AIM: TO DO SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE IN INDIA, BY AN INDIAN. FUND ME, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE AN EXTREME ADVENTURE SPORT HAPPEN IN INDIA FOR THE FIRST TIME
Hi, I am Samar Farooqui a 28-year-old from Mumbai. I am one of India’s best Slackliner & Adventurer. After all the years of success, I would now like to walk off a cliff on a 1-inch rope (Slackline) & then jump off it. This is something never attempted by an Indian before. I need funds to get trained in Russia for that and I request your generous contribution towards it. While this will help me accomplish India's first Base-line what it will also do is create enough buzz to generate interest in putting INDIA ON THE ADVENTURE MAP OF THE WORLD.
The total funds I require to raise is INR 15L. This includes my travel, stay and training costs there. I would need to learn to skydive in Russia ( this is diving off an aircraft with a parachute). This involves doing 100 jumps over a 45-day period. It's tough, needs concentration and patience. This is required as when I get back I will walk across on a slackline and then jump off with a parachute. Since I jump from not a big height it is very very dangerous and challenging. Read on to discover why you should fund me.
I have been an adventure athlete in India since 2013. Pioneering and carrying the torch for the sport of slacklining and highlining in India. Over the years it has made it a point to personally push me to excel at this sport and bring India's as well as my own name as far ahead as I can. I have represented India at multiple international slacklines and Highline gatherings, events, and platforms. From teaching slacklining to Syrian refugee kids to being invited to teach slackline and balance workshops at international festivals, I have gathered a vast amount of experiences and exposure being deeply involved in this sport for a decade.
My dream is to accomplish something that has never been done before in India, by an Indian. I wish to set up a Highline (slackline between two cliffs), walk on it and then jump off. This is a combination of two extreme adventure sports namely Highlining and BASE jumping. Over the past decade, I have dreamed about this and I finally at a place in life where I am capable and willing to attempt this record dream of mine.
If not the best, I am among India's top three Highline athletes without a doubt. I recently (April 2019), set India's free solo Highline record, i.e. highlining without any safety equipment and having complete trust in your training and skill. I walked across a 33 meter high and 60-meter long Highline.
I possess the slackline and Highline skills required to achieve this dream, I, however, lack the skydive and BASE jumping skills to accomplish this in a safe manner. The Funds I am looking at raising through crowdfunding will be used to pay for my Skydive and BASE jumping lessons as well as gear for the same. My intention is to go to Russia in June and July 2019, acquire the required training and experience in skydiving, then coming back to India, with my skydive and BASE jumping equipment and accomplishing this dream by end of October.
I have kept a window of three months to account for weather, location which are factors which one can never be aware of. The Idea is also to document this journey on video and make a video /documentary movie based on this experience.
STEPWISE - TIMELINE FROM JUNE TO OCTOBER 2019
1. Learn Basic skydiving
2. Buy Skydive gear to continue skydiving
3. Continue skydiving - at least 50/100 jumps
4. Purchase BASE Jumping Gear and start learning to Base Jump
5. Do a few Base Jumps to gain experience and confidence
6. GRAND FINALE - INDIA's FIRST BASE-LINE
7. VIDEO of the adventure and jump ie edited and produced.
EXPENSES :
The costs involved are to cover the training, additional jump experience to compete, travel, food & stay in Russia and crowdfunding charges are given below.
LOCATION WHERE THE TRAINING IS PLANNED
Risks and challenges
The risks out here are absolutely real and have consequences which I have though about for years. The absolute worse case scenario is that I have an accident during skydiving / base jump training and end up in a vegatitive state, better than that is death, which too is a real possibility. Therefore getting the adequate amount of training, right equipment is an absolute must.
My current plan is to go to Russian get my basic skydive license and equipment, then I need to get experience of around 50-100 skydives in total to even consider BASE jumping. After getting enough skydiving experience, I would purchase a BASE jumping rig and get some BASE jumping experience under my belt. After gaining BASE experience, I would then be at a skill where I can attempt a BASE Line.
The process is long and my life will be put at risk more than a few times. But this is a risk I am willing to take to chase a dream i have held dear to me for years.
FAQs
Is it safe?
As safe as it can be. For me to accomplish this in a safe manner is why I am crowdfunding this. If I was to do this without the training/experience, this would not be as safe.
What if you die? Have you thought about the worst-case scenario?
Yes, death and accidents are a real possibility. However, I believe that I should not live my life in fear. Even if I was to die doing this, this would be the best scenario I can imagine for my self. Chasing something I love and am passionate about. A dream worth dying for but a dream that is full of life. I accept the responsibility of my actions and hold no one else accountable or answerable about this. This is my choice, my dream and it's something that is worth it.
Will this be an Indian record?
I will reach out to Limca book of records in India to get them involved with this, hopefully, they find it worth covering.
Will this be a world record?
No. However this will open up a pathway for me to attempt to break some world records in the future.
