023 Many Ways to Fly with Melissa Lowe - Skydiver, Yogi, Author
03/25/21 • 59 min
In today's episode, Sylvia is joined by Melissa Lowe to talk about being a pioneer in the sport of skydiving. She shares openly how she has integrated entrepreneurship, skydiving, yoga and family with her history, personal struggles, lessons on what has worked and a unique perspective on role models, mentors and confronting angst and fear. They talk about comradery and loss in a tight-knit community, and much more. Melissa holds 23 skydiving world records and is a licensed pilot, yoga instructor, author, and mom.
The Sugar Alpha Chronicles are a series of books based on the life of the late skydiving pioneer and Melissa’s father, Roger Nelson's life as a drug smuggler, iconic figure in the sport of skydiving, family man, and eventually a convicted felon. He wrote these books while serving his 5 year prison sentence and smuggled them out of prison where after his death, Melissa was able to finish the project and get them published. A decade’s worth of research and finding out truths of her past as a drug smuggler's daughter this series brought the memoirs into fruition.
Topics Include:
- Growing up in a skydiving community drop zone
- Being a drug smuggler's daughter
- Breaking away from family mold
- Getting sober and resetting identity
- Influences from learning and practicing yoga
- Stability and instability as a young adult
- The experience of flying with your body
- Processing loss
- Wingsuit flying, Freestyle, Freefly and competition
- Highlight Pro Skydiving - the all-female demonstration jump team
- Mission and media
- World records, attempts and other successes
- Entrepreneurship and leadership
- And other topics...
Resources Mentioned:
https://melissa-lowe.com/about/
Melissa's Books:
Sugar Alpha: The Life and Times of Señor Huevos Grandes and
Charlie Bravo: Descent into Darkness and Danger
Originally written by Roger, the series were not published until years after his death when Melissa picked up the dusty manuscript and turned them into books. Melissa had to fill in some gaps through interviews of people involved in Roger’s life to finish up this true story of Roger’s adventures.
Book mentioned:
Eat Wheat: A Scientific and Clinically-Proven Approach to Safely Bringing Wheat and Dairy Back Into Your Diet by John Douillard
Want to connect with us? Visit us online!
Website: https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
IG: @whenwomenfly
In today's episode, Sylvia is joined by Melissa Lowe to talk about being a pioneer in the sport of skydiving. She shares openly how she has integrated entrepreneurship, skydiving, yoga and family with her history, personal struggles, lessons on what has worked and a unique perspective on role models, mentors and confronting angst and fear. They talk about comradery and loss in a tight-knit community, and much more. Melissa holds 23 skydiving world records and is a licensed pilot, yoga instructor, author, and mom.
The Sugar Alpha Chronicles are a series of books based on the life of the late skydiving pioneer and Melissa’s father, Roger Nelson's life as a drug smuggler, iconic figure in the sport of skydiving, family man, and eventually a convicted felon. He wrote these books while serving his 5 year prison sentence and smuggled them out of prison where after his death, Melissa was able to finish the project and get them published. A decade’s worth of research and finding out truths of her past as a drug smuggler's daughter this series brought the memoirs into fruition.
Topics Include:
- Growing up in a skydiving community drop zone
- Being a drug smuggler's daughter
- Breaking away from family mold
- Getting sober and resetting identity
- Influences from learning and practicing yoga
- Stability and instability as a young adult
- The experience of flying with your body
- Processing loss
- Wingsuit flying, Freestyle, Freefly and competition
- Highlight Pro Skydiving - the all-female demonstration jump team
- Mission and media
- World records, attempts and other successes
- Entrepreneurship and leadership
- And other topics...
Resources Mentioned:
https://melissa-lowe.com/about/
Melissa's Books:
Sugar Alpha: The Life and Times of Señor Huevos Grandes and
Charlie Bravo: Descent into Darkness and Danger
Originally written by Roger, the series were not published until years after his death when Melissa picked up the dusty manuscript and turned them into books. Melissa had to fill in some gaps through interviews of people involved in Roger’s life to finish up this true story of Roger’s adventures.
Book mentioned:
Eat Wheat: A Scientific and Clinically-Proven Approach to Safely Bringing Wheat and Dairy Back Into Your Diet by John Douillard
Want to connect with us? Visit us online!
Website: https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
IG: @whenwomenfly
Previous Episode
022 The Athlete Mindset with Olympic Gold Medalist and Cancer Survivor Kikkan Randall
In this episode, Sylvia talks with Kikkan Randall, a trailblazer in women's sport. They talk about the athlete frame of mind and how it shows up in countless ways from training, team building and competing to fighting cancer, balance and life pivots. Challenges seem to embolden Kikkan. She is candid as she reflects on her journey in sport, life and leadership. She inspires us all to step out of our comfort zone and show up for our dreams, take small actions that serve large goals, give to earnest causes, live life to its fullest and have fun along the way! Enjoy this conversation...
Topics Include:
- Being an Alaskan kid with an active family
- Kikkan's early affinity for sports
- Collaboration and competition in a team culture
- Drawing up a plan for big goals, step-by-step
- Recovering from setbacks and low points
- The performance plateau before a breakthrough
- Becoming a mother between Olympics
- Winning an Olympic Gold Medal
- Breast cancer
- Why sharing stories of vulnerability are important
- Running a 2:55 New York Marathon
- Leadership and activism with Fast and Female and AKTIV against cancer
- New directions after a successful athletic career
- And much more....
Resources Mentioned:
www.kikkan.com
IG: @kikkanimal
Fast and Female
ACTIV Against Cancer
US Cross Country Skiing
Next Episode
024 Making Policy Cool with Lindsay Bourgoine, Vice President of Protect Our Winters
Sylvia is joined by Lindsay Bourgoine, the Vice President of Programs and Operations for Protect Our Winters, POW, a community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders advancing non-partisan policies that protect our world today and for future generations. Have you ever wondered how your passion for the outdoors can help save it? They discuss how individuals influence collective change, the impact of leveraging athletes' authority on the environment, the opportunities within diverse perspectives with a common goal, the complexities of policy and activism, steps toward change and much more.
Topics Include:
- Growing up in Maine, the White Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountain Club
- Navigating transitions in life, planning and pivoting
- Studying law and policy
- Connecting with Protect Our Winters
- Why climate is the apex issue of our times
- How professional athletes can leverage influence to fight climate change
- The "Outdoor State" and how it can influence policy
- How 2020 taught us about collective action and collective impact
- Challenging assumptions people make about us
- The power of unusual allies and voices
- Making policy cool and accessible
- Fighting apathy
- And other topics...
Resources Mentioned:
Website: http://www.protectourwinters.org
IG: @protectourwinters
Books Mentioned:
A Mind Spread Out by Alicia Elliott
This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent by Daegan Miller
Want to connect with us? Visit us online!
Website: https://www.whenwomenfly.com/
IG: @whenwomenfly
Pinterest, FB, Twitter, YouTube: whenwomenfly
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/when-women-fly-171103/023-many-ways-to-fly-with-melissa-lowe-skydiver-yogi-author-12582649"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 023 many ways to fly with melissa lowe - skydiver, yogi, author on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy