When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive

As a little kid, I climbed a lot of trees because I always loved the bird's-eye view.

At a certain R.P.M., there's only one way for blood to leave your body, and that's through your eyeballs. That means you're dead.

Normally, when I skydive, even in winter, I wear very thin gloves. I want to be flexible, with fast reactions.

I once wanted to be a stuntman. I was constantly on the front pages when I was a base jumper. But if I were a stuntman, my name would only appear right at the end of the closing credits, even though I'd risked my life for others.

To jump and break the sound barrier will not be a mere record breaking experience or another extreme event that ends once the mission is accomplished.

If the Wright brothers hadn't put their lives on the line, we would not be flying around the world these days. So we need pioneers.