NICK GREECE

ATHLETE FEATURE

By KAVU

March 26^th, 2024

WHO IS NICK GREECE?

In the world of paragliding, where freedom is truly dream-like, Nick Greece is a name that resonates with passion, skill, and a purest love for flying. As a prominent figure in the free-flight community and a key member of Team KAVU, Nick has continually pushed the boundaries of what is possible under a paraglider. Over the years, Nick has honed his skills and risen through the ranks of the paragliding world, earning a reputation for his long flights, podium finishes, and record-breaking achievements. Nick's talent and dedication have not gone unnoticed. Amongst his peers, he's considered to be one of the most skilled and experienced pilot's in the world and someone who above all, puts safety first. Nick Greece is not just a pilot who's spirit and skill has propelled him to the forefront of the paragliding world, he's also a husband and father, a talented writer and editor, and an instructor who's helped many pilots progress, both beginner and experienced alike. And after many years on Team KAVU, for us.... he's part of our family.

WHEN YOU WERE A KID WHAT DID YOU WANT TO “BE” WHEN YOU GREW UP?

When I was very young, I remember wanting to be an astronaut! Years later, I went to Disney World and went on a ride called Space Mountain and was utterly terrified. I realized, only then, that I may need to adjust my sights on something a bit less intense. I always loved being outdoors and playing sports. I grew up in a suburb on Long Island, so getting into the nature was more difficult than shooting hoops or playing lacrosse. After attending a month-long summer camp that was centered around camping and hiking, as well as finding Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” and Edward Abbey’s “Monkey Wrench Gang” in high school, I knew that one day I would end up living in the great big Western USA, seeking to live in the present, with nature as my backdrop for impromptu adventures in big country.

DID YOU DO THE “STANDARD” SCHOOL ROUTE? OR DID YOU TAKE MORE OF AN UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH TO EDUCATION? ELABORATE IF NEEDED?

Standard…sort of. I struggled with conventional learning. Sitting in a classroom for more than an hour or two was always very difficult for me. My mind is not tuned to long stretches of study in American style schools, and I was told from a young age that I was not a good student in our education system. I dropped out of the first college I attended after a semester, then worked in New York on Madison Avenue as an entry level Public Relations paid intern- type position. I returned to finish a four-year degree in sociology at Beloit College, mainly to avoid growing up…which would remain a constant in my choices for job opportunities in the coming decades. The best thing I did in school was study abroad in Istanbul for a semester. I traveled like I had always wanted to for an entire six months. Advice to younger self: study abroad for as many semesters as possible! During this time, I went to internet cafes and sent long letters home to my family with photos detailing my shenanigans. In hindsight, these family updates were my first KAVU Days blogs. I was loosely studying archeology at that point, so I justified traveling down the Aegean coast and across the Mediterranean by visiting ancient archeological sites and tracing my way across the Ottoman empire. This was the kind of learning and living I could do for weeks on end with a smile and a laugh, no matter what happened or how long I had to spend on buses to get to the site of the day. It was a portrait of my relatively distant future.

Anyhow, I wish I could go back and tell my little self: 1. Do more Yoga and 2. the “ADD/ Neurodivergent mind,” or whatever it is that makes some young people struggle to sit still and listen for eight hours a day, is not a curse or problem or bad trait, but an amazing gift that will unlock a magical life on the wing filled with glorious travels and fabulous people who will share your zest for living in a manner that fits your mind. And that now that you are more limber than you can imagine from all the yoga you did…your perceived dysfunction will turn into a superpower in flying vast distances without an engine and telling tales through words and photos captured along the way. Being the parent of two toddler boys, I am excited to be that support structure for them if need be.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED DOING WHAT YOU DO AS A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE FOR TEAM KAVU?

Some would say that Athlete would be a bit of a stretch. I consider myself more of an apostle of the book of Barr that lays out the KAVU doctrine aka “Busy Livin,” which lends itself to utilizing one of the most esoteric sky sports as a vehicle for preaching the good word to get burly early, while living local worldwide.

I started paragliding in 2001 and it quickly became a full-blown obsession. I loved the sport, the life, the chasing of wind, travel, living presently and community almost instantly and spent the next six years (minus one year I spent in corporate America seeing if I could do the American Dream office thing) flying year-round all over the world. Paragliding is a perfect sport for the lazy gear-obsessed gentleman, as it involves a lot of sitting around in beautiful places, typically not having to be ready before 11 am or so, when the thermals start to build. At some point around late 2003, I realized I needed to take my flying dreams even further than working at a Paragliding School, Torrey Pines, and decided I’d like to fly year-round. I sold all my possessions at a yard sale and traveled for a year with my glider on my back, from Morocco to Slovenia, by hitching rides, riding trains and boats, and camping along the way. It was all time. I am incredibly thankful that social media or smart phones did not exist, because, other than monthly updates to the family when I went to internet cafes to write home, I was able to live completely in the present!

CAN YOU ELABORATE A BIT ON YOUR JOURNEY OF BECOMING A PRO ATHLETE. WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN? DO YOU HAVE A CORE MEMORY OF A MOMENT OR TIME WHEN YOU WERE LIKE “YES"…THIS IS THE THING I LOVE TO DO AND I WANT TO DO IT ALL THE TIME?

There was not an AHA moment. I didn’t fully realize I would end up where I did in the outdoor adventure space. I was walking around OR happily offering to pull off feats of strength and daring flights in a paraglider for a t-shirt and a sticker. I started out in corporate America after college, but after one year transitioned out of that as my mind could not hack the grind. I always identified as an athlete, even though I look more like a dad-bod model for a JC Penny catalogue. I kid, I kid. I played ball sports growing up on Long Island and didn’t really find the outdoor space until after college, although I always knew I would end up working with the outdoors as my backdrop. I was inspired by a few magazine articles to quit my “9-5” job and choose a life that was non-traditional, compared to most of my school peers, and after being inspired by text and photos to change my life, I wanted to possibly be that catalyst for someone else’s foray into leaving the prescribed path and breaking out into uncharted channels. As we have young children, I need steady work that is guaranteed year-round, regardless of weather or injury, so I do quite a bit of office work. I am the Executive Director of a nonprofit and work for a very unique insurance company that covers paragliding and hang gliding. Knowing that I have at least eight weeks a year that are dedicated to a sport I love, and getting out into the world to grow as a human, makes showing up to the office doable for me. And if none of this works out, I could always apply to Harvard or run for the Senate.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT? LIKE IF YOU FINISHED CHECKING OFF ALL THE THINGS ON YOUR “RESPONSIBILITIES” LIST AND YOU HAD A DAY FULLY FREE AND OPEN TO DO ANYTHING YOU WANTED, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THAT FREE TIME?

It would be to spend the day with my wife skiing or having some kind of mission where we get to pal around and laugh a lot. I am passionate about being outdoors, flow states, and building memories to look back on when I’m older.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO THAT IS NOT RELATED TO THE SPORTS THINGS YOU GET PAID TO DO AS AN ATHLETE?

Cook food decently well.

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN A KAVU ATHLETE? DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MEMORY/ TRIP OVER THE YEARS OF BEING ON TEAM KAVU?

13 or 14 years? I don’t remember. It’s been a minute. I couldn’t be happier to be associated with such an amazing company that in a day and age that is full of bottom line decision making, KAVU is one that rails against it by making sure the company culture reflects the original founding principles. This company that continuously follows its North Star and desires to make sure all its people are happy rather than maximize profit is a rare bird. Best KAVU trip is easy for me. The first couple of paid years as a KAVU ambassador, I spent my sponsorship money on attempting to create adventure tourism in Haiti, after the devastating earthquake in 2010. I spent a few years working on that goal, as it was a worthy project that seemed to matter to dedicate my weird skill set to. A few years into the project, I asked Barry Barr to come fly with me in Haiti and see what KAVU’s funds had been used for. We rocked through Haiti, flying and meeting incredible Haitians and people that were there working on the recovery efforts. It was a once in a lifetime trip. But sadly, as Haiti has gotten much worse since that time with civil unrest. Anyway, being part of a company where the owner is down and thrilled to get on board with seeing what and where their ambassadors are adventuring is truly unique.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING ON TEAM KAVU AND WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL TO YOU?

It is the greatest group of like-minded adventure junkies with hearts of gold, from the team manager to the other athletes all the way to the owner!

HAVE YOU EVER HAD ANY CLOSE CALLS/ INJURIES/ NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES IN YOUR SPORT/ CRAFT? WHAT DID YOU LEARN/ TAKE AWAY FROM THIS MOMENT?

I have had just two close calls, knock on wood, in my time under my wing. Flying paramotors in the Four Corners was by far the closest. I made several mistakes that led to an accident. Accidents are crazy at how many days before the event had a significant impact on the leading up to the catastrophe. I had just moved from Wyoming to Utah, driven for two days, was a bit under the weather, and was new to flying para motors. I tried to loop the wing and made a mistake and created a situation I could not escape. I was in a negative spiral at 150 feet which was too low to throw as I couldn't reach my secondary parachute easily because of the G-Forces pushing me back into the harness away from the handle I needed to pull. I thought I was in a good configuration to skip across the ground instead of coming to a dead stop and decided to take the craft into the ground. I had heard that if you exhale right before impact you could avoid exploding a lung on a big impact so as I came down toward the ground I exhaled deeply right before impact and shrunk as small as I could into the frame of the paramotor. It worked! I skipped across the ground and only broke a few ribs. I was life-flighted due to the nature of the impact but I was released the same day! I gave up paramotors shortly after that to stay in my lane which was much safer for me...paragliding only.

WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE IN LIFE AND WHY IS IT THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE TO YOU?

Time, Family and Health.

WHAT IS A PIECE OF WISDOM YOU WOULD GIVE TO A GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL CLASS?

Take chances and try a lot of different paths when you graduate. You’ll never get the chance to experiment with this open and able mind ever again. Move forward with purpose and know that mistakes will be made, and the measure of character is how one picks themselves up and dusts themselves off with lessons learned to forge a better path in the future. Be a good winner and an even better loser!

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?

The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler about the psychology of Flow States which features a story about our very own Tyler Bradt!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD TO COOK/ MAKE?

Southern Italian. Seafood in many different configurations. New things from NY Times Cooking App.

HAVE YOU LEARNED/ STARTED ANYTHING NEW RECENTLY?

Snowmobiling. It is a riot to be a neophyte and managing the fear of being stuck. It makes me chuckle when I realize I am holding my breath way too often. I have also learned how to make an authentic Mole after four years of trying.

Nick Greece has been a part of Team KAVU for over a decade. He's always striving to break the fun meter right off the wall. If you find him out there traveling the world ask him where the best place to eat is. He will for sure know where to send you.