Let's go on a Skydive with Sajid Chougle

 


I am so excited to share my conversation with Sajid Chougle.
He is 40 years old from Mumbai India and is an adventurer at heart. Sajid really likes to experience nature, meet new people, explore new cultures and many more things. I had a blast chatting with him and it was very interesting to hear his story. I asked him some questions during our exciting conversation and summarized our conversation below.
 

1. What inspired you to get into adventure sports?

When he was a kid he watched a lot of cartoons that had transformation, flying, innovations where humans and robots could connect. Some of the cartoons he was inspired by were Centurions, SilverHawks, Jestsons, Dexter's Lab and Johnny Quest. He saw a lot of adventure sports on National Geographic, and also read books on the same topic. As a kid he was always curious and he wanted to explore beyond his surroundings. While living in India he didn’t have the access to adventure sports, so he went to explore more of it outside of India. When Sajid lived in the USA he truly explored all of these things.

2. What training did you take?

In airsports there are different programs for skydiving. A basic thing you can do is a tandem jump. A tandem jump is where you and an instructor jump together. You could be jumping from 10,000, 12,000, 14,000,16,000 or even 18,000 ft in the air. Anything above 14,000 ft would require an oxygen tank so we can breathe. The place where Sajid jumped first was in Santa Barbara, California. His friends told him if he liked doing this so much he should get his license. For a license you can do different programs either AFF known as Accelerated Freefall Program or you can do a Static Line jump. AFF is quicker and with a Static Line you need more time. In AFF you start jumping then flying with a parachute. In a Static Line you have more parachutes flying before freefall. To balance it out, he has also done rock climbing and mountain climbing training. I really think this would be an amazing experience.

3. Where did you take your training?

Sajid has trained in multiple locations depending on the number of jumps he has done. He started in the USA around Philadelphia, and also trained at a place in Arizona called Eloy. He got his license in Eloy. Sajid jumped in California and New Jersey as well. After he came back to India he jumped in Dubai and Thailand. That time India didn’t have a dropzone. Sajid has also jumped in South Africa, Sweden and Norway. He kept going to many more places. It was so cool that he went to so many places to experience this sport. Sajid has done over 700 jumps and also jumped from mountains and wind turbines. I am blown away.

4. What motivates you?

Sajid is motivated by the idea to travel the world, explore new places and meet a lot of interesting people. He gets to expand his horizons, his skill set and adventure family as well.

5. What’s your job at Luma World?

He is the Creative Director at Luma World. To learn more about Luma World, visit the website: https://lumaworld.in/
He helps in designing and giving visual aspects to the products that they create like the games, board games, books and flashcards. His main job is to ensure that the products are engaging enough.

6. How has your mindset changed throughout the years?

Sajid’s viewpoint is that society tells us how to live, how to define what success is and how people will look at you. Over the years as he traveled the world, he explored more and he started to find out his real passions. These passions were not driven by society. Many people said that this is not a real job and that you won’t be happy. But Sajid went against the tide. He discovered his own ways. Honestly, it gave him a lot of happiness and if someone asks today what is his biggest success in life, it is the people that are in his life like his friends, his community and his sports.

7. Are there any fears or worries while doing adventure sports?

Adventure sports by nature are always dangerous. For him he keeps this in mind. There is a constant fear like what will happen to his family if something goes wrong while participating in any sport. But it is important for one to explore while being safe. He says, do it in a way that's comfortable and not putting yourself in harm. 

8. How would you handle fears or worries if you took another job?

Sajid said that there is a risk in every type of job you do. In some jobs there is a risk to your physical health and in some jobs it could be a financial risk. It is important for someone to be aware and understand the risks. That will help manage fear and worries.

9. Can you share any memorable experiences? 

There is a really cool farmer and his wife that live at the base of a mountain in Norway. They support base jumpers and invite them into their farm. They invited Saijd into their house since he was the only jumper there. He was able to be a part of their life and help them with their daily chores. This was a really memorable experience for him to be part of someone's life who he did not know.

10. What advice would you give to me for qualities that I should develop as a child?

Sajid said that I should explore more and not feel limited in whatever I’m doing. Sajid said that I should never feel like something is not for me, be it anything in life. Explore it, it’s okay if you fail at it. The important thing is for me to enjoy that process. He said do it for yourself and do it as long as it makes you happy.

This was such an inspiring conversion with Sajid. I learnt a lot and I hope many people are inspired by his story. I really want to thank Sajid for taking out time to talk with me.

If you would like to reach out to him, here are his social media links:

  

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sajidneo

Youtube: https://youtube.com/sajidneo

Facebook: https://facebook.com/sajidneo

I would really love to hear your feedback and comments. Please reach out to me@hanikachhajer.com.

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