LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Cory Schimpf doesn't have wings but he sure is good at flying.
In fact, he is a world champion indoor skydiver.
Heights, understandably, aren't everyone's cup of tea. However, it is for Schimpf who says he fell in love with indoor skydiving the moment jumped into a tunnel as a young kid.
"My dad just asked me if I wanted to go for fun one day and I really enjoyed It," Schimpf said. "There was this thing called kids club, so I kept continuing. It was really exciting to go as a kid and just be able to fly."
Recently, Schimpf won gold in the four-way dynamic at the World Cup of Indoor Skydiving, along with setting records in two different skydiving events.
Schimpf has been in that tunnel hundreds of times and the drop indoors isn't nearly as scary as the one outdoors. But he tells me he'd be lying if he said he doesn't get butterflies before he goes In. No matter how easy he makes it look, he says it's anything but.
"Any competition is very nerve-racking," Schimpf said. "You're standing in the door just waiting to get in. You just got to trust your training and have a good outcome. I think the biggest misconception is how the competitions go. People think it's flips and stuff, but it's strict training that you have to do."
He says the sport requires a lot of dedication and sacrifice since he often has to travel miles away for competitions. But he also says that sweet feeling of victory is what makes it all worth it.
"The hardest part is probably just the training," Schimpf said. "It's a lot of repetition and it can get boring sometimes. But the most rewarding part is winning and having that experience in being world champion."
