Open the Door

Jumping from cliffs comes naturally to 37-year-old Orlando Duque. As a boy, jumping into the water was the first thing that came to his mind when his mother took him to the local pool in his Colombian hometown of Cali. At the age of ten, he got serious about diving, training upwards of six hours a day, and eventually joined the national diving team, winning numerous titles. After a decade of competitive diving, Orlando interrupted his career, moved to Europe, and worked at amusement park diving shows. "You know, from the big ladder into the small pool, doing fire dives, and all those things,” he says. At a diving show in Hawaii, he fell in love with a hula dancer and stayed. It wasn't until 1999 that Orlando swapped diving towers for real, rock-solid cliffs. “In the pool you always have the same conditions," he says. "Everything is always under control. But in cliff diving, you never what conditions you might get until you are actually there. It’s just a bit more fun." Orlando has now won six world cup titles, three world championship titles, and holds two Guinness World Records.

Duque has always been impressed by big wave surfer Maya Gabeira. The 25-year-old Brazilian was one of the very first women to break into the guys club of big wave surfing. Even today there are few girls in the sport. Her talent and achievements have made her a trailblazer in the sport, encouraging other girls to get into it too.

Learn more about Orlando and the Red Bull Cliff Diving Series HERE.  

Editorial Lead: Kitty Bolhoefer / Filming & Photos: Fridolin Schöpper / Editing: Konterfei / Music: Bunnystripes