Our Story
About Start Skydiving
For The Love Of The Sport
Our family opened Start Skydiving nearly 20 years ago – not because there wasn’t a good skydiving dropzone in proximity to us, but because we had a vision for how to make the dropzone experience better. The Start Skydiving way of doing things is notably different, which is why today we’re one of the top five largest and fastest growing dropzones in the world.
Learn about who we are and what makes us different, and join us – we can’t wait to welcome you into the family!
John Hart II
Our Founder & DZO
John Hart II, better known as J2, is a proud UC Bearcat, Ohio native, and second generation veteran of the US Army Special Forces. He retired after 22 years of service and, a few years into civilian life, established Selection.com, a company that continues to thrive. He also began to skydive competitively, starting and sponsoring Team Fastrax™ (named after one of his company’s signature products). Today, Team Fastrax™ is the largest professional demo team in the world.
In 2006, J2 combined his business acumen, military-discipline, and passion for skydiving, and opened Start Skydiving. His approach: keep unrelenting focus on core values, engage only the best of the best, and always operate from a proactive position. As is evident from our reputation, jump numbers, and the fact that we train more skydivers than any facility in the Midwest, J2’s ideas for how a dropzone should work have proven correct.
J2 is exceedingly proud that his sons, J3, Alex, and Nathan who champion the same principles and that today they are key business partners in the success of Start Skydiving and Selection.com.
The Next Gen
Meet J3 and Alex
John Hart III, aka J3, is Start Skydiving’s Chief Instructor and Safety & Training Advisor and Alex Hart is the Dropzone Manager. Learn more about who’s who at Start Skydiving – meet the team!
Our Values
What Drives Us
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Passion
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Safety
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Customer Service
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Integrity
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Accountability
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Community
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Inclusion
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Loyalty
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Fiscal Responsibility
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Family
Travelers’ Choice Award
International Recognition
Start Skydiving is proud to have been recognized with the 2022 Travelers’ Choice Award from Tripadvisor. The award celebrates businesses that have received stellar reviews from around the globe for 12 consecutive months – a major feat in any year, and especially in the year following COVID!
If you were one of our generous members of our Skyfam who took time to spread the love for Start Skydiving, thank you. And if you’ve never been here, what are you waiting for? Check out our more than 5,000 reviews across Google, TripAdvisor and Facebook, and then come hang out with us!
