I knew relatively quickly, or actually immediately, because it's not like a time where you just wake up and see that they're done with you; it's a process, you have to come out of the coma. That means you start to pick up on it slowly, and I understood what was happening relatively quickly, so for me, it wasn't really a shock.
Podz-Glidz, the Lu-Glidz podcast.
Stories from the cosmos of paragliding.
Today with... I'm Marco Brandstetter. And Lucian Haas on the mic.
Most pilots who take off with a paraglider will hardly ever think about it. They pull the glider out of the bag with a hand movement, spread it out—as they say—with dexterity, sort the lines with fine finger work, operate fiddly carabiners with their fingertips, grasp the brake toggles, make subtle pressure changes on the brake line with a finger during flight, reach high into the A-plane to attach the risers, and so on. Our hands are always involved. For Marco Brandstetter, it's all a bit different. The 27-year-old today lost both hands in an accident eight years ago. A year before that, he had fulfilled a dream and earned his paragliding license.
And so, it was a deep need for him to get back into the air despite his handicap. Marco is an admirable, strong-willed person. And he has found ways to do so even without them. To be able to launch, steer, and land his glider without hands. During an SIV training this year, he even mastered the SAT maneuver. How all of this works, but also what specific challenges—not just in technical terms—he faces due to his handicap, Marco tells us in this 44th episode of Podz-Glidz. Before we begin this unusual story from the cosmos of paragliding, just a quick note on my own behalf. Podz-Glidz and the associated blog Lu-Glidz are free of charge. However, they are part of my work as a freelance journalist, and thus part of my livelihood.
I would be very happy if you, as a supporter of the podcast and blog, would help me maintain and expand this offering in its professional and ad-free form. Information on how you can become a supporter can be found on the Lu-Glidz website, specifically on the "Support" page. The contribution amount is completely up to you. If you're unsure how much you'd like to give, I recommend a non-binding one euro per podcast episode and two euros per reading month on Lu-Glidz. Even when calculated annually, that's significantly less than what a subscription to a classic paraglider magazine costs.
Marco, maybe this is a bit of a heavy start, but just under eight years ago, you woke up one day and had no hands anymore. What happened?
So I started getting interested in chemistry very, very early. Since I was ten, I'd already done quite a bit of experimenting and had my own lab.
When I was 19, something went wrong during an experiment, specifically with electrolysis. I was doing a lot of electrochemistry, and the apparatus with the mixed resins tore apart, and my hands were on it. Then I woke up from the coma ten weeks later, and life was completely turned upside down. I saw that, yeah, my hands were gone, and I had to learn everything all over again from scratch. Because in such a long time, the body completely breaks down. That means the muscles were gone; I had to learn how to walk again. And in principle, everything I had known before had shifted and moved. Life was completely different.
Was that an induced coma? Just because of the severity of the accident? Or did the explosion basically knock you out so that...? No,
that was an induced coma. I had a lot of burns, and the body holds on, yeah, it's extreme pain. That means I wouldn't have been able to handle it if I hadn't been in a coma. And that's why I had to be put into a coma. And it was also very, very difficult to get me out again. And yeah, at times organ failure. So it was really a very, very close call. And in the end, after ten weeks, you didn't know what would happen. Because you... I was pumped up quite a bit. Pumped with morphine and everything they give you so that the body can cope with that pain. And because of that, it wasn't certain what would happen when I woke up. Does the brain still work properly? Can I still think properly? But luckily, it all worked out. And yeah, I still have my common sense and I can still think properly.
Thank God everything worked out despite the coma. And I didn't suffer any damage.
What was that like? Can you still remember that moment when you woke up? Like, imagine you looked down at yourself or something and saw, oh, I really don't have any hands anymore. What do you think in a moment like that?
Yes, that's an interesting question. Well, I knew relatively quickly, or actually I knew immediately, because it's not like a moment where you just wake up and see, "Oh, my hands are gone." It's a process. You have to come out of the coma. That means you start to notice it gradually. And I understood what happened relatively quickly too. So, for me, it wasn't really a shock. I noticed it bit by bit and it was actually okay for me from the very beginning. Because I registered it myself, immediately, as soon as I was back to my senses, out of the coma, that my hands were gone.
Was it like your subconscious had already understood it and made peace with it beforehand, more or less? Can
You could say that, yeah.
And then you were awake now, but you no longer had hands, ten weeks after that accident. How did things proceed for you from there? Was it a long rehab phase, or did it actually go relatively quickly?
Yeah, so first, just briefly, where I woke up. Quite funny. So I woke up and then I see outside that there's snow everywhere. And I thought, that can't be right. What's going on? Why is there snow now? Because it happened in November. And it was still warm and there was no snow in sight for miles. And then I asked, yeah, what's going on? Why is there snow now? They say, yeah, it's now January, or it was even early February. Because I couldn't believe at all that time had passed. Because in a coma, you don't notice anything. It's like a dream, a dream world, basically. And that was already quite, yeah, quite strange for me. Because making a time jump like that, where you don't notice the time passing, that was very strange for me at first. But regarding your question about your abilities. To get back to your question.
I wasn't in the hospital for that long because I regained my strength relatively quickly. I had a good physiotherapist there who looked after my thermals, and I trained with him every day. Then I was in the hospital for about three weeks and then in rehab for six weeks, although I ended the rehab two weeks early. Because I realized it wasn't doing me any good. And yeah, I went on vacation with my family instead of doing rehab. In hindsight, that did me much more good.
You had already finished school by that point and everything. You probably had some life plans. To what extent did that actually throw your life plans out of whack? You said you might have to come up with something new now.
Yeah exactly, I wanted to go to Australia for a year. Like, to travel. Or rather, I wanted to go to a farm. I had already finalized that. And then that was completely thrown out the window. And otherwise, I didn't have any real plans. I just wanted to go abroad, learn English well, and get some new experiences. But other than that, I didn't have any concrete professional plans yet.
So you didn't want to study chemistry, for example, because you'd already been dealing with chemistry for so long.
That was a direction that interested me a lot. But for me, it wasn't decided yet that it would be the thing. I mean, I wanted to use the time to really find out: is this it? Do I really enjoy it so much that I want to continue doing it professionally? That wasn't set in stone yet. It was already the direction that interested me a lot and where I felt a bit drawn toward, but it wasn't fixed for me yet.
Let's jump back a bit. One year before the accident you had, you started paragliding. You got your A-license back then. How important was flying to you at that point? What did it mean to you at the time?
Well, I actually started as far back as 2011. That's when I finished my license. That means I'd had the license for quite a long time, even before my accident. And yeah, for me, the fascination with flying was always there as a child. I'd always dreamed of flying since I was a kid. And I always imagined what it would be like to glide down, to hover, and to fly. And that's why, even as a child—well, that was at 16, you were allowed to get your paraglider license back then—I started at 16 to get the license. And by 17, I had the license, the A-license.
And what did flying mean to you back then? Or did you go flying very, very often at that time? Or was it still just a hobby you had as a teenager? And otherwise, you'd go mountain biking and all sorts of other things, right?
Exactly, it was one of my hobbies. I did a lot of extreme sports. And paragliding was one of them. Unfortunately, because I lived in Munich back then—well, mainly in Munich—I didn't have that much time to go flying, because, you know, it's always so busy with traffic when you head down to the mountains on the weekend. And then, of course, there are other things to do when you're a teenager. That means I didn't get to go flying nearly as much as I would have liked back then.
Can you still remember the moment when, after waking up from that coma, you first thought about flying again?
Actually, it was only later when I thought to myself, yes, I want to do something again from the extreme sports I used to do. And then I thought about what I could do best. I used to do motocross, I did kitesurfing, I did a lot of diving, and yes, also paragliding. And I thought to myself that paragliding would actually be the most likely to work. Yes, and then I just sat down and thought about how that could work. I went out to a meadow, to a sports field, with my old paraglider—that was from Ozone Element, a really heavy fabric from back then—and I tried to get it up there. And of course, with the old gliders, it was still very, very difficult. But even then, I was already tinkering with how it could work with the old gliders to get the glider up.
And that's how it started. That was actually the paragliding option where I said that, out of the things I used to do, it could most likely still work in my situation.
How big were the moments of frustration at the beginning, when you saw, okay, what I could do before was just simply inflating the glider and grabbing it with my hands and all the A-risers and everything else that goes with it, which for a person who still has hands is, put simply, quite easy to do by hand. And you couldn't do that. So did you feel frustration there, or was it just a challenge?
That was always a challenge for me. I mean, I enjoyed seeing how it could work and how I could manage it. So frustration? I rarely feel frustrated by anything that I think would be quite simple for a normal person. I always see it as a challenge and have fun figuring out how to solve it.
Now describe it so the listeners can picture it a bit—meaning, your hands are gone. But what exactly is gone? What can still be seen? What is actually left?
Basically, I'd say two-thirds of the forearm is still there. That means the hand is gone, and then about a third of the forearm remains. It's relatively equal on both sides. One arm is a bit more pointed and the other is a bit blunter. So, I can actually do quite a few different things. But basically, that's how you can imagine it.
And in everyday life, do you normally use some kind of prosthetics, or are you mostly just out and about with these residual limbs?
Exactly, I have prosthetics. I had them for about four years. I lived for four years without prosthetics, and that was a very, very valuable time because I learned how to manage without them. And yeah, then I said, I want more. I'm just a person who really likes being independent, and I want to be even more independent. And some things just work with prosthetics. For example, driving a car. So driving a car only works with prosthetics. And then I said, I want to become more independent. And for that, I needed the prosthetics. I decided then that was the right time for me. Before that, I said, no, I don't want to. And then suddenly I said, now I'm ready for it. Now I want prosthetics. Now I'm very, very happy that I have the prosthetics, because I can really do a lot with them.
Most things can also be done without them, but it's much more time-consuming. And more exhausting.
When you go flying now, do you use your prosthetics for that, because you can obviously grip lines or other things better with them than if you just have arm stumps? At least from the
Just to give you an idea. I actually started before I even had the prosthetics. That means originally I did it completely without prosthetics. And for a long time after that, I went flying a few more times. That was also all without prosthetics. I made myself a pullover. And the pullover is basically tailored to my arm. I just sewed the contour of the arm so that I sit in it quite snugly. And I sewed two loops on top, so one loop on each arm. And I attach the brake lines there. That's how I started. That was the first prototype, which I'm still flying with currently, but I just got my new jacket yesterday.
And exactly, for a long time—I'd say over the last three and a half years—I actually didn't fly. I have to explain it a bit more so you understand the way I was flying. Right, I flew with the sweater, but I had the problem that I still needed help. That means at the launch site, someone had to help me connect to the paraglider. Like, attaching the brake lines to my sweater or also doing the harness.
Is that tied on? So now, are the brake lines basically tied to your sweater, or how are you supposed to imagine that?
Exactly, back then we really knotted it on, or rather just hung the small carabiner on it for simplicity. And then when landing, someone had to free me from it again because I was simply connected to the glider. And I couldn't undo it. That means someone had to help me out of the harness. And I had to be freed from the carabiners. Yeah, I didn't really like that back then. I think I did about five flights and then it just faded away again because I simply missed that independence. And that freedom you have when flying, you lose it because of that. If you know you always need someone at the start or at the landing. That's not the feeling you actually want to have when flying. And then I started again in 2020 because I said I need that feeling.
That's for a change, to clear my head. I have to get out again. I have to get out more. I have to go flying again. I said there has to be a solution so that I can do it independently. And then I sat down on it again this year and thought about how I can do every step independently so that I can go flying completely independently. Yeah, and then I tinkered around with a few things. And thank God, I found a solution for every problem. And currently, it's like this: I've found a system where I can clip myself in with a magnet using something like—well, it's actually a dog line—I've found a system where I can clip myself in with a magnet. And again, I mean, you can imagine it, it's like a small eyelet attached to the sweater.
And on the brake lines, where the grip is, there's the counterpart. And I just have to get close to it. Then it pulls in with the magnet. And then I'm clipped in. It can hold up to, over 200 kilos. So completely sufficient. But it's also mechanically locked. Exactly. A bit, right? Exactly, right, yes. It clips in. And when landing, I can easily undo it myself. I take it between my legs. Just have to pull a small ring through. And then I can get out of it very easily too. I'm securely connected while flying. That means while flying, I can't get out of, out of this secure connection with the glider.
Just to clarify here. So you're still flying without your prosthetics, but just wearing this special sweater with the corresponding gear? Why don't you use the prosthetics for that?
Ah, exactly. I skipped over that point. At the beginning of the year, before I tried out the system, I also thought, yeah, it'll work better with the prosthetics. I can do everything independently. Yeah. And I was able to do everything with the prosthetics. But the problem was that up on the mountain,
when you're standing there in the full sun and the sun is beating down, you start sweating pretty quickly. Especially since a relatively large part of my body has burns and I can't sweat in those areas, I sweat even more elsewhere. And when I sweat, the prosthetics stop working. Because the prosthetics work with the signals from the muscles, the electromagnetic ones, and as soon as sweat gets on them, the signal gets worse and more unclear. And then, in some cases, the prosthetics stop working entirely.
So these are basically like electrodes, and they're basically short-circuited when sweat gets in between, right?
Exactly, right, yeah. And that's the problem, that I was standing at the launch site and had to do it quickly, quickly, before I started sweating. And then it was the issue again that if I'm too slow, I can't grab anything anymore, then I can't get the short stuff closed,
the brake handles are then hard to grip, the glider is hard to sort. That means everything became difficult. And then, when I was in the air, the problem was that I would slip out of the prosthetics very easily. Because if I pull a bit harder when braking and my arms are just, or the prosthetic is wet, then I slip out even faster and I had to push myself back into the prosthetic every time I braked so that I wouldn't slip out. That was of course extremely uncomfortable.
That means the prosthesis is basically buckled onto your forearm, like with a buckle. But when you pull, it just slides forward out of it.
Exactly. So, in principle, it's attached at the elbow. The elbow sticks out, and behind the elbow, there's another loop around; it's all made of silicone, so that's what holds it. But in certain positions, for example, if I stretch out my arm, I slip out very easily if it's a bit damp inside. And in paragliding, there's also a position where I slip out of the prosthesis quite easily. That's why I said it's all too dangerous and stressful for me, because then I'm dependent on the technique again. Because if, for example, up on the mountain, the prosthesis doesn't work at one point—which happens quite often—then I can't fly. And I wanted to avoid that when I said, no, I know the old system with the sweater worked well,
...or rather, I still had to figure out a few things, like how to independently fasten the sweater to the brake line. But otherwise, it was actually a very good solution that I managed well back then, and I have a very, very good feel for the glider. With prosthetics, from a feeling perspective, if you've attached your brake line to a stick and have something in between where your hand isn't, you just don't have that good feel anymore.
Now I'm imagining this with a... you said it's a sweater that's been sewn off. Sweaters are kind of soft and stuff. Doesn't it slip when you lift your arms up and then pull on it? Doesn't the sweater basically slide up your arm, so you can't really pull properly?
Yes, it does exactly that. Just like you're saying, it does. And that's also really good because I can extend my brake distance this way. I have a shortened brake distance because, can you imagine, the attachment is about ten centimeters away from my elbow. And that means I'm missing a few centimeters to brake through and also to release. I can use the sweater quite well to slide out a bit to get more brake distance or to release more, and I can also go back in when I need more brake distance. That means I've actually learned to love this flexibility of the sweater over the last few months because I can play around a bit and expand my range there a little. And it's not a problem in terms of finesse either.
So, it's naturally a bit elastic, but you don't feel it at all.
Did you use a special fabric that's as rigid as possible on its own, or did you sew in a reinforcement tape or something else?
Exactly, I sewed in a reinforcement tape. So it's just a normal fleece sweater and I simply sewed a reinforcement tape into it.
Before the start, you're already connected to your brake lines and everything else. So how does starting work then, when you don't have hands to basically take up the A lines and everything else? Like the classic way people normally start. What do you do there?
I basically put all the lines over my arms and don't take the A lines in my hands at all. Or the A lines have no tension, well, no more tension than the other lines. That means I put them all over, over the arms, and with good forward lean and good weight—so I put a lot of weight on my hips, on the harness—and then with good forward lean, with a good impulse, an initial impulse, I can actually start very well. So in zero wind, I struggle a bit,
but as soon as there's zero wind and a slight incline, it works very, very well. But zero wind on a flat surface, it's not that easy. It works, but it's not that easy.
That means you really start out from the hip. Basically, that's what the DHV teaching says, what you should mainly do—that you shouldn't pull on the A lines themselves that much, but maybe just guide them a bit. But otherwise, the actual impulse should come from the hip, and you inevitably have to do that.
Exactly. For me, most of it really comes from the hips. I try to stretch my arms as far back as possible to get as much pressure on my hips as possible.
Some pilots, when they take off, they can still feel it through the A-risers, they can feel a bit how the glider is positioned behind them and stuff like that. Do you do all of that just through your hips too?
Yes, mostly. But I also feel it in my arms when the glider rises. When the straps are lying over them, I can notice which direction more pressure is coming from and can feel that from my arms as well. But the bulk of it definitely comes from the hips.
Do you still have more frequent launch failures than others when you compare yourself to other pilots you might fly with?
I have very, very few launch failures. I mean, lately, I think in the last two months, I haven't had any launch failures at all. So, I'm still learning backward launches, but with forward launches, I haven't had any failures in the last few months.
That means, for learning reverse starts, you haven't really learned to start in strong wind yet, where you'd say, "I'd go flying even in stronger wind," but you have a specific window where you'd like a bit of wind so you can pull forward nicely. But if it gets too strong, then you'd probably have your problems too.
Yeah, high wind is definitely still an issue, I'd say. But it's doable—up to 20 km/h is no problem. That works. For me, it's just the issue that I can't brake as much. That means if the glider just pulls me up or, uh,
rises uncontrollably and too quickly, even if I brake quickly, it doesn't do much for me because I just don't have the leverage. I can't stall the glider. That's the big issue for me. But yeah, I'm actually developing a solution right now to master that as well.
That means you have to figure out for yourself how to do everything. Now tell me, how can you build a solution to still be able to stall when you have arms that are too short?
Yes, that's another consideration. I haven't tested it yet. But I already have all the stuff with me. That means it'll be tested over the next few days. I'm going to build in a small pulley system. Specifically, where the brake line goes through this redirection pulley, I'd attach the brake handle and tie it off firmly. And between the redirection pulley and where the brake handle is attached, I'll put in another pulley. That way, I have a double pull. This means if I pull down, I'm pulling double the length. And that way, I can build in a certain amount of slack right from the start between my sweater attachment and the glider. So, I'm saying I'll build in 15, 20 cm of slack.
And I can also, because I have half the travel, I can then brake completely. That means it's easier for me when I fly maneuvers where I have to release completely, or also when starting, where I must not brake at all, it's easier for me. And even in strong winds, I can brake the glider down. If
If I've understood this correctly, you choose a brake handle that basically sits on a pulley and is slightly movable on that pulley on this brake line. And because of that, when you pull on the brake handle, the pull goes one way, of course, up to the glider and the other way to the attachment point of the brake line on your riser. And because of that, you basically have this branch, like a V, that forms there. And with that, you get the effect of having the shortened braking distances accordingly.
Exactly right, yes. So that's the plan. I don't see anything against it yet. Of course, I have the double force.
And I also have to look at the finesse. But I think it's all a matter of getting used to it. You just have to adapt again and practice a bit. But I don't see anything that could somehow speak against that.
All of that requires a lot of mental work, but certainly also a lot of training, in the sense of saying, I need to get to the point where all of this works. How many hours have you spent on ground handling alone so far, that you can say, I want to be so sure that I can also start properly once I'm up on the mountain?
Ground handling? I'd love to do ground handling much, much more often, but the wind is simply too weak too often. Because I'd naturally like to practice ground handling in strong winds. In total, I've probably done about 15 to 20 hours of ground handling.
And when you go flying now, do you do that all by yourself, or are you still dependent on other people in some way and basically still relying on some kind of help?
No, I actually managed to get to the point where I can do everything completely independently from start to finish. So, I go out with my group, the Paragliding Salzburg group, quite a lot, but I also go out alone every now and then when it fits—when the weather is right and I spontaneously say I feel like going to the mountains, then I like to go to the mountains alone and can unpack, set everything up, stow everything away, and clip it all into the harness from start to finish. For example, I leave the harness closed. I don't open it at all. That means I just slide right in. The glider stays connected to the harness.
and so I don't need to open or close anything, which is a huge relief for me. And when landing, it's exactly the same. I leave everything connected, then I have my special packing system where I get everything back in nicely and compactly. What I also thought at first would be a challenge was packing the glider very, very small and neatly so that it fits back into the harness. But it all worked very, very well and sometimes I'm not even that much slower than others.
Do you still have your prosthetics with you while flying? Not on your hands, because you sweat there, but rather you say you take them along so that unpacking, packing, and everything else might be easier. But for the flight, do you then put your two prosthetics into the harness at the back?
Actually, no. I fly completely without prosthetics. That means I usually don't have them with me in the mountains. And sometimes packing a glider is much easier without prosthetics than with them. Why? I have more feeling. So, when I'm packing and folding the glider and then twisting and folding it, I can control much better through the feeling in my arms where I'm folding what, how I'm folding it, because with the prosthetics, I just don't feel that fine detail. And so, I can actually do everything better when packing without prosthetics than with them. For example, zippers. I just made a strap on there where I can slip my arm in and then just kneel on the bag to compress the whole thing and zip it up.
And that's not a problem at all with small aids. I really haven't adapted much. It's actually only with the glider, where I've put this fastening system on. And I've put a few loops on the backpack. Other than that, everything is basically as usual.
Speaking of sliding your arms in. How do you do that with the rescuer? I mean, normally you have to reach out and actually grab that rescue handle. Now you have nothing to grab. Do you go out like that, saying, "I don't have a rescuer"? Or how are you supposed to imagine that?
Yeah, a lanyard is important to me. Just having that feeling of safety. And I have this Range -Gurt gear now and I'm extremely happy with it. And it's standard metal at the front. A lanyard, so a front container. And I've tried it out. I can slip my arm in. I also tried it in the GeForce -Trainer. And it's no problem controlling it with my left hand with the right hand. In front of the belt, behind the belt, at 4G. So it all works perfectly.
Did you have to enlarge that rescue loop, the grip loop, somehow? Or is it just the standard loop that's there, and you can just quickly slip your residual limb into it? Slide it in and then throw it out?
Exactly. I kept the standard loop. I was considering whether I should build a larger one. But it works well with the standard loop. And that's why I thought, I don't need to rebuild anything if it works. I had a different harness back then, where I had the container with the rescuer on the side, and I converted the speed bar into a rescuer. That means when I pressed the speed bar, it kicked the rescuer out from the side via a cable pull. I had that before. But then I basically had to do without the speed bar. And that's why I said that's not the optimal solution and switched to this version.
Solutions like that might also be of interest to you, which are basically like... there are harnesses that have a built-in ejection mechanism where the rescuer or something is actually pushed out pyrotechnically, where you basically would just have to press a button to trigger it. There are a few developments in that direction. Yes, definitely. Have you ever thought about something like that? Or do you say, no, my Rangers works perfectly?
Yeah, I've thought about that and put a lot of thought into how it could work. And that was definitely one option. But we've been advised against it so much because...
You just don't know when it might react when it's not supposed to. All these systems are apparently... I don't know, but I was advised against it because they might not be that reliable. And I'm actually quite happy that I'm not dependent on such a system and have it in my own hand, found something in the output filter, and don't have to hope that such a system will work.
How about other maneuvers? You say the hand is missing, so you have shorter arms, you can't reach as high and stuff. What about laying on the ears, for example?
Exactly, putting the ears down was an issue I actually couldn't do. That means it was also... I did this safety training in October this year. And for me, a major goal was putting the ears down. It's actually a simple maneuver that everyone masters, but it's just not that easy for me because I can't get into the line as easily. That means I get into the line, I tried it before too, but I can only pull the outer lock. Because if I take the second line, the one on the second line lock, then I'm actually pulling a front collapse. And the second disadvantage is, if I reach up and pull that far down, I automatically brake the glider because I'm simply limited there and can't let go of the brake lines.
And that's why it was a minor challenge I wanted to solve. We spent a long time on it. Like, what could work there? And then I found a very simple solution with the Aachensee flight school. We just hung the second A-line, the one on the second line lock, onto the first line lock. And that way, I... I could reach in from the top, which was never actually a problem, but I could only do the small ears. With this variation, I was able to reach in from the top normally. With the speed bar, it's even easier. And I was able to make really nice, large ears. I braked a bit, yeah, but that wasn't a problem at all. So the ears were really nice and big. What glider are you flying? An Ariba 3, a Skywalk. That's a light wing too. Exactly, that's a light wing.
That means for launching and stuff, it's also... Probably, it's a plus for you that it's also light, because it really gets up easily and all that.
Yes, it's great. So for launching, the glider is really excellent.
Did you also specifically try out different gliders for that, to say, "this is the one that suits me best in terms of launch behavior or whatever," or "this is the one I can best manage with the riser handling, the lines, and all that"? Or was it one you already had and just said, "then I'll fly with that one"?
I've actually only flown two gliders in my life. One was the Element from Ozon. That was the first glider I learned with. And then after the accident, the Ariba was in the low-medium B range.
...as a light variant, it was optimal for me. And then I tried it, it suited me for launching, worked great, and I haven't really tried any other glider since. That means I don't have a real comparison to other gliders. But I'm definitely going to do some testing over the next while, because I'm already interested—what are the differences between the gliders actually? And what else could be better for me?
Now you're going flying with your friends from Salzburg. You were at the SIV training. How do other pilots who don't know you yet react when they see for the first time that there's someone coming to the launch site without hands?
Yeah, that's an interesting question too. There are so many different reactions. Some people come up and say, "Wow, that's so cool, how do you do that?" They're very interested. Others come up and ask, "Yeah, can I help you with something? Or is everything okay?" Some just watch curiously from a distance. Others look away because they might think it's awkward to look at me. It's all very, very different. But what I find consistently really positive is that everyone is extremely helpful. I think that's really, really great.
Isn't that sometimes even, maybe even exaggerated? Like, you think, I can actually do this alone. And now maybe some helpful people just keep pushing themselves on me because they just think, oh, the poor guy, he has no hands. Maybe I have to give him something. Maybe I have to help him with something or something like that. And then you say, actually, I want to do it alone right now and so on.
Yeah, actually. Generally, it's like this: I want to do everything independently. It's important for me to know that I can do it on my own. As soon as I've figured out how it works and don't have to practice anymore. So I always practice it independently until I know it works. And I also tell people, and I often feel bad saying it, but I say, "Well, I still have to practice this. I don't need help right now." That means I turn down help until I know I can do it perfectly by myself. And once I know I can do it and it would be unnecessary effort, and someone wants to help me, then I'm happy to accept the help. I couldn't do that in the past either, because I'm just someone who wants to do everything independently.
But I've learned in the meantime, or rather had the experience, that I'm allowed to accept help too. And that's why, yeah, it's sometimes one way, sometimes the other. Depending on whether I want to learn something new and just get the routine down, then I don't accept help. But otherwise, if I know I can do it, that I can do it normally and I can save myself a few minutes that way, then I'm very, very happy to accept help too.
So do you also, because you say you practice until you can do it well, do you also take a glider and pack it in and out ten times in a row, just to say that—well, you can't even say the maneuvers have to be perfect, but basically these arm movements have to be solid.
I actually did that at the beginning, yeah. I often flew down from the small practice slope. So, if I'm already packing everything together, I also want to fly for a bit. That means I went to the practice slope, unpacked everything at the top, flew down those 50 meters, packed everything back together at the bottom, and did all that five, six, seven times. And by then, it actually already felt right. I get into the routine relatively quickly, but I practice it beforehand. I really practice it for as long as it takes until it works and until I feel comfortable. And it doesn't become a nuisance for me. I mean, I really stay persistent with stuff like that.
Let's talk briefly about your SIV training again. You just said, okay, we found a system for how to lay out the ears. SIV training is also often about, especially when you're doing those first sessions, pulling your first collapses, flying held collapses and stuff like that. Were you able to do something like that too, or were those maneuvers that actually, yeah, didn't work with your setup?
Yes, that all worked. So the collapses worked very, very well thanks to the modification. We ran through everything. We did side collapses, front collapses, we accelerated them too, and it all worked extremely well.
And were there any other maneuvers that you flew as well? Like the steep spiral or anything else?
Exactly, so originally I wanted to do the SIV training for two things. I wanted to master the steep spiral, so descent maneuvers, the steep spiral, and laying ears. I had already taught myself the steep spiral before that. Because I had a few good days where the thermals were very good. So I would always turn over the mountain, fly out, and then fly back to the mountain in a spiral. So I was able to practice the spirals very well because I did the height again at the mountain and was able to do, yeah, six, seven, eight spirals in one flight, and I taught myself that already. So that point was already checked off. I then learned laying ears there. Learned through the conversion of what we can do there.
And then we, that was basically done on the first day already. And then we looked at what's still left to do? Yeah, and then we moved on. I then, exactly, we did the wingover, which is a bit more difficult for me in terms of timing because I can't release the glider that well. I have to stretch extremely, but also shift the weight, which means, because of the shortened braking path, it's not that easy for me because I simply have to work more with my body. But that will be with the new one. There
your pulley system would also help you fly more dynamic maneuvers, basically.
Absolutely, absolutely, exactly. Then we did a folded spiral. That means folding one side in, shifting the weight, and it's basically a simulated crash. That was at the Ahrensee flight school, they call it Hermann.
Exactly, so it was a really cool maneuver. It was extremely fun. I still like doing that. Then I did an asymmetrical spiral. That was also very funny. And at the end, I said, yeah, I'd really like to try the Sat. And Lukas was already there, looking after me on the radio, saying, yeah, yeah, give it a try. He was a bit skeptical, but he said it.
That sounds almost overambitious if you imagine someone who can't pull their arms in very deep and basically has nothing to lean on for the exception of the outside and stuff like that. But did it work?
Exactly, I knew, yeah, that's obviously going to be a challenge because you usually do a Sat with an arm rest. And that means I have to shift my weight extremely well. And that's why I thought it was cool. The whole group from Ahrensee supported me completely and said, yeah, let's try it. There was some skepticism, of course, but they did everything with me, which I thought was really cool. And then I thought, yeah, now I'll show them. It's going to work. I then put my full weight onto one side, to the point where I almost got a cramp in my thigh. And yeah, as soon as I had shifted the weight completely, I went into the spiral on one side, and then as soon as it got some momentum, I braked hard.
Yeah, and then I actually got into the sat and stayed in it. And it was a really, really great feeling. So the sat was the best experience of the whole SIV training. Yeah, and then I tried it on the left right away. It worked on the left too. And then I was happy. So, goals, more achieved during the SIV training.
That means it doesn't push you back as much during the Sat, so you really manage to shift the weight far enough that it doesn't push you back.
Yeah, I mean, the pressure is extreme. It really wants to pull you in the other direction. But it worked. I mean, it worked. It's doable. It's doable.
That means you really need a lot of willpower for it. Yeah, I'd say so. Are you a person with a lot of willpower?
Absolutely. Otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am now. So, if I want something, I see it through and keep trying until I've succeeded. Are there moments where you also fail? Definitely, yes. Definitely. But I still don't think it's that bad. I mean, if I see that it's important to me, then I find alternatives. And if it's not that important to me, then it's not a big deal if I don't manage to do it. But in principle, it always happens that some things don't work out. But I can live with that just fine. And if it's really important to me, as I said, then I find solutions or alternatives.
We've talked a bit about your paragliding career. How has it been for you after that accident? Life is turned upside down. What do I do now? How did things proceed for you professionally?
After the accident, I didn't do anything for six months and then thought, okay, this is getting a bit dull. So I said, yeah, I want to study. I started a distance learning program. I studied Finance and Management. Then, six months into that, I had a product idea and thought, oh, that's really exciting. I'm interested in that. I could take what I'm learning theoretically in my studies and put it into practice right away. So I said, yeah, I'll start a company and see if what I'm learning in theory actually holds up. Exactly, I built the company on the side while studying.
But I saw that doing both together didn't work. Because the focus—I was just so motivated with the company—and then I realized I couldn't switch off. When I was studying, I only thought about what I could move forward in the company. So I said I have to make a decision: either the company or the studies. And I decided to keep the studies going on the side to have a certain amount of security, for the sake of my feelings. But then I focused completely on the company.
At this point, I'm going to briefly fade out the ongoing conversation with Marco or summarize it a bit. Because Marco just told me in quite some detail how and with what he built a professional livelihood. But that's ultimately a different story, and its somewhat promotional content doesn't really fit the Podz-Glidz format. Just a brief summary: Marco already set up an online trade in paravanes and bamboo lamps alongside his studies, under the brand name Parabo. Meanwhile, in his own small company BGT with six employees, he manages two other brands, FitFlip and TerraTherm. FitFlip is about particularly functional microfiber towels for sports and outdoor enthusiasts. TerraTherm is a brand for insertable heat pads based on iron powder and activated carbon, which can keep hands, feet, and toes warm for hours on cold days without any batteries.
Marco told me that he often uses the heat pads himself while paragliding. His injured forearms have poorer circulation and are therefore very sensitive to the cold. That's why on cooler days, he always puts heat pads into the sleeves of his special control jacket. And that's where we continue with our conversation with Marco.
So that means you're using your products now when you go flying. Do you go flying in the winter too, and do you always have your heat pads with you then?
Absolutely, so it's going to be a lot of fun in the winter because I'll be doing a lot of lift flying and trying out ski resorts, just lots of up and down, practicing many maneuvers. I'll probably even manage to get more flights in the winter than I do in the summer, probably. And that's why it's all the more important that I stay warm when I have a long day. Because it's just like when you're flying, you're moving, if you're hiking up a mountain, you're sweating or you're warm anyway. But when you're flying, you might be waiting up at the launch site for a bit or you're in the air or waiting down at the landing field for your friends, then you're just standing around and you cool down. And it's exactly during those times that it's all the more important that you stay warm, and anything that's static, you cool down.
And that's with paragliding—when you're flying, standing at the launch site or at the landing field, you cool down relatively quickly, which is why the pads are extremely valuable to me.
How often do you actually get around to going flying these days? Or how often do you make time for it?
So I try to go flying every second or third day. For example, since August—the last three and a half months—if we think about it briefly, I've done nearly 70 flights with 35 flight hours. So, from that perspective, I'm actually out there almost every other day. Yes, if you look at the statistics. Well, depending on the weather, if it's really, really good, then I might go on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. If the weather isn't right, I might not go for a week. But since I'm out in Salzburg a lot and Geisberg is not far from work, it's easy for me to just go for a nice glide right after work.
and so I never really get out of my routine, because I can actually fly anytime.
Of all the flights you've done this year, what was your personal highlight from a flying perspective?
There were a few more. There were several highlights. But definitely the best experience, and I'll never forget it—I was with my group, we were at the Bischling, and then in the evening, around half past five, we geared up again to 2.8 and said, "Yeah, let's try to do a top landing on the mountain opposite, the Tennengebirge."
And yeah, we weren't sure because none of us had ever done a top landing before, like on another mountain. Then we said, yeah, let's give it a try, so it appealed to all of us, but if we don't feel good, we won't do it. And then we flew over, the thermals worked great, and then we all felt so good that we said, yeah, we can do this. And yeah, then we all managed to land perfectly, which was first of all an amazing feeling, because we had all that gear with us—we had everything, sleeping bags, camping stoves, tents and so on—if we don't have to haul it up, but can just fly it up. Exactly, so we arrived, then first gathered some wood there for the campfire for the evening, then set up our tents,
we even made goulash for dinner in the camping stove, then sat together nicely by the campfire with a bit of music. Jakob then hiked up on foot because he got back from work a bit later, which means he did a hike behind us. He brought a few beers, and then we sat by the campfire, just enjoying the evening, had a beautiful starry sky, and yeah, a truly gigantic time. Then we went to sleep, got up in the morning, made coffee, first enjoyed a beautiful sunrise, and then had a nice glide in the morning sun. So that was an absolutely brilliant experience and I'm really, really grateful to the group. A group is extreme.
Valuable, because you just experience such cool things. A group that challenges each other, helps each other out. We always help each other with video analyses and look at what can be optimized, what could be done better during the start, the maneuvers, and so on. So that is—and especially the moments of mutual exchange, just having people you can talk to—that's worth an incredible amount, and we have so much fun, such a crazy crew where we've really experienced some great things.
But you're the only one there who has a handicap in a way.
Yeah, exactly, I'm the only one of them.
Have you ever experienced any precarious situations while flying, also due to your handicap?
Once during a launch, yeah, my brake handle—because I hadn't cut the brake handle off yet. The brake handle is still dangling around a bit for me. I kept it on back then as a safety measure in case my system were to somehow open, which actually shouldn't happen, but I felt better having the brake handle still on. And during the launch, after the launch, it swung up into the lines, right at the riser, and got tangled. That means I couldn't brake anymore. And then I thought, yeah, what can I do for the landing? I mean, while flying it wasn't a problem at all because I can steer with my weight, but during the landing it was an issue because I couldn't brake on one side.
That means you can't reach up there to get it out, so your arm isn't long enough.
That should be enough, but it was so knotted up in there, it fell in, spun around once, and basically fell in during the launch, then got pulled in because of the tension that built up after I took off, and then I couldn't get it out anymore. Yeah, and then I thought about what I could do, tried while in flight to grab the brake line, like directly into the brake line, which still worked. And then I tested a bit in flight how it works, and was actually able to land relatively gently, not where I wanted to, but I arrived very, very gently. And yeah, that was another experience where I learned from it and saw, aha, everything that can somehow get tangled has to go.
And since it turned out well, it was another good start. But otherwise, nothing has really happened because of the handicap, or I have to say, the situation was somehow critical because of it.
With all these positive experiences you've had with flying this year, and the great successes with hike and fly, cross-country, and everything else, what flying goals have you set for yourself for next year?
So, I definitely want to do a three-day trip next year where I go bivouac flying for three days. Alone? Alone, yes, exactly. So of course I'd also like to do it with the group, but definitely once alone, to see how it works and what's possible on your own.
Does that work for setting up the tent and stuff too? I imagine that would be exciting, especially since you're saying you'd leave your prosthetics at home because you're going without them.
Yeah, so setting up a tent, I have to see if I'll bring a tent or just take a bivy bag and sleep under the open sky. But a tent would be nice. That would probably work too. But everything should work. So if I can get the gear into my pack, into the Range-Pack or the compartment in the back, because I do have to take some stuff with me, the rest should work. The only thing I see as a challenge is basically getting all the gear into the pockets myself. But otherwise, I don't see anything that suggests it won't work.
What do you find so interesting about doing it alone? Because you just said that flying in a group gives you so much. Is it an additional challenge to say, I want to show that I can do this alone too?
Exactly, that's it, yes. That's the challenge—to see that I'm not dependent on anyone and can experience something like this alone. But of course, in a group, I'd be in immediately. But it's something where I say, doing something like this alone, I can prove to myself what all works, or set myself a challenge again, in any case.
Then I have one last question left for you. Marco, when someone like you, despite such a handicap, having no hands left, looks at life so positively and with such a drive, how do you do it? What can you recommend to people who are struggling with their own limitations in life? Do you have a tip?
That's difficult, very difficult. Well, I think part of it is a basic attitude of mine that I really see things through and have fun doing it. Even things that might seem hard, I keep at them for as long as it takes until they work. But on the other hand, yeah, it's simply not giving up. You just have to keep the fun in it. Not getting frustrated and thinking, oh shit, I can't do this now. But instead, just thinking, cool, I get to learn something again. I get to show what's all possible again. So, maybe approach some things more loosely and not so intensely. Just see it as a game. I see my life, my whole life, as a game.
Do you take
do you ever make fun of yourself for your handicap?
All the time. I mean, I always find it funny to make jokes about it. Or, yeah, some people don't find it so great at first, they find it a bit weird. But yeah, I find it pretty funny. What's your favorite joke of a one-armed person? Wow, I don't actually have a specific one right now. It's always situation-dependent, depending on how it fits in there.
Alright, Marco. Let's leave it at that. I love how you're just winging it and going your own way. And I wish you the best, especially with that great adventure—doing even a multi-day hike-and-fly there—I hope you can make that happen next year. That's actually something I'd love to do myself. So, I'm already watching quite enviously to see if you actually manage it. Maybe we can do another podcast afterwards. Then you can tell me about what experiences you had with it. In any case, I wish you all the best with it. And thank you for your story and for all your zest for life. It's just fun listening to you.
Yes, thank you so much. I really enjoyed it too.
That was Marco Brandstetter in conversation with Lucian Haas. In the show notes for this blog, I have put together some links related to this podcast episode. This includes the addresses of the webshops for FitFlip and TerraTerm run by Marco. If you like Podz-Glidz, then please pass the podcast along. You can find all previous podcast episodes on Looglites and Soundcloud, as well as well-known audio catalogs like Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, etc. To make sure you don't miss a new episode, you can also subscribe to Podz-Glidz right now in your podcatcher. You'll also be with me right away. That way, you'll also be a supporter of Podz-Glidz and Looglites. Because that helps me to continue presenting you with many more interesting stories from the cosmos of paragliding in the future.
See you then. Bye.