AUGUST 2019 FLYINGMAG.COM | 43take us out over Desolation Wilderness, the mountainous
range on the other side of Lake Tahoe, from our home in
Incline Village, Nevada. As the turbine lit and began to
spool, my heart raced in parallel to follow its energetic lead
up. What happened next would crystallize in my impres-
sionable young mind and forever change my perception of
terrestrial confinement. We left the ground in that helicop-
ter, and I tasted in minutes what my 16-year-old feet had
explored in the totality of their relative lifetime. I stepped
off that magical flying machine a different person—a kid
who knew he needed to fly. Inspired by a few powerfully
motivating people in my life—specifically Duncan’s dad,
Rick Lee, who is an extremely accomplished global avia-
tor, and the collective inspiration bomb that is NASA—my
desire to leave the ground continued to grow.
Fast-forward to meeting my soul mate, Shawna Korgan.
At a 2007 dinner party, we had a 30-minute conversation
with our eyes that likely lasted seconds in reality—but I
knew. In that moment, I had met my twin f lame. Within
weeks, we were on a path to spend our lives together. In
one of our first heart-meshing conversations, she asked me
the question, “What do you really want to do in this life?”
If all my needs were met, she wanted to know, and the path
was devoid of failure and blinding success was a guarantee,
what would I do with my life?
Confidently, I responded, “Nanotechnology,” and I
meant it. At the time, I was the co-founder and presi-
dent of a startup nanotechnology firm that designedSHAWNAKORGAN