[Interview] Diego Meza: Adrenaline from the highest Bungee jumping in Latin America

Diego Meza Cuadra is an athlete with many years of experience in non-traditional sports such as paragliding, rafting, trekking, and bungee jumping. He currently manages the adventure park Action Valley in Cusco. His first bungee jumping experience was at 17, but adrenaline and adventure sports have always been part of his life.

Learn more about his story and about Bungee Jumping at De Aventura

Photo: Action Valley

Share with us, what experiences do you have in Adventure Sports?

Well, I've been practicing adventure sports since I was little. When I was 6 or 7 years old, I was already climbing trees with ropes and jumping wherever I could. Professionally, I started with José Rosas, a very good friend. We did bungee jumping from hot air balloons, paragliding, water sports, everything related to adrenaline. Currently, as a company, what we seek is to learn from the past and provide the best safety to people.

How did you get into the world of Non-traditional Sports?

Since I was 6 or 8 years old, my uncle, who was a military instructor, took me and we jumped from the command towers. It was something that always caught my attention; I never liked soccer. I wasn't the one leading a soccer team; I was the one leading a trip somewhere to explore.

Photo: Action Valley

How did the idea of creating the adventure park Action Valley come about?

This idea came up when we were paragliding and doing bungee jumping from hot air balloons with José Rosas for almost a month in Cusco. One day we passed by a place, and he said to me, "Look, we can set up a Bungee Jumping here." It seemed crazy to me, but time passed, and while I focused on my work, he focused on his. One day he called me and said he had the location and it was time to start the project. It took its time; the start was slow. The market study told us that the project was seen negatively because everyone thought Peruvians were informal, did anything, had old equipment; and we decided to change that image and offer something better in Peru than what was available abroad. José is a safety expert, and I am someone who practices these sports and likes to be sure of what I do. We started working with agencies, suppliers, types of equipment, and it started moving forward since 2002. What we created was the concept that Peru is very safe.

What activities are carried out in the park? And what does each one entail?

In the park, we currently have the highest Bungee Jumping in the world at 3600 meters above sea level. We have a 122-meter free fall jump, which is the highest in South America and was the third highest in the world when we opened it. We have Slingshot, the opposite of Bungee, which is a sky shot of 130 meters in 3 seconds; there is nothing like it in the world. It is the highest in the world and has a special system for it. Then we have Paintball on a 5000 square meter field, a 36-meter climbing pole, and at the end, you must stand on a 30-centimeter platform. We will also have a climbing wall and, as Action Valley, we offer Outdoor activities: Paragliding, Rafting, ATV, Biking.

What is needed to practice Bungee Jumping?

First and foremost, you must be in very good physical condition, without injuries in the lower or upper limbs, heart problems, hypertension, or pregnancy. The important thing is to be an ordinary but healthy person; you must want to overcome the fear, as that works very well. At Action Valley, all you need to think about is being able to do it because safety measures are in place.

What is the most difficult moment in this sport?

The most difficult moment is when you lift your feet off the ground. The fall, the bounce, and the descent are beyond your control; the hardest part is making the decision to jump. Some people do it, some people are born to jump, some are not born but want to, and those are the ones that matter, those who want to overcome that fear.

Photo: Action Valley

How do you motivate people to overcome their fear and jump?

From the moment a person arrives and makes the decision, they are already being observed. How they behave, how they move, where they look, a series of questions are asked, they are distracted. The more distracted they are, the better it works because they don't focus too much until they are given instructions. All kinds of people come through here, and we have to know how to deal with them; they can be adventurers, suicidal, negligent, and we must know how to handle them with well-trained staff.

What mistakes are made when practicing this sport?

Well, in all adventure sports, there are risks; the idea is to minimize all risks, try to eliminate all types of risks. The idea is to follow instructions because when adventure sports are practiced incorrectly, problems arise, fractures occur because you go beyond your limits. Our idea is for you to enjoy to the fullest and have the most excitement while we are calm in what we do. I prefer to personalize it, get to know the person, and build trust as if every person jumping were my child.

Photo: Action Valley

What can you tell me about the Bungee Jumping Association? What the Bungee Jumping Association does is prevent informality in the country. Many make the mistake of thinking this is easy, not at all, there is a lot of work behind this. The idea is to prevent accidents through training, manuals to see what can and cannot be done, just as it was done with paragliding years ago. In which other Latin American countries is this sport practiced?

In New Zealand quite a bit, in South Africa, the highest in the world is there, in Canada, there are Bungee Jumping sites like swimming pools in Asia. We are good friends with people from Canada, and they visit us often, but when they arrive, they are surprised because they have the idea that we are informal and all that. Now there are different profiles of people who practice these sports; before, it was the classic adventurous young people; today that has changed, now it's entrepreneurs, children, older people, many women, who are usually braver and less stubborn than men.

Photo: Action Valley

How would you describe the feeling after jumping?

Let's break it down into four parts: Before, When you are about to jump, When you are falling, and After you jumped. Before, a lot of fear, it's normal, the idea is to overcome it; When you are about to jump, we try to give them confidence to focus on making the jump. Making the decision is very difficult; many manage to do it. I think it's a moment when your body and mind tell you not to do it, but your decision wants to win. When you fall, it's a lot of fun; everything is designed for each person according to height, weight, and external factors. And when you finish, the adrenaline is at its peak, you feel very good for overcoming your fear, you're happy, you want to tell everyone, and at night you'll sleep like a baby.

Photo: Action Valley

The experience is very pleasant; the idea is to change the concept that it's crazy, it's a very demanding sport, both physically and mentally, a lot of concentration, having truly qualified instructors.

What would you say to all the people who want to practice Bungee Jumping and other adventure sports?

I would tell them that cheap ends up being expensive, that they should search, inform themselves, listen to opinions, and choose well who they do these sports with. Safety and adventure sports go hand in hand. Sometimes excitement overcomes us, and we try to go beyond our limits. The ideal is to enjoy what we do but with total security in what we are doing: Let our excitement not distract us from our focus.

Now you know where to find that extreme adventure you've always dreamed of. What are you waiting for to jump?