Annelisa Ochoa

Hometown: Santa Cruz, California, USA

Profession: Artist

First flight: 2007

When and how did you start to fly?

I started flying in 2007 at the Point of the Mountain, USA. It was a great decision.

My friend and I were on an epic road trip, rock climbing around America's west for a year (doing the “truck life” before it was cool and no one could see your adventure on Instagram) and he saw someone flying off a peak one sunny day in Colorado, and said something like, “that looks like a lot more fun than hiking off the mountain.” I agreed...

So he learned to fly. I had the good fortune to take a tandem one morning, and after landing signed up for the week long intro course. We had planned to stay in Utah for a couple weeks and stayed for over a year. It was a great experience and time to live at the PotM, loads of good people, loads of flying friends. It was a fabulous, positive, and supportive scene.

Tell us your favourite…

• Wing: Rush
• Place to fly: Sand City flying site, California

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

Outside of flying I paint, draw, and illustrate, often and a lot. Making art has been a passion my whole life, one could say it’s the North Star that guides me. Currently my focus is wildlife art. However, the other sports I enjoy are cycling, trail running, and freediving.

Tell us the best advice you have on:

• Learning to fly: Take your time, enjoy the process.
• The gear: Don’t just buy what your friends have, choose the gear that suits your specific needs, and preferred flying style.
• Progressing your skills and overcoming challenges: Work on your head game, and assessing risk. Always.

Please tell us more about the current … that you’re working on:

• Mission/project: My current project is actually not in the air, but it is still focused on avians. I’m obsessed with painting endangered and sensitive species. Project name “Paintings for Plumage”
• Goal: To start conversations and raise awareness about various threatened species through art. The sale of these paintings helps support efforts focused on conservation and wildlife management.

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

Flying is unique as a way to interact with nature, and gain a perspective not attainable from the ground. One starts to watch the swirling of the grasses below, or the way a group of small birds hunt for gnats caught in a light thermal. One of my favorite memories is watching coyotes hunt rabbits in tall grasses.

You're quiet, just floating by in their world. It’s magical.

Flying accomplishments (competitions, projects, records, airshows, etc):

Many of my big personal accomplishments have not been in the sky. I’m most proud of being a two decade creative professional. This work life has left plenty of time for exploring and adventuring.

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

As mentioned, I have been working on paintings of wildlife. My goal is to reach as many people as possible and fuel deeper curiosity and passion for conserving wildlife around the globe.