Regan Tetlow is known in the skydiving community for his vivacious and charismatic personality and the man has brought multiple sports into the media’s eye. He is incredibly passionate about air sports and sharing it with others. I was fortunate enough to sit down with him during quarantine and hear all the incredible things he’s done and is doing!
Regan grew up in Stalybridge, a town near Manchester in England. The house was nestled below the flight path for the Manchester Airport about 12 miles from his house. All different types of airplanes cruised low in the skies above his house before landing at the airport. “I was already interested in aviation,” he recalled, “so this was really cool for me to watch these planes coming in.”
However, it wasn’t until September 9th, 1990 that he set foot on a skydiving center, and for no small reason. Regan and a bunch of friends were attempting different feats to raise money for charity. “Me and my friends decided to make a parachute jump. I think between us we managed to raise around £5000 to go towards a cat scanner.” The charity was for Mandy Turner who was terminally diagnosed with leukemia when she was in her early twenties, “and the whole town was getting behind to raise funds to help out.”
That was the beginning of Regan’s love and passion for skydiving. Since then, he has racked up quite a resume in the sport and is known for load organizing, his enthusiasm and inclusiveness in skydiving, and being an absolutely positive role model in our sport. “The absolute favorite thing is getting to jump with new people. This is what makes it so special. I always find it a thrill to share a skydive with somebody that I have never jumped with before. Another very rewarding aspect of the job is coaching newer formation skydivers with tips and tricks for the exit. I love that,” he said.
Another highlight for Regan was being introduced to Rich Grimm – a long time jumper, famous for hosting exotic boogies around the world. Regan said, “This has allowed me to jump and load organize in places I could never have dreamed of visiting! I have been very fortunate to skydive in some extremely beautiful places, most recently the Maldives, of course. Alaska was very special and twice into the blue hole in Belize – THAT has to be an experience like nothing else!” He also fondly remembered his favorite places that bring back nostalgia, “I always find in my mind drifting back to those early student summer days on the DZ in the UK with a Cessna and a bunch of close friends.”
Regan recalled when he was a young jumper and how he admired a 4-Way team named Sebastian XL, coached by John McIver and later, Pete Allum, “they were the superstars for us Brits! Those boys are still my heroes!” He also went on to say, “Like in all air sports, it’s always good to have the mind of a student. I am constantly learning, especially now with social media and all the seminars and coaching that has been available during the pandemic – it’s been priceless learning! There is so much good information out there now from people all over the world!”
Skydivers that have been in the sport for some time are, in their own right, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Skydiving offers various opportunities that are ripe for the taking, and sometimes being in the right place, at the right time. Regan got his first break in air sports commentary while working at Skydive Empuriabrava, Spain in 2005 and 2006 for the King of Swoop competition. Then he worked for the very first Dubai International Parachuting Championships in 2010 and from there, his role really started to branch out as a commentator and emcee presenter.
Photos from left to right, courtesy of:
1. Inflight Dubai, 2. Wind Games, 3. FAI
“From there, CYPRES brought me on along with Rob Kendall to report and load organize at various events worldwide, and then the world of indoor skydiving competitions reached out to me,” he recalled. “From there, I received contact from the World airports Federation, the FAI, and begin presenting events for them. The first major one being the world games in Cali Colombia 2013 where I commentated on canopy piloting and paragliding accuracy. All the while I was traveling back to Dubai every year for the end of year Championships. The two major highlights there being the Mondial in 2012 and the World Air Games in 2015. This led to me hosting the FAI general conference and the drone racing championships finishing in the FAI drone working world championships in China. Then in 2015, I joined the team of the Swoop Freestyle championships. I now have over 5000 hours of live TV presenting experience.”
It has been quite the journey for Regan and we love watching him in front of the TV, keeping us engaged as he reports our favorite air sports events when we’re unable to attend. The good news keeps going, this past September he signed a contract with air sports promotion who now manages all his activities, from presenting, load organizing and acting. And now, he’s currently the host of the weekly show Air Sports News.
Looking back on his career, Regan recalled with a smile, “my two most memorable moments have to be my very first jump and when I qualified to get my license. My whole life changed because of this. Skydiving has brought me travel, adventure, and some of the best friendships that I could’ve possibly ever found. When it comes down to it the thing that the sport has got me more than anything else is the friendships and connections with the people.”
Regan said that he feels incredibly fortunate that his work allows him to work remotely so he’s able to spend time with his lovely girlfriend, Lise in Canada. “The future is looking very exciting for us at Air Sports Promotions. Once the world travel channels are open again we will be reporting from major sports events worldwide and of course, continuing with our weekly news show,” he said, “I have a great collection of regular boogies that I organize at, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the sky once we can. My presenting and acting work outside of my job so the future is definitely looking bright.”
We are very fortunate to have such creative and talented athletes to be a part of the CYPRES team that showcase our sport in such a positive way. You can follow Regan on his social channels or in front of the cameras commentating one of your favorite air sports events!
Tags: CYPRES Athlete, Regan Tetlow
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