The Never Ending Freedom
We will slowly run and at my sign you will lift your legs up and we will fly!, Ervin told me.
My heart was beating fast. I was looking at the breathtaking views over Clopotiva and couldn’t imagine yet what I was about to see. I felt the wet grass under my feet and slowly started to run. The mountain top was about to finish and I heard Erwin’s sign, so I have lift up my feet and he ran faster until I felt the paraglider lifting us up.
A peaceful feeling surrounded me. I felt tranquil, at peace, floating, beautiful and free…
But then, I saw the trees underneath my legs. We were rising higher and we were leaving the mountain behind. The trees were getting smaller and smaller and suddenly, fear crumbled in my heart for just one second. Then it vanished.
The world was opening up and I was feeling every inch of this whole new world up in the sky. I was flying!
I breathed deeply and relaxed completely! I was in Awe!
We are searching for that stunning breathtaking moments all our life and this is it! This is definitely one of those moments! The silence, breathtaking views, your breath, your perspective, the joy, the freedom, YOURSELF!
There are a few things better than this, I believe… This complete and utterly beautiful state of mind, this never ending freedom that you have… and in this moment, you discover more about yourself, you meet a whole different you, fearless and brave who has the power to do whatever she sets her mind to.
The Deciding Moment
It all started one night in Bucharest, at Dianei 4, when my good friend, Ana, was telling me her story about her journey in Nepal and how she was close to go paragliding there.
Read the exclusive interview here
My eyes sparkled when I heard about this as I have been wanting to do it for awhile, so I told her that we should do it! She was so happy to hear this and told me that she already knows some amazing guys at Clopotiva, who were recommended by a friend. We decided upon a date in the following month and didn’t think too much about it, until the big day of the trip…
The Journey
I woke up that day without knowing that it would be the day when I would fly for the first time in my life…
One of our good friends, Anca, joined us and we drove to Clopotiva one hot summer day to meet the amazing crew there.
It’s more than just the fantastic feeling of pure freedom, it’s also about all the people that you will meet there from architects, designers, bloggers, passionate travelers – it’s such a beautiful crowd that will uplift you!
We thought that we would fly the next day, but Ervin called us when we were close and said that it’s such a perfect weather that we have to do it today!
Oh, my! Today?!, I thought. I am not ready… Ready for what? my mind kept mumbling. Just do it and see what happens, the other bold and reckless self told me.
And I have to say, you’ve got to trust your guts and follow your damn heart because fear always settles in before some of the most exciting experiences and adventures of your life! Fear always jumps in when something thrilling is going to happen, something unknown, blissful that will unlock another part of yourself, a brand new YOU…
And there we were, on top of Clopotiva, admiring the breathtaking view and feeling already the excitement of the flight. When we arrived, we wanted so badly to fly. I just couldn’t wait to do it.
The moment that gave me even more courage was the second I met Ervin & Dan, who have the most amazing energy. They are so fun and relaxed and simply happy to give us these blissful moments up in the sky. The confidence they have is so contagious! The pure joy… they just love doing this and love sharing it with people all over the world!
I can’t believe this! I LOVE IT!!! OH, MY GOD! Ervin, I have to write about this! I have to write about you! This is FANTASTIC! WOOOW!, I was screaming of joy and happiness up in the sky, while asking Ervin so many questions, wanting to know more about paragliding and their experiences.
My first interview up in the sky, I might say, but can you imagine how good it feels, how relaxing, fun and simply blissful that I could just laugh and talk with Ervin?
The freedom, the joy, the adrenaline… the empowerment! You feel like the world is yours and everything that scared you before is now a joke because you can do it, you can achieve it, it’s blissful!
My first flight? (pauses and smiles) I didn’t know what was happening to me, I didn’t understood exactly what was going on, but the moment I landed I knew that this is IT! This is the thing that I want to do for the rest of my life!
Ervin Deak
Meet SkyRush
They are Ervin Deak & Dan Toterman, simply SkyRush, the amazing guys who unlock this freedom for you! They offer tandem flights but also courses if you want to learn to be a pilot yourself and fly alone.
They will teach you everything you need to know, because I have understood that it is a very challenging and demanding sport, more mentally than physically. You need to learn how to use thermal air currents and measure the distance between your landmarks, learn about meteorology and how to maneuver yourself and the paraglider.
The sensation is so incredibly rewarding though and I’ve been told that it’s even more fantastic to fly alone and be in complete control of the paraglider. Well, I can only imagine for now if I felt so good in tandem, how amazing would be to fly solo…
Clopotiva is their main oasis of freedom because it has the best weather conditions most of the year. The place was discovered 14 years ago and the group loved so much this beautiful wild place in Hunedoara, that they moved here with their families and build a community of adventurers and sky enthusiasts, bringing even more and more tourists every year, who share the same passion for the sky.
Clopotiva is not the only place where you can fly with SkyRush. Although it has the most days in a year with great weather conditions for flying, Ervin and Dan fly all over Romania from Uroi to Parang or Siria. In the winter, the flights are more dynamic so they fly in Uroi and Siria, while in the summer when the weather is more stable, Parang Mountains are their favorites.
Paragliding as a Way of Living
From jurist to flight instructor is a long way. It’s the difference between the job that you want to have as a child and the thing that you end up doing as an adult.
Every kid will say that he or she wants to be an astronaut, a pilot, a ballerina or so and ends up working in an office from 9 to 5. But for Dan things happened the other way around and from a legal expert he became a pilot.
Dan realized that it was too soon to be buried in paperwork between four walls and that he can earn a living as a flight instructor and pilot, so he quit his job and started a school for paragliding enthusiasts.
His students became paragliding pilots too and very good friends, thus the community was born. Today you can follow their activity and even join the club at ProAdrenaline Paragliding Center.
Ervin has a similar story as he was a manager at a firm, but in 2014 he left to Nepal as a paragliding pilot.
It was there where he learned about the potential that this activity might have as a business in Romania as well, so he came back after one year and brought paragliding at a different level, making it more and more popular not only to Romanians but also to people all over the world. Lots of foreign tourists come to Clopotiva every year and participate in numerous activities and contests that they organize.
Ervin & Dan turned their passion into a way of living and there is nothing more inspiring and fulfilling than doing what you love and seeing other people doing it too!
The joy and happiness they have before every flight is amazing, even if they fly 5 or 6 times in one day, that excitement is the same and this happens only to those beautiful people who do what they truly love and make a living out of it!
I hope their story will inspire you to keep dreaming, don’t ever disappoint the child in you and fulfill your deepest dreams! Thank you, guys, for the absolute feeling of freedom and bliss and for your inspiration! Looking forward to seeing you soon up in the sky!
Follow SkyRush online
