BASE Jumping
Wakebase
Here’s your explainer on how history was made at the world's tallest infinity pool in Dubai for Brian Grubb's Wakebase.
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The dream
The vision for WakeBase grew in Brian’s mind for nearly a decade before it was developed and visualized in these initial sketches. His dream?
- To develop a custom-built drone powerful enough to tow him
- Ride behind it 964ft up in the air at the world’s highest infinity pool
- Use the drone to launch him off a kicker from the 77th floor
- BASE jump back to land
Even for someone who’s no stranger to finding innovative ways to push the boundaries of his sport, combining wakeskating, BASE jumping, and futuristic drone technology was raising the bar like never before.
Read on for a breakdown of how the dream became reality.
BRIAN GRUBB: A WAKESKATE VISIONARY
- Age: 43
- Born: New Hampshire, USA
- Career start: 2003
Brian Grubb’s a pioneer that’s been pushing wakeskating to new heights all his career. His creativity, passion, and skill have been evident at some epic adventures all around the world.
He started BASE jumping in 2007 and first experimented with drone technology in 2018 as a way to wakeskate previously inaccessible locations. It was only a matter of time before all his passions would combine in spectacular style.
The idea of being able to put these two sports together and take them to new places was the ultimate appeal. No one had ever done it before so to push my limits like this was exciting.
WAKEBASE STEP BY STEP
WakeBase might have only lasted for several seconds but a lot of elements had to occur perfectly in that time. Click through each stage now.
- Preparation
Before the action gets underway, Grubb has a few seconds to control his breathing and gather his emotions while looking out over a 311ft long infinity pool, almost double the length of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
I'm a goofy footer, so the setup of the pool and where we could put the kicker was perfect. I'm very calm, I'm just in the moment, ready to perform.
- Activation
The drone rotor blades start to spin violently and the sound intensifies. In training they discovered the optimal altitude and incline the drone needs to fly at to allow for good speed and perfect angle of the 30ft rope.
The higher the drone, the more the rope pulls you up. The lower the drone, the more it pulls you down the pool. We need to be right in the middle.
- Countdown
Brian communicates with the drone pilot and gives the “three, two, one” countdown. The drone accelerates forward adding tension to the tether and as it starts to pull, Brian does a running start into the pool 964 ft above ground.
To land in the pool, I took three or four steps off the deck and put my board under my feet.
- Top speed
With the board being attached to the drone, many traditional wakeskate tricks were impossible. Instead, Brian gets his speed up and when close to the 4ft wide pool edge, angles his board so it creates a huge wall of water.
The ride through the pool isn't super technical but it was a pretty cool line setting up for the kicker.
- Kicker
The kicker was angled to allow for maximum speed upon entry. The more speed he carried, the higher he could go during his giant stalefish grab, a trick that saw him angle the board 90° and hold underneath it. Jumping into open air meant he could really prolong and style out the grab.
The exit is the most crucial part of the whole thing. I had to make sure I release the board and the handle well enough so the drone quickly gets away from me.
- Detachment
Detaching from the board and keeping it out of the airspace when Brian’s trying to open his parachute was a key piece of the puzzle. Many options were experimented with, including a pilot parachute attached to the board, but the safest solution found in testing was to tether it directly to the drone.
Once I exited the kicker and let go of the handle, the board got pulled from underneath me and stayed connected to the drone.
- Freefall
It might only be for six seconds, but for Brian it feels like an eternity. Getting stable in the air is the most crucial aspect before he can deploy the parachute. For the first three seconds, he can’t control his body as the wind hasn’t fully taken effect. When the wind hits, he’s able to position himself correctly so the landing process can commence.
The experience of freefall is one of the best feelings in the world. In Switzerland, I learned how to know exactly where I was in the air.
- Landing
Only seconds after first being pulled by the drone, Brian safely opens his parachute. His focus is now on his landing point at the beach below, a spot he’s landed at many times before in training. The landing sparks wild celebrations!
“It's definitely the coolest thing I've ever done in my whole career.
The drone
Designing and building a drone powerful enough to pull a human athlete was taking a step into the unknown. To make it happen, Brian again collaborated with his friend Sebastian Stare who had developed the drone for the Slovenian project.
The bespoke human flying machine is unlike any other drone in the world and features unique software and hardware components that allow it to be extensively tuned to Brian’s needs.
Sebastian said: “It’s somewhere between a standard DJI drone and a helicopter. Whenever it starts, I think everybody around gets goosebumps because it sounds pretty scary.
“The drone opens a completely new field. You can really go wherever you want to go. It's not like getting towed behind a boat or a cable.”
Components
8 motors, 8 propellers,
Top speed
55km/h
Maximum incline
45°
Weight
25kg
Lift weight
55kg
Hover time
35min
Pulling time
15min
The drone was operated by two pilots. One towing Brian, another backup pilot acting as a spotter.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Brian left no stone unturned in preparing for WakeBase. Training was all-encompassing and the project team were relentless in their pursuit of absolute perfection.
1 x BASE jumping trip to Idaho, USA
2 x drone tests in Munich, Germany
3 x BASE jumping camps in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
People see the final project on social media but there's so much that goes into it. The whole process has been one of the best experiences of my whole life
Idaho, USA
I started BASE jumping in 2020 and had done about 35 jumps before we started serious training. First, we went out to Idaho where Miles lives to jump the 486ft high Perrine Bridge. We had a great camp. It’s where we started working on the barrel rolls and some of the maneuvers we wanted to start doing.
Munich, Germany
In Germany we got to ride behind the drone a lot. We basically built a simulation pool that had the same curve of the pool in Dubai with the kicker. We did a week of testing which was super important. I had to build a relationship with the pilot because the drone is flown manually by hand. Getting the right speed through the pool and having the right speed at the exit point was very crucial for me to be able to do what I needed next.
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
In Switzerland I did my first big subterminal earth jumps with Miles. I really fell in love with BASE jumping out there and we did around 80 practice jumps. It's such an amazing place with a huge variety of exit points. Most of the training involved being unstable and then restabilizing to get back into a position to deploy the parachute.
Elite training team
Miles Daisher
Age: 54
Born: Georgia, USA
Career start: 1994
BASE jumps: 6,000+
A member of the Red Bull Air Force, Miles is a multiple world record holder who’s frequently pushed the boundaries of human aviation. His invaluable experience made him the perfect coach to prepare Brian for the BASE jumping part of WakeBase.
I don't think we could have done it without Miles. He taught me a lot. He made me feel really confident in my abilities so I was so lucky to have him train and mentor me.
Our goal was to make it look easy and that's not an easy thing because there were a lot of moving parts to the equation
He’s a tremendous athlete and Brian’s the only person with enough training that could have pulled this whole thing off.”
Using videos to watch yourself do the skills is super invaluable. We trained jumping off the cliffs together side by side, so I could get the aerial shots as he went.
Parks Bonifay
Age: 42
Born: Florida, USA
Career start: 1995
Parks is a legend of the wakeboarding scene and one of the most influential riders of all time. Friends since they were teenagers, Brian asked Parks for his expert opinion on how to keep the wakeskate connected to the rope and drone, and what trick to do off the kicker so he could get a clean exit off the building.
Parks has a great eye for setups like this. He really helped us look at the whole picture with the board and the tether. It was great to have his help getting the optimal performance from the drone to the board
It was really critical that the wakeskate didn’t drop! It was an obstacle that we've never really had to deal with before.
Brian’s like a master sensei of everything he does. He's very analytical and very strategic in the way he goes about things. He really ramped up his skills so he was mentally and physically prepared.
Nothing about this was normal and it's probably one of the coolest projects that I've been a small part of.
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