The ultimate plunge.

Publicist skydives to renew his spirit

Sydney Margetson's heart beats fast as he sits in the airplane awaiting his next plunge from more than 10,000 feet in the air. "If I thought about it, I wouldn't do it. I would overanalyze it. And that's part of the thrill--just leaping forward," says the New York-based director of media and artist relations at Atlantic Records.

Sydney has always enjoyed the idea of doing something different. He compares the feeling you get when skydiving to mountain climbing, car racing, and, of course, bungee jumping. When a friend suggested that he and some others skydive, Sydney jumped, no pun intended, at the idea. "I said [to myself], `I'll be OK. I'm jumping with a parachute professional and I put it in God's hands.'"

He completed his first skydive at Sussex County Airport in Sussex, New Jersey. There are more than 300 United States Parachute Association-affiliated skydiving centers nationwide. The cost per jump ranges from $195 to $300. The popularity of skydiving continues to rise. According to Ben Butler of the Atlanta Skydiving Center in Cedartown, Georgia (www.skydivecenter.com), which has the largest student operation in the country, the center had 10,497 students in 2000. That's a much greater number than it had in 1995.

Skydiving is not without its quirks. Prior to allowing you to jump, "You have to sign several waivers; you have to sign your life away and then repeat everything before a video camera," says Sydney of skydiving facilities' requirements. Those technicalities don't outweigh the rewards of skydiving. "It's a natural high. It's putting yourself at the scariest point and confronting your fears head-on ... and it gives you a newfound appreciation of life."

Although the total dive time, from exiting the plane to reaching the ground, is only five minutes, Sydney exalts, "When you touch the ground, you're the king of the world. You've hit the plateau. Like when James Cameron won the Oscar for [directing] Titanic, it's the moment that you try to relive again and again."

Getting started

* DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you want to learn about skydiving
as well as the location of skydiving facilities,
several Websites can provide information. For starters,
log on to www.activeworldadventures.com for a list of
facilities worldwide.

* JUST DO IT. Once you hook up with the right teaching
facility, don't think about it: "I didn't think about the
jump until I stepped off of the plane," reveals Sydney.
If you think about the act and process of skydiving,
you'll scare yourself out of it.

* BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG. "Having my friends
dive with me encouraged me and gave us all a sense
of camaraderie," adds Sydney, who jumped with a
group of six friends calling themselves "The Blow Up
Kids."

* TRY SIMILAR ACTIVITIES. If you're not ready to jump
out of a plane, consider car racing or climbing a mountain,
for example. Sydney says, "It's the same kind of
adrenaline rush. I first jumped off of a cliff in Hawaii.
It made the skydiving even easier."