The story is not yet complete, and we can only finish it with the help
of donations from generous people like yourselves.
I am training to jump a dirt bike 100 feet (that’s about 30 metres). I’ve been blind since birth, and have always been interested in finding alternative ways to accomplish the things I want to do in life. It’s turned into a massive project and to be honest, I had no idea until now what people would make of it. We are filming an independently produced 3-part documentary, part 1 of which is available to you above this text.
I don’t just want you to watch; I want you to be a part of this project. I want you to feel a sense of ownership in the documentary and be able to proudly say to everybody you know “hey, I helped make that happen”.
We all have our burdens. Being blind has never seemed like a disability to me, and I’ve never let it stop me from doing anything. But this is not true for everyone. Many people simply don’t realise they have it in them to achieve what they desire and if I can inspire just one person, whether disabled or not, to take up the gauntlet and go and fulfil their dreams, then I will have achieved something worthwhile.
William Bradford, speaking in 1630, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.
Well, to paraphrase a certain American president, I choose to do this thing. I choose to do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of my energies and skills, because that challenge is one that I am willing to accept, one I am unwilling to postpone, and one which I intend to win.
I’ve always loved motorcycles and rode a mini bike as a kid for 4 years. We had a field not far from our house, and I used to zip around at 30 miles per hour, hoping nobody would get in my way. At the beginning of 2011, somebody asked me if I’d ever thought of jumping a motorcycle. The thought scared the pants off me to be honest, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to see whether I could make it work.
I’m interested in how we can all be successful at various things in life simply by transferring the skills we already have between different disciplines. In 2007, I took the same methods which led to me having a successful career in music, and applied them to entrepreneurship. I found it worked out very well, so now I’m taking that same skill-set and using it to help me accomplish possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do.
After 5 months of intense discussion and organising, we started training on 19 September. As of 3 November, we had completed 25 days of training, and I then had to take some time off to let my shoulder heal from a fall.
My longest jump so far has been 55 feet, so we’re making good progress. 100 feet is still my goal.
The challenges have been enormous, the biggest of which has been keeping a straight line from the take off point to the jump.
We have had amazing days, and frustrating days, and I am having to use every facet and skill in my armory to earn every foot in distance.
After four weeks of training, I can clear 55 feet. It feels amazing, but I know I can jump farther. We need to train for another four weeks in order to safely and confidently achieve my goal of 100 feet and break the world record.
We need to raise another $20000 in order to make this happen, and in order to finish the project we need your help, and we need it quickly.
$20k will cover the following and allow us to finish the project:
If you like what you’ve seen so far, then I’d love to have you be a part of this project.
I want you to feel a sense of ownership and to be able to proudly tell everybody you know that you made “The Jump” happen.
No donation is too small and I’d like to illustrate that right here:
If we can scale up the collective effort, raising $20000 is going to be extremely attainable. Nobody is in this to make a profit, but it is vitally important that we see the project through to completion, and we cannot do that without your support.
Here’s what you will receive as a donor to Making The Jump:
Whatever amount you donate, you can also choose to have your name listed in my biography, in the documentary and on this website as a Making The Jump lifetime associate.
Any money we raise above $20000 will go straight to a charity called Les Porteurs de Musique.
This is a wonderful organisation in Montreal which takes live music to various parts of the community where people are not able to go to concerts. You can read more about Les Porteurs de Musique by clicking here
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