Gillian Wintermute

Do you have a nickname that you go by?

Tio Pepe!

Where do you live?  

Organya, Spain

What do you do for work?

I am a professional paragliding pilot. My life is flying acro and adventures!

What year, and how old were you when you started flying?

I started to paraglide in 1997, when I was 14 years old. I started to fly Paramotor around the same time in Albacete, which is mostly flat area and paramotor was perfect way to explore and have fun, when it was not good for paragliding

Did a family member introduce you to paragliding?

My uncle Felix Rodriguez taught me to fly. My cousins Raul and Felix Rodriguez inspired and helped me to be a professional pilot

What other passions do you have, or activities do you enjoy?

Snowboarding, BASE Jumping, Surf

Why is flying important to you, and what does flying mean to you?

Flying for me is a life style, as important as breathing to me. The freedom of flying keeps me in love with this sport. In paramotor I love wide range of possibilities that opens when it is about adventure. You can fly almost everywhere in the World, and explore areas that in other way would be impossible. Botswana, Victoria Falls, Polinesia are just a few examples. I love it!

Flying  accomplishments (paragliding):

I crossed Africa from north to south in 2012, flying in 10 countries during 4 months with Tom de Dorlodot.

6 times Acro World Champiuon (2008/2009/2010/2012/2013/2018)

2 times Gold Medallist World Air Games (2009/2015)

Guinness World Record holder Infinity Tumbling 568 revolutions.

+7300m at Pakistan (I love this place)

Bivouac adventure in the Himalayas (North India) (Magic area)

Do you have any goals, dreams or plans for the next 1-2 years that you want to share?

In paragliding I would love to fly in Antarctica, in general I would like to fly more XC and join competitions again.

In paramotor my next step is getting into reflex wings, because I love speed! I’m sure the Freeride will open a new world of possibilities to me. Soon I will get into a big project with Red Bull related with Volcanoes, and believe me, it will be epic!