
When you got a private island, you’re already going big.
And when you’re Nick Jacobsen and friends with a billionaire playboy, you beg and plead your way into his presence then go big yourself.
Sir Richard Branson offered a little more background via his blog… or rather, Virgin’s blog (so I suppose, once again, his blog): “As you can see from the spectacular video above, Nick launched himself from 131 feet above sea level, from the roof of the Great House. Everyone held their breath as he cleared more than 300 feet of land – including a zip line and jungle – and travelled 500 feet to land upright in the water on his board. A huge cheer broke out as he hit the water and kited on across the blue BVI sea. What an experience! As a keen kitesurfer myself, I was in awe – blown away by Nick’s courage and style. The jump was filmed for what is set to be biggest kitesurfing film ever, Chapter One, directed by Bob van de Gronde, and was performed during a Mai Tai Global gathering.
“There’s no such thing as a conventional networking session on Necker Island. Instead we like to mix things up, and challenge what’s expected. Taking this philosophy to heart, twice a year Mai Tai – a community of extreme innovators, entrepreneurs and athletes – gather on Necker to share their passion for networking, tech and kitesurfing. This gathering, we were thrilled to be joined by Nick, who is known as the daredevil among the community. Nick has previously jumped off the top of a crane in South Africa, and is now looking to take on the 1000 foot drop of the world-famous Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Successfully completing the jump off the top of the Great House on Necker, Nick turned to me and said: ‘That was fun, so what’s next?!’ Never one to shy away from a challenge and a bit of fun, I welcomed Nick to try another jump, this time off our new property on neighbouring island, Moskito Island.”
This is a rich-as-fuck man’s world.
And this is the face of a man who flies his own damn flag (though, in this case, not literally).
What a cheeky bastard.