Extreme Exposure: Kelly Slater passes out at a Wim Hof class
In this week's edition of Extreme Exposure—a weekly column featuring news and photography from the world of action and outdoor sports—Kelly Slater passes out on camera during a yoga session and a group of skydivers survives a plane crash in California.
Gabriel Medina Gets All Inverted
With somewhat small, beach-break conditions on offer at Brazil’s Oi Rio Pro, the competition continued this weekend with competitors going to the air. And Gabriel Medina went huge. The Brazilian threw the first inverted flip ever in competition with this smooth backflip. As he came out he gave the judges a “what else can I do?” look. They obliged, awarding the 22-year-old with a perfect 10. It’s been a Brazilian show thus far, as the host country holds 10 of the remaining 24 spots in the contest. With the safety concerns (Conner Coffin and Carissa Moore witnessed a shooting before the event started), spotty conditions and a somewhat negative fan reaction on its social media sites, it’ll be interesting to see if the World Surf League brings an event back to Brazil in 2017.
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Close Call for Skydivers in California
This was as close as it gets. A plane carrying 18 people last week, most of whom were skydivers, took off from the Parachute Center Skydiving School at Lodi Airport in San Joaquin County, Calif., and immediately started experiencing engine problems. The pilot skillfully guides the Cessna 208 through an emergency landing where the plane hit a truck and then grapevine wires before flipping. Thankfully, no one was injured other than the pilot, who had a broken nose. And this passenger’s GoPro captured the whole terrifying thing. The Sacramento Bee posted his video Friday. The cameraman plays it pretty cool, doing a headcount and working to keep everyone calm in a situation that definitely could have warranted the opposite reaction.
Kelly Slater Needs Some Air
Kelly Slater pulled out of Brazil’s Oi Rio Pro, citing personal reasons. Many pundits presume it was because he wasn’t enthused by the venue. But he hasn’t stopped training. Last week Slater and his girlfriend, Kalani Miller, were in a breathing class with fitness guru Wim Hof when Slater passed out. Miller laughed at first but then got a concerned look on her face as she realized Slater didn’t know where he was. But the 11-time champ was laughing at himself after: “When you're doing a breathing class with Wim Hof on Friday the13th under a new moon ... and you pass out and fall on your face,” he wrote on Instagram. “(You) start dreaming and wake up wondering where you are and why does your face feel like you just got tackled on the football field and somebody was filming it all ... but you think it's funny.”
Hof—known as the Iceman—is a breath expert and has been able to sustain himself in extremely cold conditions. The Dutchman climbed part of Everest in shorts (he wasn’t able to finish due to a foot injury) and holds the world record for longest ice bath at an hour and 13 minutes.
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Chris Joslin, Filmer Jared Lucas win Real Street Gold
The X Games Real contests have definitely hit a chord with the core communities, whether it’s skiing, snowboarding, wake or skating. This weekend, Chris Joslin, along with videographer Jared Lucas, were crowned gold medalists in ESPN’s Real Skate online video contest (now in its seventh year) where skaters and their cinematographer partners submit video parts. The X Games uses a judging panel to pick its winners then has a separate category for “Fan Favorite.” The Fan Favorite results will be released later today.
