Staff Spotlight: Dario Meloni

Get to know Wisconsin Skydiving Center instructor, coach, rigger, examiner, and PRO: Dario Meloni! 

How many jumps do you have? 

~5,100 (Woo-hoo!)

It looks like you made your first jump in 2014. Why did you make your first skydive? Was it tandem, SL, IAD, or AFF? 

My first jump was an OG static line jump. Why did I do it? I was bored – playing a lot of video games, whipping around on my moped, and watching tons of movies. I had a goal to join the Italian Military and their acceptance is based on a point system. It was simple: if I did the paratrooper course, my points (and my chance at acceptance) increased. 

During my paratrooper course, we visited a civilian dropzone and I did my first tandem skydive. Meaning, I experienced my first freefall! Throughout my progression, I made three static line jumps with belly-mounted reserves (ah!), graduated AFF, then did two more round jumps for an accuracy competition. 

Ultimately, I won acceptance to the airforce, and during the two week period I was supposed to show up for Basic Training, I decided to skydive full-time instead – what a change of plans! I found a weekend-only gig, but I was young and could afford to do it – is there a better time to chase your dreams? 

What’s your favorite movie? 

Drive with Ryan Gosling

What jobs did you have to fund your skydiving in the early days of your jumping career? 

I held 3 jobs before skydiving full-time: I waited tables as a teenager, was a security guard at a jewelry store (which was incredibly boring), and spent time as a private mail delivery guy. Finally, I started shooting video at a dropzone in Kuwait, and the rest is history! 

Do you still do any BASE? 

I have 80 BASE jumps and stopped jumping prior to becoming a full-time traveling skydiver. I may get back into it one day, but won’t go looking to open any crazy exit points. 

What’s a pet peeve you have in the skydiving world? 

I have two stand-out pet peeves:

1. Instructors using technical jargon with first time jumpers. Either don’t use that terminology or explain it!
2. Not putting the toggles in the keeper right after you land. Packers will concur that this is SOOO annoying. 

How did you find out about Wisconsin Skydiving Center? 

Many of us in the skydiving world gain connections and employment through Facebook – shoutout to the FB! I saw an ad posted on a Facebook group called Skydive Jobs for a position with Wisconsin Skydiving Center, huge thanks to my friend in Kuwait that introduced me to the virtual group. I had a FaceTime with our owner, Bo, we hit it off, and I planned my travel to the States. 

What’s the coolest thing you can do in skydiving? 

My idea of an awesome skydive is pretty up there on the ‘cool scale.’ A formation jump during “heavy sunset” with a bunch of friends, add fireworks, and then have everyone landing together. I’m grinning just thinking about it! 

What do your non-skydiving friends/ family think of your profession? 

As many skydivers advance in the sport, their non-jumping friends tend to dwindle. This is simply due to a lack of shared interests. When people become skydivers, they really, really love it, and I’m no exception to the rule – I have two non-skydiving friends left. 

My parents and sister are happy for me. My mother always had a “do your thing as long as you’re happy” attitude, and my father needed a bit more convincing. The sport can seem intimidating when it’s something you’ve never heard of, but he’s on board now! My friend at home in Italy is proud of me for achieving everything I ever wanted.

My non-jumping supporters see me doing my passion as a career and making a living – they just see it as someone who has any other job. 

What do you love most about being a tandem instructor? 

Being able to skillfully and masterfully complete a jump regardless of who your tandem student is – whether they are old, young, talkative, quiet, nervous, or excited – completing the jump in the best possible way is a feat to be proud of, and is a pretty fulfilling feeling. The array of people we get to take on their first skydives is such an honor!

What’s your favorite part about teaching solo students? 

There can be a sort of synergy between you and the student. Sometimes the instructor is doing all the teaching, sometimes the student is doing all the learning (they just easily get it), but oftentimes there’s a perfect mix.

I love the teamwork that happens, between student and instructor. This passion is one reason instructors make such a solid addition to the skydiving community – we’re dedicated to pushing students to be their best and understand that everyone has different needs. 

What ratings do you hold? Which was the hardest to get? 

Each rating takes multiple things into account – someone’s dedication to the sport, their physical skillset, and their mental skillset. Every rating granted by the United States Parachute Association and beyond are not given out at will. 

• TI, Coach and AFF Examiner
• PRO
• IAD Instructor 
• Master Rigger 
• Alter Ego Canopy Coach – this is so difficult to achieve, as there’s no proper or written down path of progression to follow – you’re just hand-selected. 

What’s the most important safety protocol in the sport? 

Your mentality. The biggest aspect is to always try to stay as calm as you possibly can. Whether it’s just another jump, you’re doing your evaluation jump to get your A-license, a big way for the first time, encountering a malfunction, or having to land off – a lot of close calls can be avoided if everyone would stop for two seconds and take a deep breath to assess what’s going on. 

Stop for a second, slow down, be mindful.

If you could give any advice to someone doing their first tandem jump, what would it be? 

Just experience it. Don’t try to be anything you’re not. Each first jump experience is unique … don’t try to be calm and chill or super hyper – if it’s your first time, just let it be. It’s gonna be a much better experience if you just have no expectations and experience it – be in the moment and feel all the emotions!

We know that skydiving changes lives, why do you think that is? 

Skydiving undoubtedly changes lives – that’s why so many people do it time and time again! 

It’s one of the few actions (or the only action) where it’s very commital, there’s no turning back once you jump out of the airplane – this is the pinpoint of why it changes so many people’s lives. You can cry about it but you’re still falling toward the earth. 

Everyone starts with barely being able to open their parachute stable, but then three years later they could be taking someone on their first skydive – the sport is designed to give back to itself. 

Once you’ve done it like a few hundred times together with other people, it really puts the rest of your life in perspective. Whether it’s something as simple as moving to another country or quitting a job or signing a mortgage, skydiving is a good mental resiliency gym. It sort of reminds you of what really matters. It’s also something outside of your comfort zone – which gives you tons of happy feelings and a boost of confidence when you do it! Doing this with the amazing community of skydivers makes this even more significant. 

We are so fortunate that when Dario’s talents could take him anywhere in the world, he’s chosen to be at Wisconsin Skydiving Center. Book today to come jump us – we can’t wait to have you! Blue skies.