Nicole Smith-Ludvik on Skydiving & Stunts

The Human Risk Podcast

What drives people to follow careers that involve dangerous activities like skydiving & stunts? My guest is Nicole Smith-Ludvik, a professional skydiver and stuntwoman. Last year, Nicole starred in two incredible advertisements for Emirates, the Dubai based airline which featured Nicole standing on the top of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
If you haven’t seen the advertisements — and I recommend watching them before you listen to the show — then you can watch them here:
Original ad from June 2021- https://youtu.be/uQHhYRuaEtM
The second ad featuring the Airbus A380 from January 2022 - https://youtu.be/fbL9QdWWJzo
Behind The Scenes of the Original ad - https://youtu.be/HagU3vUp0Ck
Behdin The Scenes of the Second ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAR1j6UfoG0
What I find fascinating about Nicole is that she’s chosen a carer that involves taking real risk. Many of us talk about risk, but she actually runs genuine risk. And yet, as you’ll hear, she thinks very carefully about how she manages it.
In our discussion, I learn how Nicole came to be interested in sky diving, how she thinks about risk, what she does to manage it, and what appeals to her about a carer that involves jumping out of planes. Of course, we explore the Emirates ads and I learn how they came about, what went into filming them and — world exclusive here – what Nicole would love to do if they ever film a third one.
To read more about Nicole and her career:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/a-widow-at-25-to-surviving-a-critical-accident-how-nicole-smith-ludvik-made-it-to-the-top-of-the-b
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/middle-east/who-is-nicole-smith-ludvik-know-the-woman-who-stood-on-top-of-burj-khalifa-in-emirates-ad.html
My thanks to Emirates for giving permission for Nicole to appear and to Dr Roger Miles for the idea of inviting her on.
You can hear Roger’s previous appearances on the show here:
https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-roger-miles-on-conduct/
https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/human-risk-webinar-recording-conduct/