The Hard Deck with Mark Perna
The Hard Deck with Mark Perna features candid, high-impact conversations with combat veterans, skydivers, and entrepreneurs. The show focuses on the mindset, grit, and lessons learned from pushing limits, whether on the battlefield, in the air, or in business. Each episode explores how these individuals overcome adversity and apply their experiences to achieve success.
Episodes
#18 - Pancho Campo: Skydiving Everest to Confront Fear and Fight Bullying
Pancho Campo has coached professional tennis players, captained Chile’s Olympic tennis team, organized international events with some of the world’s most recognizable figures, and completed extreme challenges around the world.Now, at 65, he is preparing for Expedition Everest Skydive 2026.Pancho joins Mark Perna to explain how the expedition supports Zero Bullying, a project he created with his wi
#17 - Omar Alhegelan: Freefly Pioneer, World Champion & Hall of Famer
Omar Alhegelan has spent more than three decades redefining what is possible in human flight.After making his first skydive in 1993, Omar rapidly emerged as one of the world’s leading freestyle competitors. He became the first FAI freestyle World Cup and World Champion and, alongside the Free Fly Clowns, helped pioneer the discipline now known as freeflying.His career includes more than 20,000 jum
#16 - Alex Swindle from Arizona Airspeed on Flying Camera at the Pinnacle of Skydiving
Mark Perna talks with Alex Swindle, Arizona Airspeed’s team videographer, competitive wingsuit pilot, 2025 USPA national champion, and U.S. Parachute Team member. Alex shares how he went from teaching AP calculus and working in software to flying camera at the highest level of skydiving, what it takes to perform under pressure, and how he handles fear, burnout, competition, and perfectionism in th
#15 - Jason Berkowitz on SEO, Skydiving, and Staying Adaptable
Mark sits down with Jason Berkowitz, founder of Break the Web, to talk about agency life, SEO, AI, DTC brands, and the strange overlap between business risk and skydiving. Jason shares how he went from personal training to building an SEO agency, why owning the customer relationship matters, and how skydiving became a mental reset from the pressure of entrepreneurship. They also get into the infam
#14 - Alethia J. Austin on Skydive Mag, Coaching, Culture & Finding Your Truth
Alethia Austin has spent more than two decades in skydiving — but her story starts long before the first jump.In this episode of the Hard Deck Podcast, Mark sits down with Alethia Austin, owner and publisher of Skydive Mag, international freefly and angle coach, creator of the LSD Camps, world-record skydiver, organizer, mentor, and one of the people helping shape the next generation of the sport.
#13 - Solo Episode: Fear, Skydiving, Veteran Purpose & Choosing Meaningful Risk
In this solo episode, Mark Perna reflects on recent skydiving fatalities and the question every skydiver eventually asks: Is it worth it?The conversation expands into life after military service, PTSD, veteran suicide, entrepreneurship, fatherhood, and why finding a new mission is essential after losing an old identity.Mark shares his personal journey from combat veteran to skydiver, business owne
#12 - Moab Joe Luhmuller from Flat Spins to Team USA. On Wingsuiting, Fear, and Tough Turkey
Joe Lohmuller—better known as Moab Joe—went from sleeping in his car outside a small Cessna drop zone to becoming a wingsuit coach, competitor, and founder of Tough Turkey.In this episode of The Hard Deck, Joe shares how a fear of heights pushed him toward climbing, skydiving, BASE jumping, and ultimately some of the most technical flying in the sport. He breaks down wingsuit acrobatic competition
#11 - Melanie Curtis on Fear, Healing, and the Practice of Bravery
World record skydiver, author, speaker, coach, and Highlight Pro Skydiving Team co-captain Melanie Curtis joins The Hard Deck for a powerful conversation about fear, performance, healing, and what it really means to live bravely.Melanie has more than 12,000 jumps and decades in the sport, but this conversation goes far beyond skydiving. She and Mark talk about learning to work with fear instead of
#10 - Brian Naiman on Skydance, USPA Leadership, AAD Saves & the Future of Skydiving
Brian Naiman joins Mark Perna on The Hard Deck Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about skydiving, leadership, drop zone ownership, safety, and the future of the sport.Brian is the USPA Pacific Regional Director, a longtime instructor, and co-owner of Skydance Skydiving in Davis, California. In this episode, he shares his path from chemical engineering to full-time skydiving, the realities of
#9 Matt Fry on World Records, Speed Skydiving & Engineering Chaos at Terminal Velocity
Matt Fry is a world record skydiver, vertical formation organizer, speed skydiver, and one of the minds behind some of the biggest head-down skydiving formations ever built.In this episode of Hard Deck, Matt breaks down what it takes to build massive vertical formations, chase speed skydiving runs over 300 mph, organize record attempts, manage risk, and keep progressing in a sport where the margin
#8 Berrick Abramson: Former Marine, Entrepreneur, Higher Education Commissioner & Policy Strategist
Berrick Abramson is a former U.S. Marine, entrepreneur, executive coach, policy strategist, and Commissioner on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He is also the host of the Living Life All In podcast, where he explores leadership, purpose, adversity, and the small decisions that shape a meaningful life.In this episode of The Hard Deck Podcast, Berrick joins Mark to talk about leaving ho
#7 Raymond Adams: Fashion, Freefall, and the Art of Capturing Skydiving History
Raymond Adams didn’t come into skydiving photography as just another jumper with a camera on his helmet. He came from the fashion world — lighting, composition, style, attitude — and brought that eye straight into freefall.In this episode of Hard Deck, Raymond sits down with Mark Perna to talk about his path from hairdressing and fashion photography to becoming one of the most recognizable visual
#6 Angie Aragon: USPA National Director & Founder of USPACourses.com
In this episode of Hard Deck, I sit down with Angie Aragon — USPA National Director, newly appointed Latin America representative, founder of USPAcourses.com, tandem and AFF examiner, FAA senior rigger, and one of the most respected instructor developers in the sport.We talk about how Angie got into skydiving, why she left a successful real estate career to go all in on the sport, and what it real
#5 Joe Jennings | World Champion Skysurfer, Hollywood Freefall Cinematographer and Space Cowboy
In this episode, Mark Perna sits down with legendary skydiver, aerial stunt coordinator, and freefall cinematographer Joe Jennings.Joe is a pioneer of camera flying and competitive skysurfing, a World Champion, and an X Games gold medalist whose work helped redefine how skydiving is captured on film. Over the course of his career, he has coordinated and filmed aerial stunts for major feature films
#4 Tim Jedrek of Right Rudder Marketing: Flight School Marketing, Aviation Storytelling, and Growth
Mark sits down with Tim Jedrek of Right Rudder Marketing to talk aviation, digital marketing, flight schools, and the strange overlap between teaching people to fly and hucking people out of airplanes. Tim shares how he went from manufacturing into aviation and niche marketing, why storytelling matters more than ever in the AI era, and what flight schools and drop zones can learn from each other a
The Hard Deck — What This Podcast Is About
What is The Hard Deck?The Hard Deck is a podcast about people who live and operate close to the edge — skydivers, veterans, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who’ve pushed past their limits and lived to talk about it.Hosted by Marine Corps veteran, skydiver, and business owner Mark Perna, the show explores the lessons learned when the stakes are real. From elite canopy pilots and specia
#3 Jeannie Bartholomew on Elite Canopy Piloting, Risk, and Pushing the Edge of Skydiving
In this episode of The Hard Deck, Mark Perna sits down with Jeannie Bartholomew — record-setting canopy pilot, USPA National Director, co-owner of the United States Canopy Piloting Association, and leader with Alter Ego Project.With more than 12,000 jumps, Jeannie has spent nearly two decades operating at the sharp end of performance. She breaks down what it really takes to compete at the highest
#2 Danny Velez: From Special Operations to Owner of Music City Skydiving
Danny Velez is a Navy veteran, former SARC (Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman), and the owner of Music City Skydiving. In this episode, Danny shares his story — growing up as an Army brat, entering the Navy at 17, and navigating an intense special operations medical pipeline that included combat dive, SERE, airborne, and military freefall.We talk about the moment 9/11 changed everything w
#1 Trevor Cichosz: 2x World’s Toughest Mudder Champ & Former Marine
In the first episode of Hard Deck, Mark Perna reconnects with his friend and fellow former Marine infantryman Trevor Cichosz — two-time World’s Toughest Mudder champion, ultra-endurance athlete, and author of Dear Grandma Rose: Letters and Journals from the War on Terrorism.They start with Trevor’s upbringing in the Pacific Northwest—farm-raised values, no frills, small-town limits—and how 9/11 an
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