Extreme Sports

Extreme sports involve high levels of risk, physical challenge, and often speed — including skydiving, base jumping, wingsuit flying, free solo climbing, big wave surfing, motocross, snowboarding, skateboarding, and paragliding. They appeal to sensation-seekers whose brains respond differently to risk — producing more dopamine from near-death experiences. Base jumping (Buildings, Antennae, Spans, Earth) is considered the world's most dangerous sport — a fatality rate estimated at 1 in 2,300 jumps. Wingsuit flying reduces this by providing a glide, but adds new risks. Valery Rozov jumped from Everest in a wingsuit (2013) from 7,220 meters — landing safely. Felix Baumgartner's 2012 Red Bull Stratos jump (39 km, breaking sound barrier in freefall) was watched live by 8 million YouTube viewers.