Name: Camden Gonzalez

Nickname (if any): Slider (because I used to backslide like a mo-fo!)

College and graduation year: University of Florida, 2010

Major: Business

# of jumps: 227

Gear:

• Container: Vector 3 Micron
• Main: Sabre2 190
• Reserve: PD Reserve 176
• AAD: Cypres 2

How did you get into the sport of skydiving?

When I was about 5 years old, my mom did a tandem and I saw the video. From that moment on, I wanted to jump. I decided I would do it for my 16th birthday, which is when I would be old enough. Unfortunately, just a few months before I turned 16, the tandem requirements were changed to where you had to be 18 years old, and I had to wait another 2 years. On the plus side, I probably would have never continued the sport if I first jumped when 16 because I would never have had enough money in high school!

Favorite discipline:

I like to try everything, but my favorites are 4-way RW, freeflying, and wingsuit.

Favorite jump plane:

PAC750XL. It’s fast, the door is big enough to launch at least 4-way exits, and it’s simply a cool looking airplane.

Your most memorable jump:

In March of 2007, my grandpa made a tandem, and I got to chase him out the door. It wasn’t the first tandem I flew with, but it was the first I docked on. It was so neat to share the experience with someone I love like that.

Do you have any goals in the sport? (Ratings that you would like to achieve, breaking records, being on a successful team, competing, etc).

I have several goals in the sport, the first being that I want to eventually try every discipline at least once, up to and including things like skysurfing and perhaps BASE jumping. I received my coach rating this summer, but I’d like to eventually get all instructional ratings, and my PRO rating. My final goal is to spread the sport to as many people as possible, by both teaching students with my future instructor ratings, and showcasing the sport to audiences with my future PRO rating.

Any bit of advice that you have gotten along the way that is worth repeating?

Never become too complacent or too comfortable in a sport like skydiving. It’s a great sport, but it is still a high risk activity. The moment you forget this is the moment you get yourself or someone else hurt.

If you could go anywhere in the world to skydive, where would you go?

The North Pole…I don’t know why, but it’d be cool.

If you could give a shout out to another collegiate skydiver, who would it be and why?

I’d give a shout out to Omar Mireles, AFF instructor and fellow Falling Gator; he did my ground and air evals for my coach course. He was not easy on me, but his “tough love” really gave me a new appreciation for what it means to be, not just a coach, but a role model for students at the DZ.

Any other comments or make up your own question:

In closing I’d just like to say: have fun, stay safe, look out for each other, and don’t forget to pull…oh yea, and Go Gators!