Author: Alan Perlman

Boxing, a Gut-Wrenching Sport

It was when I watched Raging Bull in high school that I discovered boxing’s brilliance as a sport. A 1980 biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull stars Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta, an Italian American boxer whose insatiable appetite for boxing ultimately destroys his family. The film is rife with intensity for both boxing as a sport and boxing as a lifestyle.

In 2004, ESPN ranked boxing as one of the world’s most difficult sports. Years and years of training can come down to one prized championship fight. By the way, if you’re trying to find Ricky Hatton vs Vyacheslav Senchenko tickets at Stubhub, get on it. This is going to be one hot fight.

Boxing’s roots can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, who accepted it as an Olympic game as early as 688 B.C. Since then, a myriad of styles and philosophies around training and actual fighting have developed. In popular culture, we even celebrate when notable boxing referees opt for retirement. For such a seemingly simple idea — put two men in a confined space, wrap their hands in gloves and let them duke it out in a series of timed rounds — the sport of boxing is much more complex than one might think. And it’s that delicate mélange of simplicity and complexity that I love so much.

For example, let’s talk offense. There are jabs and crosses, hooks and uppercuts, cross-counters and short straight-punches and half uppercuts. There are three different ways to stand — an upright stance, a semi-crouch or a full crouch, all three styles with their own particular advantages and disadvantages. Defense is another story, with bobbing and clinching, footwork and slipping and pulling away. Like any sport, boxing’s focal vocabulary illuminates the sport’s many nuances.

Boxing is one of those sports that is oft-overlooked. But remember, even though it might not be as flashy or exciting as newer sports like wingsuit flying or bossaball, boxing is by far one of the most historic and extreme sports we have.

photo credit: What What

21 October, 2012
Best Action Sports Films of 2012

Yikes. From Garage Entertainment, Red Bull Media House, Surf Dive ‘N’ Ski, Sony Mobile and Maxum, this trailer reel previews Sessions, a movie for Australian extreme sports fans. The film is made up of 2012’s most gut-wrenching action sports clips. I want in.

18 October, 2012
Felix Baumgartner 22-Mile Supersonic World Record Stratos Skydive

Folks, skydiving history will soon be made.

Felix Baumgartner, Austrian aviation specialist, plans to leap out of a space capsule from an altitude of 120,000 feet, rocketing his way at predicted speeds of over 700 mph to the earth’s surface.

UPDATE:

[highlight color=”yellow”]10/14 | 3:42pm EST: And he did it. WAHOO![/highlight]

Quick Essentials

Some quick facts you should know:

> The planned jump is 120,000 feet, or 22 miles above the Arizona desert

> The freefall should be around 5 minutes and 30 seconds. Felix Baumgartner is predicted to break Mach 1, the speed of sound, ripping through the air at speeds of over 700 miles per hour.

> Baumgartner will travel in a 55-story high balloon, built out of a polyethylene plastic that happens to be one-tenth the thickness of a sandwich bag. This balloon is incredibly lightweight and will carry him all the way from the ground up to 120,000 feet.

Check out this CGI video to get a visual sense of what to expect:

[youtube id=”VCqnQq86fkY” width=”600″ height=”350″]

The History: Seven Years, Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull

Called the Red Bull Stratos Project, this multi-million dollar, seven-yar endeavor involves experts in the field of aeronautics, engineering and medicine.

Felix Baumgartner, the protagonist in this epic storyboard, is a 43-year old former Austrian paratrooper who has 2500+ jumps to his name. Baumgartner’s celebrated history of daredevil stunts include world records for the lowest BASE jump and for being the first to skydive across the English Channel. Who comes up with ideas like this?

[youtube id=”r-TCO2IdoTA” width=”600″ height=”350″]

In the video above, you’ll get a stronger sense of the complexities of the project. Joe Kittinger, meteorologist and current world record holder, has been advising Felix throughout the process. In 1960, Kittinger jumped from 102,800 feet, as part of Project Excelsior.

During initial bouts of claustrophobia, Kittinger helped Felix develop a 40-item checklist to help ease his mind. Even though a specially designed balloon carries Baumgartner upward at a speed of 1000 feet/minute, there is significant alone time in the process.

If the jump proves successful, Baumgartner plans to hand his 25+ year daredevil drawers up, to settle down with his girlfriend and to fly a rescue helicopter. The man recognizes that he has been pushing the limits — this is his final hoorah.

Check out this video of Felix Baumgartner performing a 96,000 foot, second test jump over the summer.

[youtube id=”s_SzUnkYcR4″ width=”600″ height=”350″]

The Jump: 22 Miles, 700+ MPH

Click the image below for a play-by-play mission timeline:

What Could Go Wrong

Unfortunately, a lot could go wrong.

For one, Baumgartner could find himself in a flat spin. In low air, high-altitude dives like this, an uncontrolled flat spin could push Baumgartner to an unconscious state. He could face temporary blindness as blood rushes to his head and extremities. Yikes.

It is predicted that Baumgartner will step out of his capsule into temperatures of minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. As he rockets toward earth, he could experience up to minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, his custom-designed space suit should protect him up to temperatures of minus 90 degrees.

When Baumgartner’s body approaches the speed of sound, shock-shock interaction could endanger his pressurized suit. Hopefully, because these sonic forces are less intense when the air is thin, it won’t be an issue.

The Skydiving Suit: Custom-Engineered

Any skydive above 62,000 feet requires a pressurized suit. Otherwise, water in the body turns to gas, and the body distends via a process called ebullism.

Not fun.

Red Bull partnered up with the David Clark Company, based out of Massachusetts, to create a custom suit modeled on those worn by Air Force pilots during high-altitude recon missions.

The suit has four layers — a liner, a bladder fitted to Baumgartner’s body, mesh to hold the bladder in place and a flame-retardant exterior. The suit is designed to protect Baumgartner from a fairly large temperature range, -90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with a ventilation hose to provide warm or cool air as needed.

The composite helmet weighs 8 pounds, with a retractable sunshade visor and an integrated heating circuit to prevent fogging. The helmet is also equipped with an oxygen regulator that will pump out 100% oxygen during the ascent and descent. A drinking port will provide Baumgartner with enough water.

Finally, five cameras will live on the suit to film what will undoubtedly be the ride of Baumgartner’s life.

Follow Along in Real Time

The whole shebang will be broadcast live, without feed delay or interference — an engineering marvel, I might add — from Red Bull Stratos.

There are also several tweets from Red Bull – below are a few notables:

https://twitter.com/RedBullStratos/status/255415156702584832

https://twitter.com/RedBullStratos/status/255466402809516032

https://twitter.com/RedBullStratos/status/255313839053221888

https://twitter.com/RedBullStratos/status/255158801370603520

https://twitter.com/RedBullStratos/status/254740216185778176

[photos via Red Bull Content Pool]

9 October, 2012
The 7 Most Gut-Wrenching Politicians

Here at Nerve Rush HQ, election season is in full swing.

Paying homage to the world of politics, we compiled a list of history’s most gut-wrenching political figures. Here are six of our favorite, in no particular order:

1. Gary Johnson

2012 Libertarian Party U.S. Presidential Candidate

Former governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson is known for his low-tax libertarian views and his passion for personal health and fitness. In 2003, Johnson reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Over the last several years, he has also finished Ironman Triathlons, marathons, and even ran a 100-mile ultramarathon.

2. Teddy Roosevelt

26th U.S. President

A far-flung adventurer, Teddy Roosevelt led an undoubtedly gut-wrenching life. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Rough Riders, the U.S.’s first volunteer cavalry, Roosevelt fought alongside cowboys, college athletes, native Americans and ranchers throughout Latin America. And in 1912, en route to a speech, he was shot squarely in the chest but insisted on giving his speech before going to the hospital. Citing his experience as an avid hunter and guide, he reasoned that since he was not coughing up blood, then no major organs were damaged. Good work, Teddy.

He also led an expedition to the Amazon, climbed Switzerland’s Matterhorn and was the runner-up Harvard boxing champion.

3. Kevin Johnson

Current Mayor of Sacramento, California

One of a number of athlete-turned-politicians, Kevin Johnson was a star point guard in the NBA. During his 12-year playing career, Johnson was a three-time All-Star who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. He is now in his second political term, serving the city of Sacramento, California.

4. Vladmir Putin

Current Russian President

Putin epitomizes adventure. I’ll let this website speak for itself, but there you’ll find a slew of gut-wrenching photos. Putin preparing for supersonic flight, butterflying in the swimming pool, scuba diving, playing ice hockey and whale hunting. Putin is also a martial artist, having won awards in judo and sambo, and a keen alpine skier.

5. Manny Pacquiao

Current Philippine Politician, House of Representatives

The first eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao was long rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Pacquiao was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s, among a number of other awards. He’s also participated in acting, music recording and, more recently, Philippine politics.

6. Arnold Schwarzenneger

Current Governor of California

Zee Governator wasn’t just a bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned politician; he was the greatest bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned-politician. To give you a sense of how amazing Schwarzenegger was, after retiring from bodybuilding in 1977–at that point he had won six Mr. Olympia titles–to start an acting career, he walked off the set after filming Conan The Barbarian, showed up to the 1980 Mr. Olympia competition unannounced, FOUR YEARS LATER and won a record-setting seventh title.

7. Jesse Ventura

38th Governor of Minnesota (1999-2003)

Jesse Ventura served as a Navy Underwater Demolition Team member during the Vietnam War. He then made a name for himself in professional wrestling. With a tenure from 1975 to 1986, Ventura was a performer and color commentator for the World Wrestling Federation, inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame in 2004. Ventura also happens to be in one of my favorite action movies of all time, Predator.

9 October, 2012
Demon United Review & Contest

Win two pieces of high-quality protective gear, valued at almost $200.

Courtesy of Demon United.

[youtube id=”WkGNrK0Pq_c” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Follow the instructions at the end of the video to score some complimentary protective gear swag. I’ve tried these items first hand..they’re insanely cool.

Best video wins.

Contest ends on November 30th, 2012.

About Demon United

Demon United is a boutique adventure company based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. For the last 10+ years, they have been making protective gear for extreme athletes. So, elbow pads and helmets, spine protective gear and knee pads. Great for mountain bikers, snowboarders, extreme roller derby’ers — you name it.

Demon United employs D30 technology into their protective gear. D30 is a non-newtonian liquid that looks and feels like a kind of putty. Upon impact, though, the molecules in the putty instantly bind together and form a solid block. This allows for lightweight gear that is incredibly strong. D30 is paving the way in impact-protection technology.

5 October, 2012
Coloured Sky [Serious Parachute Control]

Marvin Ogger & Lino Oehl dominate the 2011 Vice Acro World Cup. This is some serious parachute control. Beautiful film.

27 September, 2012
How to Hack a Boston Qualifying Marathon

The following is guest post by Jason Fitzgerald. Jason runs Strength Running, a website that helps runners crush their goals. Just this week, Jason launched Run Your BQ — I’ll let him tell you more.

For most runners, running a Boston Qualifying (BQ) marathon time is a bucket list goal and comes with a lot of bragging rights. And with good reason: only a tiny fraction of marathoners will qualify and earn their spot on the starting line in Hopkinton.

Dubbed “the world’s most prestigious marathon,” Boston is unlike any other road race. It’s over 115 years old and has the fastest average finish time of any marathon anywhere.

Marathoners dream of being part of this history; feeling the thrill of seeing the Prudential tower rise on the horizon as they make their way past roaring crowds toward the famous finish line on Boylston Street.

I know what it’s like to qualify for Boston – I’ve done it twice and have a 2:39:32 marathon PR. But even more rewarding, I help runners qualify for Boston and run faster marathons through a special community called Run Your BQ.

RYBQ is a group of nearly 300 marathoners who are passionate about improving their time over 26.2 miles – even if they’re far from qualifying. More than just a library of training plans, 45+ articles on nutrition, pacing, and motivation (though we have those!), Run Your BQ is an interactive community that helps each other reach big goals like qualifying for the world’s most prestigious marathon.

What’s your background as a runner and coach?

I’ve been running competitively for over 14 years and ran 2:39 at the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon. I’m also the author of 101 Simple Ways to be a Better Runner and have been featured in media like Yahoo, The Huffington Post, Health Magazine, Shape, and Active.

I’ve been coaching for over two years and I’m proud that I’ve helped hundreds of runners get faster, prevent more injuries, and yes, even qualify for Boston! Slow or fast, there’s always a better way to train.

Why did you create Run Your BQ?

First, I found that a lot of the marathon training advice on the web was simply garbage. Suggestions like, “run on a track!” and “do intervals!” are unfortunately all too common. What’s a runner supposed to do – search the entire internet for a good marathon training plan?

Runners also can’t train in a vacuum all by themselves. You can achieve more and run faster (not to mention stay more consistent) when you have a support group pushing you to stay motivated. RYBQ gives runners a community of supportive runners to lean on with a thriving forum, regular live video chats where they get their personal questions answered, and a Feed to post race pictures, quotes, and status updates (like Facebook).

What’s next for Run Your BQ?

RYBQ is a growing group and we only accept new members a few times per year. We’re actually accepting new members right now – but only until Friday, 9/28. Click here and let us show you a video tour of the website, including many of our new features.

As we keep getting bigger, we’re always adding new tools to help our runners. We just added smart phone capabilities so you can view your workouts anywhere and we’re planning a map of our members for meet-ups at races and for workouts.

To see the video tour and learn more about Run Your BQ, check out the details here!

26 September, 2012
Damiano Cunego Attacks the Tour de Suisse

Just, hold on to your seats, everybody, because this could be a little bit nasty. Let’s just wish them all the very best, shall we.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to race a bicycle professionally, check out this gut-wrenching descent. The turns are so hairy, the descent so steep, that the motorcycle-powered camera man has a hard time keeping up.

Pro tip: fast-forward to 2:30 to watch the descent.

20 September, 2012
5 Gnarly Places To Go Scuba Diving

Maybe you’ve jumped out of airplanes all over the globe, bungee-jumped the tallest bridges known to man or participated in some of the most insane adventure races. You’ve tapped into your inner adrenaline junkie on both land and air…but what about sea?

Goggle up Scuba Steve. Here are 5 of the world’s gnarliest places to go scuba diving.

Barrier Reef (Great Blue Hole), Belize

Located off the northeast coast of Central America, what sets this dive spot apart is the Great Blue Hole, believed to be the largest sink-hole in the world. Checking in at roughly 1,000 feet wide and 400 feet deep, the Great Blue Hole formed out of a limestone cave that collapsed during the last ice age. Today, it is a hot spot for many divers that come for the unique marine life, stalactites, dripstone sheets, columns and warm waters that make diving year round a possibility. Jacques-Yves Cousteau himself declared it one of the best diving spots in the world. Who am I to argue with Cousteau?

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

It would be blasphemy to leave The Great Barrier Reef of Australia off this list. Plus, I don’t want to piss off the Aussie’s. They’re the raddest people I know. The Great Barrier Reef extends 1,430 miles along the northeastern coast of Australia. It is so large that you can actually see if from outer space. Many elements attract divers – 1,500 shipwrecks, 6 species of turtles and the chance to see dolphins, whales, and porpoises. But if you are really looking for a rush, The Great Barrier Reef is home to over 125 species of sharks. Experienced divers will recommend the Osprey Reef which provides beautiful scenery. If you’ve got kiddo’s diving with you, make sure to let them know they might find Nemo. The Great Barrier Reef is where this little guy lives.

Strait of Gubal, Egypt

The Strait of Gubal is located in the Red Sea just off the coast of Egypt. It is home to what many consider the top wreck dive site in the world, the SS Thistlegorm, a World War II British transport ship that was sunk by the Germans. What is so unique about this dive is that the sea has maintained unbelievable conditions of the wreck. Tanks, locomotives, army trucks, rifles, bikes and army gear is all completely visible. However, this is not the only visible ship wreck that can be found in the strait. There are dozens of others waiting to be explored.

Farallon Islands, San Francisco

Raise your hand if you’ve seen Jaws. Now raise your hand if you want to go swimming with him. Scuba diving in Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco is sure to give you that experience. The large Elephant Seal population attracts the car-sized Great Whites. This is the only place in the United States that you can cage dive with JAWS. This can cost you up to $770 for a one-day dive but could quite possibly be one of the more intense experiences you have ever had. If you’re concerned about not seeing one of the Great White beasts there are plenty of other shark breed including Hammerheads, Tiger sharks, and the Bull shark.

(Multiple Destinations), Thailand

If you want a smorgasbord of dive spots to tickle your fancy, look no further than Thailand, home to some of the most beautiful dive spots in the world. If gnarly scenery is your thing, then this is it! Thailand offers up some amazing spots in Phuket, Similan Islands, Hin Daeng, Khao Lak, Phi Phi Islands, Krabi, and Burma.

If danger is your middle name, one spot you might want to check out is Samaesan Hole, known as a “black, silty hole of death.” At 90-meters deep, it is the deepest dive in the Gulf of Thailand – sun rarely permeates its depths. The Samaesan Hole is a former military ammunitions dump ground that actually contains unexploded bombs. In case you didn’t catch that… UNEXPLODED BOMBS. There are not a ton of photos of this place due to the lack of sunlight that it gets. That just adds to the scary in my opinion.

Bonus: Nemo 33

Because Nerve Rush loves ya, lets hit you off with one more. Enter Nemo 33, the world’s largest diving pool. This is THE scuba diving center located in Uccle, Belgium. The diving structure contains 2.5 million liters of non-chlorinated spring water that houses caves, platforms, and windows so that visitors can scope the scene and view divers on the inside. Nemo 33 was built as a training center and is often used for film production. Cool fact about this dive spot – if you have the balls to take off your mask while underwater, you could actually drink the water. Don’t worry about having to hold you bladder either… plenty of places to go. Hmm, better not to drink the water, then.

photo credits: Dix_pics1 | pterantula | Eric Burgers | alfonsator | DrJohnBullas

18 September, 2012
World’s Highest Swing is a 300 Meter Arc

Queenstown, New Zealand is one of the world’s most notable adventure capitals. In this clip featuring the Nevis Swing, you’ll see what it’s like to experience a 70 meter free fall followed by a 300 meter arc. The world’s highest (and certainly most gut-wrenching) swing.

13 September, 2012