Backstory
My name is Stan Maziarz Jr (Stan FPV) and I've been flying drones for over 7 years now, FPV for ~6 of them. I used to compete and do shows on bicycles doing backflips and frontflips and crazy tricks for 15 years. I landed my first bmx backflip at the age of 13 over a WOOD box jump (they didn't have foam pits in my day lol) until ACL reconstruction surgery on BOTH knees and a pending back surgery (among many other injuries) has taken me off of my bike completely for over 9 years now and sometimes I can barely walk. I'm 34 now, Freestyle BMX was my life from 10yo-25yo. I breathed, ate, and dreamt my bike for all that time while I went to college for 3D modeling and animation. When I couldn't ride anymore I went thru a deep depression and I wasn't able to do the one thing (riding my bike) that used to clear my head and regain my sanity in my hardest mental times. I was lost.. But then my whole life changed. I saw my first drone in real life! It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The employer I was at let me get a parrot drone and it all started.. A month later I talked my wife into letting me get my own phantom 4. I fell in LOVE with flight. EVERYTHING about it was new and incredible, seeing a view that most people never experienced in their whole lives was in my control.. After I got slow 4k footage of everything 17 times, I wanted something a little more dynamic and challenging that I could work on building a skill doing as a hobby.. Seven years ago, before my amazing daughter was born, my injuries were making driving a semi truck, delivering beer for Budweiser, difficult and miserable. So my wife and I decided that I should stay home and take care of our daughter and myself. While at home with my little girly freshly home from the hospital, right at the beginning, I came across FPV drones on the internet and started researching and learning all the new skills I would need to build my very own manual high performance flying robot while I was feeding her bottles and changing diapers.. I had never even heard of soldering before this! 😂 I learned about electricity, antenna, batteries, and so much more. I learned how to do SO many things getting into this hobby. I spent 3 full months researching and making sure I wouldn't short or burn out all my new parts as soon as I got them.. I used to build car models as a kid and I stopped after a close family member destroyed them all one day in a rage (I had sort of a tough childhood, one reason bmx was such an escape for me) so I hadnt built a model in over 15 years until I found these drones.. They are similar to a car/plane model, but then you get to have the most fun ONCE it's BUILT! I built my first FPV quad Feb '17 and it didn't smoke when I plugged it in! Such a GREAT moment.. 30 seconds into my first battery tho I was on a random roof. I re-armed and full throttled. I instantly ended up 300ft up looking at a lake I didn't know was even there. I somehow landed next to the lake, but then rolled into a creek a half mile away from where I was standing! I spent the next 2 hours searching in mud all the way up to my knees and finally found the tip of the receiver antenna poking out of the creek water a ways away.. That was the day I realized that this sport/hobby/skill was a lot harder than it looked, and I spent the next full month on simulators. My next flight after that month went OK and I have only gotten more and more passionate about this hobby ever since then! It's literally the same exact mental feeling being in the goggles as I used to get flowing on my bike, but without the risk to my body. And instead of being limited to just the skatepark, I can flow the entire WORLD! I wish this stuff existed when I was younger, I would have flown FPV drones instead of destroying my body! FPV SAVED ME. My six year old has watched all the drone learning videos as I have and loves drones and flying as much as I do, she wears her own goggles and co-pilots with me and has also flown her own little tiny whoop already! She can even fly a little acro on the sim and do flips and rolls on command.. Raises throttle, cuts throttle, rolls, and regains control.. It blows my mind. You'll see her in the future I guarantee it 😉 I have a strong feeling that now that I've found this I will be flying until I 💀 I'm even more into everything FPV now then when I first started (which is a high bar 😂) and I wish to continue to progress my skills, push the hobby, tech and professional aspect of drones, and share the "experience" of FPV with everyone I can! 🤘🏼
Lots of content and new ideas coming! Fly like a bird! 🦅