June 23, 2024 • 24 mins
Sequoia Schmidt is a celebrated author, adventurer, and speaker renowned for her compelling personal resilience and exploration narratives. Her debut book, "Journey of Heart: A Sojourn to K2," garnered acclaim as a finalist in the 2016 International Book Awards. This poignant memoir traces Sequoia's journey to K2 in Pakistan, a mountain that holds deep emotional significance as it tragically claimed the lives of both her father and brother.
In May 2018, Sequoia released her highly anticipated second book, "Changing Gears; Up's and Down's on the New Zealand Road." This book chronicles her 28-day solo cycling expedition across both the South and North Islands of New Zealand in 2017. Documenting her journey Sequoia Schmidt's work mirrors her adventurous spirit and diverse pursuits, from BASE jumping to Himalayan climbing. Sequoia passionately follows her adventurous spirit and articulately writes about her magnificent journeys.
Sequoia's latest book "Dream of Flight" is due for release in August 2024.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk sed B.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Gooda. Welcome to real life. I'm John Cowen, and sometimes
I speak to people that make me feel so dull
compared to my guest. My life is gray or beige
at best. Welcome Sekoia Schmidt.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
That's a great introduction.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome back to New Zealand. Because even though your accent
is tinged North American, you're a keyw at heartn't you.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I'd say I'm predominantly North American accent. Now it's still
a keyw at heart.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah. So that speaks of a backstory, that speaks of
multiple origins. You know what, We'll get to that because
we've got to talk backstory before we talk about what
you're doing now. And could I just say that as
a bit of a spoiler. Sequoia is a mountaineer, a skydive,
a base jumper that's jumping off bridges and cliffs and
things for fun. A constant globe trotter and author, an entrepreneur,
(01:15):
a very successful publisher and philanthropist and achieved all that
and she's barely in her thirties. So and I wonder
I feel like such a tragic underachiever talking to you.
Did I miss any huge aspects of your life? There?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Well, it's funny to hear it all like put together.
Like the only time I ever hear it put together
in that way is when I'm on oppressed for like
that where somebody kind of jams all these labels to
describe you. Yeah, but no, the way you said it
is incredibly flattering.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Not true. True. I mean, for a young woman, you've
achieved and experienced so much, and some of it's tragic,
and I do want to talk about that, because not
only is it wounded you, you've actually taken some treasure
out of it. You've actually taken some deep and profound
thoughts from the terrible things that have happened. But you've
also done some amazing things. Three books, and I've read
(02:09):
them all. Life at such a pace that you're living at,
does the writing the books actually help you process what
you're going through?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, it's funny. That's a really good question, because I've
been living at this pace for so long. A lot
of people in my life, including my staff with the
publishing firm, my team there, ask me that constantly, is like,
you know, is it healthy to live at this pace?
Is it sustainable to live at this pace? For most people,
(02:42):
I'd say no, I'd say it's not sustainable.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So it's actually part of your while wiring to live
at this frantic fairly for anetic pace.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yes, and years of therapy has taught me that to
embrace my wiring. No, I've always lived like this, and
it's a question of like nature versus nurture. Like I
don't know if I was born like this or circumstantially,
some of the things that I went through in my
childhood kind of shaped me to live in this way.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I mean, if you give your family tree a good
heart shake, it's the fruit hasn't fallen fire from the tree?
Has your dad?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Yeah? My father also lived at a wild pace. Most
most mountaineers and adventurous people live at a really different
level on the playing field of life. He was I
think the term is a paro was a paratrooper. Yeah,
so yeah, yeah. He was part of the Special Forces
in the US Air Force and then he became a
(03:38):
mountains island yeah before he before he became a mountain
guide and did some of the top mountains in the world.
And then you know, and and my mother is you know,
she's she's an intellectual. She graduated top of her class
from Georgetown University of Foreign Affairs and has worked in
conflict zones all over the world. And so I come
from a really unique background in general. But absolutely I
(04:02):
agree with you. My pace of life is abnormal.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
And the writing. I reading through the book that you've
just written, I get the impression that some of it
was written on the fly as you're actually doing this stuff,
sitting in planes, even flying to a jump.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Most of my writing is that way, and it's really
a way for me to process life. Like for it's
written more like a journal. I don't know if you
noticed that, but it's written more like a journal. I
work with literary people every single day. I run a
publishing firm. I have incredible writers on my roster. I'm
(04:41):
not a literary person, like I don't picture myself as
you know, an Ernest hemingway of the world.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
By the way, can I just add that this non
literary person started a publishing company, which he was sixteen.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
But that's the thing is I know how to distinguish
excellent writing. I would say that my writing is a
cathartic journey for me that because I own a publishing firm,
I happen to share it with the world because it's
an interesting story. I don't fancy my story. Yeah, I
don't fancy myself as like you know, this career writer.
(05:17):
I don't. I literally don't. I am a businesswoman and
an entrepreneur, and I happen to own a publishing firm,
and I experience really really unique things in life such
as this, you know, eight year journey into human flight
and understanding my own fear, and I thought, this is
cathartic for me to write about it. You share it
with the world.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I know it because when you're reading your stuff, you're
describing something, you know, like doing your first job or whatever,
and then you sit down and think, what did I
just do? Why did I do it? And should I
have done it? And so you are sort of putting
it together on your own head, which, as I guess
helpful for was helpful for me. I'm not never going
(05:59):
to jump off a cliff. I don't think but I
face things that scare me, and a lot of what
you do is almost you deliberately look at things and
things that looks so scary. Wow, I can't wait to
do it. Yes, And I guess that's where life's best
fund and adventures and treasures are just outside that comfort zone,
isn't it exactly?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
The best adventures in life are outside the comfort zone.
I think it's really like that's an important life philosophy
that everyone should have, is just to figure out what
scares you and find a way to navigate through it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Like, I feel like that's really important for the human experience.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Because some of these things you've chosen to do, the
scary things like mountain climbing and base jumping, and that
you've chosen to do them, and some scary things get
thrown at you and you don't choose them. Yeah, you
think that the actual the you've trained yourself to be
able to handle the scary stuff so you can embrace
the tragedies.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Absolutely. Yeah, that's a beautiful way of describing it, thanks John. Yeah, No,
that's a really great way of describing it. I think
that I would say that we all go through stuff
in life. We all have rrible tragedies at one point
or another in our lifetime. Mine just happened to be
crammed in to a relatively young age period, even you know,
(07:18):
recently in this last year, and navigating those is extremely challenging. Okay,
And my relationship with how I handle things that scare
me has allowed me to navigate them in a way
that I feel is quite healthy.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Okay, let's talk about some of those tragic things. Let's
look at the calendar twenty seventh of July. What does
that trigger in your mind?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So the twenty seventh of July is a pretty prominent
number in my life. So first it was the death
of my father and brother in twenty thirteen on K two.
That's the first thing that it triggers.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
An avalanche.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
An avalanche, Yes, that took their lives. And for anybody
who's ever lost any one in their life like that
death day is something that you remember for the rest
of your life.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Every year, people talk about time healing, but it's never
going to take away a cut that deep, is it.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
No? No, I think grief is like an ongoing process
that lasts your entire life.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Well, last time I spoke with you, I remember you
had done a pilgrimage, a sojourn to k two through
Pakistan into the Himalayas. Did that work? Did that help
you in your healing to process and handle that grief
of losing your father and brother.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yes, absolutely, And set me on a trajectory that I
would say was life changing to me. Reconnected me with nature,
with adventure, with all of the elements that are a
part of my life now.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Losing your father and your brother, and the way that
your life still pivots to a certain degree around that tragedy.
And I was intrigued, as it is, going through your book,
how your brother Danali is that how he pronounced it
still coaches you in your dreams and in your imaginations.
(09:18):
You still hear his voice mentoring you.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Yeah, he's he's a guardian in my life. I feel like,
you know, he is definitely a part of my life. Well,
whatever people's spiritual beliefs may be.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I so you ask him questions.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
We have conversations. It's not it's very hard to describe,
but but we have. We have conversations.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, does your attitude to death? Has he shaped that?
You've asked him? You know, did he fear death?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
He has. Yeah, he's he's shaped my relationship with how
I feel about death, and this six experiance over the
last eight years, specifically with this particular adventure sport base Jumping,
was a navigation through through life and through my relationship
(10:20):
with fear as well as my relationship with death.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
If you've just tuned in, my guest tonight is the
Koya Schmidt and that she is an adventure sports person
and an author and all sorts of other things. Have
you have you been listening, You've been picking up on
some of those things. Why are you in New Zealand?
Speaker 3 (10:37):
I am here because I have my third book, Dream
of Flight, coming out, and you know, I've made it
a policy for my last two books and now this
book that the initial place that I'll do press and
launch a book will always be in New Zealand because
that's where I'm from.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Right, Yes, because the interview is you get of the toughest.
I'll be talking more with the Koya Schmidt because we've
only just really scratched the surface of her story, and
we'll talk more about her book, Dream of Flight, and
I'm looking forward to hearing what a choice of music
(11:14):
is too. So we'll be back with her in just a.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Minute, intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on
news talks.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
It be welcome back to real life. My guest there
is Sequoia Schmidt, who chose that rather edgy song What
don't we listen to the.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
So it's fun because I remember last time you interviewed me,
you asked me to pick songs, and I was thinking
about what type of music would define the bass jumping
attitude Like this, I think is like a perfect description
of how a lot of jumpers live their life, like
(11:52):
an f you to society in a way, yeah, to
the norms of what society requires from people. I had
a bass jumping friend the other day who posted a
video with that song on it, and when I thought
about that song, I was like, that's a that's a
perfect for for how a lot of jumpers live their
life where they're just like live out of their vans
(12:14):
and do things that society doesn't really quote unquote approve
of in many ways.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, I mean there is just to recap base jumping
refers to is it what bridges antenna spans? And yes,
you got it. Jump that's hard, which is basically you're
jumping with a parachute off clifts and bridges.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And yes, so building antenna span and earthy span is
the bridge. I did get it wrong, You only got
one one wrong, but I screw that one up all
the time too, so that you did really, really well.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Anyhow, it's an a crazy stuff and to a casual
observer like myself, and especially given that choice of song,
is there a certain recklessness about life? Do you actually
value life?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah? I mean I think it depends you ask, and
it depends what base jumper you're speaking to. I mean,
they're you know, they're all different, right, everyone comes with
their own unique personality. For me, I believe it is
a way to connect with life, even more to connect
with the human experience, to connect with your emotions. It
is a very transformative journey, the one into human flight,
(13:30):
specifically a relationship with base. But yes, of course, there
are jumpers out there who are reckless with their life.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
And there's no choice, and there's jumpers that have lost
their life.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Of them, a lot of jumpers who have lost their life.
There are also a lot of jumpers who are very
meticulous and very detail oriented, mitigate the risk and understand
what they're getting into and want to experience a very
unique sensation and activity and journey, and so I think
that it's important to not lump them all in under
(14:04):
a word.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Record varieties of fractions. Yeah, and reading your book, the
first time you face jumped, I thought reckless. But then
later on you got to the edge of one of
your many, many jumps and you turned around not because
you'd lost your nerve, but because your brain kicked in
(14:24):
and thought, no, this isn't quite right. And I was thinking, Yeah,
that speaks of something quite impressive. I guess, are you
proud of the fact that you can actually apply logic
even when you're doing something which a lot of people
would think is illogical.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Yeah, So I think knowledge is a huge part of that. Right.
So my first jump that I ever did, I didn't
have a lot of knowledge. I was Some people call
it death camping, right, I went into it without training.
Death camp to be death camped is meaning somebody else
gives you a parachute and pushes you off a cliff essentially,
or you jump, but you go in without a lot
(15:01):
of knowledge a lot of training. And that's a huge
difference between me and the first jump I ever did,
versus is I believe the one you're referring to as
in Italy at a jump called Brento, where I chose
to turn around and walk away, and the knowledge not
just of gear, of equipment, of wind conditions, of anything
like that, but also the knowledge of my own emotion
(15:23):
and my own instinct and being able to recognize when
to pay attention to my instincts and when my fear
is logical or illogical? And can I walk away from
this jump? Do I feel comfortable walking away from this jump?
And that's you know, part of this eight year experience
(15:44):
is that journey of the emotional side of what it was.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Well, it speaks of a real maturity because I'm sure
all of us have had parents who said to us,
you're so stupid. If your friends said jump off a cliff,
you would, and you're not. You know, you're surrounded by
friends on the edge and you thought, no, it's not
quite right, and you'll walk away. Yeah, By the way,
at your first one was almost impulsive up. This journey
(16:09):
is a long journey to get to flying. You had
already done hundreds and hundreds of parachute jumps, worked out
and worked out in those tubes where they what they
call them.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
You're talking about the free zone in Russia.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Russia sounded punish.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
It's a wind tunnel that whipped my ass. For sure.
I was covered in bruises for days. I was texting
a friend of mine and he's a he's an actor
who lives in New York, and I was messaging him
like pictures of being covered covered in bruises in Russia.
And he's like, I'm ninety nine percent sure you're like
a spy or something, because you're like, you're spending a
month in Russia and you're sending me pictures covered in bruises.
(16:48):
This is not okay.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
This is your pursuit of fly. One of the wonderful
things that sort of has come out of your base jumping,
including the thrill, the contemplating your mortality and everything, is
meeting a fantastic man. Yes, now, I'm not sure how
you pronounce his surname, is it Michael Voyd? Is boy?
Speaker 3 (17:09):
He's Irish, and he's Irish.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
And look, we talked about pace. I think you had
been so you were sort of sending him air tickets
to join you on a road trip with After meeting
him for about five minutes and proposed to in about
a month or something, married within two weeks, two weeks
proposed and we.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Got to engage in two weeks. It was very fast
and married with six months. We just discussed this jat
I lived my life at a very different pace.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
There, absolutely the speed doll turned right over. Seven months later,
another great challenge.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
He collapsed of a stroke, which led us to discover
that he not only had a hole in his heart,
but he was diagnosed with a very rare tumor called
a paragangliama, which was not to bore you with medical details,
but it's it sits right below the skull around the
(18:03):
vagual nerve.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
This is this is huge. Standing on the edge of
a clip jumping off. Isn't the scariest thing in life, isn't?
Speaker 3 (18:10):
No? And I, you know, I talk about that in
the book. I'd prepared myself so well of like half
of my family and I doing adventure stuff. I'm marrying
a guy who literally does he teaches and coaches base jumping.
He does the most dangerous sport in the world. And
I prepared myself so well for the fact that he
could die. But never in a millionaires do I think
(18:32):
it could be something like a stroke and we discover
a brain turmor essentially like it was, Yeah, very jarring.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
And at the same time, you know you've lost the
two most significant men in your life already. He's the
third one facing a life challenging illness. And then the
fourth very significant man in your life goes and dies
as well. And you had weeks in a hospice with
your grandfather. Yes, yeah, I mean this is I mean
(19:01):
you pick up this book thinking, oh, this is going
to be an exciting you know.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
About It's not all depressed.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
It's the thing, is it? This makes this book surprising?
You know, I was reading through it and yeah, this
is good. But is good? But what what? What? Which
is why I stayed up far too late last night
finishing this book. The things you described, they are incredibly deep,
including describing the time you spend with your grandfather sleeping
on the floor next to him as he's dying is
(19:32):
a beautiful time.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Yeah, I mean I experienced death for the first time
actually in Hawk's Bay when I was a teenager. I
talked about this in my second book, where there was
a car crash in Hawk's Bay and my you know,
the first boyfriend kind of thing I ever had was
was killed, and that was really my only relationship with death,
(19:56):
and then my father and brother. You know, I was
twenty two when that happened, So my only relationship with
death was tragic accidents that shocked me and pulled me
out of my comfort zone and rubbed me of time.
And it was a very different grieving process. And my
grandfather's death was honestly, like I think I talk about
(20:21):
this in the book, it was really beautiful, like we're
all gonna die. Death is a part of life, right,
and he was you know, he was ninety two years old.
He lived a really full life. You know. For three
and a half four weeks straight, I would read to
him every single day. I would hold his hand. I
(20:43):
was able to be there with him and watch him
go through this natural process of leaving this earth, which
was really, don't get me wrong, super sad to watch
this man who was my stability in my life for
so long leave, but a really beautiful thing to watch.
(21:03):
We come into this world like, you know, innocent, innocent
and wide eyed and ready to experience all these things,
and we leave the world in the same way, you know,
And that was something that I'd never ever thought about
before until my grandfather looked up at me with these wide,
(21:27):
innocent eyes on his deathbed at ninety two years old.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Isn't it sad that so many people isolate mansulate themselves
from that experience absolutely through sedating drugs.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
And oh, I saw that a lot like the hospice
just wanted to continue to give him morphine, and like
he asked me to make sure that there wasn't morphine involved.
And it is really really death is a you know,
people don't like things they don't know. They are scared
of things they don't know. You know, this is where
fear kicks in and we get afraid of stuff we
(22:01):
don't know. We don't know what happens when we die.
We really don't.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
I'm talking to an expert on pushing through that. And
you went straight from that and to your husband's cancer
operation twenty seventh of July again, yes, two day operation.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah, So I met my husband just to you know,
recap my dad and brother were killed on the twenty seventh,
and then on the exact day, the twenty seventh, six
years later, I met my husband for the first time.
And then when we were notified of our surgery date.
It was the ten year anniversary. It was the twenty
seventh of July twenty twenty three, and it was the
(22:38):
ten year anniversary of my dad and brother's death. Out
of all the dates in the world, And.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Did you think spooky?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I I just kind of like, honestly, I laughed and
I was like, of course it is out of all
the days. Of course this is the day because they
sent an email saying, oh, it could be any day
over the next two months, and then out of all
the days on the planet, they picked the ten year anniversary.
And that was Yeah, that was one of the scariest
(23:07):
days of my life. If just sitting in a waiting room.
It was, you know, fifteen hour surgery. And this is
you know, something that he went through. This is his
journey of not being able to swallow, choking on his
own saliva, like barely able to couldn't even talk like
it was awful.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
It was really hospital.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Thirty seven days of living, sleeping, eating, just really.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, is he recovering.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
He is completely cleared to jump, Like so John has
been jumping since January. He's back to teaching full time
base jumping.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
And that's fantastic. That's wonderful. So look, I can't recommend
your vookhally enough. I mean a book about adventure sport. Yeah,
I've seen them before, but this is that, plus a
whole lot more about how to have the adventure of life.
And so Sokoia, thank you so much. I think we
got to finish on some music that was special to
(24:05):
that grandad that you lost.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Yeah, that's this is Brahms and it's a violin concertto
in D major. And my grandfather loved, loved Brahms, but
loved our classical music and taught me to love and
appreciate classical as well.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I've been talking to Sequoia Schmidt. She's authored many books,
but this one is Dream of Flight and I recommend it.
And Sequoya, thank you for taking time to talk to
us and wish you all the best for your future
adventures and travels.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Thank you Jan For more from News Talks B listen
live on air or online, and keep our shows with
you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk sed B.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Gooda. Welcome to real life. I'm John Cowen, and sometimes
I speak to people that make me feel so dull
compared to my guest. My life is gray or beige
at best. Welcome Sekoia Schmidt.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
That's a great introduction.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Welcome back to New Zealand. Because even though your accent
is tinged North American, you're a keyw at heartn't you.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I'd say I'm predominantly North American accent. Now it's still
a keyw at heart.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah. So that speaks of a backstory, that speaks of
multiple origins. You know what, We'll get to that because
we've got to talk backstory before we talk about what
you're doing now. And could I just say that as
a bit of a spoiler. Sequoia is a mountaineer, a skydive,
a base jumper that's jumping off bridges and cliffs and
things for fun. A constant globe trotter and author, an entrepreneur,
(01:15):
a very successful publisher and philanthropist and achieved all that
and she's barely in her thirties. So and I wonder
I feel like such a tragic underachiever talking to you.
Did I miss any huge aspects of your life? There?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Well, it's funny to hear it all like put together.
Like the only time I ever hear it put together
in that way is when I'm on oppressed for like
that where somebody kind of jams all these labels to
describe you. Yeah, but no, the way you said it
is incredibly flattering.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Not true. True. I mean, for a young woman, you've
achieved and experienced so much, and some of it's tragic,
and I do want to talk about that, because not
only is it wounded you, you've actually taken some treasure
out of it. You've actually taken some deep and profound
thoughts from the terrible things that have happened. But you've
also done some amazing things. Three books, and I've read
(02:09):
them all. Life at such a pace that you're living at,
does the writing the books actually help you process what
you're going through?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, it's funny. That's a really good question, because I've
been living at this pace for so long. A lot
of people in my life, including my staff with the
publishing firm, my team there, ask me that constantly, is like,
you know, is it healthy to live at this pace?
Is it sustainable to live at this pace? For most people,
(02:42):
I'd say no, I'd say it's not sustainable.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So it's actually part of your while wiring to live
at this frantic fairly for anetic pace.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yes, and years of therapy has taught me that to
embrace my wiring. No, I've always lived like this, and
it's a question of like nature versus nurture. Like I
don't know if I was born like this or circumstantially,
some of the things that I went through in my
childhood kind of shaped me to live in this way.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I mean, if you give your family tree a good
heart shake, it's the fruit hasn't fallen fire from the tree?
Has your dad?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Yeah? My father also lived at a wild pace. Most
most mountaineers and adventurous people live at a really different
level on the playing field of life. He was I
think the term is a paro was a paratrooper. Yeah,
so yeah, yeah. He was part of the Special Forces
in the US Air Force and then he became a
(03:38):
mountains island yeah before he before he became a mountain
guide and did some of the top mountains in the world.
And then you know, and and my mother is you know,
she's she's an intellectual. She graduated top of her class
from Georgetown University of Foreign Affairs and has worked in
conflict zones all over the world. And so I come
from a really unique background in general. But absolutely I
(04:02):
agree with you. My pace of life is abnormal.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
And the writing. I reading through the book that you've
just written, I get the impression that some of it
was written on the fly as you're actually doing this stuff,
sitting in planes, even flying to a jump.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Most of my writing is that way, and it's really
a way for me to process life. Like for it's
written more like a journal. I don't know if you
noticed that, but it's written more like a journal. I
work with literary people every single day. I run a
publishing firm. I have incredible writers on my roster. I'm
(04:41):
not a literary person, like I don't picture myself as
you know, an Ernest hemingway of the world.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
By the way, can I just add that this non
literary person started a publishing company, which he was sixteen.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
But that's the thing is I know how to distinguish
excellent writing. I would say that my writing is a
cathartic journey for me that because I own a publishing firm,
I happen to share it with the world because it's
an interesting story. I don't fancy my story. Yeah, I
don't fancy myself as like you know, this career writer.
(05:17):
I don't. I literally don't. I am a businesswoman and
an entrepreneur, and I happen to own a publishing firm,
and I experience really really unique things in life such
as this, you know, eight year journey into human flight
and understanding my own fear, and I thought, this is
cathartic for me to write about it. You share it
with the world.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I know it because when you're reading your stuff, you're
describing something, you know, like doing your first job or whatever,
and then you sit down and think, what did I
just do? Why did I do it? And should I
have done it? And so you are sort of putting
it together on your own head, which, as I guess
helpful for was helpful for me. I'm not never going
(05:59):
to jump off a cliff. I don't think but I
face things that scare me, and a lot of what
you do is almost you deliberately look at things and
things that looks so scary. Wow, I can't wait to
do it. Yes, And I guess that's where life's best
fund and adventures and treasures are just outside that comfort zone,
isn't it exactly?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
The best adventures in life are outside the comfort zone.
I think it's really like that's an important life philosophy
that everyone should have, is just to figure out what
scares you and find a way to navigate through it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Like, I feel like that's really important for the human experience.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Because some of these things you've chosen to do, the
scary things like mountain climbing and base jumping, and that
you've chosen to do them, and some scary things get
thrown at you and you don't choose them. Yeah, you
think that the actual the you've trained yourself to be
able to handle the scary stuff so you can embrace
the tragedies.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Absolutely. Yeah, that's a beautiful way of describing it, thanks John. Yeah, No,
that's a really great way of describing it. I think
that I would say that we all go through stuff
in life. We all have rrible tragedies at one point
or another in our lifetime. Mine just happened to be
crammed in to a relatively young age period, even you know,
(07:18):
recently in this last year, and navigating those is extremely challenging. Okay,
And my relationship with how I handle things that scare
me has allowed me to navigate them in a way
that I feel is quite healthy.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Okay, let's talk about some of those tragic things. Let's
look at the calendar twenty seventh of July. What does
that trigger in your mind?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So the twenty seventh of July is a pretty prominent
number in my life. So first it was the death
of my father and brother in twenty thirteen on K two.
That's the first thing that it triggers.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
An avalanche.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
An avalanche, Yes, that took their lives. And for anybody
who's ever lost any one in their life like that
death day is something that you remember for the rest
of your life.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Every year, people talk about time healing, but it's never
going to take away a cut that deep, is it.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
No? No, I think grief is like an ongoing process
that lasts your entire life.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Well, last time I spoke with you, I remember you
had done a pilgrimage, a sojourn to k two through
Pakistan into the Himalayas. Did that work? Did that help
you in your healing to process and handle that grief
of losing your father and brother.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yes, absolutely, And set me on a trajectory that I
would say was life changing to me. Reconnected me with nature,
with adventure, with all of the elements that are a
part of my life now.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Losing your father and your brother, and the way that
your life still pivots to a certain degree around that tragedy.
And I was intrigued, as it is, going through your book,
how your brother Danali is that how he pronounced it
still coaches you in your dreams and in your imaginations.
(09:18):
You still hear his voice mentoring you.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Yeah, he's he's a guardian in my life. I feel like,
you know, he is definitely a part of my life. Well,
whatever people's spiritual beliefs may be.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I so you ask him questions.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
We have conversations. It's not it's very hard to describe,
but but we have. We have conversations.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, does your attitude to death? Has he shaped that?
You've asked him? You know, did he fear death?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
He has. Yeah, he's he's shaped my relationship with how
I feel about death, and this six experiance over the
last eight years, specifically with this particular adventure sport base Jumping,
was a navigation through through life and through my relationship
(10:20):
with fear as well as my relationship with death.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
If you've just tuned in, my guest tonight is the
Koya Schmidt and that she is an adventure sports person
and an author and all sorts of other things. Have
you have you been listening, You've been picking up on
some of those things. Why are you in New Zealand?
Speaker 3 (10:37):
I am here because I have my third book, Dream
of Flight, coming out, and you know, I've made it
a policy for my last two books and now this
book that the initial place that I'll do press and
launch a book will always be in New Zealand because
that's where I'm from.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Right, Yes, because the interview is you get of the toughest.
I'll be talking more with the Koya Schmidt because we've
only just really scratched the surface of her story, and
we'll talk more about her book, Dream of Flight, and
I'm looking forward to hearing what a choice of music
(11:14):
is too. So we'll be back with her in just a.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Minute, intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on
news talks.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
It be welcome back to real life. My guest there
is Sequoia Schmidt, who chose that rather edgy song What
don't we listen to the.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
So it's fun because I remember last time you interviewed me,
you asked me to pick songs, and I was thinking
about what type of music would define the bass jumping
attitude Like this, I think is like a perfect description
of how a lot of jumpers live their life, like
(11:52):
an f you to society in a way, yeah, to
the norms of what society requires from people. I had
a bass jumping friend the other day who posted a
video with that song on it, and when I thought
about that song, I was like, that's a that's a
perfect for for how a lot of jumpers live their
life where they're just like live out of their vans
(12:14):
and do things that society doesn't really quote unquote approve
of in many ways.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, I mean there is just to recap base jumping
refers to is it what bridges antenna spans? And yes,
you got it. Jump that's hard, which is basically you're
jumping with a parachute off clifts and bridges.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
And yes, so building antenna span and earthy span is
the bridge. I did get it wrong, You only got
one one wrong, but I screw that one up all
the time too, so that you did really, really well.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Anyhow, it's an a crazy stuff and to a casual
observer like myself, and especially given that choice of song,
is there a certain recklessness about life? Do you actually
value life?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah? I mean I think it depends you ask, and
it depends what base jumper you're speaking to. I mean,
they're you know, they're all different, right, everyone comes with
their own unique personality. For me, I believe it is
a way to connect with life, even more to connect
with the human experience, to connect with your emotions. It
is a very transformative journey, the one into human flight,
(13:30):
specifically a relationship with base. But yes, of course, there
are jumpers out there who are reckless with their life.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
And there's no choice, and there's jumpers that have lost
their life.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Of them, a lot of jumpers who have lost their life.
There are also a lot of jumpers who are very
meticulous and very detail oriented, mitigate the risk and understand
what they're getting into and want to experience a very
unique sensation and activity and journey, and so I think
that it's important to not lump them all in under
(14:04):
a word.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Record varieties of fractions. Yeah, and reading your book, the
first time you face jumped, I thought reckless. But then
later on you got to the edge of one of
your many, many jumps and you turned around not because
you'd lost your nerve, but because your brain kicked in
(14:24):
and thought, no, this isn't quite right. And I was thinking, Yeah,
that speaks of something quite impressive. I guess, are you
proud of the fact that you can actually apply logic
even when you're doing something which a lot of people
would think is illogical.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Yeah, So I think knowledge is a huge part of that. Right.
So my first jump that I ever did, I didn't
have a lot of knowledge. I was Some people call
it death camping, right, I went into it without training.
Death camp to be death camped is meaning somebody else
gives you a parachute and pushes you off a cliff essentially,
or you jump, but you go in without a lot
(15:01):
of knowledge a lot of training. And that's a huge
difference between me and the first jump I ever did,
versus is I believe the one you're referring to as
in Italy at a jump called Brento, where I chose
to turn around and walk away, and the knowledge not
just of gear, of equipment, of wind conditions, of anything
like that, but also the knowledge of my own emotion
(15:23):
and my own instinct and being able to recognize when
to pay attention to my instincts and when my fear
is logical or illogical? And can I walk away from
this jump? Do I feel comfortable walking away from this jump?
And that's you know, part of this eight year experience
(15:44):
is that journey of the emotional side of what it was.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Well, it speaks of a real maturity because I'm sure
all of us have had parents who said to us,
you're so stupid. If your friends said jump off a cliff,
you would, and you're not. You know, you're surrounded by
friends on the edge and you thought, no, it's not
quite right, and you'll walk away. Yeah, By the way,
at your first one was almost impulsive up. This journey
(16:09):
is a long journey to get to flying. You had
already done hundreds and hundreds of parachute jumps, worked out
and worked out in those tubes where they what they
call them.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
You're talking about the free zone in Russia.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Russia sounded punish.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
It's a wind tunnel that whipped my ass. For sure.
I was covered in bruises for days. I was texting
a friend of mine and he's a he's an actor
who lives in New York, and I was messaging him
like pictures of being covered covered in bruises in Russia.
And he's like, I'm ninety nine percent sure you're like
a spy or something, because you're like, you're spending a
month in Russia and you're sending me pictures covered in bruises.
(16:48):
This is not okay.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
This is your pursuit of fly. One of the wonderful
things that sort of has come out of your base jumping,
including the thrill, the contemplating your mortality and everything, is
meeting a fantastic man. Yes, now, I'm not sure how
you pronounce his surname, is it Michael Voyd? Is boy?
Speaker 3 (17:09):
He's Irish, and he's Irish.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
And look, we talked about pace. I think you had
been so you were sort of sending him air tickets
to join you on a road trip with After meeting
him for about five minutes and proposed to in about
a month or something, married within two weeks, two weeks
proposed and we.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Got to engage in two weeks. It was very fast
and married with six months. We just discussed this jat
I lived my life at a very different pace.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
There, absolutely the speed doll turned right over. Seven months later,
another great challenge.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
He collapsed of a stroke, which led us to discover
that he not only had a hole in his heart,
but he was diagnosed with a very rare tumor called
a paragangliama, which was not to bore you with medical details,
but it's it sits right below the skull around the
(18:03):
vagual nerve.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
This is this is huge. Standing on the edge of
a clip jumping off. Isn't the scariest thing in life, isn't?
Speaker 3 (18:10):
No? And I, you know, I talk about that in
the book. I'd prepared myself so well of like half
of my family and I doing adventure stuff. I'm marrying
a guy who literally does he teaches and coaches base jumping.
He does the most dangerous sport in the world. And
I prepared myself so well for the fact that he
could die. But never in a millionaires do I think
(18:32):
it could be something like a stroke and we discover
a brain turmor essentially like it was, Yeah, very jarring.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
And at the same time, you know you've lost the
two most significant men in your life already. He's the
third one facing a life challenging illness. And then the
fourth very significant man in your life goes and dies
as well. And you had weeks in a hospice with
your grandfather. Yes, yeah, I mean this is I mean
(19:01):
you pick up this book thinking, oh, this is going
to be an exciting you know.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
About It's not all depressed.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
It's the thing, is it? This makes this book surprising?
You know, I was reading through it and yeah, this
is good. But is good? But what what? What? Which
is why I stayed up far too late last night
finishing this book. The things you described, they are incredibly deep,
including describing the time you spend with your grandfather sleeping
on the floor next to him as he's dying is
(19:32):
a beautiful time.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Yeah, I mean I experienced death for the first time
actually in Hawk's Bay when I was a teenager. I
talked about this in my second book, where there was
a car crash in Hawk's Bay and my you know,
the first boyfriend kind of thing I ever had was
was killed, and that was really my only relationship with death,
(19:56):
and then my father and brother. You know, I was
twenty two when that happened, So my only relationship with
death was tragic accidents that shocked me and pulled me
out of my comfort zone and rubbed me of time.
And it was a very different grieving process. And my
grandfather's death was honestly, like I think I talk about
(20:21):
this in the book, it was really beautiful, like we're
all gonna die. Death is a part of life, right,
and he was you know, he was ninety two years old.
He lived a really full life. You know. For three
and a half four weeks straight, I would read to
him every single day. I would hold his hand. I
(20:43):
was able to be there with him and watch him
go through this natural process of leaving this earth, which
was really, don't get me wrong, super sad to watch
this man who was my stability in my life for
so long leave, but a really beautiful thing to watch.
(21:03):
We come into this world like, you know, innocent, innocent
and wide eyed and ready to experience all these things,
and we leave the world in the same way, you know,
And that was something that I'd never ever thought about
before until my grandfather looked up at me with these wide,
(21:27):
innocent eyes on his deathbed at ninety two years old.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Isn't it sad that so many people isolate mansulate themselves
from that experience absolutely through sedating drugs.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
And oh, I saw that a lot like the hospice
just wanted to continue to give him morphine, and like
he asked me to make sure that there wasn't morphine involved.
And it is really really death is a you know,
people don't like things they don't know. They are scared
of things they don't know. You know, this is where
fear kicks in and we get afraid of stuff we
(22:01):
don't know. We don't know what happens when we die.
We really don't.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
I'm talking to an expert on pushing through that. And
you went straight from that and to your husband's cancer
operation twenty seventh of July again, yes, two day operation.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah, So I met my husband just to you know,
recap my dad and brother were killed on the twenty seventh,
and then on the exact day, the twenty seventh, six
years later, I met my husband for the first time.
And then when we were notified of our surgery date.
It was the ten year anniversary. It was the twenty
seventh of July twenty twenty three, and it was the
(22:38):
ten year anniversary of my dad and brother's death. Out
of all the dates in the world, And.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Did you think spooky?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I I just kind of like, honestly, I laughed and
I was like, of course it is out of all
the days. Of course this is the day because they
sent an email saying, oh, it could be any day
over the next two months, and then out of all
the days on the planet, they picked the ten year anniversary.
And that was Yeah, that was one of the scariest
(23:07):
days of my life. If just sitting in a waiting room.
It was, you know, fifteen hour surgery. And this is
you know, something that he went through. This is his
journey of not being able to swallow, choking on his
own saliva, like barely able to couldn't even talk like
it was awful.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
It was really hospital.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Thirty seven days of living, sleeping, eating, just really.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, is he recovering.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
He is completely cleared to jump, Like so John has
been jumping since January. He's back to teaching full time
base jumping.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
And that's fantastic. That's wonderful. So look, I can't recommend
your vookhally enough. I mean a book about adventure sport. Yeah,
I've seen them before, but this is that, plus a
whole lot more about how to have the adventure of life.
And so Sokoia, thank you so much. I think we
got to finish on some music that was special to
(24:05):
that grandad that you lost.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Yeah, that's this is Brahms and it's a violin concertto
in D major. And my grandfather loved, loved Brahms, but
loved our classical music and taught me to love and
appreciate classical as well.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I've been talking to Sequoia Schmidt. She's authored many books,
but this one is Dream of Flight and I recommend it.
And Sequoya, thank you for taking time to talk to
us and wish you all the best for your future
adventures and travels.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Thank you Jan For more from News Talks B listen
live on air or online, and keep our shows with
you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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