The Incredible Journey of Bo Babovic

From the first moment you arrive at the Wisconsin Skydiving Center, you can already feel it: The energy of the place. WSC is different than any other dropzone on the planet, and that’s because of the underlying philosophy of culture that drives it. Every detail of that culture is upheld sacred by the truly unique staff that populates the center, and every detail of that culture comes from the heart and mind of the DZ’s co-founder, Bo Babovic.

Bo Babovic has a deep history in skydiving. Now 60 years old (and skydiving for 42 of those years), Bo has racked up three and a half decades as a skydiving instructor. Bo’s teaching career spans continents and cultures, and his life story–as well as his general approach to life–is as unique as the DZ he has founded. He does pretty much everything differently.

For example: At 7:00 a.m. on a normal dropzone, the scene is pretty predictable. Several instructors will screech up to the dropzone, clutching tanker-sized coffee thermoses, loud music thumping from the stereo speakers, rubbing the sleep from their eyes as they hustle into the hangar. By that time at WSC, quite a bit has already been accomplished: Bo has generally been up since 4:00 a.m.

“By that time, I cannot sleep anymore because I am excited,” Bo explains. “I want to get down to the dropzone and get started. I drink coffee because I like the taste of coffee–the taste, the aroma–but I don’t need it. What makes me get up in the morning is the thought of being a skydiving instructor; of living that reality, which is something that I often just cannot believe that I actually get to do.

For me, skydiving instruction is so multidimensional. I have this feeling that I was born to do exactly this. I could have been in many other things; I have a lot of interests, but I was born to do this. It feels like it almost came from within.”