Agust of wind could have killed me

An accident saw Rory hanging on for dear life

Jumping out of the plane at 12,000 feet and seeing the ground rush towards me, I’d never felt such exhilaration.

This is awesome, I thought. At 21, I was doing my first skydive. I’d always loved extreme sports. I started skateboarding and rollerblading at nine, progressing to downhill mountain bike riding, snowboarding and kitesurfing as a teen.

It wasn’t just the adrenaline rush I loved – it was about overcoming my fears to master a sport. After 200 solo jumps, I decided to try BASE jumping. That entailed leaping with a parachute

from non-moving objects, with BASE standing for Buildings, Antennas, Spans – meaning bridges – and Earth, representing cliffs.

It was much riskier than skydiving. Being close to the ground, you have to deploy the parachute in the  rst two seconds and there’s no time for a reserve chute if something goes wrong.

‘Have you got a death wish?’ friends would ask. My parents didn’t really understand either. But I loved the idea of jumping without the expense or involvement of a pilot and plane.

In July 2016, I flew to Croatia to do a BASE jumping course there.

The first time I jumped off a 115-meter-high bridge, it was terrifying. Unlike skydiving, you’re already halfway to the ground when you open the chute. You just need to pray you’ve packed your parachute correctly!

Doing 40 solo jumps over seven days, I Filmed my stunts using cameras strapped to my helmet and wrist, and uploaded them onto my TikTok channel In nite Adventures.