5 minutes with our chief packer, Antonio!

Monday, May 4, 2020

What’s your name and where are you from?

My name is António Figueiredo and I’m from a small, inland, rural village, in Alentejo, Portugal, called Vila Boim.

When did you start working at Skydive Algarve and what’s your position here?

I started working at Skydive Algarve in March 2017, as a packer, I’m now the Head-packer responsible for the entire packing team.

How and when did you become a packer?

In 2012 after completing my AFF course and with only 10 jumps under my belt, my friend, and mentor at the time, Nuno Gomes, gave me the Packing course and opened the doors to this side of the sport to me.

What’s a typical day like at SA for you?

My typical day at SA is being surrounded by nylon, packing parachutes so that our customers can jump as much as possible and in the safest possible way, always making their experience at SA memorable by showing our high standards at our Dropzone.

What do you like about being a packer at Skydive Algarve?

The opportunity to work at one of the best and most professional dropzones in Europe and being able to get to know and work with the best skydivers in the world, and packing for the world best skydiving team’s are some of the reasons why I love my job at Skydive Algarve. Literally everyday I get to meet new people from all over the world.

What do you do outside of work, in your free time?

When I’m not working I like to go to the beach, walk my dog , visit my family, and I also like to travel to experience new places and meet new people, and of course, whenever I can, I do lots of Fun Jumping.

What makes SA such a special dropzone for tandems and students?

The quality and friendliness of the instructors and our staff, enables our students to feel at ease and at home, straight away. It becomes apparent from the outset that you are safe and in good hands. Also the fast planes, and incredible view experienced in freefall are definitely huge plus points at Skydive Algarve.

Try to describe skydiving to a non skydiver.

Whenever someone asks me what it’s like to jump out of aeroplanes, my answer is always the same, even if i could explain it to you explicitly you still wouldn’t have a clue what it’s like…. the rush, the adrenaline, the fear and how you feel when you conquer that fear… it’s impossible to describe. You just have to try it- the only way you will ever really know what it’s like is to DO IT.

How many skydives do you have?

I currently have approximately 250 skydives.

What’s one of your most memorable moments skydiving?

I find all my jumps are unique and joyful, but jumping onto the beach of Alvor, seeing the Atlantic Ocean in front of you during freefall, and then landing barefoot onto the beach, are always particularly memorable jumps.

Leave us a life lesson from Antonio.

Never ever give up on your dreams, even when everything seems like it’s falling apart, stand up and “fight” for your dreams. The good things in life don’t come easy.

What’s something you’re proud of in your career?

I’m proud off “cutting away” from a “normal” prosperous job to become fully submerged in a skydiving career, that was a life changing moment.