INSPIRING BFFs

In honor of National Best Friends Day (June 8), we're celebrating these dynamic duos.

- Nicole Pajer 

A friendship that reached new heights

Amy Chmelecki and Sara Curtis, ELOY, AZ

On November 25, 2022, 80 female skydivers set a new world record, making history by creating the largest all-woman head-down vertical skydive. At the helm of the mission were Amy (@amychmelecki) and Sara (@saraeccurtis), professional skydivers and longtime friends. Called Project 19, the feat brought together 100 of the best female skydivers from 22 countries with more than 150,000 jumps among them.

Over the years, full-time skydiver Amy periodically crossed paths with Sara, a weekend warrior skydiver with a job as a retail clothing buyer in Toronto, Canada. In 2005, Sara joined Amy in a training camp and was invited to join her in Arizona as part of a groundbreaking group for a new skydiving competition discipline, Vertical Formation Skydiving. The two bonded fast after performing eight to 12 jumps a day several days a week, working out together, running events, and hanging out.

"Only 14% of skydivers in the U.S. are women," says Sara. "Amy has been a great example to me of a woman succeeding in a sport that for professionals was and still is predominantly male." As for Amy, the friendship has made a lasting impact. "My life changed when I met Sara," Amy says. "She helps all of us skydivers get serious and organized. Sara opened my eyes to the fact that a woman could be the most powerful leader in the room."

These health pros are encouraging vulnerability.

Kim Sanders, M.D., CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. and Ayanna Abrams, Psy.D., ATLANTA