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The Story Behind the Viral "I Was Your Pilot" Skydive Picture [With Proof]
Let's all admit it. We have seen this viral funny pic hundreds of times on every social site and most of us have chuckled.. or at least exhaled deeply.
Well here at Die Epic we love a good back story, so we hunted through thousands of posts to get the back story. The smoking gun lead us to Rob Corson's Instagram.
1) What was the story behind the sign, we hear it wasnt what the viral picture shows. "I was your pilot"
A few years ago I had been dating a girl who left to spend a few months studying abroad. I wanted to wish her a happy birthday without just sending her a boring message or post. Before I headed up to make a few late-season jumps at my dropzone, I fashioned a sign from layered cardboard and yellow duct tape, cut a couple of thumb holes, and wrote a couple of quick messages, one on each side (neither of which said "I was your pilot"). The original sign said "Happy Birthday Allie" on one side, and "Miss you" on the other. And it definitely wasn't written in a perfect Chick-fil-A font like the photo-shopped version.
2) So the plane is photoshopped in too?
Oh yeah. The plane and the words are both photo-shopped in. If there was a real plane while I was in complete freefall I'd have been in trouble. If you look into the reflection of my goggles you can see what was actually there; the cameraman and the reflection of the Great Miami River beneath me.
3) Where was this picture taken and how long ago?
The picture was taken about 3 years ago when a younger, clean-shaven version of me used to frequent the skies over Start Skydiving in Ohio. My buddy Brad was a videographer there at the time and was cool enough to grab his camera and make the jump with me, so he gets credit for the original image.
4) Do people recognize you from it? As it was spread pretty far.
Most of my friends recognize it now because I've shared it a few times on social media, but the first people to notice it was me were myskydiving friends. One day a fellow jumper sent me a screenshot of the image on Imgur, and ever since then I've seen it pop up everywhere; Instagram, theChive, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, pretty much anywhere you find viral images floating around.
5) Any funny stories of you seeing it popup?
I don't know why but I laughed really hard when someone showed me that it popped up on Waka Flocka Flame's facebook. All because I decided to tell a girl happy birthday. The funniest part about the picture going viral is reading the comments from people. Most of them seem to hope I get sucked into the non-existent jet engine. Some people see it and have mini panic attacks. You'd also be surprised how many idiots spend their time arguing and writing paragraphs on the reasons it has to be photo-shopped. Occasionally I'll see it posted somewhere with a new or different caption like "How to scare the shit outta someone" or just simply "Nope". But lately I've been seeing it pop up with the caption "Bruh, where the chill at?". That one's definitely my favorite.
6) Do you know the person who photoshopped it?
I have absolutely no idea. But I would think that even they didn't expect it to be spread as far as it has been.
1) What was the story behind the sign, we hear it wasnt what the viral picture shows. "I was your pilot"
A few years ago I had been dating a girl who left to spend a few months studying abroad. I wanted to wish her a happy birthday without just sending her a boring message or post. Before I headed up to make a few late-season jumps at my dropzone, I fashioned a sign from layered cardboard and yellow duct tape, cut a couple of thumb holes, and wrote a couple of quick messages, one on each side (neither of which said "I was your pilot"). The original sign said "Happy Birthday Allie" on one side, and "Miss you" on the other. And it definitely wasn't written in a perfect Chick-fil-A font like the photo-shopped version.
2) So the plane is photoshopped in too?
Oh yeah. The plane and the words are both photo-shopped in. If there was a real plane while I was in complete freefall I'd have been in trouble. If you look into the reflection of my goggles you can see what was actually there; the cameraman and the reflection of the Great Miami River beneath me.
3) Where was this picture taken and how long ago?
The picture was taken about 3 years ago when a younger, clean-shaven version of me used to frequent the skies over Start Skydiving in Ohio. My buddy Brad was a videographer there at the time and was cool enough to grab his camera and make the jump with me, so he gets credit for the original image.
4) Do people recognize you from it? As it was spread pretty far.
Most of my friends recognize it now because I've shared it a few times on social media, but the first people to notice it was me were my skydiving friends. One day a fellow jumper sent me a screenshot of the image on Imgur, and ever since then I've seen it pop up everywhere; Instagram, theChive, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, pretty much anywhere you find viral images floating around.
5) Any funny stories of you seeing it popup?
I don't know why but I laughed really hard when someone showed me that it popped up on Waka Flocka Flame's facebook. All because I decided to tell a girl happy birthday. The funniest part about the picture going viral is reading the comments from people. Most of them seem to hope I get sucked into the non-existent jet engine. Some people see it and have mini panic attacks. You'd also be surprised how many idiots spend their time arguing and writing paragraphs on the reasons it has to be photo-shopped. Occasionally I'll see it posted somewhere with a new or different caption like "How to scare the shit outta someone" or just simply "Nope". But lately I've been seeing it pop up with the caption "Bruh, where the chill at?". That one's definitely my favorite.
6) Do you know the person who photoshopped it?
I have absolutely no idea. But I would think that even they didn't expect it to be spread as far as it has been.
The internet is a crazy place. Big shout out to epic Rob and hope one day we see him jumping out with a #DieEpic sign! Follow the now bearded Rob on Instagram.
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