Lee Werling leaps from a bridge over the New River in West Virginia with Genevieve Jacques of Quebec. | ZOOM |

        Lee Werling huddles behind a utility box on the roof of Carew Tower and waits for the observation deck to close. Matt Pohlkamp unpacks and reassembles his bicycle for yet another specialty race in California. Or Florida, or Texas.

        Both anticipate safe landings in the right spots.

        In the world of extreme sports — where attention and prize money go hand-in-hand with amount of danger — they are contenders, eager to demonstrate their heart, as the sportscasters say, and prove their guts.

        Parachutist Werling, 29, will step off a ledge 49 floors above street level and dodge high-rise buildings to land, hopefully, on Fountain Square.

        Mr. Pohlkamp, 24, will push himself and his bike to the limits in a professional BMX (bicycle motocross) race, complete with thrilling jumps and in-air twists.

Matt Pohlkamp in BMX Snap magazine. | ZOOM |

        They will perform their stunts over and over, from different structures and on different courses. Mr. Pohlkamp travels at least 30 weeks a year to compete in tour races; Mr. Werling “base jumps” about twice a week — depending on the weather — from buildings, bridges and antenna towers.

        While mainstream television has drenched us in “extreme” football and “tough-man” boxing, athletes like Mr. Werling and Mr. Pohlkamp have been taking their own chances, equally, if not more, threatening.

        Both have appeared on television (Fox Sports, Real TV and network news), and, Mr. Pohlkamp, who lives in Delhi Township with his parents, was the subject of a recent centerfold poster in Snap, a leading BMX biking magazine. The photos and interview came right after he was named Rider of the Year last fall by Snap and “chick magnet” by BMXonline, an Internet magazine.

Stuck on the Carew Tower last September, Werling was pulled in the window behind him after a safety rope was lowered. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Werling, who has been arrested twice by Cincinnati police for high-rise building jumps, has won a half-dozen first-place trophies and accompanying cash prizes. He is a former world champion in the world of Building Antenna Structure Earth (BASE) jumping.

               Mr. Werling has used the Carew Tower for stunts — at least 30 times, he says — and none of them authorized by building management or Cincinnati police. In September, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic after his parachute became snagged on a downtown hotel after he dove off the 570-foot Carew Tower. (Story)

        That was the second time Mr. Werling was caught by Cincinnati authorities — he was arrested after a successful Carew Tower jump in August 1995. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and paid a fine.

Werling wrapped in his parachute. (Joseph Fuqua II photo) | ZOOM |

        For competition jumping, he travels to Idaho, Utah and West Virginia to jump from bridges and cliffs. In Ohio, he practices from communication towers, but he won't say where.

        “I'm kind of radical,” he said, describing his style. “Most of the jumpers are not as flamboyant as I am. I do stunts no one has ever done before.”

        What he wants most, he says, is “one chance to do a legal demonstration with my team (Tung 'n Gruve) so I can show how perfect I can make the jumps.

        “I want to show off my ability,” he said, “which is pretty damned good ... I would like to jump from (the Scripps Howard Building at) 312 Walnut. I'd do a double back flip for that one.”

        Still, he admits, “There is that small bit of James Bond to it (sneaking to a jump site) that I do enjoy.”

Pohlkamp

        Mr. Pohlkamp, who grew up in Delhi and graduated from Oak Hills High School, got the biking bug when he was 12 and turned professional in 1996. His sponsors include Schwinn bicycles, Right Guard deodorant, Air Walk shoes and Toyota automobiles.

        A swimmer in a family of swimmers (two brothers, two sisters), he was a natural for the bike, says his mom, Jo Ann Pohlkamp.

        “When he discovered biking competitions, his legs were so strong he really started winning those little races.”

        But his parents weren't as quick to jump on the band wagon.

        “At first, they weren't sure what to think,” Mr. Pohlkamp said. “They thought it was a lot of punks and hoods ... They wanted me to stay with mainstream sports.

        “BMX wasn't real popular,” he continued. “A lot of people didn't know about it.”

        But then, “When I showed them you can make a pretty outstanding living at it ... they got to be proud.”

ROUGH LANDINGS

There are rough landings.   Matt Pohlkamp and Lee Werling say they're careful when they compete, but accidents do happen.   Mr. Werling, the base jumper, said he has scraped and bruised his hands and arms in cases when he couldn't land exclusively on his feet.   For Mr. Pohlkamp, the professional BMX bike racer, the boo-boo list is a little more extensive: a concussion, torn hamstring, broken wrist and toes, and “many scars and scrapes and stitches.”   Kids: Don't try this at home.

        While he does not spend 40 hours a week on a race course, Mr. Pohlkamp takes his job seriously as one of four members of Schwinn's professional BMX racing team. To stay in shape, he spends at least 25 hours a week in training.

        “I consider myself lucky to be making a living doing what I love,” he said.

        Mr. Werling, known as Sky Punk in the world of base jumping, grew up in Deer Park. He owns his own home in Norwood and teaches base jumping. In the winter, he works for a local office-moving company.

        “He's always liked the extreme,” his father, Tim Werling, a West Chester real estate agent, said last fall, after his parachute snagged outside Carew Tower's 29th floor. “But he'll do anything for you ... He's a good boy.”

        A pole vaulter at Deer Park High School, Mr. Werling says he “was always playing in the woods, swinging from vines, doing flips off the roof of the house.”

        “I think I was born for this sport,” he said.
       

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