
heroes
Aug 21, 2017
Free fall. By definition, free fall is the state of a body being acted upon only by gravity. This is a very apt description of Nicole Smith, a former Manager for a retail company turned full-time skydiving instructor, who seems to only be impacted by G-forces. With a fearless and enduringly positive spirit, Nicole has remained resilient and triumphant through hardships and inspires through her GoPro Award-winning submission to have the courage, determination, and perseverance to pursue your passions with your entire heart.
At Skydive Dubais Desert Campus in Dubai, UAE, Nicole joined an elite group of skydivers who have been ejected from a Fox acrobatic glider. At the time, fewer than 100 people had, in the history of skydiving, gotten to jump from this aircraft. The footage of this experience, and the journey that led her to this incredible moment, is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
In her own words, Nicole shares her story:
My name is Nicole Smith. I am from Cleveland, Georgia; its a tiny town 90 minutes north of Atlanta. Before I became a full-time skydiver, I was a District Manager for a large specialty retail company, working my way up the corporate ladder. How I became a full-time skydiver is a bit of a long story, so bear with me.
From August 2007 to December 2009 I did 4 tandem skydives, each with my husband. From the first time I jumped out of an airplane, I felt free. It's the most exciting, powerful, liberating, nerve-wracking, and peaceful experience I have ever had- if you can imagine such a combination. I've learned trying to describe the sensation of skydiving is like trying to describe the taste of water.
On January 29, 2010 my husband passed away. I was a widow at 25. I spent the next year of my life trying to make sense of my circumstances, trying to re-acclimate my life, and trying to find peace.
After a year of soul searching, I decided I was ready to skydive on my own. On January 7, 2011, I signed up for an Accelerated Freefall class (AFF) at my local dropzone. My instructors were Jeremy Marston and Miki Baranowski.
Fast forward to June 2011. I was a newly licensed skydiver completely in love with skydiving. Not only that, I had fallen in love with my instructor Jeremy. The afternoon of June 13, 2011, Jeremy and I were driving home after a picnic in the park. We were a mile from his place when another driver ran a red light and t-boned the car we were in. The impact was directly on the driver's side door of the car Jeremy and I were in. Jeremy was driving and was killed almost instantly.
I was in critical condition. I was helicoptered to a trauma hospital in Atlanta. I sustained a broken neck, back, tailbone, punctured lung, 2 broken ribs, 4 pelvic fractures, and 2 brain injuries. The doctors prepared my family for the worst. My prognosis was bleak. The physicians suspected the brain injuries would prohibit me from being to converse as I had before the accident. Because of the pelvic injuries, the doctors also suspected it would be next to impossible for me to walk without some type of assistance.
Fast-forward again. After almost a year of grueling physical therapy, I made a full recovery, quit my corporate job, and decided I wanted to be a professional skydiver. In August 2012, I became the youngest person ever to skydive in all 50 United States.
As of today, I have over 2000 skydives. I am a tandem skydive instructor and an AFF (accelerated freefall) instructor, I am engaged to be married (get this, I am marrying the instructor who took me on my very first skydive almost 10 years ago!), and I get the chance to share my love and passion for skydiving with my students (and anyone, really) every single day. I am living my dream every day.
Learn more about the GoPro Awards by clicking below.
Content Floater
--
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
01/05/2025
Paul Reubens appears in Pee-wee as Himself, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Michael Ochs A...
01/05/2025
After four years of lectures, study sessions, exams, and parties, college senior...
01/05/2025
72.4% of overall TV viewing in Q1 2025 is of content that includes advertising
...
01/05/2025
NEW YORK LiveNow From Fox, Fox Television Stations' national news streaming service, has released viewing data showing the first quarter was the best quarte...
01/05/2025
The global installed base of Smart TVs and Connected TV (CTV) devices will reach 4.2 billion units by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2.65 billion in 2025,...
01/05/2025
Samsung TV Plus has announced that it is expanding its existing lineup of more than 50 sports channels with five new free, ad-supported streaming television (FA...
01/05/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla. Carlo DiMarco has joined USSI Global as vice president of strategic marketing and growth, with responsibility for strategic business development...
01/05/2025
WASHINGTON The NAB has filed a wide-ranging rebuttal to proposals by the pay TV industry that the FCC delete and/or significantly change rules governing retrans...
01/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the pre...
01/05/2025
HONG KONG Riedel Communications today said it has opened a new office in Hong Kong, enhancing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region....
01/05/2025
MUMBAI, India & BALTIMORE In a development that could advance efforts to bring NextGen TV to cellphones, FreeStream Technologies, Lava International and HMD hav...
01/05/2025
01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives
All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...
01/05/2025
How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller...
01/05/2025
Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton May 1, 2025
0 Comments
CAD Studios relies on large format, full fram...
01/05/2025
Telling the story: Extensive technical set-up delivers comprehensive Special Oly...
01/05/2025
Just Around the Bend: Olympic Broadcasting Services Readies for the Milano-Corti...
01/05/2025
Wireless Microphone Spectrum Alliance Gets Going With Lobbying To Ensure RF Acce...
01/05/2025
Voice actor and producer Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff shares his first impressions of the DPA 2017 Shotgun Microphone, from real-world auditions to side-by-side compa...
01/05/2025
With my previous console, Freeman recalls, I always had to run a Waves server for EQ and compression, but when I switched to DiGiCo, I found it was such an op...
01/05/2025
Stream all episodes ofLook Who's Hangry from April 29
An RT Player Original in partnership with Heinz...
01/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
T naiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and T...
01/05/2025
Exclusive interviews and un-seen footage feature in new two-part series...
01/05/2025
May brings more than just rainbows and sunshine - it's also time for fresh adventures and epic battles. This GFN Thursday spotlights 20 can't-miss games...
01/05/2025
RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who were senior leaders a...
01/05/2025
RT Statement
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project is one of the projects that was funded from the proceeds of RT 's land sale in 2017, the init...
01/05/2025
Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on
This May, RT is delighted to support Bealtaine Festival, Fastnet Film Festival, and Dublin Dance Fest...
01/05/2025
For Nicolas Simon, advancing the field of robotics is a personal mission that could change his siblings' lives.
Two-thirds of Simon's family members us...
30/04/2025
Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...
30/04/2025
EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...
30/04/2025
The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...
30/04/2025
Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...
30/04/2025
Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award
30 April, 2025
Media releases
Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...
30/04/2025
SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives
30 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...
30/04/2025
By Joyce JC Cataldo
The media and entertainment industry is evolving faster than ever. Technology is shifting the way we create, distribute, and experience c...
30/04/2025
An image of Valencia, Spain, in the OneAtlas Living Library...
30/04/2025
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. WPSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., has selected Bitcentral's Central Control playout system to upgrade the station's mast...
30/04/2025
AMSTERDAM Zero Density, a global provider of virtual studio productions and on-air graphics, has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu succeeds Of...
30/04/2025
The Avit Group, a forward-thinking audio-visual technology company, is bringing over 50 years of combined experience in delivering audio-visual design and insta...
30/04/2025
NXTGENbps will be showcasing its latest sustainable battery power solutions at this year's Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), appearing alongside pa...
30/04/2025
Van Dyke skates and operates on Shoresy | photo by Dave Ferguson
Toronto-based Cinematographer Brett Van Dyke (Heartland, Jann, Carter) stepped into the rink...
30/04/2025
Leading provider of media playout solutions PlayBox Neo will exhibit a vast array of significant upgrades to its range of smart media innovations at CABSAT from...
30/04/2025
ITV Studios is renowned for its award-winning productions, including the reality TV phenomenon I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Produced by Lifted Ente...
30/04/2025
The UK's presence at this year's CABSAT brings together 20 innovative companies under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland banner. From advanced infra...
30/04/2025
Lightware continues to strengthen its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives by fostering diversity, inclusion, and community engagement within...
30/04/2025
LiveU is demonstrating for the first time in the UK, its revolutionary technological breakthrough in IP-video transport, LiveU IQ (LIQ ) and bringing its expand...
30/04/2025
Stand: A40
Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range o...
30/04/2025
Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has opened its new virtual production studio, designed and integrated by CJP Broadcast. The installation equips students wi...
30/04/2025
Independent news producer in India focuses on delivering stories
nxtedition has supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, based in New Delhi,...
30/04/2025
Connecting the present, building the future
FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, will showcase it...