Meet the Staff
Estefano Salgado
Instructor
Born in Valle de Bravo Mexico, he started his flying carrier in 2003 after waiting several years for his mom to let him fly. At 18 he moved to Europe for two years to apprentice with various types of great chefs. At 25 he moved to the US to attend the Culinary Institute of America. At 30 he took over as head chef at his family restaurant in Valle De Bravo where he serves an international fusion cuisine based on the freshest available local ingredients.
For the last 15 years, Estefano has been part of the Mexican national team. He was the Mexican national champion in 2019, and 2020, and second in 2021. He will be competing in the 2022 Paragliding World Cup tour.
Nick and Estefano have known each other for 15 years. They met up in Oaxaca in 2019 for a flying trip and immediately began hatching a plan to bring people to enjoy the culture and flying!
José María Zárate “Chema”
Instructor
Chema was born in Oaxaca, México, and always dreamed about flying. “When I found paragliding it immediately stole my heart. The ease, purity, and low cost allowed me to finally aviate in a way that made sense”, he recalls. He learned to paraglide at the age of 16 in 1999 and has been chasing clouds ever since. In 2015 he started a tandem business and flight school. In 2016 he obtained an APPI rating for Tandem Pro and Assistant Instructor. We are excited to have Chema on the team to be our local fixer as well as his brother, a trained EMT, as one of our drivers.
Nick Greece
Instructor
Nick Greece has flown over 400km a few times, won numerous national cross-country titles, edited the USHPA magazine for 10 years, flown in over 37 countries, and is well known for being able to eat three-course meals while flying. He is an advanced instructor, tandem instructor, Wilderness First Responder, and has been flying for 21 years and guiding off and on for 14 years. He dreams of bringing rich flying experiences to pilots worldwide that focus on what has kept him enthralled with the sport. He hopes his trips will provide great flights, and opportunities to grow as an international citizen through sharing experiences with local pilots in the places we visit.
"I spent time in Oaxaca with Nick and his team, and the experience exceeded expectations! Looking like a group of bandits, we executed a safe week of flying from multiple launches as they absolutely nailed the comprehensive logistical plans needed to efficiently and safely execute day after day of XC flying. The support and technical knowledge were second to none. I was able to push my personal best while learning at a rate faster than speed bar. The time on the ground was filled with many laughs and our search for food was rewarded with epicurean delight! The trip was monumental for me, a real point-in-time experience. I will definitely join future adventures with Nick and Paragliding Guides."
- Josh Wiseman