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 8 years now and sometimes I can barely walk. I'm 33 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 and it all started.. A month later I talked my wife into letting me get my own phantom 3. 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.. Six 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 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 five 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! 🦅