Dick Smith has been known by many as Batman for years. Initially it was because of a birthmark he had on his chest that looks like the bat symbol. As a kid, Batman was always his favorite superhero. As an adult, he’s now known as the guy who wears his batman suit while taking people sky diving with Skydive Lake Tahoe.
It’s been a wild ride for this Batman. He remembers being thrown backward and his canopy almost folding up during one of his jumps. He was close to the ground and scared that he would get seriously hurt.
Despite such moments of extreme doubt, skydiving is still Smith’s passion and hobby, having jumped now over 7,600 times.
The 40-year-old who grew up in Acampo, California, lives in Minden, Nevada, with his wife and two kids.
Before settling into his current career, Smith recalls never having a desire to skydive, not wanting to take a chance at risking his life.
“I always thought that it was super crazy,” he said. “You know I’m going to die if I do it.”
That was until he had to deliver a pizza to a drop zone in Lodi, California, where he met Roger, an instructor who took Smith on his first tandem after trying to convince him for seven months.
“I did it, and I was like, ‘holy shit,’” he said. “You guys are making money from doing this?”
Smith was in shock and awe at how amazing his first skydiving experience was, which eventually led to him dropping out of school, where he was studying programming.
He began packing parachutes and was able to start saving money for his skydiving training and courses.
“I got lucky that I found skydiving at the age of 23,” Smith said. “When I think of getting a real job, it almost sickens me.”
His favorite part of a jump is the free fall when he’s by himself. He’s able to get full control over his body. Smith described it as having 10,000 feet of playground.
“You get to fly, and it takes me back,” he said. “My childhood dream was wanting to go be a superhero.”
When doing tandems, he tries to make others feel more secure through his calm demeanor and will distract them by asking questions like what their hobbies are or by making “bad” jokes.
“What do I do if the parachute doesn’t open,” he said. “Start flapping your arms. I don’t know. It has a 50% success rate in the cartoons.”
It’s rewarding for him to see so many people face their fears through skydiving. For Smith, the sport also left a deep impact on his life personally.
When he was younger, he had a negative outlook, asking himself why bad things were always happening to him and why he wasn't doing things better.
With skydiving, he says he started gaining more confidence, becoming more adventurous, believing in himself and projecting more positive energy.
Smith wants to continue skydiving for as long as he can. But, as he gets older, he doesn’t want to hurt anybody. Because of this, in the future he sees himself working on the assembly and maintenance of skydiving equipment.
Reporting by Stephanie Navarro Rocha for Our Town Reno