Jon Devore catches air during the filming of The Unrideables: Alaska Range in the Tordrillo Mountains. Scott Serfas/Red Bull Content Pool
Jon DeVore has one of the most adventurous jobs possible. He’s been aerial coordinator and manager of the Red Bull Air Force for the last 17 years. Basically, he skydives and coordinates stunts for a living.
DeVore was born in Colorado but grew up in Juneau after his parents moved there when he was a baby, a move that DeVore says he thanks his parents for every time they talk. “I think it shaped who I turned into,” he says.
DeVore kept busy with many of the standard northern sports like skiing, snowmobiling and rock climbing. But he didn’t stop there. “I guess if you asked anyone who knew me, I was always seeking the adventure and adrenaline side of things,” he says.
As a high schooler, DeVore and some other students jumped off the Juneau-Douglas bridge—a 66-foot drop—one Fourth of July. He and friends would regularly compete to see who could climb the farthest up the ropes that anchored cruise ships to the docks. Sometimes they would fall, sometimes they’d make it all the way to the side of the ship.
As a young man, DeVore wanted to start an adventure tourism business in Alaska and he learned skydiving so it could be included. Instead, he found a passion in the exhilaration of flying through the sky. He latched on and never let go.
Through his sponsorship with Red Bull, DeVore says he’s been lucky enough to pull off some big projects, including a documentary speedriding Alaska’s Tordrillo Range. When speedriding, skiers wear a parachute so they can lift off and cruise over unrideable terrain.
He doesn’t have any big Alaska projects coming up, but DeVore said he is always looking for a way to speedride down Denali.
