Man sent soaring over 92 ft into the sky as epic airbag stunt reclaims blobbing record

Imagine your mates jumping on a massive airbag and sending you flying up into the air… and right into the record books!

Robin Steiner, Luc Siegenthaler (both Switzerland), Lennart Florczak (Germany) and Tristan Kuhn (USA) teamed up to break the record for greatest height achieved launched from an airbag (blobbing), with Robin soaring 28.22 metres (92.58 ft) up into the sky.

That’s almost twice as tall as the Hollywood sign!

Adrian Baumann, of experience provider Paintball Farm, and his brother Eric have been organizing blobbing events for years and got involved with Robin and the gang to set up their record-breaking stunt in Brunnen, Schwyz, Switzerland, on 9 August.

He explained: “Robin first came to one of our events around four years ago and had a go at being launched from the blob. He immediately loved it, and we quickly realized that he had an exceptional talent for it.

“Since then, he has regularly attended our blobbing events. That is how we got to know Robin, and eventually the idea came about to attempt a new world record with him.

“The guys jumping from the tower are partly long-time friends and partly newer acquaintances from the freestyle, trampoline and cliff-diving scene.”

After first getting into blobbing around 20 years ago, Adrian and Eric bought one of their own and started experimenting with different jumping techniques.

He said: “Over time, the jumps got higher and higher, and eventually we had the idea of attempting a world record. In 2011, we actually achieved a world record with a height of around 17 metres. Our record was later broken by a German team."

That team of Christian 'Elvis' Guth, Christian von Cranach and Patrick Baumann (all Germany) achieved a height of 22 m (72 ft 2.14 in) in 2012, and the record stood all those years until Adrian and his pals came along once more.

“We never stopped blobbing,” he said. “When we met Robin and saw what he was capable of, we felt that we had found the right pilot for a new world record attempt.

“About a year ago, we sat down together, discussed everything and finally said, ‘Let’s do it!’

“Above all, it is the fun, the excitement and our passion for extraordinary projects like this that motivate us.”

Read about more epic stunts like this in our Hobbies and Skills section.

Choosing Robin to be the one who was flung into the air was a no brainer as far as the guys were concerned, and the three jumpers had a special technique to send him to record-breaking heights, but understandably they’re keeping their cards close to their chest.

When it came to the big day, everyone in the group was nervous.

Adrian said: “A world record attempt at this height is not something to be taken lightly. Three jumpers have to jump as synchronously as possible from a height of 14 metres on to the blob, and Robin is then launched into the air with an incredible amount of force.

“It was not only the athletes who were nervous – we were nervous as organizers too. We knew that many different factors had to come together perfectly at exactly the right moment.”

Robin described the feeling of being flung as “a car crash in reverse” followed by a feeling of pure freedom as he soars through the air.

He said that surprisingly the force of being launched was way more intense than the crash into the water, but that the whole thing was one of the most incredible experiences of his life.

This was their second attempt at the record, with their first attempt also breaking the previous record at 23 m.

The weather did almost put a spanner in the works though, with them having to race to get the jump done before a storm rolled in.

One of the jumpers was also injured, forcing them to bring in a last-minute replacement.

The storm hit just five minutes after that all-important second attempt, with tents and parts of the infrastructure sent flying and forcing them all to evacuate the area.

Adrian said: “The fact that everything came together perfectly within such a small window of time makes this world record even more special for us.”

He added: “It was simply incredible. Everyone was absolutely thrilled, and the spectators went completely crazy.

“When you put so much time, work and energy into preparing a project like this and then everything comes together perfectly at exactly the right moment, it is an indescribable feeling.

“The whole team was incredibly happy and proud. It is a moment we will certainly never forget.”