Randy Roth

Owner, Corporate Contracts
Skydiving Photographer

Randy Roth made his first skydive when he was 21, after a buddy of his dared him to dive with him and subsequently called Roth “chicken” enough times that he went through with it.

And he was hooked.

He got his expert license in 1984, but after he got married and they had kids he slowed down his skydiving to a handful of jumps a year. In 2006, as his children were getting older, he began jumping more frequently again. 

Now 58, Roth has completed more than 1,500 jumps, including more than 30 he’s already done this year. Since 2007 he has shot video and photos of other skydivers, using a special helmet camera setup, for SkyDive Iowa in Brooklyn. 

The thrill comes from jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to hurtle earthward at 120 mph, usually from a height of 10,000 feet for about 35 seconds of free fall. Or, for a longer fall, he sometimes jumps from as high as 14,000 feet. At about 3,000 feet, he pulls the rip cord, slowing to a drop of 20 mph to glide to the ground beneath a colorful square canopy. 

“I’ve never had to use my reserve,” he said with a grin, gently tapping his wooden kitchen counter