TFN Talks with Inka Cagnasso
TFN Talks sat down with Inka Cagnasso, prolific skydiver, 2015 Indoor Skydiving World Champion, 2016 World Cup Winner and stunt woman to talk about her incredible career in her favourite sport, her many exciting film and television projects (America’s Got Talent, Alita Battle Angel, X-Men) and her most important role yet, being a mom.
Inka, where did you grow up and what first sparked your interest in body flying and skydiving?
I am from a really small town in the middle of nowhere in Finland. I was studying in a small city in northern Finland when a friend of mine dared me into skydiving - there was a skydiving club really close to my parents place at the time but it had never even crossed my mind that it would be something I would enjoy. I basically did my first jumps because I wanted to prove that I was not afraid to. I definitely did not guess I would love it so much. Tunnel flying came after - I had around two hundred skydives when I went to Bedford, UK to fly with some of my skydiving friends. I loved it so much! And not only the feeling of flying but for me as an athlete the tunnel excited me because suddenly I could train so much more in a short period of time and progress faster (at least if you had access to a lot of tunnel time). I never jumped for the adrenaline, for me it has from the beginning on been about the physical challenge side of things, and what fascinated me was such a different way of using my body.
To be completely honest, the first time I saw videos of you fly I got really emotional, just like I do when I watch a really great ballet performance. You are truly a master in that you manage to combine grace, fragility and incredible strength into one element while flying and make it look absolutely effortless. Many people may not realize this, but I believe that part of why you are able to create such magic with your body inside a wind tunnel is because you are in fact a trained dancer. Can you talk about what part dance has played in your life and how it has given you an edge in your sport?
I started dancing when I was three years old, and it was a huge part of my life to a point that I was professionally dancing, teaching and choreographing in my early twenties. The first thing that I would say that I took from dancing into the tunnel was hard work. As a dancer I was used to doing 12 hour days of training and you never complain, its just not a part of the culture.
When I started flying some of these moves in the tunnel that resembled dancing, it was never so much about thinking of the discipline freestyle or competing in it. I just wanted to express myself and use the kinda quality of movement that was familiar to me.
At the same time my background in choreography has definitely helped in being able to create routines that do what you say - make people emotional. I absolutely love creating choreographies for other flyers too.
Can you describe what it feels like to fly your body through some of the choreography that you perform (like the helicopter spins)? Also, do you prefer indoor or outdoor skydiving? Where is it more difficult to fly your body - in a tunnel or up in the air?
Indoor and outdoor flying are two different things for me. Tunnel is more about the sport, the technique, where as for me skydiving is a lot more about the social side, good times with friends, flying together. I have flown so much more in the tunnel (I have about 5000 skydives of 45-60s of freefall each, and around 5000 hours of tunnel) that flying there feels easier and more natural for me.
I wish I was more skilled in describing this :D But I would say the biggest surprise to a non flyer is that a lot of the flying does not feel like floating. The airflow and its resistance is fast and powerful and a lot of moves can actually feel very physically heavy to perform.
You are known as the first ever Indoor Skydiving World Champion in Freestyle. How does it feel to be a trailblazer in your sport? Did you ever have a pinch-me moment where you realized that you would go down in history as the first Indoor Skydiving Freestyle Champion, and what responsibility if any does it create for you being in that position?
After my World Championship and World Cup wins I traveled around the world a lot to coach upcoming freestylers and I feel so grateful that I got to experience this wave of girls and women getting into the sport and starting to really train freestyle for the competitions being inspired and encouraged by my flying. It felt so rewarding. I think winning competitions for yourself as an athlete is great but the way I see it is that we won’t be remembered by what we did to ourselves but by what we did to others and how we made them feel. So I have really tried to share as much of my knowledge as I can, mentor and support other athletes to achieve their dreams…I guess that’s the sense of responsibility I felt and a calling I answered to.
From following your instagram I know you are an avid yogi and a yoga instructor. How did you discover yoga and what effect has it had on your life?
I was introduced to yoga by one of my dance teachers when I was twelve years old. We used to do some ashtanga to warm up for the dancing day. Ever since I have been on the mat on and off, but I only I started practicing regularly after I stopped dancing professionally and was also already tunnel flying, 2012. So it’s been a bit over a decade of regular yoga practice. I have done three different yoga teacher trainings over the years and been teaching in studios and also online.
I know that tunnel flying is incredibly expensive. I had a moment years ago when I wanted to pursue it regularly but quickly realized that I would likely have to give up my music because I can’t sustain two outrageously expensive passions so I settled for being an amateur. How were you able to get to your level of skill and success in this sport, having had to basically go at it on your own?
I definitely did not have a bottomless bank account getting into the sport. In the beginning I had to count every penny and try to figure out the best way to get the most out of my tunnel time. It seemed like becoming a tunnel instructor was the way to get good, and I tried to score a job but at that time most tunnels were not overly excited about hiring women, especially small ones. So I just started building up my own thing and doing freelance coaching as soon as I felt ready to teach. All the money I made went straight back into my own training for a long time.
What are some of the challenges you have had to overcome in your life and career that have changed who you are as a person and how have you overcome them?
I cannot talk about my flying without mentioning Ty Baird. He was my biggest inspiration in flying, my coach, my mentor, and later on my partner. Ty died 2016 in a speed flying accident and that turned my world around. Not only I was absolutely broken for losing a person I loved, and the future we had planned together, but I also was not sure if I wanted to keep flying without him. My first tunnel session after his death was terrible, I was just paralyzed in the wind, crying my eyes out, and I thought this is it. I am never doing this again.
I found strength to get my life together and continue flying from the thought that I knew he would not have wanted to be the person who ruins my life. So I had to be strong and keep chasing my dreams and keep making him proud.
Time is priceless. We never get a single minute we have spent back, so we need to be mindful about how we are using the time we have in our hands, and respectful towards the moments we get to share with our loved ones.
You have been a part of some pretty incredible mainstream projects in the past few years as a stunt woman. Can you tell us about your work with Apple, Alita: Battle Angel and my favorite film work of yours: the Stargate (P!NK & SIA) music video for Waterfall?
Yes, I have been really lucky to have these and other interesting job opportunities outside of our sport or community! I think the most memorable one was the Apple Watch commercial - we shot for a week and I did not only fly for this commercial - I also did a ton of running, diving, swimming, and some harness work. Fun fact - I learned to dive into the water for this commercial, as I used to be extremely scared of water and I just avoided all such activities for a very long time.
My favorite thing to shoot however are motion capture stunts, such as in Alita or Dark Phoenix. It’s a great challenge to have to create something totally different in the tunnel, such as moves for a fighting scene, sequences of movement that looks like I am floating in space…I would absolutely love to do more of this kinda work.
You have recently become a mother to a beautiful sweet baby girl with your partner Claudio Cagnasso. First of all, I can’t imagine how amazing it will be growing up with two world class sky athletes as parents and the amazing skydiving community (she’s definitely going to be the coolest kid at school). How would you say motherhood changed you, if it has?
Heh, I am so happy you are asking about motherhood! I am, we both are, so in love with our little Camila. It is not a simple equation to combine our lifestyle with being parents, bit I think we have found a really good balance that serves all the three of us. The changes that happen when you become a parent are hard to prepare for because you only know how everything feels like once it’s happening. I feel like motherhood has made me stronger, because suddenly there is a little human in my life for whom I am ready to push myself far out of my comfort zone. It’s also really sorting out your priorities. Personally I also wanna be the best version of Inka I can be, to show her a good example, so I am paying more attention to what actually serves me and what are really the building blocks of a happy, healthy and content life.
You are a unique and Fearless Nomad in a sense that besides traveling the world, you have also flown your body all over the planet’s atmosphere as a professional skydiver. Do you have especially memorable flights and where in the world were they performed?
There are a few special locations I have jumped at…my husband is from Venezuela so I have been lucky enough to get to travel there, and skydive next to the Ayan Tepui, the same table top mountain where Angel Falls is. This place is absolutely breathtaking. Also in Venezuela there is an archipelago called Los Roques which is a literal paradise to jump in.
In Näsinge, Sweden there is an event called Angleweek that was organized by my friend Nina before she passed in 2016. We would do a weekly inhopp (jumping to a non-dropzone location) to one of the close by islands called Koster, land on the beach, have dinner and drinks there, take a boat ride back and continue with a party at the Dropzone. We also got to do this on Ninas memory, jumping with her ashes and that one I am not gonna forget.
After your Championship win you had probably become the planet’s most sought-after body flight coach. What advice would you give to young people starting out in the sport with dreams of going pro, and how can athletes train with you?
Our sport is unique in the sense that a complete beginner can go and train with some of the best athletes in the sport. I always advice beginners to get a good coach for the foundation they are building, it will pay off later. Tunnel is an expensive sport, so its good to focus on doing smart cross training outside of the tunnel to support your flying.
But most importantly - make sure you enjoy the journey. It is important we put our energy into things that feed our soul.
‘TFN Talks’ In Partnership with Tropical Nomad Coworking Space