Life As A BASE Jumper: Shaun Walters Arrested For Parachuting In Chicago, But Will Jump Again (VIDEO)

WATCH: Arrest Won't Stop BASE Jumper From Future Leaps

Earlier this month, 44-year-old Shaun Walters parachuted from the 25-story skeleton of the uncompleted Waterview Tower and Shangri-La Hotel on Wacker Drive in Chicago.

When he reached the ground, he was greeted by an "amused, yet firm" Chicago police officer and subsequently charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct, according to the Chicago Tribune. Though he faces up to one year in prison for his jump, he told the paper it won't stop him from jumping again.

"I can't resist it," Walters said. "It's not just the jump, it's the whole process. Everything in your mind is telling you not to let go, and you have to overcome that fear."

The Tribune shared some details about Walters' hobby of choice:

Nonchalance defines Walters, who is part of a small and elusive thrill-seeking community of BASE jumpers who travel the world in search of objects from which to leap. Their name comes from the objects they seek -- buildings, antennas, spans (bridges) and earth (usually cliffs).

Drawn by pleasant weather and scores of tall buildings, BASE jumpers say they have long drifted into Chicago during spring and summer to take advantage of the city's lofty perches.

"I remember the first time I went skydiving - it was Feb. 9, 2005 in New Zealand," he told the Middle Tennessee State University newspaper, Sidelines, in 2009. "Literally, I sold my house, my car and gave up my job just so I could do this every day."

Read more about Walters' BASE jumping adventures--and the lives of other BASE jumpers--here.

WATCH the Walters speak about life as a BASE jumper here:

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot