in a windtunnel ?
First you need to understand the goal and the audience you will be performing for. It could be children, adults, military personnel, or the event might be dedicated to a special occasion or maybe TV shooting show, judges and Pro-bodyflyers or other audience. Therefore, it’s important to consider the specifics of the audience and discuss them with the organizers in order to tailor the performance program (including music) to make it as effective and suitable as possible for that particular group. Pay attention to your flying equipment - your suit, helmet, boots, and gloves - it must be also connecting with your show. For the some events organizers can ask to fly in a specific suits and equipment!
The next key step is to understand the specific characteristics of the wind tunnel at the chosen location. For example, the tunnel might be tall but narrow, or wide but with limited height. Some tunnels have restrictions on wind speed, which can prevent them from reaching the higher airflow levels required by certain athletes for some elements and tricks. A tunnel could be the tallest available, but have low glass walls, which affects to audience visibility.
It’s also important to know the orientation of the audience. Understanding where viewers will be positioned helps ensure that the most visually impressive elements, signature tricks, dynamic movements - all need to present in the most effective way. This is why, at this stage of planning, it’s essential to gather complete information about the tunnel’s physical layout, technical specifications, and viewing setup.
Next find out how much time you’re given for your performance. For example, is it one minute, two minutes? Are you performing the show once or need several times different shows?
Or perhaps you’ll be allowed to choose any duration you like. In any case, figure out how much time you can use for your show.
Once you’ve identified your audience, location, and performance time - you can begin developing your show - or multiple shows.
The next step is to determine whether you already have a prepared routine or if you need to create one entirely from beginning - or maybe can you adapt your existing routine to the new music!?
You need to understand how many times you can creating and practice your routine! You will be using sponsor time or buy training time by yourself?
Or discuss with the organizers - whether they will provide time for training in the windtunnel where the event will take place, or/and perhaps they can cover the cost of training in a windtunnel closer to your home.
However, if you’re not planning to use music in your routine, there’s no need to worry - this section won’t be relevant for you.
Each method represents a broad approach to the creative process, so it makes sense to dedicate a separate page to each one. You can navigate to these individual pages to explore the specific details of each method.
Event: World Championship.
Goal: To win competition!
Audience: Freestyle judges and professionals bodyflyers!
Windtunnel: Around 4.3 meters wide and 3.2 meters glass high.
Performance time: Outside windtunnel - 30 seconds, Inside tunnel - 60 seconds.
Training time: 30 hours in my home windtunnel, 2 hours in a event windtunnel.
I started preparing for the World Championship approximately five months before the actual event dates. I had around 30 hours in total to develop my program. That included three routines: one main routine and two compulsory routines, all set to music
I also had two hours of practice time in the actual wind tunnel where the competition would take place. Since the event was in Canada, I knew in advance that the tunnel there had very low glass walls. Because of that, I designed the entire performance to happen slightly above the glass level to ensure visibility.
My main focus was on the uniqueness of the tricks and making sure every movement was perfectly synchronized with the music. I wanted the routine to flow like a single breath - like a dance. The goal was very clear: to win the competition. I had the opportunity to choose any music I felt was right for the performance, and I chose a powerful track by Imagine Dragons.
I also structured the routine in such a way that the most dynamic and impactful elements would be best seen from the judges’ point of view. The judges’ side also happened to be where most of the audience was located, so that worked out well.
Event: Opening ceremony.
Goal: To show a different bodyflying possibility's which possible to fly in that type of windtunnel.
Audience: People different ages (kids and adults), mostly people who never see windtunnel before, a little numbers of windtunnel instructors and professional bodyflyers!
Windtunnel: Around 3 meters wide and 5 meters glass high.
Performance time: Inside tunnel - 140 seconds.
Training time: 1 hour in a event windtunnel.
The goal was to give the audience a glimpse of different flying styles - both at low and high wind speeds. I tried to include a variety of flight poses, slow, controlled movements, and a few powerful tricks.
In the end, it turned out to be a compact but expressive performance.
Event: Japan TV show competition.
Goal: Do a perfect performance for the TV shooting.
Audience: Mostly kids and adults people who never seen bodyflying before.
Windtunnel: Around 4.3 meters wide and 9 meters glass high.
Performance time: Outside windtunnel - 14 seconds, Inside tunnel - 140 seconds.
Training time: 2 hours in a home windtunnel and 2 hours in a event windtunnel.
I was invited to participate in a Japanese TV show, where I was set to "compete" against the Japanese national champion. The concept was essentially a friendly showdown - the World Champion versus the Japanese Champion - to see who would impress more.
I’ll be honest - I won, as I expected. But the Japanese flyer performed really well and gave a strong, commendable performance.
The audience consisted mostly of children, along with a few adults who seemed to be accompanying them. The entire event was filmed for Japanese television.
The organizers gave me a specific music track to perform to - Sky High. As soon as I heard it, I understood that the flight needed to include strong tricks, a bit of playfulness, and something humorous to keep the audience entertained - a mix of everything, really.
I also flew very high during the performance to make a strong visual impact, especially for an audience unfamiliar with bodyflying. For beginners, nothing is more impressive than seeing someone shoot up to the top of the tunnel and come back down fast - it’s more striking than even the most technical tricks.
I had a good amount of preparation time. I trained for a few hours in my home tunnel, and then had a couple more hours to adapt in the Japanese tunnel before the actual performance.