We are Passionate about skydiving

  • Our Location

    Our location couldn’t be more convenient. Whether you live in Chicago, Milwaukee or any city in between- Not only is the drive a breeze but we also have the most incredible views you will ever see.

     

  • Safety

    Safety is our priority. We have an impeccable safety record when it comes to tandem skydiving! While skydiving by nature is inherently dangerous we take every precaution to minimize the risks involved. We hire experienced and talented instructors. We jump new and well-maintained equipment crafted by the most reputable manufacturers. Our pilots are experienced and our aircraft are well-maintained to all Federal Aviation Administration specifications We have industry leaders and specialists host training seminars annually for our instructors. We are members of the United States Parachute Association and we adhere to all safety regulations.

     

  • Our Staff

    Our Staff is incredible. We absolutely LOVE our staff and we know you will too! From the office personnel who help you book your skydive and answer your questions to the Instructor and Videographer who share your first skydive with you. We hire passionate, experienced and enthusiastic people to be part of the Skydive Midwest team and it makes all the difference in your experience.

     

  • Our Community

    Our Community is something special. Skydiving is about more than jumping out of airplanes and more than just a job. As skydivers, we choose to surround ourselves with people who truly enjoy life and believe in making the most of every single day. From our staff, to fun jumpers, to tandem students- skydiving tends to draw people who are passionate about life. If you spend enough time at our dropzone you’ll find folks who really enjoy one another’s company and feel bonded by the freedom of flight.

Meet our OWNERs

Keith George

Keith George

Keith George is an avid skydiver and commercial pilot. Keith started skydiving in 1997 and has logged over 15,000 jumps since then! He turned his passion for skydiving into a business in 2008 when he bought Skydive Midwest.  Keith is a Multi-Engine Rated Commercial Pilot, Tandem Instructor, Aerial Videographer, Accelerated Free Fall Instructor, Coach and an FAA Certified Rigger. Keith has worked extremely hard to build Skydive Midwest from a small drop zone that primarily conducted only tandem skydives to a major Midwest/Chicago area DZ. Keith enjoys free-flying with his wife and 2 sons and competing with his National Champion 4way VFS Team- SDMW Chemtrails.

Megan George

Megan George

Megan George partnered with Keith in Skydive Midwest in 2011. They met when Megan was learning to skydive in 2010. Megan is a Private Pilot, Accelerated Free Fall Instructor and Coach. She is also an avid competitor in 4way VFS, 4way FS and 8way FS. Megan is a sponsored athlete and holds several skydiving records as well as being a 2 time National Champion Skydiver who has competed and represented the United States in skydiving at the World Level. During the week, Megan works as Chief Financial Officer, Bookkeeper, Event Coordinator, HR Director and Marketing Manager for Skydive Midwest. On weekends Megan trains with SDMW NEXT and SDMW Shakedown and enjoys coaching and mentoring other teams and jumpers. 

Meet our Staff

Austin George

Austin George

Operations Manager, AFF Instructor, Tandem Videographer

Austin, the son of owner Keith George, grew up in the skydiving community so it is only natural that he lives and breathes skydiving. On top of working in the school teaching aspiring skydivers and filming first timers he loves performing maintenance and working on skydiving gear as a senior FAA certified rigger. When he is not throwing himself out of airplanes he enjoys working on his car, photography and snowboarding.

Theresa Hauser

Theresa Hauser

Tandem Instructor

Theresa has spent much of her life traveling the country and we are fortunate enough to have her join us at SDMW for the 2021 season. When not jumping she loves hiking, camping and traveling to experience all that nature has to offer.

Ben Statler

Ben Statler

Tandem Instructor, AFF Instructor, Coach

Ben has an affinity for living his life in the fast lane, skydiving was a logical next step. Before joining the skydiving industry he spent a lot of his free time rock climbing, freediving and training MMA. Don’t let the MMA training fool you, he is a sweetheart.

Justin Steffen

Justin Steffen

Tandem Videographer, Coach

Justin, a native of Wisconsin, started his skydiving journey 8 years ago and has accumulated over 1200 skydives since then. When he is not in the sky he can be found skiing and speedflying from mountain tops or traveling the country in search of the next great adventure.

Justin Gonzalez

Justin Gonzalez

Tandem Instructor

Originally from Pennsylvania, Justin started jumping after highschool thanks to the encouragement from his mom to do his first tandem!  After landing from his first jump he was hooked and realized he wanted to give that same experience back to people! He started packing the next year working towards increasing his jumps and gaining his tandem rating. In his off time he loves disc golf, running and rock climbing! 

Patrick Kessler

Patrick Kessler

AFF Instructor, Canopy Coach, Tandem Videographer

Patrick started skydiving in 2012, on the islands of Hawaii. He quickly started working in the sport as Tandem video, and an Accelerated Freefall Instructor, realizing that every work jump was also a practice swoop.  Patrick is a National Competitor in Freefall and canopy piloting events. He is also four time US Parachute Team Member for Canopy Piloting. He spends his winters on his snowmobile in Utah, and enjoys exploring the country in between seasons.

Daina Tubbs

Daina Tubbs

AFF Instructor, Tandem Instructor, Tandem Video

Daina discovered skydiving in 2007, jumped in full throttle, and hasn't slowed down. With over 15 years in the sport and 9,000 skydives she is one of the more experienced jumpers at Skydive Midwest. When she is not jumping she can be found doing anything outdoors, including hiking, running, swimming, and climbing. When she is not out on some adventure she is probably cooking or thinking about what to cook next. 

Kristin Beasley

Kristin Beasley

Tandem Instructor

Kristin is as seasoned a cook as she is a skydiver. So much so that she decided to split her time between skydiving and her brand new food truck. If you find yourself hungry and don’t see her around the hanger or in the air step outside for some amazing food from The 14k Kitchen.

Merrick Beltinck

Merrick Beltinck

Manifest

Originally from Montana, he has not skydived yet but is looking forward to this summer with his brother. When he’s not checking people in for their next jump he enjoys playing video games and spending time with friends!

Ryan George

Ryan George

A&P Aircraft Mechanic

Ryan grew up around the drop zone counting down the days till he could share the skies with his father, owner Keith George. He spends most of his weekdays ensuring that the Skydive Midwest aircrafts are in tip top shape for jump operations as one of our resident FAA A&P Mechanics. When he is not working on our aircrafts he can be found in the sky filming SDMW teams Shakedown and Ballistix. 

Santiago Herrera

Santiago Herrera

Tandem Instructor, AFF Instructor, Coach

Since arriving on planet earth in the late 70's in Caracas Venezuela Santi's mission has been to make people buoyant and joyous. In his free time he loves getting out into nature and enjoying the beauty the planet has to offer.

Rachel Rolfsmeier

Rachel Rolfsmeier

Manifest Manager

Originally from Colorado Rachel made her first skydive 6 years ago and immediately fell in love with being in the air. When she is not skydiving she enjoys playing with her cat and annoying her plants with random Star Wars facts while listening to “Jump” by Kriss Kross.

Kazu Oyama

Kazu Oyama

ADZM, S&TA, Student Program Director, Lead Rigger, Chief Instructor

Kazu has over 9000 skydives and 26 years in the sport. With that much experience it is only natural that he wears a lot of hats at Skydive Midwest. He is our resident Rating Examiner for Coach, Tandem and AFF instructors as well as the S&TA and Master Rigger. When he has the time outside of skydiving he loves bladesmithing, cooking, baking and eating sushi.

Travis Mickle

Travis Mickle

Tandem Instructor

Travis has 11 years experience with over 5,600 Skydives. USPA certified Coach & Wingsuit Instructor Examiner. When not skydiving Travis enjoys playing disc golf, video games and eating good food. 

Colby Butchereit

Colby Butchereit

Jump Pilot

Although Colby serves as our jump pilot at Skydive Midwest he is also a well rounded and accomplished skydiver with over 3,000 jumps under his belt. He is just an all around nerd when it comes to anything that can be done in the sky. When he is not around aviation he can be found scuba diving and traveling to experience the great outdoors.

Austin Lankford

Austin Lankford

Tandem Instructor, AFF Instructor, Tandem Videographer

Austin began his journey in the air while a senior in highschool and has never looked back. He really enjoys taking people on their first skydive and sharing the amazing experience of skydiving with the world. When he is not jumping out of planes he loves spending time outdoors with his dogs and fishing pole.

Lauren Pfeifer

Lauren Pfeifer

AFF Instructor, Coach, Tandem Videographer
 
Lauren has been skydiving since 2018, and will be enjoying her 5th skydiving season at SDMW. Lauren is an Accelerated Freefall Instructor, with the pursuit of growing females within the sport. She’s a National Competitor in MFS, but enjoys all disciplines of skydiving- too tough to chose just one! She spends the winter on her snowmobile in Utah, and the rest of her free time exploring the country with her dog, Frisco.
 
Evan Eidal

Evan Eidal

Chief Jump Pilot

Originally from Kent, Washington, Evan grew up flying around the Pacific Northwest. After getting his pilot license in 2017 he explored different aspects of aviation. He found skydiving and got his Skydive license in 2020 and has been skydiving and flying skydivers since. 

Steve Byers

Steve Byers

Tandem Videographer

A Wisconsin native from Mequon Steve enjoys nothing more than sharing the novel experience of flying through the air and capturing someones first skydive on video. "Being a skydive videographer at SDMW the greatest job in the world." Trust me, I live in a house of learned doctors. 
Nathan Shannon

Nathan Shannon

AFF Instructor, Tandem Video, Senior Rigger

Nathan spent his youth in small hamlet on the central plains of Texas learning the intricacies of internal combustion motors and cattle ranching.  In college he studied the wonders of electrical currents and the interworking's of computation machines.  However, once he discovered parachuting, his gaze became fixed toward the miracle of flight.  His future is uncertain, yet his zeal still burns bright in search of the ultimate ride.  

DANK

DANK

Tandem Videographer, Coach

Dank has been around since the early days of Skydive Midwest. He loves spending his time in the air, whether it be jumping out of planes for flying them. A jack of all trades Dank loves fixing and building stuff. He also enjoys scuba diving, world travel, and a good glass of scotch. 
Zephaniah Knottnerus

Zephaniah Knottnerus

AFF Instructor, Tandem Videographer

Zephaniah runs the packing mat at Skydive Midwest which leaves little time for skydiving though he jumps at the opportunity whenever he can. Ever since his first skydive he knew he wanted to spend more time in the air. Since earning his A License in 2018 he has made over 280 skydives and earned his Coach and Senior Parachute Rigger ratings. Besides skydiving he loves long treks in the woods with his dog, Alvin. 

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