Would This Doctor Prescribe Base Jumping?

By Christian Weiss | April 7, 2015



Omer Mei-Dan somehow links medicine and extreme sports, and is an extreme base jumping doctor. The Israeli base jumping doctor is not just an orthopedic surgeon, but also a celebrated extreme sportsman. The extreme athlete of a doctor at age 42, is one of those, 1500-3000 numbered worldwide, who are part of a group of BASE jumpers, who dive off buildings, antennas, spans, and earth platforms which makes skydiving look like “cradle jumping.”
The extreme base jumping doctor was recently focused on Orthopedics Today’s where he was a perfect choice to speak at the International Extreme Sports Medicine Annual Congress. There, he offered data on people who engage in extreme sports, whom he obviously shares commonalities with.
The daredevil doctor as he is known, is also a celebrated surgeon. Born in Israel, he moved to Colorado in 2012 where he has a robust medical practice at the University of Colorado and Boulder. While he was in medical school, Dr. Mei-Dan was Redbull-sponsored, and an extreme sports athlete with corporate sponsors like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. Dr. Mei-Dan was also featured on a 10 episode series on Fox Sports called “Cutting Edge, MD”, that focused on his practice with injured professional athletes.



Base jumping is a sport that is extremely dangerous. Even the tiniest of mistakes such as a strong gust of wind, or faulty equipment, can mean a sudden and violent end. Base jumpers have to deploy their parachutes within milliseconds and usually don wind suits for their often times, risky descents.

The base jumping doctor had a lot to say about BASE jumping and extreme sports in an interview in Boulder, CO, where he lives with his wife and three children. In the interview he mentions that BASE jumping is a sport dictated by life and death and his admiration for extreme sports athletes. Medically they have the ability to sustain, endure, and even enjoy amounts of stress that other people would be unable to cope with. He was quoted as saying that he enjoys the thrill and fear.
Dr. Mei-Dan is truly a remarkable athlete and daredevil extreme. He stays active in other sports such as ice climbing in the winter, white water kayaking in the summer, and rock climbing and mountaineering all year round. We hope to see more of the base jumping doctor and his extreme athleticism in the near future.