On June 19th of this year Wills Wing pilot Owen Morse ticked off something he’d been chasing for six years- a new out and back world record. Owen flew an incredible boomer from Walt’s Point in the Owens out off the end of the White’s- AND BACK, flying 222 miles. A huge flight in some of the strongest air on Earth gave us plenty to talk about, but Owen also has maybe the most interesting job of anyone I’ve ever met. He’s a professional juggler (where he holds world records for things like juggling chainsaws) AND he hold several world records in the sport of “Joggling”. Sound hysterical? It is! Owen runs and juggles. And he’s damn good at it. He’s done the 100 meters in 11.6 seconds while juggling three balls! He’s run it in 13+ seconds while juggling 5! He and his buddy Jon Wee have been working together for 32 years as “The Passing Zone“, a comedy juggling duo who have played for the Queen; been on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (twice); and Jay Leno (among MANY others); were in The Addams Family movie; have twice been on America’s Got Talent, and regularly perform with Penn and Teller. They juggle a lot of things that are on fire, running chainsaws, rat traps, and throw knives at gorgeous women- and get paid for it! These guys are absolutely awesome and you must must must check them out. We had a really fun talk about flying, juggling, choosing cool life paths, making people laugh, and chasing your dreams. Owen was granted the USHPA Presidential Citation award in 2009 for his hang gliding display at the John Wayne Airport, as well as purchasing (along with Len Szafaryn) the property at Andy Jackson Airfield so free flight could continue there. Enjoy!
Watch Owen’s incredible Ayvri tracklog here: https://ayvri.com/scene/6vk1zgy9jx/ckbnvb0w300013e5rhjv415x9
Watch his launch and landing on the big day: https://vimeo.com/434377178
His recent Penn and Teller appearance: https://youtu.be/uPjhb1e-qJ8
Joggling ridiculousness: https://youtu.be/H_f27jQ5n1o
Chainsaw juggling world record: https://youtu.be/drlZBOQJ4os
Show Notes:
* The record goes down after 6 years of chasing it
* Mindset and training
* Flying the mountains
* Dealing with the pressure of performing in front of huge crowds
* Putting a hang glider in the John Wayne airport in 2008 and getting the USHPA presidential citation award
* What focused practice and training can do
* Being able to stay in the air for 10 hours
* Racing the sun, not other pilots
* How flying has affected Owen’s life
* Flying and leading a charmed life
Mentioned in this show:
Cody Mittanck, Penn and Teller, Johnny Carson, XC Magazine, George Stebbins, Tom Weissenberger, Larry Tudor, The Passing Zone, Jonathan Dietch, Dave Turner, Chrigel Maurer, Will Gadd, Covid-19, USHPA, juggling, Zac Majors, Jonny Durand, Andy Beem, Joe Greblo, Rob McKenzie, Jon Wee
