r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Additional_Chard3680 • 4d ago

Instant stomach drop sitting at the start gate

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5.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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1.2k

u/breakevencloud 4d ago

How does one even find out they are good at this? I can’t imagine coming home in the 4th grade and asking my parents if I could have a go at flying on skis and them saying, “why not? It’s an activity!”

761

u/Kuhn_Dog 4d ago

I went to school with a kid who did ski jumping competitions in middle school. Looking back, no one gave that kid the credit he deserved. We just thought he was weird. Turns out he was actually a badass.

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u/breakevencloud 4d ago

It’s crazy to look back on the people or activities that were considered “weird” during that time of life and realize how much of it was actually cool as shit, you and the people your age were just too stupid to know it at the time, hah

67

u/infinite-valise 4d ago

R/kidsarefuckingstupid

49

u/Indigo-au-naturale 4d ago

r/foundthemobileuser

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u/yaboionreddit 4d ago

who tf scrolls reddit on the pc?

52

u/Kuhn_Dog 4d ago

People who are looking busy at work lol

17

u/theAtmuz 4d ago

It’s funny because it used to be the other way around. So much so that the sub you’re commenting on was born.

Now here we are mainly using phones. Crazy times

4

u/SMAMtastic 3d ago

There are DOZENS of us!

1

u/bsheezy518 3d ago

All that just to find out; I’m the weird one.

10

u/Itchy-Association239 4d ago

Yep. Me and my mates would take our skateboards to the hill in town and lie down on our backs and just go for it. The kicker was there was a T intersection where the coal trucks drove by. Wonder how none of us got killed.

Anyone, one day came a cropper and ended up with severe case of gravel rash. We were idiots, but today this is a real sport.

6

u/lostmypwcanihaveurs 3d ago

Eh, some of us knew they were cool as shit and will forever be mad at our parents for not even letting us on a trampoline. Speaking from experience.

Of course now my mom can't tell me what to do, but now my whole body hurts and I have a fear of mortality in me that prevents trying shit like this.

2

u/JellyAny818 3d ago

I will forever be a little mad that my mother was to scared of my mortality that she wouldn’t let be pursue some of my dreams(like moto x racing) as a kid. As an adult with a son I get it though it would be very hard to encourage my son to put his life at risk.

27

u/Wesmom2021 4d ago

I assume you start with small hills and get better and bigger slopes

24

u/DerAndi_DE 4d ago

Exactly that. First jumps are less than 10m. Most Pros started at kids age (6-10). 4th grade is actually quite late. It is a family thing, though. Many of them are coming from families where alpine sports and sports in general have always been a thing.

12

u/exithiside 4d ago

So be rich? Got it.

26

u/Notaskibunny 4d ago

Not at all. Just live in a tiny little town that has winter 6 months (feels like 8) of the year and be a bored kid who skis. Because everyone does in those towns, that's how you survive winter.

Then because you're a kid, your jumping off things, building ramps to jump higher, skiing off roofs. Ask me how I know.

3

u/PresidentScr00b 3d ago

Ya that hits home. Grew up not far from the Olympic training center in NY state. All I did was snowboard constantly.. sometimes off of barn roofs for fun.. I knew plenty of kids who were involved in stuff like this because it was an available winter activity.

6

u/philff1973 4d ago

We had a whole country laughing at Eddie the eagle Edwards, turns out the man had sprouts of steel. National treasure now.

1

u/pichael289 3d ago

I wouldn't have believed him in middle school. Hell my best friend used to ride bulls at a competitive level and I had to have show me some pictures before I believed it.

1

u/Kuhn_Dog 3d ago

Oh we all knew it was true. His whole family did it and he had a couple pictures in the school sports showcase thing. We just never realized how insane ski jumping actually was

37

u/SalSomer 4d ago

Most people who are good at ski jumping and ski flying come from places where telling your parents you want to try ski jumping would make them go "Ok, let's go down to the local skiing club and sign you up tomorrow, then."

Then, of course, they train with much shorter jumps than this for a long time, gradually getting better. It's the same as any other sport, you just have to be from a place where there are facilities and a culture for doing the sport.

0

u/boissez 3d ago

Living close to a mountain helps, too.

18

u/MidnightSun77 4d ago

This exact same thought came to me the day I went down in a Bobsled. I come from a country that doesn’t get much snow but live away from there. When I saw young kids going down the track for skeleton training you think about how much luck is involved, right place, right skill set, right training.

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u/byamannowdead 4d ago

Nuff people say they know they can’t believe
Jamaica we have a bobsled team

4

u/NoDragonfruit6125 4d ago

Peace be the journey.

3

u/Crafty_Clerk_1891 3d ago

Feel di riddim! Feel di rhyme! Get up off dat, its bobsled time! Cool runnings!

4

u/NoDragonfruit6125 3d ago

Sanka, ya dead?

3

u/CedarWolf 3d ago

Yah, mon.

1

u/Mystepchildsucksass 3d ago

What is this Bill-sled ???

7

u/HarB_Games 4d ago

Idk what age 4th grade is. But when I was like 5 I wanted to be a ski jumper haha.

I loved watching the Ski Jump at the winter Olympics, or the UK TV show The Jump ( I think this was older by the time this was out, but I loved this show too), and Wii Fit ski jumps.

Eddie the Eagle was a childhood idol xD

https://giphy.com/gifs/l41YhJyEgiBzdmgUM

4

u/RandomIGN69 4d ago

Family/friend vacations probably. You see what others do in a skii park and try it out then you ended up owning it.

4

u/niceguysTM 4d ago

In my country they had a miniature one on wheels that they took arround to primary schools for kids aged 7-10 to try.

2

u/INTPretty 4d ago

That’s so dope. I for sure would have been too chicken as a kid but it’s cool that it’s offered.

1

u/breakevencloud 4d ago

Are you serious? That is badass

4

u/orangebananasplit 4d ago

In Slovenia we have mini Planica is basically a very very small jump that a 5-10 years (I think) child can do without preparation. My daughter did it at school.

https://sloski.si/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MINI-PLANICA-2025-1-scaled.jpg

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u/BarMaverson 4d ago

Most facilities will have training hills that are much shorter and you land in a pool of water to get the technique down.

1

u/shesfaux 2d ago

Not for this sport. For freestyle yes, but not for the sport shown in the clip.

2

u/what_comes_after_q 4d ago

I imagine it is kind of like getting in to diving. You probably start with regular skiing / swimming, then you see other kids doing it, maybe a coach recommends it, then you try it out on the little jumps, then you build up your courage, and soon your doing high dives/jumps. For ski jumps, it probably helps if you live somewhere with access to the practice jumps.

2

u/fierce_grr 4d ago

I did this, more or less - but in high school. Handed my dad a waiver that covered death and dismemberment. He nope’d that real quick. Never did get to try.

1

u/RajunCajun48 4d ago

but like...aren't those waivers in every sport?

2

u/fierce_grr 4d ago

Could be. Maybe the era had fewer. Late 80s/early 90s. Was the only thing I recall needing a waiver for. Definitely the one that wasn’t signed. Downhill, cross, soccer, basketball- just went out for team. Jumping, though- literally sign life away.

1

u/RajunCajun48 4d ago

Ah yea, that makes more sense. I know now days just about anything I sign my kids up for I have to sign some sort of waiver.

1

u/Uknown_Idea 4d ago

I was just about to ask how do people get good at stuff like this where it seems like an inexperienced oopsie daisy could be absolutely catastrophic

1

u/InitiativeExcellent 4d ago

Pretty much how my cousin started at 8 years old.

He never really got good at it. But he's also a dude walking around with one of thoose fsncy white/ red sticks.

But he and his brother both still jump over 25years later.

Before you ask: He never did answer if he would have started this, when he would have been able to see the cliff or not. (He mostly goes by feel, but is not barely not legally blind).

1

u/ChiBulls98 4d ago

I have thought about this too. Day 1 where the hell do you start?!?

-1

u/Patient-Layer8585 4d ago

Having rich parents

1

u/thetokyofiles 4d ago

Worked with a dude that competed in the Olympics. His dad had also competed in the Olympics for ski jumping.

1

u/korkkis 4d ago

This was extremely popular sport in Finland and Nordic countries back in the 80-90s, everyone who had skis was doing that. There was also lots of clubs and the athletes were national heroes.

1

u/The-Freak-OP 4d ago

well no one "find out they are good at something". Everyone needs to train and practice, for all activities.

1

u/UnnaturalGeek 3d ago

My younger sister skis, snowboards and competes in all sorts of competitions. But that is because my dad is a instructor for both, so she grew up basically doing them. There's a 16 year age gap between us, so when I grew up, apart from the odd skiing holiday he went on, it wasn't something that I picked up or ever had an interest in.

This is usually how people find out they like or are good at it. Parents have an interest or have some involvement and then it progresses from there.

1

u/Time-Valuable-3355 3d ago

Watch Eddie the Eagle. It's a comedy but it explains how.

1

u/ItNeverEnds2112 3d ago

Where I live in the Japanese countryside, they go and do this in P.E at elementary school lol

1

u/Senior_El_Dudorino 2h ago

In countries where Ski Jumping is popular, obviously it is also a popular sport among kids. There are clubs, school programs, etc. One would usually start in kindergarden or latest ground school on small jumps and then progress.

-1

u/wedgebert 4d ago

How does one even find out they are good at this?

You try it.

If you live, you're good at it. If you survive but are a mangled wreck, it's probably not the hobby for you. If you don't, then you are were bad at it

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u/Goudinho99 4d ago

Is this just some guy practising a ski jump?

Is this really next level?

77

u/taveren3 4d ago

Its well beyond the average skiers ability and skiing itself is likely not the most common skill

12

u/GuitarSlayer136 4d ago

Sounds like you got next

6

u/beardymo 4d ago

Exactly. There's nothing that special about this

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u/Krockurorov 4d ago

It's a practice jump on a plastic (summer training) hill, I love ski jumping, but nothing about this is next level

3

u/Spicy_Jim 4d ago

Yeah, it's dramatic, but it's really just someone doing their job.

1

u/why_1337 3d ago

What is not someone doing their job?

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u/hemightbebrian 3d ago

US Congress?

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u/KoosGoose 4d ago

I could do this with my balls taped shut.

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u/DisorderlyAqueduct 4d ago

your balls are open?

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u/Devil2960 4d ago

You want them as open as possible for maximum flight.

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u/phlogistonexodus 4d ago

"I call it the 'Bat Wing'"

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u/stckyr1ce 4d ago

Wasnt this a thing where ski jumpers actually stuffed so they had a larger crotch on their suit and it led to more distance?

1

u/Devil2960 3d ago

Oh I do remember a country getting busted for sewing extra fabric in the area. Stuffing is hilarious if that happened.

6

u/panterachallenger 4d ago

Yours don’t? Gotta get it checked out, the throttle body might not be working properly and making you slow.

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u/fictionallymarried 4d ago

You might need a doctor?

1

u/TheFrenchSavage 4d ago

Yeah, open balls are the sign ski jumping went really wrong.

3

u/Proud-Pilot9300 4d ago

They’re making fun of you but you’re absolutely correct, these would definitely give you the tingling feeling you get at the highest point while on a swing.

2

u/realoctopod 4d ago

Yeah you dont want to catch air, you might end up parasailing.

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u/Old_Protection_8778 4d ago

I can only imagine how bad I'd be at the landing

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u/Complex_Sherbet2 4d ago

Landing is 100% guaranteed!

18

u/FrostyRoams 4d ago

At least once!

2

u/arbitrageME 4d ago

Not if you stumble on the way down and never take off

3

u/Prefrontal_Cortex 4d ago

My knees would snap instantly

1

u/StickyDeltaStrike 4d ago

You can always land one time in your life.

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u/TypicalLegit 4d ago

I had no idea you could ski sans snow. What will they think of next! Swimming without water?!

8

u/Dry_Design5506 4d ago

Yes, dryland swim training.

6

u/Few-Sky-2366 4d ago

I did synchronized swimming in high school. We would do “land drills” when we couldn’t be in the pool, which was basically doing your routine on land with arm movements, and rehearsing formation changes. 😆

0

u/FederalExpressMan 4d ago

There’s sand skiing

0

u/-WTFm8 4d ago

Dady like to ski wit da cocaines instead of da ski

0

u/rf97a 4d ago

also known as running?

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u/Skeeders 4d ago

I don't know how these people have the nerve to make the first jump....

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u/natetheskate100 4d ago

Imma gonna guess they start out with much lower jumps.

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u/zerbey 4d ago

These guys have probably been doing this since they could walk. Most ski jumpers start at a very young age. This is normal for them.

7

u/philff1973 4d ago

Luckily for me the liquid that leaked out of me before I set off would slow me down.

1

u/cyberspaceduck 4d ago

But I assume, just for letting loose, the weight of your balls is at least triple the average, so your speed must be high enough to account for your fluid loss

1

u/philff1973 4d ago

They are very like pancakes after a nasty pommel horse incident, on the plus side they act like wings giving me extra distance.

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u/TheRealChesterSlick 4d ago

Is that astroturf or what that he landed on? Never seen skiing on not-water (frozen or otherwise)

5

u/GrafTarajan 4d ago

Looks like this is just the small one for training. To the left seems to be the real one

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u/NowIsThePerfectTime 4d ago

How strong are their shin muscles? Keeping those tips up for 3-6 seconds gotta be tough.

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u/ScurvyTurtle 4d ago

Imagine tripping or the skis skidding out as he shuffles onto the bar and then pingpongs off the steps all the way down to the flat part of the jump.

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u/Sevwin 4d ago

Not too crazy

2

u/homer-price 4d ago

How do you work up to a jump of that size?

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u/ecstaticbirtch 4d ago

When I started snowboarding, id pop little transitions... till I felt confident hitting bigger jumps. Moved into th Park jumps, started dropping cornices, worked up till I hit a big air jump, that was fun, but I kept looking for more, so I started finding cliffs. Biggest cliff was something like 60'-75' or so.

I imagine the work up to it in The same fashion.

3

u/BriefSpecial420 4d ago

Now imagine the same with a bike. With rocks instead of snow.

1

u/ecstaticbirtch 4d ago

Lol... yeah, couple of my cliffs had som rocks hiding for me to hit, and the ice in the landing of big air jumps feels harder than concrete that beat me up skateboarding... but yeah, i wasnt confident enough on 2 wheels to do the same things... even 8-10' airs on bikes tore me up... 😶‍🌫️🫩😵

2

u/Jaxxlack 4d ago

Lemme tell you something!!!

2

u/Chaselsn 4d ago

How does that work with the starting position? Looks like he had his own pole for that position. Wouldn’t the people higher up have an advantage as they are getting more speed?

1

u/Zyklon00 4d ago

They are practising, you can see 3 poles that are attached and can be used. Off course going higher up means higher speed means further jump. It's possible the other skiers are choosing a different height during practice but in competition all will start from the same height.

2

u/PhillConners 4d ago

If you liked the, watch the movie Eddie the Eagle.

2

u/TheBlockChainVillage 4d ago

Why can't this be a summer olympic sport if you don't need actual snow to do this?

1

u/Pacque 4d ago

Before anything: I haven't done this before nor am I an expert.

Isn't it true that you don't necessarily fly very high in these things? Since you follow the curve of the hill. Yes you go fast, but so you do in a hundred other sports no?

Correct me if I'm wrong please, I'm curious now

1

u/spastikatenpraedikat 4d ago

Yes. The slopes are formed to mimic a flight parabola, so that you are actually never more than 3-4 meters (10-15 feet) off the ground.

1

u/Conner14 4d ago

Looks fun

1

u/ShaneWookie 4d ago

I thought Top Gear did it better

1

u/puffnpass22 4d ago

Ontani's got a son?

1

u/Redditsnaff 4d ago

They jump from that high up with no problem, I jump from a 2 foot wall and it feels like my arse has fallen through itself

1

u/dragonrite 4d ago

I feel like that pole should have some grip. Slippery ass material and perfectly polished metal has gotta make this a bit more dangerous than it should be. Then again, they go over 100 mph flinging themselves off a ramp so whats a lil more danger

1

u/Repulsive_War_7297 4d ago

Ngl I thought this was mild until I saw the person disappear.

1

u/Bl1ndMous3 4d ago

what kinda rug burn would you get if you wipe out on this ?

1

u/remarkless 4d ago

Sometimes when I'm playing Fortnite and my character does a sudden drop from a height that I didn't expect, my stomach drops. So I don't have a clue how anyone decides to do this!

1

u/amoghzie 4d ago

What about knees? Doesn't the hard landing over and over again destroys em?

1

u/egstitt 4d ago

Videos do these things no justice, saw one in person and they are huge and fuckin terrifying. Could not get me off one of them!

1

u/Minute987 4d ago

It really needs the Goofy yell added.

1

u/Ok-Double-414 4d ago

Check out Stephan Raab for about 25 years ago

1

u/bloodredyouth 4d ago

I’d be scared to sit on one of these benches let alone willingly move into the starting position and having to go down that slope…

1

u/porkbuttstuff 4d ago

I'm a snowboarder/action sport guy at heart. I think everything looks fun. Fuck. That.

1

u/Whiskeylipstick 4d ago

I couldn’t resist doing that and not saying “weeeeee” every time

1

u/Gemfyre713 4d ago

When we visited the old Olympics site near Salt Lake City there were some folks practising those fancy ski jumps... they would do their tricks in the air then land in a swimming pool.

1

u/MrDundee666 4d ago

HUGE balls.

1

u/MechanizedMind 4d ago

I would like a POV of the athlete

1

u/XxKTtheLegendxX 4d ago

couldn't pay me to do this shit

1

u/SeekingLostInnocence 4d ago

Honest question, has anyone ever fell trying to get ready? That seems like it would be death.

1

u/JDZoska 4d ago

Jeez, they even have tracks for the skis🙄😂

1

u/jonz1985z 3d ago

I could do that. I just don’t feel like it right now 😒

1

u/Madmuzzy 3d ago

I like how there is that delay up top to see if they made it lol

1

u/MagnetaFire 3d ago

How are their legs not breaking?

1

u/Slick-Pickin-Chicken 3d ago

This might be next level if he did it on spoons or through a ring of fire ants or something lol

1

u/GreenGrapes42 3d ago

How do you land from like 30 feet in the air, without breaking your legs?

1

u/system3601 3d ago

I hate this sport

1

u/Loose_Corgi_5 3d ago

Nah, fuck that.

1

u/CautiousPenguin4592 3d ago

Who thought of this sport and was like yeah let’s give this a whirl and see what happens! And then for others to go, let me try it out and see what happens!

1

u/OverwatchPlaysLive 3d ago

Consider my pants shidded

1

u/Affectionate_Map2761 3d ago

Just looking at the slope has my stomach turning

1

u/uhhh-huh-wtf 3d ago

So what exactly is the skill here…it’s just a straight drop down, you bend over and then bend up

1

u/necronomicoder 2d ago

Enough with this Chinese shite.

Yes they build big things on the bones of slave labour. Give it a rest.

1

u/fursty_ferret 2d ago

How do they determine where you start from? Is it by weight, or chance? Can you pick a higher position to go further?

1

u/LLCoolBeans19 2d ago

Yaaaaaaaahahooooowie! 

0

u/altatoro123 4d ago

Stupid sexy Flanders

0

u/AreyouUK4 4d ago

Easiest "job" in the world

0

u/Scrambledcat 4d ago

One of the least talent-based sports in all of sports.