From time to time, people ask me what I like to do when I am not working or, even, what do I do to de-stress myself. The simple answer is “I love to paramotoring”.
Flying a powered paraglider (or paramotor) only requires a paraglider, an engine, and the desire to see the Earth from a different view (check some of my old photos from my album at Flickr below):
Besides the amazing sensation of flying, paramotoring allow me:
- improve my planning skills (you must prepare for long flights, and be always ready for emergency landings if your engine shuts down);
- see the world from a different perspective – everything changes, from the colors to the shapes, the familiar landscape expands, birds flying below you, etc
- take risks and get rewards. Although I do the possible to flying safe, there is always risk involved. However, you can minimize it and (as described in the bullet above) getting rewards that most humans will never get.
- focus on the task. Usually I am doing more than one task at the same time (prototyping while listening music, walking and thinking about a problem I have, etc. When I am flying, nothing else matters. It’s only about flying the glider and enjoying the scenery. No more daily stress, just me.
This is probably my most personal posting but I decided to share with you because all the things I mentioned above are related with me (and probably you) designing. We must take risk, we need to see things with different lenses, we plan, and we get rewards. We are more than just designers, we are a summation of our skills, desires, hobbies, you name it. So, enjoy your work as you enjoy life and vice-versa.
If you like to see the “action”, check my friend’s video (I am flying the white glider with green and yellow detail):