Flying is a family affair
Nalu Nussbaum is one of Switzerland's great young freestyle talents. His parents were part of the scene when the sport began in the 1970s.
There is a yellowed picture on the wall in Nalu Nussbaum's room. It shows his father Nick, who was one of the first freeskiers in the Engadin in the 1970s, daring to do a forward somersault over the bar of the Alpina hut on the Corviglia. Surrounded by this spirit, Nalu himself has matured into a talented freeskier. As co-founders of the Engadin freestyle scene, Nalu's parents had the opportunity to work as stunt doubles countless times when he was young, often for productions by filmmaker Willy Bogner. "Even back then, in the late 1970s and 1980s, we filmed 360s and backflips, without GoPros and drones," remembers Nick. Instead, we filmed in difficult-to-access terrain from a helicopter or on skis specially developed by Bogner. Thanks to the bent ends, these allowed the cameraman to shoot skiers at full speed while driving backwards. It was no easy undertaking; the cameras were bulky, weighed around 16 kg, and filming took place on the steepest slopes and on jagged glaciers. Films were made back then that have cult status today, such as "Fire & Ice" and the Bond production "The Spy Who Loved Me". These were classics that Nalu grew up with. "Passing on my passion and respect for my beloved sport and nature to Nalu from a young age and seeing him jump today makes me proud and happy," says Nick. But: "Of course I'm also worried for him. The risks that kids take today are enormous. We never even dreamed of triple and quadruple jumps, sometimes with four or more twists." Along with the awe is a touch of melancholy, given the tricks that the youngsters are performing today. "I wish we'd had these opportunities back then to discover new things. There was no Instagram, no YouTube. If someone brought a magazine from the USA, they would leaf through it until the pages fell out." The professionalization of the sport is clearly evident in the Nussbaum family: Nalu was not even 10 years old when his father was already showing him nothing when it came to jumps and tricks. But that never stopped the two of them from pursuing their passion for their sport together.