Both skydiving addicts, Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet met more than twenty years ago to form a duo known as the Soul Flyers and author of performances constantly pushing the limits of the possible.

They have combined all kinds of thrilling disciplines, such as wingsuit flight, speedriding, free fall, until they have invested in an even more innovative project: flying dressed in a winged suit and equipped with mini jet engines ( Jetman).

Frenchmen Vince Reffet (l) and Fred Fugen, nicknamed "Soul Flyers", during their wingsuit flight over the three artificial archipelagos of Palm Islands in Dubai, March 25, 2017 Max HAIM AFP / Archives

"It's 20 years, can you imagine...", slips Fugen, met during a training session for his latest video opus (a free fall from an altitude of 6500 m on skis before hurtling down the mountain in speedriding), in La Clusaz, a station forever in the heart of the tandem where they learned their skills.

French skier Fred Fugen, specialist in freefall, parachuting, BASE jumping and wingsuit flight, during speedriding training above the resort of La Clusaz, February 1, 2022 LOIC VENANCE AFP / Archives

Fugen has not stopped training for this project which is "particularly close to his heart", because it had been thought out and already prepared four years ago with Vince Reffet, who died on November 17, 2021 in Dubai during a a training accident for the Jetman project.

French skiers, Vince Reffet (g) and Fred Fugen, specialists in particular in wingsuit flights and nicknamed "Soul Flyers", pose in Paris, September 22, 2020 JOEL SAGET AFP / Archives

"Not a Day"

"The way we used to think about things together. Sometimes there are things that I might not have done and like I know he would have done, so now I do it because I'm all alone. Not a day goes by...", he says before pausing, then continuing.

"In every phase of training I was constantly thinking about Vince, I could almost imagine the discussions we would have had".

Frenchmen Vince Reffet (g) and Fred Fugen, nicknamed "Soul Flyers", pose during a photo shoot in Paris, November 28, 2017 Lionel BONAVENTURE AFP/Archives

After the death of his friend, Fugen spent an entire year chaining exploits without taking the time to rest or think.

"Maybe that's what's happening here."

"Last year was special for me. There, I have personal work to do, there are a lot of things that change, the Jetman contract that stops. After what will happen behind I'm getting to a point where I'm going to have to take some time."

"Doing stuff on my own was something that freaked me out, I had to do a lot of it as if I had to prove myself and prove to others that in fact I was able to do stuff on your own," Fugen slips.

Is he more afraid now, since the loss of his friend?

"Where is the limit?"

"I don't really know. Not really because we were already so careful, the conditions in which he died are so particular, the specific exercise he was doing in Jetman is something for which I I didn't have the level.... It's another world. I don't tell myself that I'm more afraid but maybe it's easier for me to stop a little earlier, to push less".

Vince's death, "it's very special for me".

"You try to learn from it, to understand things. There is a reflection, I may not have reached the end of this thing yet... But yeah, you have to be careful. And you have to know until how worth it to go. You also experience the pain of the people who are around, his wife, his parents. This morning I saw his parents, it's hot... It's almost worse than everything. Those who remain", he breathes.

French skier Fred Fugen, a specialist in freefall, parachuting, BASE jumping and wingsuit flight, poses during a photo shoot on September 22, 2020 in Paris JOEL SAGET AFP/Archives

Vince Reffet died after losing control of his hovering aircraft (Jetman) and failing to deploy his reserve parachute, an inquest has found.

And today, for Fugen it is a question of "measure more the thing to take pleasure still without being afraid": "Where is the limit? It also comes from the fact that Vince is dead, at a moment you imagine the worse, now we know that the worst can happen".

© 2022 AFP