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#video #The Dark Wizard S01E04 #drama2026 #movie2026 #hotmovie
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00:00:08Hey, buddy.
00:00:11Oh, oh, oh.
00:00:15You gonna fly with me, pal?
00:00:18Yeah.
00:00:24Right now, I'm going down this path of learning and pushing myself more in the flying arts.
00:00:41The wingsuit is basically the flying squirrel suit.
00:00:48You get little wings between your arms and legs that allow you to glide.
00:00:55The shape of the suit changes downward speed to forward speed.
00:01:02So I can shoot through the air at 100 miles an hour.
00:01:08This amazing feeling just spreading your wings and soaring unhindered by earthly bounds.
00:01:39It's the evolution of human flight.
00:01:44And I don't know where it's gonna lead.
00:01:48But that's where I'm headed.
00:02:00When I was done dying, my conscience regained.
00:02:04So I began my struggle of nothingness strained.
00:02:08And I dropped about climbing into the night sky.
00:02:11And I said all my prayers because surely I would die.
00:02:15As I crashed down and smashed into earth into dirt.
00:02:19How my skin did explode leaving only my shirt.
00:02:22And the air flew through me and said it wasn't that fun.
00:02:26And I replied, I'm sorry if I hurt anyone.
00:02:30She said, better luck next time.
00:02:32Don't worry so much.
00:02:34Without ears I couldn't hear.
00:02:36I could just feel the touch.
00:02:37I could just sleep softly.
00:02:40The edge of the world came on.
00:02:42I should've gone deeper.
00:02:43But I'm not so brave.
00:03:01Wow.
00:03:03In China, Dean was at the end of the line.
00:03:07He's done.
00:03:09He's spent.
00:03:13I mean, yeah, I was fucking pissed.
00:03:16The way he treated me was so unacceptable.
00:03:21Right after the walk, Dean comes up to me.
00:03:25Looks at me.
00:03:26He goes, I'm sorry.
00:03:31And I was like, for what?
00:03:39I can understand his anger toward me was his anger toward himself.
00:03:44Because he kind of felt like he sold out.
00:03:46He had been driving off every person in his life.
00:03:51When we got back to the States, he was pretty fucking vulnerable and very quiet, not being around anybody.
00:04:03It's late.
00:04:05It's late.
00:04:06Around 1016.
00:04:07Got a good wood fire going.
00:04:10And I don't want to.
00:04:11I just want to escape society.
00:04:16Just go off into Never Never Land.
00:04:24Having these massive snowstorms here in Yosemite.
00:04:28The valley's closed.
00:04:29The electricity's out.
00:04:32Part of me just wants to be some simple guy that just lives alone with a lover girl.
00:04:42Maybe somehow I'm supposed to be the spiritual master.
00:04:47I'm so far from that.
00:04:52Oh, yeah.
00:04:53Coffee's an amazing drug.
00:04:56Feeling all sorts of energy.
00:04:59Thinking that a big change has come in.
00:05:06I feel guilt about the way I treated people.
00:05:12Things I've done.
00:05:16Need to start doing all the things I know are right.
00:05:22Maybe this is the beginning.
00:05:33Back in 2006, when I worked at Patagonia,
00:05:37Dean was one of their ambassadors.
00:05:40And he was fired for climbing the Delicate Arch.
00:05:45After Dean left Patagonia, I didn't hear much about him for a while.
00:05:50And then a few years later, I ran into Dean at the outdoor retailer show.
00:05:56He saw me.
00:05:57He was like, hey, you know, how are you?
00:05:59We gave each other a hug, like catching up.
00:06:01And he said that he'd been through kind of hell and back.
00:06:05He had lost friends.
00:06:08He was just like very open about everything.
00:06:11It was really nice to reconnect with Dean.
00:06:15And then he's like, how's your marriage?
00:06:19And I was like, it's great.
00:06:21Everything's great.
00:06:22All's good.
00:06:24Great to see you, Dean.
00:06:25And then later that night, I was mad at myself for not answering honestly.
00:06:31In reality, I wasn't happily married.
00:06:34We were struggling as a couple, but we had children.
00:06:39And I thought I would never leave that relationship.
00:06:44After that meeting, Dean and I, we ran into each other a couple of times.
00:06:49And like, we had so much fun.
00:06:51We had a similar interest in arrowheads.
00:06:54He would send me a picture when he found an arrowhead in Yosemite.
00:06:58I would send pieces that I would find in Santa Barbara.
00:07:02For a while, Dean and I were just friends.
00:07:07But once I realized we had feelings for one another,
00:07:12it was like, all right, it's time to end my marriage.
00:07:17But all signs pointed to, like, this is a really bad idea.
00:07:22I happened to be the spokesperson and publicist for the company that famously fired Dean.
00:07:27All my friends, especially at Patagonia, were going,
00:07:31what the fuck are you doing?
00:07:33Have you gone crazy and left your husband for Dean Potter?
00:07:40You're ruining your family, you're ruining your career.
00:07:44Despite all that, when I was with Dean,
00:07:48I just felt good about myself.
00:07:53I've never felt more, you know, alive.
00:08:00And so, one minute, I'm being a mom and working in Santa Barbara.
00:08:06The next minute, I would find myself on the rock wall with Dean.
00:08:11He'd blame me, afraid I was gonna die.
00:08:15There you go.
00:08:18Yeah, perfect.
00:08:19The excitement and risk.
00:08:21Good job.
00:08:22I realized I needed that.
00:08:27Holy shit!
00:08:35We were genuinely in love.
00:08:40Like, at that time in my life, I had not experienced something like that.
00:08:45Hey, buddy. Good thing I'm not jealous.
00:08:49Dean, in his best moments, is better than anything.
00:09:05So, suddenly, Dean found himself in a relationship with somebody with very young children.
00:09:14And he totally surprised me.
00:09:18He placed such value on the kids.
00:09:22Show me how to jump!
00:09:23Everybody! Woo! Yeah!
00:09:25He very much thought about his role in their life.
00:09:28Nice one, Roro! Yeah!
00:09:30And the impact on them.
00:09:31Happy birthday to you!
00:09:35Nice! Yay!
00:09:37I loved bringing the children to Yosemite.
00:09:41Just be playful with it and jump right up on it.
00:09:44Don't worry if you fall 20 times or 100 times.
00:09:47See, now this is the movement.
00:09:50Walk backwards if you want.
00:09:53These kids, they were fascinated by Dean.
00:09:57Jump up on it.
00:09:58I don't know, he seemed like a cool guy to me always.
00:10:00And we'd be real excited when he was gonna come over.
00:10:03Good! Nice!
00:10:04We'd go climbing every once in a while.
00:10:07Good job!
00:10:08We'd go out there and he was always trying to teach us how to do stuff.
00:10:11All the way.
00:10:13Dean's unique way of loving.
00:10:15To the next one.
00:10:16Again, again.
00:10:16I look back to being like, Rowan, climb this, go up 25 feet.
00:10:20You're gonna break both your legs if you fall, so...
00:10:23So be really careful, but do it.
00:10:27I was sitting up there trying.
00:10:30But looking back on it, I don't think risk is bad at all.
00:10:33I think risk is really important.
00:10:35I won't touch it.
00:10:35To grow and try new things.
00:10:38Yeah!
00:10:39Nice, Row.
00:10:39These kids, they loved him.
00:10:41He was Dee Dee.
00:10:43Wait, meet you.
00:10:45Hi, Dee Dee.
00:10:46I love you so much.
00:10:49I think my brother always had that longing for a stable, calm, loving home.
00:10:58And we didn't have that because of my parents' divorce and the stress in their marriage.
00:11:06That helmet's pretty cute.
00:11:08Dean had always been driven in a way that didn't have a lot of space for other people.
00:11:15Whoa!
00:11:16She'll still do okay.
00:11:17And it was quite a process of him learning how to love.
00:11:24Jen and the kids, you know, they were just a beautiful gift.
00:11:32But, of course, Dean still had his struggles.
00:11:37It wasn't all smiles, that's for sure.
00:11:41His whole life, he had such severe depression.
00:11:46He didn't have an easy path.
00:11:50I remember he'd come over and sometimes he'd bum out.
00:11:54He'd get real bummed, yeah.
00:11:55Blanket over him and sitting underneath that all day long.
00:11:59For days.
00:12:00Just sitting on the couch.
00:12:02Be a different person at times, that's for sure.
00:12:06Dean knew something was wrong with his brain.
00:12:09There was something chemically off with him that made him struggle more than the average person.
00:12:15And he really wanted to fix it.
00:12:19We saw Western doctors.
00:12:21Eastern doctors.
00:12:24Naturopath.
00:12:26He went on this fucking mung bean diet.
00:12:30Wheat gives me the walking farts.
00:12:33He wasn't willing to take antidepressants because I think he didn't want to lose whatever edge his mental illness gave
00:12:40him.
00:12:41Like his drive, his ideas, his dark arts, as he called them.
00:12:47Like you take the darkness away and you know, you're just a creepy wizard, not the dark wizard.
00:12:56Come on.
00:12:58Come on.
00:12:59But nothing helped him more than whisper.
00:13:03Yeah, good girl.
00:13:08She was his princess.
00:13:11I see the crystal raindrops fall and the beauty of it all is when the sun comes shining through.
00:13:19Come on, whist.
00:13:20Dean became a total softie around whisper.
00:13:24Good girl.
00:13:26We love the doggie.
00:13:30We all use whisper.
00:13:32We can't make it if we try.
00:13:36Whisper was very much her father's daughter.
00:13:38She was a complete asshole 90% of the time.
00:13:43And the sweetest thing, 10%.
00:13:46Whisper bit the children.
00:13:48Whisper bit a lot of people.
00:13:51Whisper, you don't bite. No biting.
00:13:53But to Dean, she was the most loyal dog on the planet.
00:13:57And Dean needed a lot of validation.
00:14:00Good, good, good.
00:14:02She basically wouldn't let anyone near Dean.
00:14:06She was Dean's emotional support animal.
00:14:08We don't want to crash.
00:14:10So he brought that dog everywhere.
00:14:13Darling, when the morning comes.
00:14:15And I see the morning sun.
00:14:18I wanna be the one with you.
00:14:20Good girl.
00:14:21Good girl.
00:14:23We had to climb with Whisper all the time.
00:14:27She went on the side of El Cap with us.
00:14:29Good girl.
00:14:31Whisper, do you like it?
00:14:34Whisper flew to Switzerland eight times.
00:14:39Climbed the Jungfrau, rope between us.
00:14:41Went over crevasses.
00:14:42When Dean was like, hey, we might fall in a crevasse.
00:14:45He wasn't like, here's how you save yourself.
00:14:47He was like, here's how you save Whisper.
00:14:49He he he.
00:14:56At that time, Dean was laser focused on wingsuit base jumping.
00:15:20He would walk up to an exit, and when Dean would jump, Whisper would bark.
00:15:26She would try to run after him.
00:15:29And he thought, that was sad.
00:15:32So Dean was like, hey, if I can climb with her, maybe I can base jump with her.
00:15:37I remember him saying, why am I not jumping with Whisper?
00:15:40And I was like, well, because people don't do that.
00:15:43But, lo and behold, a couple weeks later, we found ourselves working with a designer to develop the Whisper rig.
00:16:02Perfect. Very good. Very good.
00:16:05She'd get in, she'd kind of be calm.
00:16:07You like that.
00:16:09You like it.
00:16:10She'd kind of fall asleep.
00:16:12Dean thought it was like a dog putting their head out of the car on a freeway.
00:16:17They protect those eyes, huh?
00:16:20You're a good dinner, dinner.
00:16:23Best friend, Whisper.
00:16:29You ready, sweetie pie?
00:16:32Three, two, one, see ya.
00:16:34One, two, one, see ya.
00:16:58The video has gone viral.
00:17:00first base jumping dog the whole thing was immediately divisive some think it's amazing
00:17:06others say it's cruel should a base jumping dog give us pause yeah i said pause what a douchebag
00:17:13this fucking asshole dean potter taking his dog base jumping that's fucking horrible someone's
00:17:20making that decision for the dog how does he know the dog doesn't hate it but like dean just thought
00:17:25it was the coolest thing ever dogs whether they're sitting with us on the couch or you know flying
00:17:29through the air at 100 miles an hour they've always been men's best friend he looked at all of the
00:17:34online and was like here's where you can put your opinions about me and my dog
00:17:45by now dean and i had been together for a couple years
00:17:50we bought a big parcel of land in yosemite west in the national park we were clearing the land to
00:17:57build
00:17:58our first house on it i had never seen dean happier something had fundamentally changed with him
00:18:07he's got jen the kids and whisper so there was this base there i think that was kind of the
00:18:17mood
00:18:18stabilizer he always needed in a lot of ways
00:18:24he told me he goes you know i'm getting older and i kind of know some things now that i
00:18:30wish i had
00:18:30known you know back then i've gone through a whole life of emotions wondering about my life and what life
00:18:40really means and it certainly isn't just to rock climb it's like feeling happy having love
00:18:47hi dean being with jen and whisper these are priceless friends and family
00:18:57that's really the thing let's try to figure out how to be up more no way not all angst ridden
00:19:06or
00:19:07depressed wow i got that i have such a good life it's hard to realize how i could be down
00:19:16it seemed like the dark wizard had found uh the light in a way yeah oh it's beautiful
00:19:24yeah a little wispy
00:19:27when i met dean in 2014 for some park rangers he was a devil he was uh he was um
00:19:35a rascal
00:19:36but i was a climber too so good and so we'd share time together bouldering
00:19:42yeah buddy dean and i became friends i mean literally dean potter climbing with the chief
00:19:48of staff at yosemite helping him be a better rock climber it shows that people's minds evolve
00:19:53and mature and dean's was definitely going there i remember one time i had a dinner party in my
00:19:59house in yosemite valley dean came to the party and alex hondle was there i went to this get
00:20:06together of you know friends and climbers dean and jen were there and she was just so much
00:20:12more of an adult than either of us in terms of being well adjusted and emotionally available
00:20:16and sort of a healthy human maybe her being there with him sort of brought out the best of both
00:20:22of
00:20:22us where we could just be normal adults and chat ate and hung out and it was all kind of
00:20:27lovely
00:20:29didn't feel overtly competitive in any way it was the first time where i could see myself maybe
00:20:35climbing with dean as a partner you know like oh let's go do something together like that'd be fun we
00:20:39could hang out and climb dean put up this post paying credence to who alex was
00:20:50it seemed like for the first time maybe dean was ready to pass the torch
00:20:59i felt yeah he was back to the love of things he was back to why he originally started all
00:21:05this stuff
00:21:08meeting dean spent a lot of time in yosemite back country at night coming down after climbing
00:21:16or evening base jumps moon is beautiful
00:21:25he figured out the day hour moment that the moon would pass between these two features
00:22:01It seemed like Dean was sort of backing away from the
00:22:05I'm going to be the best of the best, beat the other guys and do the next achievement.
00:22:10Now it was more like, this is just my creative self-expression.
00:22:15His way of getting closer to nature and his undeniably beautiful vision.
00:22:57I've always wanted to fly with the ravens.
00:23:00Their best wing suit flyers are pretty much the dorks compared to the ravens.
00:23:06Deep in his soul, Dean wanted to be a bird, and Dean wanted to fly.
00:23:15It all related directly to dreams that he used to have as a child.
00:23:20In my dream, I'm in free fall, and these creatures come up next to me, gesturing to do as they're
00:23:28doing, and I'll fly.
00:23:33With wingsuit flying, you shape your body into a wing, kind of create this vacuum on your back that lifts
00:23:41you up.
00:23:44He was exploring new possibilities for how he could fly further.
00:23:54So it mostly would come down to minimizing pressure drag.
00:23:58Dean reached out to scientists studying the movements of birds.
00:24:03From the equivalent of the thumb digit, and a bird would elevate that and help control local flow.
00:24:07He would look at the wings and the structure.
00:24:09So it uses his body to produce a little bit of lift.
00:24:12It helped me visualize what's going on when I'm flying.
00:24:16Wings out of the air full.
00:24:18And what needs to happen with the evolution of the wingsuit.
00:24:21Nice, so now the air is just going to flow over there and not be hitting angles and slowing me
00:24:25down.
00:24:25Exactly.
00:24:26I need to figure out how to move my body in tune with that wing shape.
00:24:34All these little idea changes and design changes allow you to push the limits of human flight.
00:24:41When I look at just how young wingsuit flying is, these next years it's going to transform.
00:24:48I can't even imagine where it's going to be.
00:24:52He went to Switzerland and opened up the Heiger, the highest point of the Heiger.
00:25:00At the time it was the biggest jump in the world.
00:25:02I mean, Dean, he's like a mythological creature, right?
00:25:06I mean, the guy just had to fly.
00:25:09Usually base jumps last seconds and now I'm closing in on a three-minute flight.
00:25:15Potter set the record for the longest wingsuit flight by a human being.
00:25:20All my life I've been rebelling against the dream.
00:25:24But I started realizing maybe it wasn't me falling to my death that I was dreaming about.
00:25:32Maybe it was me flying.
00:25:41Back in Yosemite, Dean was seeing all kinds of possibilities for new exits.
00:25:47Yeah, this is one of the places I've been wanting to fly from for a long time,
00:25:50but I had to escape this gully here, down there to the sandy landing zone.
00:25:54In Yosemite, Dean was flying with this small group of elite wingsuiters.
00:26:00Base jumpers.
00:26:01Safe flying, safe flying.
00:26:02It was like this magic moment in time where we were starting to figure out
00:26:07all the different flights we could do in the valley.
00:26:12The new wingsuits were allowing people to fly closer to terrain, fly lower.
00:26:20Also, the wingsuit made it easier to avoid getting caught
00:26:24because you can land somewhere much farther away that the rangers might not see.
00:26:33It seemed like we could almost do anything we wanted.
00:26:36It was just a bunch of kids in the candy store.
00:26:42There was a good little group of us.
00:26:44You guys are rad.
00:26:46And that's where Dean met Graham.
00:26:50Graham Hunt, this sweet, young climber that showed up in the valley.
00:26:55My name's Graham Hunt.
00:26:57I like flying wingsuits, rock climbing, going on adventures.
00:27:03Graham's one of the nicest dudes ever.
00:27:05He was the youngest on the scene.
00:27:08We immediately clicked with Graham.
00:27:11He had this little French bulldog.
00:27:13Whisper and his little Frenchie played together.
00:27:17Whisper, who was totally skeptical of everyone, loved Graham.
00:27:21It takes a lot for Dean to, like, welcome someone into the fold.
00:27:26Poor dude.
00:27:28Graham Hunt had immediate entrance.
00:27:32Dean respected his quiet ways.
00:27:36Like, Graham was trying to figure out life still.
00:27:39He literally had, like, ten bucks in the bank.
00:27:42What do you do?
00:27:43Right now, I'm just doing labor.
00:27:46He was working for us on the land.
00:27:49He spent a ton of time at our home in Yosemite.
00:27:54Dean really did think of him as a protege.
00:27:58Fight it, Graham. Fight it, fight it.
00:28:01Woo!
00:28:03Awesome, Graham.
00:28:04It's so hard to do this.
00:28:07You good?
00:28:07Dean and Graham began, you know, partnering up on a lot of these jumps.
00:28:12Okay. Let's do it, bro.
00:28:14Pulling off all kinds of hijinks.
00:28:17Like, the first ever flight.
00:28:18Off of the Lost Arrow Spire.
00:28:21Look like studs.
00:28:27Flying over Tooltown, where all the rangers lived.
00:28:36They really loved flying with each other.
00:28:39They had such camaraderie.
00:28:41Following you.
00:28:43They would do these trips to Europe together.
00:28:48Where they would jump these big mountain exits.
00:28:56They were feeding off each other's stove.
00:29:00Woo!
00:29:01Yeah, brother!
00:29:03This is fucking awesome.
00:29:06At a certain point, Graham began really kind of pushing it.
00:29:12Graham got really comfortable really good quickly.
00:29:16Ready.
00:29:22He definitely flew, like, aggressively.
00:29:27Proximity flying.
00:29:29Proximity flying, you're just skimming the terrain.
00:29:36Flying as close as you can, above slabs and between trees.
00:29:45At first, most of us were like, we're never going to proximity fly.
00:29:51It's just too crazy.
00:29:55It's just too crazy.
00:29:56But Graham started going to the extreme.
00:30:05When you're flying close to something, it's like riding in the car.
00:30:08You know, the yellow lines right next to you are just moving real fast.
00:30:13That relativity makes it feel even more so like you're flying.
00:30:18And now that's kind of become the new psych.
00:30:22Up next, a look at wingsuiting.
00:30:24The deadliest sport in the world.
00:30:25With proximity flying, the body count was just breathtaking.
00:30:30One of every 20 have now died.
00:30:33Guys were smacking into stuff all over the world.
00:30:36And they were people Dean knew.
00:30:41I'd interviewed Dean for a magazine about his wingsuit flying.
00:30:45You know, he said to me that he had rules that he followed that would protect him.
00:30:50Dean was the most opposed to any sort of proximity flying.
00:30:54It seemed like Dean was always like still being really conservative.
00:30:57Flying away from the wall.
00:30:59Not flying next to terrain.
00:31:01Long glides that would mitigate the risks.
00:31:06But as Graham got better and he was able to do more and more technical flights.
00:31:15And exceeded Dean.
00:31:19This pure mentorship that Dean had with Graham shifted.
00:31:25A little sketchy.
00:31:26I think Dean felt like he had to maybe keep up with Graham.
00:31:36That's when Dean's competitive nature started bubbling up again.
00:31:40Did you see me come by you?
00:31:42Like, oh, you're doing all these badass things.
00:31:46I could do them too.
00:31:48I think in Dean's head, it starts to escalate.
00:31:52And then Dean, at some point he crossed that line, started proximity flying.
00:31:59Like, getting as close to stuff as he could.
00:32:25I don't know, there's a certain point in people's careers where you're like,
00:32:30he's made it, he's good.
00:32:33I thought Dean was past all that, where there's still a danger to themselves.
00:32:37I was like, he's covered, he's smothered and covered.
00:32:40He's not going to be somebody who burns in.
00:32:45But the minute you throw in competition, it becomes ego-driven.
00:32:50Fly these lines and getting lower and lower.
00:32:54And you're like, oh my God, more is possible.
00:32:58Everything's possible.
00:33:05And that's where you get in trouble.
00:33:08It's such a weird sport.
00:33:10You have to believe.
00:33:12You've got to believe in yourself so much.
00:33:14Now that's some fucking human flight for you.
00:33:16But, you know, your ego's not your amigo, right?
00:33:22Ah!
00:33:23Fucking intense.
00:33:26I don't think I get too close.
00:33:28I'm a fucking, might rip your head off.
00:33:33I'm wild.
00:33:36Oh, it was fucking ledges in my face.
00:33:47That spring, Graham took a trip to Moab.
00:33:52Dean had told Graham about all these towers and features
00:33:56that had never been jumped with a wingsuit.
00:33:59Right in the middle of the horizon line.
00:34:03The jumps in Moab are from off of all these smaller cliffs.
00:34:07So, you need to start flying forward fast.
00:34:11You know, you've got to jump off, get started,
00:34:14and have enough glide to clear the terrain at the bottom.
00:34:17Okay, here we go.
00:34:21Come on.
00:34:25Come on.
00:34:29If you can nail that start,
00:34:31you get this insane proximity flight
00:34:34skimming these huge talus slopes.
00:34:47Holy crap!
00:34:48Oh, my God.
00:34:50Graham didn't know this at the time,
00:34:52but Dean had really hoped
00:34:54to be the first wingserter to open these exits.
00:34:59opening new exit points,
00:35:01first jumps.
00:35:04Who was going to get to lay claim
00:35:06to these pioneering moments and experiences?
00:35:10Oh, my God.
00:35:11Sick.
00:35:12One after another.
00:35:14Graham jumped off every tower.
00:35:20Holy shit.
00:35:23Graham, dude, just a silent solo killer.
00:35:28Mission accomplished.
00:35:30First thing is running around the desert.
00:35:32Better than kicking the nuts.
00:35:35Graham came back to Yosemite on fire.
00:35:38He was so proud,
00:35:40so excited to share this with his mentor.
00:35:45But Dean didn't take it that way.
00:35:48Dean said he was pissed
00:35:50that Graham had, like,
00:35:51done all these tower exits
00:35:52that someday Dean thought
00:35:54he was going to open first.
00:35:57He never let on to Graham
00:35:58that he might be feeling jealous
00:36:01or competitive with him.
00:36:03He was also mad at himself
00:36:05for feeling that way.
00:36:09Having problems with my ego.
00:36:12A lot of competition still in me,
00:36:16unfortunately,
00:36:17I feel, like, jealous
00:36:19or envious.
00:36:22Wanting to be the best
00:36:23and stand alone,
00:36:25but that's hard, hard on me
00:36:28and makes me want to push super hard.
00:36:32The ironic part of this whole thing
00:36:34is here's a guy
00:36:36that inside was living in darkness
00:36:39for so fucking long.
00:36:42He even gave in to that darkness,
00:36:44and then he pulls himself out.
00:36:46He struggles.
00:36:47He claws.
00:36:49He climbs.
00:36:52He gets to a place
00:36:54where finally he's going to get
00:36:56the peace that he needs.
00:37:02You think the demons are gone?
00:37:03They're just waiting.
00:37:06And he gets pulled right back into it.
00:37:11Taft Point is this majestic overlook.
00:37:16Graham and Dean,
00:37:17we'd go there all the time
00:37:18for evening base jumps.
00:37:20There's two ways you could jump.
00:37:23If you go left,
00:37:25it's the safe route.
00:37:26You have this long, beautiful flight
00:37:28down to the valley.
00:37:30But to the right
00:37:33is the notch.
00:37:36The notch
00:37:37is this obvious feature
00:37:39where the ridge
00:37:40from the rim
00:37:41comes down.
00:37:43For years,
00:37:44all the guys would joke around,
00:37:46you know,
00:37:47we'll know when suits
00:37:48are getting really good
00:37:49when we can fly through the notch.
00:37:51Let's do this.
00:37:53But the skills
00:37:54and technology
00:37:55advanced,
00:37:56and people started
00:37:58trying to do it.
00:38:00It's a dangerous
00:38:01proximity flight.
00:38:07The notch
00:38:08was like
00:38:09the gnarliest line ever.
00:38:11It was perfect or dead.
00:38:14If you barely made it,
00:38:16you would go
00:38:17skimming between boulders,
00:38:19tree branches going by.
00:38:23It was one of the riskiest
00:38:25flights done
00:38:26at that time.
00:38:30You've got to get
00:38:31your suit flying
00:38:32as fast as possible
00:38:34and decide
00:38:35if you're high enough
00:38:36to clear it.
00:38:37If you're too low,
00:38:38you have to do
00:38:39this turn maneuver
00:38:40to get out of there.
00:38:49Otherwise,
00:38:49you're going to splatter.
00:38:52I noticed that
00:38:53the really experienced
00:38:54wingsuit flyers
00:38:55just decided
00:38:56that it's not worth it,
00:38:57like the margins
00:38:57are too slim.
00:38:58One of the first
00:38:59people to fly
00:39:00through the notch
00:39:01was Graham.
00:39:03And that became
00:39:04Dean's next big objective.
00:39:08I think his mindset
00:39:09was like,
00:39:10I'm just going to show you
00:39:11I can fly the same line
00:39:12you can fly.
00:39:16Dean always jumped first.
00:39:19And Graham would film Dean.
00:39:22Are you going to go for it?
00:39:24Yeah, it's good.
00:39:25Feels really good.
00:39:26Nice and easy.
00:39:29Have fun, brother.
00:39:33Ready?
00:39:33Yep.
00:39:35When Dean exits,
00:39:36he's a big guy.
00:39:38He sinks for a while.
00:39:39You know,
00:39:40it takes a few seconds
00:39:41to get going.
00:39:42So he would be too low
00:39:44for the notch
00:39:45and have to bail out.
00:39:47But Graham would just
00:39:49go scraping through.
00:39:57And then
00:39:58he would actually
00:40:00do the second notch.
00:40:08Graham had the talent.
00:40:10He had the technical skill
00:40:11that Dean did not have.
00:40:23Dean just couldn't keep up.
00:40:31And ultimately,
00:40:33I think that competitive side
00:40:35that he was trying to control
00:40:37for so many years,
00:40:39like,
00:40:39got the best of him.
00:40:47It was a beautiful spring day.
00:40:53Graham came over
00:40:54to work on the land with us.
00:40:56And the boys decided
00:40:58they wanted to go
00:40:59do an evening base jump.
00:41:02So we drove up to Taft.
00:41:05The vibes seemed extremely chill.
00:41:09Both of them were like,
00:41:10this is such a beautiful night.
00:41:12Like, neither of us
00:41:13even care if we jump.
00:41:15They weren't hell-bent
00:41:16on going through the notch.
00:41:17They were just like,
00:41:18let's see what happens.
00:41:23Dean and Graham
00:41:24are getting ready.
00:41:25They're suiting up.
00:41:26And they didn't even
00:41:27bring a camera.
00:41:29So Dean had
00:41:31just his iPhone
00:41:32facing backwards
00:41:33to film Graham
00:41:35following behind him.
00:41:38I, being the photographer,
00:41:40and, like,
00:41:40trying to figure out
00:41:41the frame.
00:41:49They're at the exit point
00:41:51and unceremoniously
00:41:53they jump.
00:41:58And I realize,
00:41:59oh,
00:42:00oh, they're going
00:42:00for the notch.
00:42:04Graham had a faster start
00:42:06and immediately
00:42:08gets above Dean.
00:42:10it didn't seem
00:42:12that Dean
00:42:12was high enough.
00:42:14He had a few seconds
00:42:16to decide,
00:42:17do I have the altitude?
00:42:18Do I, like,
00:42:19feel good about this?
00:42:20Meanwhile,
00:42:22Graham is on track.
00:42:23But maybe he sees
00:42:24that Dean is too low.
00:42:26All of a sudden,
00:42:27Graham makes
00:42:28an aggressive left turn.
00:42:29Like, maybe he's going
00:42:30to go around the notch.
00:42:32Maybe he doesn't think
00:42:33they can make it.
00:42:34But Dean
00:42:35just keeps fucking going.
00:42:41Just before the notch,
00:42:43Graham veers back right.
00:42:47And I lost track
00:42:48of Graham.
00:42:49But I saw Dean
00:42:50go through the notch
00:42:51in my photos.
00:42:52Like,
00:42:52that's who I was following.
00:42:54Like,
00:42:54fuck yes,
00:42:55they've made it.
00:42:57Then I heard,
00:42:58like,
00:42:58a
00:42:59fuck.
00:43:00Like,
00:43:01and I was like,
00:43:02holy shit,
00:43:03someone panic pitched.
00:43:04A panic pitch is,
00:43:05like,
00:43:06something's going wrong.
00:43:07I need to pitch my parachute.
00:43:08And I'm standing there
00:43:09on the edge
00:43:10looking for a parachute
00:43:12and I didn't see anything.
00:43:14There was no parachute.
00:43:15And I'm going like,
00:43:16fuck,
00:43:16what do I,
00:43:17what do I do?
00:43:18I just turned
00:43:18and started running
00:43:19back to the car.
00:43:23I'm texting Dean,
00:43:25calling Dean,
00:43:26being like,
00:43:26something feels really off.
00:43:27Like,
00:43:27where the fuck are you guys?
00:43:29And I go down
00:43:30to the valley floor
00:43:31to our meeting spot.
00:43:33Neither of them were there.
00:43:37And I was like,
00:43:38fuck,
00:43:40something happened.
00:43:42I just,
00:43:43like,
00:43:43started running
00:43:44and ran to,
00:43:46like,
00:43:46the base.
00:43:47The,
00:43:48the climb.
00:43:49And I was just like,
00:43:51I'll go find him.
00:43:53And I just remember,
00:43:54like,
00:43:55yelling for him.
00:43:57And just thinking,
00:43:58like,
00:43:58he probably could hear me.
00:44:00Like,
00:44:00which is just so ludicrous.
00:44:02Like,
00:44:02he couldn't.
00:44:04Um,
00:44:06and
00:44:09I still didn't,
00:44:10like,
00:44:10I just knew something
00:44:11was really wrong,
00:44:11but I just didn't think
00:44:12he was dead.
00:44:14That night,
00:44:15around 1030,
00:44:17I heard a knock.
00:44:17It sounded urgent.
00:44:19Opened the door
00:44:21and I saw Jen
00:44:23and
00:44:25immediately I saw
00:44:26the terror on her face.
00:44:28I knew what had happened,
00:44:29or I felt I knew
00:44:29what was probably had happened.
00:44:31So we
00:44:32reported
00:44:33Dean and Graham missing.
00:44:36It was a really long night.
00:44:42They had to bring in a heli.
00:44:46I still don't like
00:44:47the sound of a helicopter.
00:44:53search and rescue
00:44:54spotted
00:44:55two bodies
00:44:56in the wingsuit equipment.
00:44:59They were able to, um,
00:45:02confirm
00:45:02the fatalities.
00:45:06I don't even remember
00:45:08who told me
00:45:08that
00:45:09they were,
00:45:10I just remember being told
00:45:12they're both
00:45:12in the notch.
00:45:14And they're
00:45:15both dead.
00:45:21I remember really wanting
00:45:22to watch Dean
00:45:23come down.
00:45:26And when he's down,
00:45:27I want to go see him.
00:45:29Like, I want to go
00:45:30and, like,
00:45:31be with him.
00:45:31And they were like,
00:45:32no, no, no, no,
00:45:33it's not good, Jen.
00:45:34Like,
00:45:35he impacted with his head.
00:45:37And I was like,
00:45:38I don't give a shit.
00:45:39I want to go see Dean.
00:45:42I walk in the room
00:45:43and they're both
00:45:44in these black nylon bags.
00:45:46I immediately, like,
00:45:48took off
00:45:48all of the shit
00:45:50they had put on him.
00:45:51His body was
00:45:53perfect.
00:45:55His head
00:45:55had been impacted,
00:45:57but, like,
00:45:57there's no scrapes.
00:45:59There's no fucking
00:46:00limbs sticking out.
00:46:01there's...
00:46:03When someone dies,
00:46:05the only thing
00:46:06you have is them.
00:46:07Like,
00:46:08their body.
00:46:12As weird as that sounds,
00:46:14like,
00:46:14I didn't want
00:46:14to let go of his body.
00:46:15I felt very, very,
00:46:16very protective of it.
00:46:19I didn't want
00:46:20to let it go.
00:46:27I was driving
00:46:29to the Grand Canyon.
00:46:31A friend called
00:46:32and he said,
00:46:33did you hear?
00:46:35Dean died.
00:46:38I was like,
00:46:38whoosh.
00:46:40And I took a bunch
00:46:41of really deep breaths
00:46:44and, uh,
00:46:46turned around
00:46:46and drove to Yosemite.
00:46:52There were a lot
00:46:53of questions
00:46:53about what had happened.
00:46:58A friend and I
00:46:59descended from the top
00:47:01into the notch.
00:47:05I was really afraid
00:47:06going down there
00:47:07that I wouldn't be able
00:47:08to handle it emotionally.
00:47:11Top of tree
00:47:12laying right there.
00:47:15Top of tree missing.
00:47:18There was, like,
00:47:19a single tree
00:47:20sticking up
00:47:22that Graham
00:47:23probably wouldn't
00:47:23have been able to see
00:47:24because of the way
00:47:26he was facing.
00:47:27He had done this
00:47:28big turn
00:47:29back over the top
00:47:31of where Dean was.
00:47:33And that's when
00:47:34he clipped the tree
00:47:34and then hit the wall.
00:47:39Then we went down
00:47:40further
00:47:40and we could see, like,
00:47:42little pieces of fabric.
00:47:44And then we found
00:47:45the spot where Dean
00:47:46impacted headfirst
00:47:48into the rock.
00:47:51He made it
00:47:52through the notch,
00:47:53but on the other side
00:47:55of the notch,
00:47:55it's very low angle.
00:47:58He was losing altitude
00:48:00so fast
00:48:00that he went
00:48:01into the slab.
00:48:06I felt a presence there.
00:48:08It felt really weird.
00:48:09I, like,
00:48:10not like anything
00:48:11I'd ever experienced.
00:48:16Dean was there,
00:48:18you know,
00:48:19talking to me.
00:48:20And the first thing
00:48:24that came through
00:48:25was, like,
00:48:26dude,
00:48:27I fucked up so bad.
00:48:29Tell Jen I'm so sorry.
00:48:32Like,
00:48:34and it was,
00:48:36it was like
00:48:37a super present thing.
00:48:39Like,
00:48:40his voice
00:48:40clear as day
00:48:41talking to me.
00:48:46I was in Santa Cruz
00:48:49and I got
00:48:50that fucking phone call.
00:48:54I didn't know
00:48:55what to do
00:48:55and so I just
00:48:57put my clothes on,
00:48:58got in my car,
00:49:01aimed it toward Yosemite.
00:49:05And I just cried.
00:49:08And I got to the valley
00:49:09and as soon as I got
00:49:10in the valley,
00:49:11as soon as I got there,
00:49:12it started to rain.
00:49:14It just started to pour
00:49:15and it just fit.
00:49:19And I walked over
00:49:21to the cafeteria.
00:49:21I wanted to see Dean.
00:49:29And he wasn't there.
00:49:34I really loved him.
00:49:43Somebody texted me,
00:49:45did you hear?
00:49:47That's like shorthand
00:49:48for someone's death.
00:49:51And, uh,
00:49:52so I,
00:49:53I was like,
00:49:54no,
00:49:54who is it?
00:49:55And it was Dean
00:49:56and I remember
00:49:58talking with Jim
00:50:01and being like,
00:50:02man,
00:50:02this,
00:50:02this one really hurts.
00:50:03It's like,
00:50:04this one's unusually painful
00:50:08because all the other deaths,
00:50:10you died resolved
00:50:12or they died as your friend.
00:50:14Oh, look, here it is.
00:50:15Oh, no, what we should get?
00:50:16A big-ass box of Cheez-Its.
00:50:18That's really healthy.
00:50:19With Dean,
00:50:20I'm so disappointed
00:50:23that we couldn't
00:50:24come back together.
00:50:26His death
00:50:27made it then final
00:50:29that there wouldn't be
00:50:31like a reintegration.
00:50:36God,
00:50:37swallow, dude.
00:50:39When he died,
00:50:40I'm going to put that
00:50:41in the film.
00:50:44We hadn't spoken
00:50:45in years.
00:50:47People do things
00:50:48in their life
00:50:51that aren't always right.
00:50:53And sometimes
00:50:54you wreck relationships,
00:50:55sometimes you don't
00:50:57make the right call.
00:50:57but when you
00:50:59get older,
00:51:02like,
00:51:03that's the time
00:51:04for you to make events.
00:51:05And I really thought
00:51:06as much as I knew
00:51:07he could die,
00:51:10I really hoped
00:51:11that
00:51:12he would get
00:51:13to that place
00:51:14and he would
00:51:15make it right.
00:51:17All he would have
00:51:18had to say was,
00:51:19I forgive you,
00:51:20can you forgive me?
00:51:21Just something like that.
00:51:25I really,
00:51:27really,
00:51:29I just miss him.
00:51:32Fuck.
00:51:35Jim,
00:51:36let me hear your voice.
00:51:37Say anything.
00:51:39Stop being a pansy.
00:51:40No.
00:51:43That's pretty good.
00:51:50What is that moment
00:51:51that you're looking for?
00:51:53Like,
00:51:53how will you know
00:51:53you have it?
00:51:54Like,
00:51:54how do you know
00:51:55you have it?
00:51:56You know,
00:51:57transcending
00:51:59human limitations
00:52:01is
00:52:03kind of what
00:52:04I'm obsessed with
00:52:04in life
00:52:05and I'm obsessed
00:52:06on kind of
00:52:07this flashy way
00:52:08where I fly,
00:52:10but
00:52:12I see that
00:52:14if I could
00:52:14take that
00:52:15and transcend
00:52:15the really,
00:52:16the main things
00:52:17that matter,
00:52:19hate,
00:52:21jealousy,
00:52:23insecurities,
00:52:24all the negative
00:52:26things that
00:52:27pull you down
00:52:27in life,
00:52:28maybe right now
00:52:29I'm thinking
00:52:30about flying,
00:52:31but it's just
00:52:32a metaphor
00:52:33to bring me
00:52:34somewhere else.
00:52:37With the power
00:52:38of soul
00:52:40anything
00:52:41is possible.
00:52:45The bodies
00:52:46of two base jumpers
00:52:47were found
00:52:47in Yosemite National Park
00:52:48yesterday
00:52:49after an illegal jump
00:52:50that went horribly wrong.
00:52:51World-renowned
00:52:52climber
00:52:53Dean Potter
00:52:53and his friend
00:52:54Graham Hunt
00:52:55died during
00:52:56a wingsuit flight
00:52:57in Yosemite.
00:52:58It's a very big loss
00:52:59in the world
00:53:00of extreme sports.
00:53:01He lived life
00:53:02on the edge,
00:53:03pushing the limits
00:53:04of human experience.
00:53:06You know when
00:53:06Dean would finish
00:53:07the big project
00:53:08and get up there
00:53:09and just do that
00:53:09like roar.
00:53:13On the count of three,
00:53:14one, two, three.
00:53:33I don't think
00:53:35Dean realized
00:53:37how much
00:53:37people admired him.
00:53:39And until drain
00:53:40leaving no choice
00:53:41how much
00:53:42people loved him.
00:53:44That outpouring
00:53:45of love
00:53:46from the community,
00:53:48I wish
00:53:49he had seen that.
00:53:50I was torn out
00:53:51and thrown in the sky
00:53:53and I said
00:53:54all my prayers
00:53:54because surely
00:53:55I'd die
00:53:56as I crashed down
00:53:58and smashed
00:53:58into earth,
00:53:59into dirt.
00:54:00How my skin
00:54:01did explode
00:54:02leaving only my shirt.
00:54:04Dean was
00:54:05a dancer
00:54:06on the edge
00:54:08of life
00:54:09and death.
00:54:10They say
00:54:11that mortality
00:54:12is what gives
00:54:13life
00:54:13its most exquisite
00:54:15line.
00:54:17Dean took it there.
00:54:20Dean's death
00:54:21is an end
00:54:22of an era.
00:54:23Who's going to be
00:54:24the artistic,
00:54:25creative mind
00:54:26that's going to
00:54:26give us
00:54:27the next wild thing?
00:54:29His ideas
00:54:30were so far out,
00:54:32it's like a sunrise.
00:54:38It illuminates
00:54:39your way forward.
00:54:41Something about
00:54:42Dean
00:54:42was
00:54:44fucking cosmic.
00:54:46He was
00:54:46a fucking
00:54:46flawed genius.
00:54:50That's how
00:54:51I want people
00:54:51to remember him,
00:54:52as someone
00:54:54who gave everything
00:54:55he had to his art.
00:54:57He painted
00:54:58something gorgeous
00:55:01across the
00:55:02fucking sky.
00:55:05He would not
00:55:06have wanted
00:55:07to just fade
00:55:07away, would he?
00:55:09It was kind of
00:55:11fitting that
00:55:12Dean Potter
00:55:13went out
00:55:14in a blaze of glory.
00:55:19My brother
00:55:19would say,
00:55:20the key to happiness
00:55:22is following beauty
00:55:23and not the urge
00:55:26to be the best.
00:55:28Was he able
00:55:29to always do that?
00:55:31No.
00:55:32Right up to the end,
00:55:33that was something
00:55:35he really battled.
00:55:36But in his most
00:55:38centered moments,
00:55:40he knew it was
00:55:41all about
00:55:42listening to your heart
00:55:44and following that.
00:55:45I dreamt
00:55:46about climbing
00:55:47into the night sky.
00:55:49You know,
00:55:49we're all dealt
00:55:50our own weird
00:55:52hand of cards,
00:55:53but through
00:55:54all of his struggles,
00:55:55Dean made
00:55:57a magnificent
00:55:58and beautiful
00:55:59ride.
00:56:00Thinking about
00:56:01stories I have
00:56:02that could make
00:56:03people laugh,
00:56:05cry,
00:56:05make others
00:56:06not feel
00:56:07so freakish,
00:56:08knowing that
00:56:09some whack job
00:56:10like myself
00:56:11is out there
00:56:13going for it,
00:56:14fighting with
00:56:15emotions the whole
00:56:16time,
00:56:17but just being me.
00:56:23When I eventually
00:56:24freestailed at El Cap,
00:56:25it was almost
00:56:26exactly two years
00:56:27after Dean done.
00:56:30I think it would
00:56:31have been amazing
00:56:31to talk to Dean
00:56:33about freestalling
00:56:33El Cap.
00:56:34More than almost
00:56:35anybody else on earth,
00:56:36he can appreciate
00:56:37what went into it.
00:56:39I mean, Dean was
00:56:39the first person
00:56:40to think about it.
00:56:40seriously,
00:56:41and he showed
00:56:42the rest of us
00:56:43what's possible.
00:56:45The climbing world
00:56:46is just not the same
00:56:47without the dark wizard,
00:56:50but every time
00:56:51I see a raven
00:56:51flying by,
00:56:52I think of Dean.
00:56:56Pick up!
00:57:00Do you want
00:57:00to come out, Whisper?
00:57:01Come on!
00:57:03Whisper, come!
00:57:05Come on, Whisper,
00:57:06Peg!
00:57:11After Dean's death,
00:57:13I did a lot of, like,
00:57:17therapy, trauma therapy,
00:57:18and I think it genuinely
00:57:21helped.
00:57:42A few months
00:57:43after the accident,
00:57:45I remember the park
00:57:47investigator called me
00:57:48and was like,
00:57:49okay.
00:57:49So we got the footage
00:57:51back, Jen.
00:57:52I go into his office
00:57:53and we're going to watch
00:57:54this footage
00:57:55from Dean's phone.
00:57:57Obviously, this is going
00:57:58to be really hard.
00:58:02Jen?
00:58:04You see them exit.
00:58:09Graham flies out
00:58:10out of the frame.
00:58:13Dean holds his course.
00:58:22As he goes into the notch,
00:58:26walls on both sides
00:58:28come into view.
00:58:31This raven comes in
00:58:33behind him
00:58:35right before he impacts.
00:58:53Like, of course,
00:58:55a raven
00:58:56followed him
00:58:57into his death.
00:59:19Hi.
00:59:23Come on, love.
00:59:25Come on, love.
00:59:26Come on, love.
00:59:29I knew he would come.
00:59:36Everybody misses you.
00:59:38Come on, love.
00:59:40Come on, love.
00:59:52Come on, love.
00:59:54Come on, love.
00:59:56Come on, love.
00:59:57Come on, love.
00:59:58Come on, love.
01:00:03Come on, love.
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