Diving head first into action with US at Royal William Yard
With its fabulous waterside location, Royal William Yard is a place we dived headfirst into developing over 15 years ago. During that time, we’ve transformed a disused naval area into an award-winning place in which people can live, work, and play.
Recently we welcomed Plymouth-native and Red Bull pro cliff diver, Aidan Heslop, to the Yard on his 21st birthday. Surprisingly, Aidan wasn’t there to enjoy a celebratory meal in one of the Yard’s restaurants, instead, he was practicing for his upcoming challenge in the 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series which is being held in Boston in June. Here he tells us more…
“I’ve been cliff diving professionally since he was 16 and came to RWY to perform a series of spectacular teaser dives – which included a double half, triple half, flying front, flying reverse and running double half dive – by jumping off the top of the Brewhouse building.
"I’m buzzing to be able to pull off a dive like that in such a cool location in my hometown. I always used to come down here to Royal William Yard and look at these buildings. It’s really amazing that I’ve been able to do this. It’s such a beautiful location – with all these restaurants about and there’s a little crowd that has gathered to watch me dive from this building – it’s a really cool experience and I’m super grateful that I’ve been allowed to do it.
“That water was a complete shock to me, I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn’t know it was going to be that cold – it really took my breath away!
“I was really excited for this project, so I’m super grateful to be able to dive off them today. There is always a different thing that makes me a little bit scared [of diving from height], but it is an important thing to be scared. I mean this one, we’ve got a little gap to clear, and it wasn’t a perfect take-off, but I mean it’s pretty nice for the circumstances. I only really told my parents, so there has been a nice little crowd that has formed. I’m ready to put the work in this year.”
Aidan is now focusing on trying to win the 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, where he will be joined by his girlfriend, fellow cliff diver and TikTok sensation, Molly Carlson, who also finished runner-up in the 2022 women’s Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
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