88 FEET ABOVE A WATER SURFACE THAT DOESN’T FORGIVE ANY MISTAKES

The Columbian with the characteristic ponytail has become the likeable and approachable poster boy of an entire sport: cliff diving, jumping into the water from heights of 82 ft. and more. The charismatic athlete talks about the development of a highly unlikely career, the sacrifices he and his family had to make for it, and what made it possible for a supposed freak sport to become a global trend.

Orlando Duque, born in 1974, grew up in an environment where drugs were part of everyday life, jumped off cranes into tiny pools dressed as a human torch, qualified for the Olympic Games, and moved to Europe when he was a teenager. He worked as a barkeeper, lived in Hawaii and in Kitzhühel, revolutionized his sport, and made friendships for life—quite often with his biggest athletic competitiors. The eloquent and exceptional athlete and 13-times world champion takes us along to take a dip into his life, lets us delve into wild, moving, sheer adventurous stories, and answers the question of all questions: How does it feel to stand 89 ft. above the water surface, jump and land in the water from that height?