Why Are We Addicted To Extreme Sports?

Extreme sports seem to be on the rise across the globe. Why do these individuals risk their lives for a thrill?

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[areasevenpro]

"The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. It's a wonderful way to live. It's the only way to drive." - Rush (2013)

[dodson]

Its the rush man, sometimes its they only thing that makes you feel alive.

[gandalfthegreatwhite]

I've never been seriously injured doing extreme sports.
Driving drunk friends home—as designated driver—I was almost killed by a drunk driver.  Crushed car, jaws of life, and two weeks later, I woke up in the hospital—in traction, mostly broken from head to ass. 
IMHO, driving is still the most dangerous thing I do.  I have to trust all sorts of idiots in other cars coming at me.

[syclist]

I'm a skydiver, I don't fear jumping, in the beginning I did, but once I realized that I wasn't going to die, ...now it's just about the joy of flying like a bird. It's peaceful and relaxing

[cgpalmieri]

Glad to see both sides of the story. I've heard lots of reports on DP's death carrying a negative message about the dangers of outdoor sports.

Fact is, people like Dean appreciate life as much as anyone else (if not more). They work hard at pushing boundaries that remind them of the beauty and fragility of life while making safety a no.1 priority. Sometimes things go wrong but we should focus on people's accomplishment, not their failures.

[RodneyWilder]

'cause downhill mountain biking and kiteboarding are AMAZING!

[oolong]

It's funny how people who are afraid to do those things come up with a theory that it's all about "fear" and overcoming "fear".   As someone who used to skydive and does a lot of extreme sports (snowboarding, windsurfing, etc.).  I can tell you it has little to do with fear and more to do with fun, being challenged, and doing something unique and interesting.    It has everything to do with the experience.  If it were about fear then we would all be sitting around watching horror movies now wouldn't we?   The people who push themselves to new "extremes" are looking for a new challenge not something to make them more scared...  There is a "high" associated to overcoming a challenge or an obstacle.  It doesn't matter if you're skydiving, running, hiking,  biking, roller skating, or dancing.

[drewparker]

There's nothing quite like the feeling of Flight, even if just for a few second, even knowing you can't actually fly, but being in the air, no worries, nothing holding you back except your mind, being completely free from everything, is amazing. That's parkour. There's nothing quite like it.

[NikkoMamallo]

As someone with 650+ skydives in ~2 years I don't believe that I'm chasing fear everytime I jump. I can climb out on the edge of a plane and let go all while being calm and knowing that I have two perfectly good parachutes on my back. Sure, some jumps are more intense than others - I like to relate it to driving a car: When you first start to drive you're nervous and scared, but you eventually get comfortable and it becomes second hand (for some, they may be nervous all the time). Though, if you were to race another car or take a fast turn or something like that your heart will jump a little faster, similar to an intense skydive.

[ΓΡΗΓΟΡΗΣΜΑΡΓΑΡΙΤΗΣ-κν]

Because being crazy don't scare of anything and do risky things is the highest level of seriousness and understanding of life

[teamplayer]

My sport is skydiving. I think I'm in the sweet spot. I can only do it on weekends so I think the rush is infrequent enough that I'll never become chemically desensitized. Granted I only have 100 jumps so I guess I'll find out.

[NikkoMamallo]

0:42 You never wear a wingsuit by itself, if you wingsuit you still have a parachute.

[vaflis]

But you can't argue that the most extreme sport is doing your homework while the teacher is collecting it ...

[VincentOak]

wow
this got me really motivated to explore
try something new
now I have my after - work - before - bedtime - beer on the right end of my couch rather than the left
ADVENTURE

[sammys]

Why do dogs howl when they hear a ambulance siren.

[thebigdude]

Looks like I need a break from stuff. ! Great explaining things.

[JohnCxx]

that Fuija guy is amazing.  I hope im that active at his age...hell at my current age lol

[Bram]

I think the title should be: "Why Are *Some* Addicted To Extreme sports?"

[itsjustme]

I want to do cliff jump, skydive, and paragliding, but no one knows about this things in my area

[Sorenle]

Interesting that you mentioned that people should go out, to their national parks, instead of just nature... Why not just go out into any forest instead of particularly a national park?