110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - magazine_08 - Index

combination of rush and spiritual tranquility are
simply unparalleled.
Clay has given up on ever again attempting to
convince a person to skydive.
“Those days are over,” he said. I won’t
convince someone to do something they don’t
want to do. When I was younger I thought everyone
who didn’t try it was missing out. But now
I know it’s not for everyone. In fact, occasionally
people back out at the last minute. And that’s
okay too,” Clay said.
SUPERMAN BY DAY;
FAMILY MAN BY NIGHT
Clay and his wife, Chrissie, actually met while
skydiving in 1992. He was her instructor for her first
tandem skydive. Although they didn’t officially
start dating until three years later, they share a love
of skydiving; the thrill of the sport runs thick
through their veins.
When I asked if he has ever been called crazy
by anyone Clay’s eyes lit up like headlights, “Of
course I have!” he exclaimed in a broken
chuckle. “By the same people who would never
consider skydiving themselves!”
While he used to consider himself a bit of an
adrenaline junkie he swears those days are more or
less over. With a family that has grown over the
last decade and with the arrival of a new baby in
2007, Clay and his wife aren’t the big risk takers
they used to be.
“I only jump on occasion now, maybe 400 times
per year,” Clay said with a sincere look in his eyes.
Four hundred times a year may sound like quite a
bit of skydiving to the average person but it’s a
significant cutback for Clay.
“These days I enjoy golfing and spending time
with my family. I can’t do either of those when I’m
in the sky,” he concluded.
Clay plans to continue his career as the owner of
Bay Area Skydiving and to jump for as long as he
can. After all, his oldest client was a 95 year old
woman, so nothing is impossible.
Clay is even still waiting for the day that someone’s
pet will personally ask him to try skydiving.
Until that day though, no pets are allowed.
Skydiving is a hard business to gain success in
and Clay acknowledges, with the utmost modesty,
that he has been very fortunate. He’s still learning
a lot about running a business in California; he’s
learning new things everyday from his two kids, he
said.
Right now he just wants to ensure that his family
is raised happy, healthy, and wise and that his business
continues to thrive.
°
Send an email to editors@110mag.com with questions
or comments.
PERSONA I BLOOM
CLAY BONAVITO
AGE: 47
OCCUPATION:
SKYDIVER
PLACE OF BIRTH:
SAN FRANCISCO
LOCAL RESIDENCE:
BRENTWOOD
LIFE GOAL:
HAPPY, HEALTHY,
WISE FAMILY
January/February 2008 www.110mag.com 71