Mike McGowan

McGowan, D-5709, made his first jump in 1964 when he was 18. Now with more than 15,000 skydives, he is one of the world’s premier freefall photographers and videographers. Numerous national magazines have printed McGowan’s photos, and countless commercials and videos have featured his work. Parachutist alone has run hundreds of his photos, many on the cover. He was responsible for filming the first air-to-air video used for scoring purposes at a 20-way meet at Skydive City Zephyrhills in Florida in the mid-1980s. USPA adopted the system the following year for its sanctioned competitions.

McGowan was a principal videographer on the world’s first 100, 120, 144, and 300-way formation skydiving world records, as well as numerous women’s world records. He was the official photographer for several USPA National Championships, three USPA Collegiate National Championships and two Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale World Cups. And USPA used his footage to create accelerated freefall training videos. But his contribution to sport parachuting goes far beyond being behind the lens.

When he began using the technique of telling a story with his tandem skydiving videos, camera flyers at DZs around the world adopted it. He is also a Federal Aviation Administration Master Rigger and USPA National Director. In 2004, USPA awarded McGowan with its Gold Medal for Meritorious Service for “promoting our sport through professional aerial photography as a freefall cameraman and for his innovation in developing freefall photography techniques.”