You have seen on TV how hard it is to go up 129,000 feet and how hard it is to come down.
Well, I jumped for the first time when I was 16. I just loved it and immediately realized that it was what I wanted to do.
If I do something, it's always 90% obvious and 10% unknown.
If something goes wrong, the only thing that might help you is God.
People are fascinated about the world above them because it seems so out-of-reach.
I was crossing the English Channel with a carbon-fiber wing on my back.
I base jumped off one of the highest buildings in the world.
I've done a lot of things in a business where you're lucky to stay alive, so when the time comes, I'll be happy to pass my knowledge along and help someone else.
Well, to me, my past accomplishments weren't crazy. They required a lot of skill and careful planning.
I can't bear the thought of my mother having to push me around in a wheelchair. I'd rather die quickly.
I once wanted to be a stuntman. I was constantly on the front pages when I was a base jumper. But if I were a stuntman, my name would only appear right at the end of the closing credits, even though I'd risked my life for others.
Normally, when I skydive, even in winter, I wear very thin gloves. I want to be flexible, with fast reactions.
I want to inspire the next generation. I want to be in mission control with someone younger than me wanting to break my record.
I don't like to rate myself; others can do that. I've spoken with a number of young people who weren't even born in 1969, when the first moon landing was made. They've witnessed the first person to fly at faster than speed of the sound without propulsion. These kids are happy to have had such a momentous event in their lifetime.
I would've never dreamt that my skydive would trigger such gushing enthusiasm. I still don't really understand exactly what I've accomplished, although I always suspected it would be a truly spectacular moment.
I feel at home up in the air, just like sailors do at sea and climbers do in the mountains.
I had to work with a psychiatrist.
Of course my life has changed because now everybody knows who Felix Baumgartner is.
At a certain R.P.M., there's only one way for blood to leave your body, and that's through your eyeballs. That means you're dead.
As a little kid, I climbed a lot of trees because I always loved the bird's-eye view.
I always feel the danger because you might always be subject to an unexpected or emergency event.
I always had the dream of flying, and the cheapest way is to become a skydiver.
I base jumped off the Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro.
I don't like to rate myself; others can do that.
I feel comfortable with what I do and I guess that my girlfriend feels the same.
