Up, Up, and a-Whoopty: Adventures at 3,500 Feet

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to conduct a podcast interview while soaring 3,500 feet above the ground? That's exactly what happened in this extraordinary episode of gwunspoken, where we literally elevate our conversation during a tandem hang gliding flight.

Meet Lisa, a veteran hang gliding instructor with 27 years of experience whose inspiring journey began after a devastating accident that ended her multi-sport career. When a vehicle ran her over and took away her ability to run, Lisa discovered that "one door shuts, another one opens" – a philosophy that would become the cornerstone of her remarkable life. Rather than dwelling on what she lost, Lisa embraced new opportunities, first in paragliding and then hang gliding, eventually becoming an instructor and buying the very school where she trained.

What makes Lisa's approach so compelling is her genuine passion for creating meaningful experiences. "I want to make you happy," she explains, describing how she tailors each flight to fulfill her customers' dreams, whether they want thrilling aerobatics or peaceful floating. This dedication to customer experience extends to only flying in optimal conditions – like the perfect day of our interview – ensuring each person gets the magical experience they've imagined.

Between reflections on her parallel career mentoring teachers, her love for animals, and the importance of living without regrets, Lisa delivers wisdom as refreshing as the air currents carrying us through the sky. The episode concludes with an exhilarating landing, complete with a "little whoopty" spin that perfectly captures the joy and freedom Lisa has found in her second-chance career.

What dream are you putting off until "someday"? This episode might just give you the push you need to stop waiting and take flight toward your own passion. Subscribe to gwunspoken for more conversations that challenge you to think differently about life's unexpected journeys.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome to another edition of GW Unspoken, where we
discuss stuff we don'ttypically talk about but
probably should.
And we are in the mostincredible position right now
and I'd like to introduce lisato the show.
How are you, lisa?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I'm good thanks um what?
The hell is going on here, lisaexplain to our listeners what's
going on so right now we are upat 3 500 feet in the sky on a
tandem and got it together it'sinsane.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
It's um a birthday present for my lovely wife, rach
, and it was definitelyinteresting coming up, I thought
I'd be a lot braver than I was,but at least it made it feel
very comfortable.
Lise, how long have you beendoing this for now?

Speaker 2 (00:52):
So I've got to think I'm getting older now.
So 27 years I've been doing itfor.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
I want to know.
That's amazing 27 years.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Okay, first of all, what got you into this, like?
What got you into this crazyadrenaline junkie stuff?
So it's a bit of a long storybut I'll cut it short.
Um, I was right into um,outdoor multi-sport and
everything.
Yeah, I was out training oneday and I actually got run over
by a vehicle and it took off myleg and dislocated so I couldn't
run anymore.
I'll do multi-sport so, but youknow, one door shuts, another
one opens, um.
So I got run over by someonethat used to fly and then they
took me for a tandem when Icould walk and, oh, it was the

(01:30):
best thing ever.
So sometimes you can't look atthe negative.
You've got to think maybe thatdoor's shut and there's
something else out for me, outthere.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, yeah, and then I took up paragliding first, and
then I wanted to fly morebecause hang gliding can fly in
more conditions.
Yeah, and then I got into hanggliding and then I just, you
know, I worked really hard at it, you know.
So you know, people say you'renatural.
No, I say I do a lot of it andI worked really hard at it to

(02:01):
get there.
And yeah, and then another dooropened.
Sometimes if you're just nicein life, you get opportunities.
And my instructor gave me theopportunity to train as an
instructor, because I'd alreadytrained as an outdoor instructor
for a lot of youth at risk rockclimbing and kayaking and

(02:21):
whitewater kayaking.
And then so I couldn't reallydo that anymore because you need
to be the strongest in the pack, you've got to carry more and I
couldn't do that.
So then I was natural atteaching hand gliding and power
gliding.
So I got into that and then ayear into that I got the
opportunity to buy the school.
The guy goes I don't wantanyone else to have it.
You've got passion.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
And I said I want else to have it.
You've got passion and I said Iwant you to have it, so let me
pay it off, let me pay all thegear off.
I had no money.
Yeah, um and um, yeah, so, yeah, so really awesome.
Yeah, I just love how you saystuff like.
You talk about your passion.
You talk about opportunities.
One door closes, another opens.
Love how you talk aboutinvesting in other people like,
and obviously giving people thethrill of their life up here too
.
Have you have had some reallystrange people panic up here or
go crazy?
You must have seen something inyour 20 years or 27 years
experience.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
No, not really because I think I'm pretty
chilled as a person and I thinkpeople kind of trust me because,
look, I'm not out there toprove anything to anyone.
I want to make you happy, okay,and I'll do what you want.
So if some people want toaerobatics, I'll do it.
I'll do it.
Some people want to floataround, I'll do it.
So it's more like I do what thepeople want and make their
dreams come true, because theywant to dream about it all their

(03:29):
life.
So I want to make that dreamcome true.
That's why we only pick thebest days to fly.
We don't fly in shit andsometimes it's just not meant to
be, and when it is like todayis probably one of the best days
of the year and I'm not kiddingyou, it is.
You know, this is what we flyon, you know, because it's meant
to be what you dreamed about.
I don't want to take you on aday where it's you know it's

(03:51):
raining.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
It's windy and rainy.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah, it's shitty.
And you go, oh, this isn't what.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
I want Won't do that again.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, yeah.
And so on the horizon, you wantto do okay, so yeah, my passion
no 100 flying.
I love it.
So I do this more on theweekends and then I do normal
work.
Okay, yeah, because thisdoesn't pay the bills, um, so,
even though you know you earngood money but you don't fly all
the time because you need tofly, perfect conditions, yeah,

(04:16):
um, the other thing is I loveanimals as well, so I've just
started to get into horse ridingagain.
Look, I'm not you.
All I want to be is one withyou know, and just being with an
animal sometimes theyunderstand everything you know,
and and and certainly it makesyou more grounded and you can't
be in a rush with animals, youknow.
Same with flying.
You can't be in a rush withflying, neither you know.

(04:38):
You've got to do all your yeah,so, yeah, so yeah, I'm still
doing.
I want to do stuff.
I don't want to live withregret.
No, it's lovely I want to, andthat's the thing I keep going.
I'm going to do it when I'm 45.
I'm going to do it, and Irealised I was 46 before I got
into it.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
I thought I've got to do it now or it's not going to
happen yeah.
I love how you say that, becauseI've been teaching for 27 years
and I actually out now andactually mentor other teachers
to connect teachers to kidsbetter.
I think there's a big like abig separation there.
A lot of kids don't get, Iguess, the quality from home
these days and also maybe fromtheir mentors who are teachers
who are struggling and I thinkturning 50 was the thing going

(05:14):
okay.
It's time to go now.
It's time to do somethingdifferent.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
I love that word opportunities that you said, so
it's so cool hey and tell youwhat I had an amazing teacher at
school and he was like a fatherto me actually and he actually
I had an amazing father as well,yeah, but, um, 100%, he was a
real mentor to me and he gave mea lot of good advice and that I

(05:37):
still live by now.
And it's really important and Ithink teachers, when they've
got passion and they can helpyou, that they do so much for a
student yeah they don't realizeit.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
Yeah, I love what you're doing I think it's
awesome, really awesome I thinkit's like you said you often I
heard someone say this like younever know the impact you
actually have on people, butlike even yourself in this
business, like it's just a, it'sa memory you won't forget and I
try and tell it to the kids.
You can get so many differentpresents um, for christmas and
that but it's experiences,especially with family.
If you've got that closeness,that really counts and no doubt

(06:09):
you've got those connectionswith people as well.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
A hundred percent, because you're going to have
everything in the world, butthese are the ones that you'll
talk about when you're old man.
You'll be like, oh my God, whenI flew and I flew with the
birds.
That's it, right, we're goingto hoon in a land soon.
Are you ready?

Speaker 1 (06:25):
Oh my gosh, here we go.
I knew there was going to besomething crazy happening.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
Okay, so what we'll do is I'll do a little wee
whoopty with you, yep, and thenwe'll come in nice and fast.
Okay, all right, so we won't dotoo much of a one, I'll just do
a little weight burst and thenwe come in, coming fast like
that.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Oh, that's nice, Do you feel it?
Yeah, I love the spin.
That's so good.
I got a little whoopty as I wasgoing.

Speaker 2 (06:48):
Then we're gonna do a nice turn around here, and then
we're gonna land a little bitfurther along the runway because
we're coming like a plane.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
Beautiful, we're coming to land.
I want to thank Lisa for comingon the show, something unique,
no doubt, for you.
I appreciate you Awesome.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yes, and I say do what you love, man.
Yeah, awesome.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
Oh, nice landing baby that was so cool.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Thank you, hey, well done.
Happy birthday from the otherday.
Thank you, thanks very much.
Thanks for being on the showtoo.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
It was awesome.
Outro Music