Who's Rad? Amy Chmelecki.

all images via Red Bull

After spending a little time over at the Red Bull offices and hearing about Amy and the Red Bull Air Force team, I  was intrigued. Little did I know all I'd find out - this girl is awesome, and what she does each & every day is insanely cool. Read on to find out more about Amy and her high flying career in sky diving. She is one of a kind!

Who's Rad?  Amy Chmelecki

Age: 37

Home is:   Eloy, Arizona

How long have you been Skydiving? 18 years

What got you interested in this extreme sport?

At age 14 I over heard someone talking about two women that went skydiving and that they said it was the greatest thing they had ever done. It put the thought in my head. From that point on I new I would do it when I turned 18 (which is the legal age to make your first jump in the US).

Can you tell us what an average day is like for you?

Some days are personal practice days, some days I am training other people and some days it is game day. Each of those types of days looks a little different, but in general on an average day I make a hand full of skydives (somewhere between 3 and 12), fly in the wind tunnel (indoor skydiving) for about 30 minutes and spend a couple hours in the office. I check my gear thoroughly every morning and give it a slandered look over before each jump.

Speaking of training – can you tell us what type of training you do to prepare and keep your body in shape for your sport?

Lot of hotel work outs and jogs exploring what every area I am visiting. My preferred fitness week has a healthy combo of yoga, cardio and weight training. I LOVE yoga more then anything, but yoga alone does not keep my body feeling the best during strenuous skydiving training. The combo is what makes me feel the best. I spent 90% of my time on the road. I have to push myself to make the time and find the motivation to keep fitness in my life when I am on the road.

You are a Red Bull Air Force Athlete – can you tell us a little about that honor?

It is a HUGE honor for me to be part of the Red Bull Air Force. The company is a fantastic one to work with. Red Bull is charging hard when it comes to sports. I love that! Being part of the RBAF is nothing short of a dream come true for me. Red Bull helps me make my dreams come true all the time and other people get inspiration form that. I am so very thankful.


Any advice for girls who want to follow in your footsteps?

Go to Skydive Arizona and go through their student program. It is the best place in the world to learn. Don’t hesitate on chasing your dreams. This is your life, live it how you dream it.

Female athletes that inspire YOU?

Mia Hamm and the entire 1996 US women’s soccer team have always and still do inspire me. They were talented, hard working and fearless.

The growing popularity of women fighting in the UFC fires me up. Sara Mcmann and Ronda Rousey are just crushing it. It is great to see women training hard and making a living in a sport extremely dominated by men. I think it is great when women rise above a stereotype and just go out and chase their dreams.

Sponsors:   Red Bull ,   Paraclete XP (indoor skydiving),  Skydive Arizona

Three Things You Don't Know About Me...

1. I studied ceramics at the University of New Hampshire. Ceramics is my second major passion.

2. I am polish, blond and dyslexic

3. Im a terible spellar ;-)


What’s Next?

On Sunday May 25th I fly to Belgium to meet up with my all female skydiving team “The Joy Riders XP” where we will compete in an indoor skydiving competition. After that we will travel around Europe coaching and training most of the summer. Our next big competition, which we are organizing, will be in North Carolina in October.

Jump over HERE to see a video that gives you an idea of what the Joy Riders are all about.

Make sure you follow Amy on Facebook, Instagram and  on Twitter @amychmelecki