Taking the Leap into Entrepreneurship with Ronnie Hughan.

Pictured: Ronnie and a skydiver student 13,000 feet up. Ronnie and I had a Cuppa Joe @Taylor_St Baristas NYC. Ronnie takes his coffee black like Manuka Bay sand.

Help Ronnie’s dream take off.

Is skydiving on your bucket list? Here’s an easier—and perhaps safer—way to check it off. Ronnie’s parachute flight simulator called SkydiVR is stationed at this Virtual Reality Cafe in the East Village. Check it out. And while you’re at it, Ronnie is looking to expand his footprint in the VR café space. Perhaps you have a friend or two who can help? Just respond in the comments.

Curious for more about my freefaller friend?

 Ronnie’s passion for skydiving came to life in one of my company’s first branding assignments. Ronnie won a contest we were hosting in order to showcase our design chops to the world. A free logo went to the winner. Contestants just had to write why they needed a logo and Ronnie’s response jumped out at us. Literally.

You see, Ronnie has voluntarily thrown himself out of airplanes 5,420 times. Imagine leaping from 13,000 feet to a conceivable death for a total of over 255 days of accumulated freefall time! Weeeee! But you’d never know that this mellow Project-Manager-by-day is such an adrenaline hound.

Ronnie had his sights set on building a virtual wind tunnel in the middle of Times Square. A virtual wind tunnel is a massive plexiglass tube where anyone can “skydive” via massive fans that provide enough wind to blow you off your feet. You literally fly inside the tube—almost like a freefall.

 Imagine walking through Times Square and seeing a giant transparent tube with people flying inside. That was Ronnie’s vision. He had the idea, the plan, the money, and he even picked out the building. He wanted a logo to help investors and NYC zoning authorities see what he saw. After we put our collective brainpower together, we created a logo that captures the fun, daring, and freedom of his idea. Take a look. 

 Alas, NYC bureaucracy took the air out of Ronnie’s wind tunnel idea but that didn’t stop our ambitious New Zealander. Perhaps it even stiffened Ronnie’s resolve to bring the sport he loves to the world. Ronnie’s latest passion project is a virtual reality parachute flight simulator called SkydiVR. And it’s as close as you can get to parachuting from a plane without actually, well, parachuting from a plane. Virtual Reality Cafés—which are popping up all over the world—can use Ronnie’s parachute flight simulator as entertainment. And as a revenue stream. He’s looking for opportunities and for connections in the VR café space. Let us know if you have a few!