Felix Baumgartner

Red Bull Stratos Pilot

With a passion for pushing the limits, especially in the air, Felix Baumgartner is an expert parachutist best known for his outstanding stunts that set new world records.

On October 14th, 2012 Felix Baumgartner earned his place in the history books after jumping from a capsule almost 40km above the New Mexico desert. Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) hitting a maximum speed of 1.342.8 km/h. The extraordinary feat broke three world records – the highest freefall, the highest manned balloon flight and he became the first man to break the speed of sound in freefall. The endeavor also provided invaluable scientific data on how the body copes at extreme altitudes that could be used to improve astronauts' safety in space. A record number of people watched Baumgartner as he climbed out of his capsule and stood on the edge, ready to make the biggest jump in history.

‘Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you are’, he said, before plummeting back to earth.

Felix, born April 20, 1969, grew up in Salzburg where he dreamed of skydiving and flying helicopters after being inspired by astronauts on TV. He made his first skydive at age 16. Felix sharpened his parachute skills as a member of the demonstration and competition team of the Austrian military. In 1988, he began cooperating with Red Bull by performing skydiving exhibitions for them. The company's innovative thinking and Felix's adventurous spirit clicked, and Red Bull has sponsored him ever since.

Eager to test the limits, Felix also set a record for history's lowest BASE jump (from Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue) and set world records for the highest BASE jump from a building (Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Taipei 101 tower). Felix also completed a world record BASE jump from the Millau Bridge in France, the highest bridge in the world.

Felix was nominated for a World Sports Award and two categories in the NEA Extreme Sports Awards. Not only a BASE jumper the world has never seen before, Felix is also a licensed gas balloon and helicopter pilot. He is an advocate for the nonprofit Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation.