Gujarat's First Female Skydiver Shares How She Made Her Dreams Come True

Shweta Parmar, Gujarat's first female skydiver spoke to SheThePeople about her journey and shared how she fought the hurdles and made it happen for herself. Here's her story:

I lost my father when I was 18. I was raised by 3 strong women, my mother & two elder sisters. Growing up,I always wanted to be a Pilot. I always wanted to fly, but I couldn't pursue my passion because of weak eyesight. So, I decided to pursue higher studies & get a job.

I completed my MBA in 2015 & secured a job with an MNC. It'd been 3 months into job when I came across an Fb ad for Tandem jump in Mehsana. It costed Rs. 35,000! But I wanted it so badly that I gathered up the courage to ask mom. ‘Are you mad! Why do you want to waste money over a jump?’ I however, kept pleading & she finally gave in.
I was terrified on the day of the jump. I almost forgot to breathe, but what came after the jump was magical; it was as if I'd entered a brand new world. That's when I realised; I wanted to be a skydiver!

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Days passed by, but at the back of my head, I was always thinking about skydiving. I told my family about my passion. My mom was worried about the danger I was putting myself into. ‘You are a woman. No one will marry you if something happens’, she’d say. But, my younger brother supported me. I remember him saying- ‘just go with what your heart says’. So I kept at it; it took me 3 months to convince mom.

In the meantime, I started my research. India had only 1 active place for skydiving. The next nearest place was Dubai. However, Spain was the safest. So, In 2018, I went to Spain for training. Learning skydiving was not the only challenge. Staying away from family in foreign country, learning to trust unknown people was a lot. Every mistake would cost me Rs.20,000+. There were days I would come back injured with fractures. But I never gave up.

In 2021, I completed my 8 level AFF skydiving course, 29 jumps in Spain & also got my USPA A license exam. I am a trained skydiving instructor. Now, I can jump with other skydivers anywhere in the world recognized by the United States Parachute Association. I have also started my own company,Techmero,a digital marketing firm in Vadodara. Today my mom is very proud of what I do. She says, ‘I never had an opportunity, nobody asked about my dreams, but I’m glad that my daughter fought for her dream & is living it’.

Watch the video here.