TEAM HISTORY

Why this name for your team?

"SDMW Evolve" – (Skydive Midwest Evolve) Evolve, defined as to develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form. Evolve really stood out to us and it also happens to be the name of the flight school Garet helped start at Skydive Midwest. We're always trying to constantly evolve as flyers. Always trying to better ones' self.

When and why was the team formed ?

January 20, 2018. Mike was in need of a teammate for the Sakura Cup and Garet stepped in to form a D2W team. Thought it would be a great opportunity to express ourselves, compete with a friend and showcase to the world how amazing our sport really is.

Where do you train ?

Garet lives in Chicago, USA and Mike in Toronto, Canada. Mike flew into Chicago bi-weekly leading up to the competition. We only had four training camps but all of our training was at iFLY Chicago Rosemont.

Who are your sponsors?

Garet- Skydive Midwest, Cookie Helmets, UPT Vector, Vertical Suits, Performance Designs, SSK Industries, Inc., Larsen & Brusgaard, Cypres, and Tunnel Rats
Mike- DEEM Suits, Skydive Midwest

MEMBERS’ ACHIEVEMENT

Name
When did you start flying?

Garet Bloodworth : Lead Instructor at iFLY Chicago, IBA T4 Trainer, Started skydiving September 15, 2009.
Mike Gravelle: Started tunnel flying in 2014

How many hours have you flown in the tunnel?

Garet: 1,000+ tunnel hours
Mike: somewhere in the 200 hour range? I could be way off.

Do you skydive and if yes, jump numbers to date?

Garet: 3,300+ skydives.
Mike: I have 1,016 skydives

What is your main achievement?

Garet: USPA D31451, Pro, AFF-I, Coach, 5x World Record Holder, The 164-way HD World Record and Star Search 2.0 (Night jump with LED suits) stand out the most!
Mike: My proudest achievement is making Domi laugh out loud during our free routine at Worlds in Quebec. The Canadian HD Record was a fun one day event as well.

FLYING PHILOSOPHY

Why are you flying ?

Garet: Flying gives me the freedom to express myself and live freely. The ability to put my own twist of creativity on flying. I'm always looking to learn something new. Find ways to be faster, efficient, and more precise.

Mike: I'm obsessed with flying. It's a great workout. Tunnel flying is an amazing outlet for creativity, on a never ending learning curve. I first started flying Tunnel so that people at boogies would at at me the way they looked at Ben Roane at Summerfest in 2013.

What fascinates you about flying/indoor skydiving?

Garet: I think the thing that fascinates me the most is the community. Super fortunate to have met so many good friends that come from complete different walks of life and from all over the world.

Mike: The people who are active in this niche sport are what keeps me competing. I like that competition vibe and the outlet to showcase my tunnel style but mostly I just compete to meet amazing people from all walks of life, in different cities I'd normally probably never visit. Like Virginia Beach, it's like walking onto the set of Top Gun. The sport is so new, I'm excited to see where it'll be in the next few years.

TRAVEL TO JAPAN

Have you ever been to Japan ?

Garet: No, Japan will be a first for both of us!
Mike: Never!

What are you excited to see / do in Japan ?

Garet: Sushi, eat all the sushi!
Mike: As a former Sushi Chef, it's been a dream of mine to visit Japan. I'm so stoked to be able to participate in this event and I can't even wait to dress up as a Mario Kart character and rip around the streets of Tokyo in a go kart. Also – cherry blossom season baby! Poor Garet is gonna kill me when I wake him up at 3am to go to the tuna auctions! This whole experience is gonna be mayhem!