BASE jump. Johnny took BASE jumping to a new level when he BASE jumped from an 1,800-foot cliff into the Grand Canyon with Jace Ramsey, one of his mentors from Las Vegas. In the process, he earned himself a starring role in a Bear Gyrlls's Escape from Hell episode.
Supported by sponsors, Johnny decided to become a professional wingsuit BASE jumper and proximity flyer, which is the dangerous sport of flying close to solid objects such as trees and cliffs. In October 2015, he flew to Switzerland to do more of what he loved, proximity flying.
Johnny never returned. He died on the second proximity flight of that trip.
American Daredevil… Johnny Strange: The Youngest Person To Conquer Seven Summits
This feature documentary (now provided on YouTube) tracing Johnny Strange’s incredible life and tragic death from his childhood of extreme risk-taking, to being the the youngest person ever to summit the highest peak on all 7 continents, to becoming a dedicated wingsuit BASE jumper. This is a cinematic and raw portrait of a fearless pioneer who literally learned how it felt to fly.
View Other Videos Featuring Johnny
Select Below To View On YouTube