It could be said that Jiří Stolín and his team are the pioneers of bungee jumping in the Czech Republic. They have been making jumps on an elastic rope available to the public for an incredible 22 years and are still pushing the limits of their capabilities.
How did you get into the adrenaline sports business? Tell us about your history and how the whole idea came about
In 1995, I did my first Bungee Jumping from 50 meters, I was in my 3rd year at the Business Academy. The class professor and philosophy teacher said to me then after the holidays:
"You're crazy, but you're going to do this for a living someday."
After graduating in 1997, I took a part-time job with a competitor where I was trained, and in 1998, seeing the inability of that company to move on, I decided to start my own company, Jiri Stolin, Xtreme Sports. But it wasn't so much fun, in 5 years I accumulated so much debt that I got out of it only in 2005. So it was 7 years of hell :-) But then it finally started to get better :-)
One of the customers was Adrop graphic designer, Honza, see how he enjoyed the jump.
What other extreme adrenaline sports have you tried?
Bungee jumping, bungy catapult, Kiene's swing, snowkiting, kiteboarding, BASE Jump with a parachute by the feet with a head first impact on the water surface, downhill biking, SCAD Diving, scuba diving, canyoning...
So a nice adrenaline rush! But if you had to pick one experience you will never forget, what would it be?
There are several, all of which I've tried, but the top was the BASE Jump with a parachute for legs.
Do you have a dream experience somewhere in the world?
I like to try anything new that is safe, so every new exciting adrenaline experience.
Do you still enjoy bungee today? Do you jump from time to time?
In my first year (1997) I jumped over 80 jumps, but now I jump only for fun, like 10 jumps a year max and it must be really interesting.
This is what it looks like when you jump from the highest bridge in our country
Why is it that you're basically the only one who provides bungee jumping in the country?
It's hard to say, but we're not afraid to go into something new and try to make bungee jumping available to as many customers as possible at a reasonable price.
You are the only one in the Czech Republic and Europe to offer wheelchair accessible bungee jumping, even since 2012. What made you do it?
We were approached in 2012 by paraplegic guys that they had seen it in Canada as part of teambulding and if we could offer it to them too. So we tested it out and under strict rules we can make it happen too.
More on bungee.... Explain to our readers how safe bungee is. There's definitely a secondary belay, right? What does it look like?
Safety is our number one concern. We run a sport that may seem dangerous at first glance, but as long as the customer follows all the rules, itis safer than golf.
Secondary insurance means that if any thing you jump on should fail, you are insured once more.
Has anything ever happened to anyone?
Injuries? Bruises, bumps, and if the customer doesn't follow the rules for the jump when they start catching themselves in the air with, for example, bungee cords, a broken nose.
What else do you do within the business? I read that you also organize exhibition and stunt jumps.
These are jumps where the customer or our company is trying to make themselves or our company more visible.
And if you look at our offerings, what experience (besides your own of course) would you like to try and why?
I already tried an aerobatic flight from you, I threw up on the plane, also an experience and I was sick for 2 days. :)
What have you done lately to make yourself happy?
My girlfriend and I started a family and we have two beautiful healthy children, a 2,5 year old girl and an 11 month old boy. That is the greatest joy and the biggest adrenaline rush in my life ... where they fall, what they break again, where they snap their fingers etc.
