This Girl’s Hobby is Extreme SKYDIVING

by Alyssa Ramos

People tend to make friends with people who share similar interests, and looking back to my elementary school days, I can definitely say that my best friend and I were always looking for adventures.

That’s why now it doesn’t surprise me at all that while I’m on a constant travel adventure, she’s on a constant adventure as well…except while I’m traveling horizontally in planes, she’s jumping vertically from them.

Jennifer Sensenbaugh is a hilarious, beautiful, blonde, half-Swedish girl, who also has a huge pair of steel balls that have led her to take on the insanely awesome hobby of skydiving, which she does almost every weekend! Also, like myself (and like you’re supposed to) she turned her passion into her career, and works at an indoor skydiving center where she can psuedo-skydive every day!

I wouldn’t expect anything less from my childhood best friend, and was curious about what led to her adrenaline-enriched lifestyle.

Here’s what Jennifer had to say about her favorite hobby and career, along with some of the most epic skydiving pictures you’ll ever see!

“What Made You Start Skydiving”

I started skydiving 7 years ago. I did a tandem skydive with some friends when I was in college and was immediately hooked. One of my sorority sisters mentioned getting certified to jump on our own, so we signed up for the AFF program at Skydive DeLand in Florida. I have about 850 jumps now and mostly jump on the weekends, and travel for skydiving events when I can.

“Do You Skydive For A Living?”

People occasionally ask me when and if I will take them on a tandem skydive. I don’t actually work in skydiving, and I’m not a ‘professional’ skydiver- I just jump for fun with friends. I work for a company called SkyVenture, which manufactures and runs indoor skydiving facilities all over the world.

Indoor skydiving is very similar to actual skydiving in the way that it simulates the freefall portion of skydiving, and is very helpful for working on flying skills. Indoor skydiving does not teach you anything about exiting an airplane, skydiving gear, or flying/landing a parachute. They are two different sports that compliment each other, so it’s nice to work in a profession that ties in with my passion for skydiving.

“Do You Ever Get Scared?”

I do get scared, mostly when I’m not current, or go a while in-between skydives. It’s very important for me to remember my emergency procedures and think about what I need to do to keep myself safe on every jump. I avoid ‘sketchy’ situations. I will not jump when it is windy, and whenever my intuition tells me not to jump, I just don’t 🙂

“Have You Had Any Malfunctions?”

I have had two malfunctions! a malfunction is when the first, or ‘main’ parachute does not deploy or fly correctly. On both occasions, I cut away the first parachute and deployed my reserve parachute. I landed safely.