“When I was standing there on the top of
the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records
anymore, you do not think about gaining scientific data. The only thing you
want is to come back alive.” Felix Baumgartner
By this statement the Austrian
stratojumper, Felix Baumgartner, describes a paradox of the modern era
adventure. His jump is one of the most followed records ever; millions of
people were following it. Like it’s said in some newspaper, “Twenty four miles below him millions of
people were right here there with him. Watching on the Internet and marveling
at the wonder of the moment.”
By this sentence, Felix Baumgartner
answered to newspapers and journalists that even if today an adventure can
be followed live; Even if people feels like a part of it by the use of Internet
and a heavy marketing campaign around the adventure by sponsors.He is the guy who did that: he was standing alone at the top of the world. He was
the only one playing his life in this jump and that’s the real adventure. Goals, sponsors, and records don't really matter.
On the top of the world
it was he and the space; nothing else mattered.
This is the paradox of the modern era's
adventures. Like for sports the most of humanity is “follower” instead of being
actor and it puts even more pressure on the adventurer. Marketing campaigns and records breaking
goals are creating deadly dangers because like in every show the crowd is
always expecting more.
