Paris from 4,000 Meters (September 8, 2025)
What if you had the power to give someone the best day of their life while simultaneously having one of the best days of your life? On the way to the drop site in Saint Quentin, France (about 2 hours outside of Paris), this is what I was pondering. I still remember my very first static-line jump almost 30 years ago. Today Violet and I jumped out of an airplane from 4,000 meters — that’s 13,123 feet for my American friends.
We then experienced a full free fall for about a minute (55 seconds) and played around with our open parachutes for a full 5 minutes until we landed. The best part? The whole experience was captured on video as well as a ton of pictures which I’m happy to share here.
So much I want to say on this, but I’ll keep it relatively brief. First, I’m a thrill-seeker and a bit of an adrenaline junkie. As of today, I’m 911 days sober (roughly 2.5 years) so while I’m in Paris (and France in general), I’m not partaking in any of the fabulous wine they have here. I also didn’t smoke any weed while I was in Amsterdam last week. And the thrill of jumping out of an airplane can’t be beat.
Despite being 18, my daughter is with me on this one. Both my kids have never tasted alcohol nor have they done any drugs. It’s truly amazing for me to witness this having started my addictions at the early age of 12 years old. So instead of consuming wine in France, this is how we live life to the fullest and have a most epic side quest during our Paris week.
Violet leaves the airplane with CJ guiding her on her first skydive adventure
I really feel like this picture is worth the 1,000 words I could write about today’s event. In order to make this happen, CJ, the owner of Skydiving Paris, picked Violet and I up from the Saint Quentin and drove us to the airport where we would have our skydive experience.
He also shared with us that France and the US are the top two skydiving countries in the world today. And that, if we “get the itch” to want to become certified in skydiving, he recommends “The Ranch” in upstate New York as a great place to get certified. After a day like today, I can see it. So can Violet.
I think the anticipation of a skydive is where the build of adrenaline begins. Luckily, there was a “Connect Four” set ready for both Violet and I to play. When we are intensely thinking about our strategy, we’re not thinking about what’s about to happen. Not that either of us was “avoiding” as much as directing our focus to be fully present in the “waiting room” period pre-jump.
Even though the professional photographer focused on Violet, he got some fun shots of me leaving the plane. Woo Hoo! What a rush. The moment we left the plane, we entered into a cloud. You could feel the rain drops from the top — meaning we were falling faster than the rain and smashing into it on the way down. The rush was so big and we were falling so fast that you barely felt the moisture from the clouds — just fun falling through them.
And then 55 seconds later I felt the pull of the parachute open and slow us down. Sure, we’re still falling, but falling slower and now with some modicum of “controlled decent.” My guide spun us around and then allowed me to navigate toward our drop point. So … much … fun!
After I landed I got to watch Violet land and give her a celebratory hug (from all of you cheering us on). And in Violet’s words, “I don’t think anything will ever top this. I think this is the best day of my life!”
Well said, Violet. That’s what I was hoping for. And I’m so glad we got to do this together as father and daughter. Truly a wonderful way to spend our last day in Paris together. Oh, what a feeling! I sense this won’t be our last time doing this together. And perhaps the next time will be back in New York. For now, I’m just happy and dancing in the moment of our shared experience together. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate life then flying through the air together.
