Screenshot: Liftoff
You’d think that professional wingsuit pilot Jokke Sommer and expert big wave surfer Niccolo Porcella would have gotten their lifetime dose of adrenaline. In their respective pursuits, they’ve flown from mountaintops and surfed waves as tall as four-story houses. Apparently they haven’t.
Liftoff is The Go Big Project’s latest reality series coming in 2015. It follows Sommer and Porcella as they take walks in each other’s suits — literally: a wingsuit for a wetsuit and a wetsuit for a wingsuit. Sommer tries his skill in surfing, and Porcella in BASE jumping. So kind of like Wife Swap, but a little more extreme than sending a privileged housewife to clean up cow pies on a farm.
These men and the Go Big crew will show us what it’s like to be an extreme sports professional athlete, taking us to a handful of amazing places like Hawaii, Dubai, France, Italy, Switzerland and Norway. They expose the rigorous training, the special relationships between all athletes, and the realities of life on the road.
As Sommer reveals in Liftoff: “All of the traveling is a big dream. It’s a big dream coming true, but at the same time it’s also extremely heavy.”
Sommer is a professional skydiver and BASE jumper from Son, Norway. He began skydiving in 2007 and has pushed all the limits and heights ever since. His videos hit more than 10 million views. You may remember him from the movie Dream Lines, along with its Youtube series where he flies off and cliffs and mountains from all over the world.
Sommer has gotten bird-eye-views of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer and China’s Tianmen. But now, he wants to get a surfer’s view of the slabs.
As for Pocella, you’ve probably seen his name on dozens of magazine covers and in hundreds of articles. He is one of the most well rounded watermen in the world, excelling in everything from kite surfing to SUP. He has pushed surfing in both wakeboard and strapless style.
He was one of the youngest kitesurfers to attack Jaws when he was 17. On January 4, 2012 Porcella rode the biggest wave at Pe’ahi in the most critical sections, making a huge statement for the sport of kitesurfing. But now he’s looking to trade his kite for a pair of wings.
“We go through a lot of stress and pressure and risk,” Porcella mentions in the series. “Sometimes you question yourself you know, like this is heavy, there’s a lot going on. Am I going to be broke? Am I going to get hurt? Am I going to the hospital again? Am I going to make my friends and family wonder?”
Each athlete will attempt to hone his skills in his respective sport with the help of friends, family, and specialized mentors. “Big wave surfing, you just really gotta want it,” says big wave surfer Garrett McNamara in Liftoff. “It’s just a matter of how determined, how hungry, what kind of shape you’re in, and what you can handle.”
For more, visit LiftOffAdventure.com.
