Jhonathan Florez
Latinos In The US Jhonathan Florez Facebook/Jhonathan Florez

Jhonathan Florez is a Colombian base jumper who competes professionally around the world. He is the only Latin American athlete who has reached his level in this sport. He is at the top of the worldwide rankings of extreme sports. He started to BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, Earth) jump in 2005. Now he is part of the Wing Suit League, a league that has recently started to be recognized. Latin Times had the opportunity to speak with this adventurous athlete about his future plans, his success, his struggles and much more!

Latin Times: At what age did you first come to the US?

Jhonathan Florez: I first came to the U.S to study when I was 19

LT: How does it feel to represent your country while doing what you love to do?

JF: It’s a pretty good feeling. Not only am I representing Colombia but I’m representing all of Latin America and it’s pretty nice. There is nothing better than doing what you love and being good at it. I don’t feel I have to work. It’s a pretty good job I guess.

LT: Have you faced any challenges in the sport because you are Latino?

JF: Yes, but most of the challenges have been positive than negative. One negative one is that is doesn’t matter what country I’m going to I have to ask for a visa and that takes a lot of time and energy and money from me. If I want to go to Europe I have to ask for a visa, if I want to go to China I have to ask for a visa, if I want to go to Venezuela I have to ask for a visa. Anywhere I go pretty much I have to ask for a visa. That’s pretty annoying when you’re doing all this traveling because sometimes I will need to go from one country to another country and if I don’t plan ahead then I have to come back and ask for the visa, so that’s annoying. On the positive side, being Latino has opened my opportunities. I don’t have to compete in a highly crowded U.S market, I just have to represent the Latinos and doors open easier for me than for some other athletes and that has lead to sponsorships and stuff now at this point of my career. At the beginning of my career it was hard but now things are getting better.

LT: How has being Latino inspired you?

JF: I think that breaking some of the stereotypes that people have of Latinos, of Colombian people that’s one positive. Being able to put up in the news the name of one our countries for positive rather than negative news I think it should be a goal for all Latinos, trying to come up with positive feedback for Latin America.

LT: How has the Wing Suit League progressed since its beginnings?

JF: Our sport is not that old. We have been base jumping off of cliffs for the past ten years. We have only been competing for the past four years and the league got established two or three years ago and it is elevating our sport to an entirely different level showing how a professional venue and how a professional managed event can actually help propel the career of athletes and that’s what has happened. It helped me tremendously.

LT: At what age did you start in the sport?

JF: I did my first jump, attached to an instructor when I was 13 years old but I only got to become a skydiver and learn how to sky dive by myself when I was 19 in the States. Then you need a minimum of 200 skydives in order to do a wing suit jump and you need 200 sky dives in order to take a base course.

LT: Which is your favorite exit point if you have any?

JF: All exit points are different and are nice and unique in their own ways. They are special so it’s a really tough question. It depends on the people you are jumping with, the vibes, the conditions that day. Some of my favorite ones have been in France or in Switzerland. Those are two of my top ones I guess.

LT: How does family feel about what you do?

JF: They know how happy it makes me feel and they see the joy that I get out of doing it. At the beginning they were a little hesitant but now they are really supportive and they have seen me progress in the sport. It eventually became something I was curious about, then eventually became my hobby, then my full time job, then my career. They are really supportive now.

LT: What is the main safety difference between skydiving and base jumping?

JF: In skydiving, we are jumping from 12,000 ft and we’re opening at 2,000 ft, we have a parachute system that has two parachutes, and in base jumping we jump anywhere from 3,000 ft and we are pulling anywhere at 300 ft and we only have one parachute system that is made to open really quick. So that would be the main differences.

LT: Tell me about your world records.

JF: Four records for the longest skydive in human history, it was the longest distance traveled horizontally, longest time in free fall before opening the parachute, longest total distance traveled and highest wing suit jump. Those were the four Guinness world records.

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