American Wakeskating pioneer and three-time world champion Brian Grubb achieved an extraordinary world first in an innovative project that combined drone wakeskating and BASE jumping.
Perched atop the sky bridge at Dubai's Address Beach Resort, the Guinness World Record-holding infinity pool sits an astounding 294 meters above sea level.
Grubb's daring journey began by wakeskating 94 meters across the rooftop pool, towed by a drone, before leaping over the pool's edge, seamlessly transitioning into a thrilling 77-story BASE jump, and successfully landing at the beach below.
This remarkable accomplishment, known as "WakeBASE," realized Grubb's seven-year-old dream and marked a historic milestone.
The WakeBASE project posed an unparalleled challenge for Brian Grubb, who has traveled the world wakeskating unique places like Wadi al-Hidan canyon in Jordan, the icebergs of Cape Cod, and Türkiye's Cleopatra Pool.
The combination of wakeskating and BASE jumping had never been attempted before, and Grubb was determined to be the first to showcase it to the world.
"I wanted to be the first person to do a combination wakeskating switch into BASE jump and push myself to the highest level in my sports," Grubb explained.
"I've had this idea for seven years, and not a day goes by when I'm not thinking about it."
After he successfully completed this dream project, Grubb added: "It's been a long time coming; we had to build a drone that could pull us, and I had to get more proficient in BASE jumping."
"Then we found this awesome location in Dubai, and I just pulled off the sickest thing I've ever done on a wakeskate."
Preparation: 106 BASE Jumps
To prepare for this daring adventure, Grubb enlisted the expertise of Miles Daisher, a renowned BASE jump legend with over 4,500 BASE jumps to his name.
Daisher designed a rigorous training program to build Grubb's skills, recognizing that Grubb had only 26 BASE jumps under his belt by December 2022.
The pair began their extensive training at Daisher's facility in Idaho, USA, focusing on mastering 106-meter to 121-meter exit points.
Next, Daisher and Grubb headed to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, the best BASE jump area in the world and a town famous for its contribution to BASE jump lore.
There, the focus was on six exit points, moving from the easiest to the hardest, High Ultimate at 305 meters, so Grubb could get comfortable and confident with free-fall.
In total, Grubb clocked up 106 BASE jumps under Daisher's watchful eye.
"Mentally, this project was very demanding, but my training schedule prepared me for every moment," added Grubb.
"I've been training for BASE jumping all year with Miles Daisher to prepare for everything during the jump."
In partnership with Prada, Grubb was armored in custom Prada Linea Rossa performance gear, optimized for both sports, combining high performance and innovation.
His shoes were specifically designed to ensure optimal grip on the custom Prada Linea Rossa wake skate, and his board had a modern design featuring the iconic emblem of the trademark.
The Drone and the Location
As Grubb continued to refine his skills, drone developer Sebastian Stare and his dedicated team undertook the extensive task of custom-engineering a drone specifically tailored for this unique project.
"What makes the specific drone suitable for WakeBASE is the improved flight behavior for wakeskate moves," noted Stare.
"It was created at a semiconductor company specialized in automotive microcontrollers, radar chips, and power electronics."
"It is our own unique IP, from hardware components to software ones like electronics, flight controller, algorithms, sensors, propellers, and safety tail."
"With insights from Brian himself, the drone functionality was improved and tested several times along the way to match the level he needs to perform WakeBASE."
Brian Grubb's WakeBASE project represents the culmination of over 20 years of wakeskating and 15 years of skydiving, blending his two greatest passions.
On the unique location, Grubb concluded: "When we got this idea, we looked for high water, and there's not much out there."
"Then we saw the Address Beach Resort in Dubai with the highest invisible edge pool in the world, and we had to come take a look at it."
"The building is set up for us. The way the pool curves is perfect for me as I'm right foot forward, and the shape is what we needed for the ramp, and then there's this nice big landing area on the beach."
"As soon as we got eyes on it in person, we knew it was on, and that's when the real mission started."