- Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:40 am
#252500
I guess it kind of depends on what you mean by "famous people." If you are referring to the standard notion of movie stars and recording artists, then there are slim pickens because - well - they're kinda spoon-fed pu--ies that are more risk adverse than an average Hang 1.
I mean, Nick Cage talked about it, said he liked it. So what's the problem? A movie contract with prohibitive clauses only exists for the duration of the movie - most of the time 3 months. There is nothing stopping him all the rest of the time.
In other words it's not that we don't have a cool sport for them to participate in, with great training and equipment - it's that their punk ass won't do it.
In terms of celebrity however, there SHOULD actually be people who are celebrities JUST for flying hang gliders, like in other sports. I mean, Shawn White is famous as hell for snowboarding. What's Shawn White have over a Johnny Durand, or a John "the loopster" Heiney in terms of skills and talents? And Shawn White was famous and had a following without a Gold Medal.
These guys in HG should be sports celebrities in their own right - but it does not happen because Hang Gliding is not mainstream enough to matter to the general public. And remember, "Main Stream" is where famous people live... it's the only place where you can be truly famous to the masses. If your sport is accepted by the mainstream, you have a shot.
So the truly talented and gifted folks in this sport will go on to marvel those who are capable of appreciating it, but will be largely unsung heroes. Folks like Ken Musico who I have never met - and probably never will at this rate - but am blown away at his skills at age 71. Geez, THAT is a friggin rockstar and celebrity in my book, But no one outside of a few will know, nor care.
If your daughter is truly looking for mainstream celebs that Hang Glide, it's going to be a very short project. But if she wanted to highlight, through Hang Gliding, what is a celeb due to their skills and their courage outside of mainstream thinking, I believe there is a lot to work with here.
<Avatar = catching some air in 1973
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Hang Gliding, old-school: 1972 ~