Alexander Helmut Schulz (born 1991) is a German professional tightrope walker, multiple highline world record holder, and keynote speaker. Schulz is internationally known for pioneering the first walks of several slacklines and world records at extraordinary locations. In his most dangerous project to date, "LavaLine", he crossed the active volcano Mount Yasur on a highline in April 2020 on the South Sea island of Tanna, Vanuatu.[1]

Life

Alexander Schulz grew up in Rosenheim as part of a family that valued outdoor and sporting activities. During his early childhood he joined his father, Raimon Schulz, on numerous adventures and expeditions. His hobbies included sports such as hiking, gymnastics and ice hockey as well as white-water kayaking, climbing, skiing, caving and canyoning. Before slacklining became a trend sport in the early 2010s, Schulz had put up his first slacklines. In June 2011 he walked his first highline and found entry to the slackline community.[2] During this time, he met many well-known people of the slackline scene, including future teammate and business partner Johannes Olszewski.

Since graduating high school in 2011, Alexander Schulz has devoted himself to slacklining full-time.[3] Together with Olszewski and three other friends he founded the collective "One Inch Dreams" in early 2012. One Inch Dreams started as a slackline portal, and over the course of many successful projects and world records the company developed into a creative agency and film producer.[4]

Schulz also gives lectures on the topics of risk management and coping strategies, as well as the conscious handling of fear.[5] In addition to his daily training, regular yoga practice, mental training and breathing exercises help him to carry out his projects in terms of overcoming fear and stress.[6][2] He is a regular guest in film and television, reporting about his expeditions and projects in Galileo (Fernsehsendung)|Galileo,[7] Bayerischen Rundfunk, Deutsche Welle,[8] SAT1, WDR,[9] ZDF, RTL, MDR, SWR and France 3. Schulz shares his expertise with highline beginners in workshops in Rosenheim as well as in his chosen home of Innsbruck.[10]

Career

Schulz began his career as a professional athlete in 2011 when he signed his first sponsorship contract and set his first records. On June 4, 2011, he broke the then world record with a 140-meter-long waterline in the Salzburg Land. At the Natural Games in Millau, France in mid-June, 2011, he crossed the longest highland in the world at the time with 115 meters in both directions (onsight fullman).[2][11]

At the end of 2011, Schulz constructed the first so-called "Space-Highline" (also known as Space-Line) during a two-month highline trip in the western United States, the forerunner of the Spacenet slackline structures that are occasionally found today (as of 2020). On the same trip, Schulz beat his record by four meters when he climbed the 119 meter long highline over the Consumnes River Gorge (California). In the following years, various world records and special projects followed.

Together with his teammate Niklas Winter, he gained a lot of media attention in the German-speaking world with a highline stunt at Zugspitze Glacier Cable Car in July 2014.[12][13][14]

With the crossing of the 375m long highline The Ghost Inside in Yangshuo, China, he doubled the length of his old world record.[15][16][6]

On the occasion of his world record in China, Schulz was invited as a distinguished guest to the Opening Day of the German Embassy in Beijing. With a slackline show, he symbolically connected the capital of China with the Federal Republic of Germany. A few days later, with the help of his team, Schulz managed to walk a 610-meter-long slackline in the Gobi Desert, breaking the world record for the longest slackline over ground (longline).[15]

In 2016, Schulz failed in his attempt to walk over a 650-meter-long polyamide highline over the volcano Roches Tuilieres et Sanadoire in the French Auvergne. The attempt had to be interrupted because gusts of wind with wind peaks of over 120 km/h caused amplitudes of up to 100 meters in the highline, making the crossing impossible. The project was successful one month later and Schulz broke the world record for the longest polyamide highline.[17]

In December 2016, Schulz crossed the world's longest and highest highline in urban surroundings in Mexico City. The slackline was installed between the city's highest buildings (Torre Reforma and Torre BBVA Bancomer) over the Paseo de la Reforma as part of a film production.[18]

In October 2018, Schulz and Olszewski produced the key visual for the Deutschlandjahr 2018/19 in the USA together with One Inch Dreams. The symbolic image was created as part of the film production BuildingBridges, which was commissioned by the German Foreign Office,[19] the Goethe Institute and the Federation of German Industries as part of the initiative WunderbarTogether Archived 2020-11-26 at the Wayback Machine.[20]

On April 15, 2020, Alexander Schulz and his Brazilian colleague Rafael Bridi succeeded in crossing the first highline over an active volcano, Mount Yasur on the island of Tanna (Vanuatu). The athletes wore gas masks to protect themselves from the toxic sulfur vapors at the crater. According to Schulz, the biggest challenge were the shockwaves caused by the lava eruptions, which disturbed the athletes' sense of balance. The expedition lasted almost two months because the outbreak of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the following local lockdown of Vanuatu significantly impacted the undertaking.[21][22]

Slackline world records and other achievements

World records in main categories

Date categorie length / height

(no record in brackets)

 Place (country) Details
4 June 2011 Waterline Length: 140 m[23] Uttendorf (AT) During the Boulder- & Slackline festival Boulderjam 2011
21 June 2011 Highline Length: 115 m

(Height: 110 m)[2][11]

 Millau (FR) During the Outdoor- & Music festival Natural Games
21.21.2011 Highline Length: 119 m

(Height: 100 m)[24]

 Consumnes River Gorge (USA) Shared record with Jerry Miszewski
2 June 2012 Waterline Length: 166 m Uttendorf (AT) During the Boulder- & Slackline festival Boulderjam 2012
13 June 2013 Highline Length: 140 m

(Height: 80 m)[25][26]

 Werdenfelser Land (DE) Documented by German TV "Abenteuer Leben" (Kabel 1)
14 August 2014 Waterline Length: 271 m[27][28] Helgoland (DE) Advertising campaign for Germany's first 4k TV channel HD+
28 August 2014 Waterline Length: 327 m[29] Eibsee (DE)
19 November 2014 Highline Length: 375 m

(Height: 100 m)[6]

 Yangshuo (CN)
9 May 2015 Longline Length: 610 m[30] Inner Mongolia (CN) Change of pretension during the ascent
18 September 2016 Waterline Length: 535 m[31] Schnalstal (IT) Within the scope of the 25 year anniversary of the discovery of Ötzi glacier mummy
May 2017 Waterline Length: 674 m[29] WanFo lake (CN) Within the scope of an internationalen Slackline competition - Shared with 10 other athletes
4 December 2017 Urban Highline Length: 217 m

Height: 247 m[18]

 Mexiko Stadt (MXN) Longest and highest highline in urban environment
24-26 May 2018 Endurance Slacklining Distance: 8 km[32] Spreitenbach (CH) Longest distance walked on a Highline in one day (breaks and leaving the Highline were allowed) - Shared record with four other athletes during charity event
15 August 2018 Endurance Slacklining Distance: 11 km[33] Villach (AT) Longest distance walked on a Highline in one day (breaks and leaving the Highline were allowed)
15 April 2020 LavaLine Length: 260 m[34] Yasur, Tanna (VANUATU) First and longest Slackline ascent at an active vulcano

[35]

World records in sub-categories

Date Category length / height

(no record in brackets)

 Place (country) Details
8 May 2012 Longline Polyester Length: 300 m Rosenheim (DE) Longest polyester slackline sent
21 October 2012 Longline Polyester Length: 340 m Mitterbuch (DE) Longest polyester slackline sent
9 September 2012 Highline Polyester Length: 110 m

(Height: 100m)

 Hochkönig mountain range (AT) Longest polyester highline sent
5 June 2014 Waterline Polyester Length: 196 m Ingolstadt (DE) Longest polyester waterline sent
September 2015 Waterline Polyamid Length: 202 m[36] Films (CH) Longest polyamide waterline sent
16 October 2016 Highline Polyamid Length: 650 m

(Height: 200 m)[37]

 Auvergne (FR) Longest polyamide highline sent - Up to 120 km/h strong storm during first try
5 June 2017 Highline Polyamid Length: 680 m[38] Vancouver (CAN) Longest polyamide highline - Circulating fog during the ascent

Other achievements and personal accomplishments

Date Success / Leistung Details Place (country)
November 2011 Setup and walking of worlds first Space-Highline[39] With the help of participants of the 4. GGBY slackline Gathering Moab, Utah (USA)
4 June 2011 Winner of Waterline Speed competition in Uttendorf[40] Fastest run over a 33 meter long waterline Uttendorf (AT)
October 2012 Ascent of Germany's highest highline (2962 m) Together with German skier Felix Neureuther at the peak of Germany Zugspitze, Germany
July 2014 First Highline between cable cars in German speaking region[14] At cabins of the Zugspitz-Gletscherbahn Zugspitze (DE)
August 2015 First highline at the Maunsell Sea Forts[41][42] As part of a film project, Schulz and his team set up highlines between English air defense towers from World War II. Red Sands Sea Forts (UK)
26 November 2015 World's first combination of aircraft and slacklining[2] RedBull pilot Kirby Chambliss circled around Schulz in an aerobatic plane while he stood on a 250 m long highline. Cerro Tetakawi, Sonora (MEX)
June 2016 Personal longest completed highline (800 m)[43] During the French Riviera Highline Meeting Saint-Jeannet (FR)
9 July 2017 First highline at the Old Man of Hoy[44] Hoy, Scotland (UK)
17 August 2019 Highline-Show at the Federal Foreign Office[45] Highline-Show at the open day 2019 Berlin (DE)

Literature

  • Roanne van Voorst: Alles onder controle. Schuyt & Co Brandt, 2016, ISBN 978-9492037411.
  • Alexander Schulz: Stille ist mein innerer Anker. In. Manu Theobald: stille ist. Adeo Publishing house, Asslar 2020, ISBN 978-3-86334-271-5.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Schulz.

References

  1. ↑ "Lavaline - first slackline above active vulcano during corona crisis".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nichts für schwache Nerven". OVB Online. 2016-12-09.
  3. ↑ "Slackliner Alexander Schulz". One Inch Dreams. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "One Inch Dreams Slackline".
  5. ↑ "Inspirational Talks".
  6. 1 2 3 Matthias Fiedler (2014-12-11). "Slackliner-Weltrekord "Mir hilft, dass ich kurzsichtig bin"". SPIEGEL Online.
  7. ↑ "Galileo - Aus dem Gleichgewicht Zusatzclip - Alex Schulz" (in German). 2011-09-30.
  8. ↑ "Mit der Slackline um die Welt". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / Deutsche Welle. 2015-06-20.
  9. ↑ "Düsseldorf Unterbach: Da kann einer übers Wasser gehen / Termine / Düsseldorf Service / report-d.de - Düsseldorf Internetzeitung". Archived from the original on 2020-11-10.
  10. ↑ "Learn Highlining!". Archived from the original on 2019-04-15.
  11. 1 2 Jerry Miszewski (2011-07-11). "France and Beyond".
  12. ↑ "Bilder des Tages". Süddeutsche Zeitung. 2014-07-19.
  13. ↑ "Waghalsige Slackline-Aktion auf der Zugspitze". Focus Online. 2014-07-18.
  14. 1 2 "Seiltanz auf der Zugspitze". SPIEGEL Online. 2014-07-18.
  15. 1 2 "Deutscher stellt unglaublichen Slackline-Rekord auf". WELT. 2015-05-14.
  16. ↑ Jan Henne (2014-12-12). "Slackline-Weltrekord in 100 Meter Höhe". GEO Online.
  17. ↑ "Dieser Typ ist auf einem 650 Meter langen Seil über eine Schlucht gelaufen". VICE. 2016-10-28.
  18. 1 2 "Alexander Schulz mit Weltrekord in Mexiko Stadt". SPIEGEL Online. 2016-12-07.
  19. ↑ Mit der Highline out of Rosenheim: Kurzfilm "BuildingBridges" mit Akteuren aus der Region, auf ovb-online.de, retrieved 12 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Year of Germany in the USA: Slackline Performance FINE LINE". Goethe Institut. 2018-10-30.
  21. ↑ Thomas Becker (2020-06-24). "Auf der Slackline über den Vulkan". Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  22. ↑ Melanie Haack (2020-07-21). "Auf 2,5 Zentimetern am spuckenden Vulkan entlang". Welt Am Sonntag (in German).
  23. ↑ "140m Waterline". One Inch Dreams.
  24. ↑ "Video der Begehung". Vimeo. 26 December 2011.
  25. ↑ "Abenteuer Leben". Kabel 1 (in German). 2013-08-01.
  26. ↑ "140m Highline Weltrekord in Bayern". One Inch Dreams.
  27. ↑ kö (2014). "Mission: HD für Helgoland" (PDF). rfe-Elektrohändler.
  28. ↑ "Mission:HD für Helgoland endet mit Weltrekord". 14 August 2014.
  29. 1 2 "Garmisch-Partenkirchen: 7 Fakten über den Urlaubsort". Sonntagsblatt. 2018-11-30.
  30. ↑ "Rekord: Längste Slackline der Welt". Alpin.de.
  31. ↑ "Slackline-Weltrekord: Deutscher balanciert über 535 Meter lange Waterline". Der Standard. 2016-09-20.
  32. ↑ International Slackline Association (19 March 2018). "Highline FundRACE".
  33. ↑ "Ausdauer-Slacklinen: Neuer Weltrekord in Villach!". Meinbezirk.at. 16 September 2018.
  34. ↑ "Tanz auf dem Vulkan". Süddeutsche Zeitung. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  35. ↑ Dan Walsh. "World Records - International Slackline Association". International Slackline Association.
  36. ↑ International Slackline Association (2015-09-07). "New waterline world records". Facebook.
  37. ↑ "Dieser Mann tänzelt 650 Meter über eine Schlucht". WELT. 2016-10-19.
  38. ↑ "Slacklife BC". Facebook. 2017-06-07.
  39. ↑ "Highline Trip USA".
  40. ↑ "Slackline und Bouldercontest in Uttendorf". 10 June 2013.
  41. ↑ "Neuer Weltrekord im Slacklinen". Bergsteigen.com. 2016-10-18.
  42. ↑ "Fotogalerie: Balanceakt auf dem offenen Meer". Alpin.de.
  43. ↑ "Weltrekord auf der Polyester-Highline". Alpin.de.
  44. ↑ Flohr, Stephan (2017-07-21). "Dieser Slackliner tänzelt über den "alten Mann"". WELT.
  45. ↑ "Rückblick: Tag der offenen Tür 2019". Auswärtiges Amt. 2020-11-04.
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