You know the technique. In the air your mind races and you forget to use it.
THE DEBRIEF IS THE LEARNING
The Paragliding System for Pilots Who Want Consistent XC Growth and Confidence in the Air
Turn the skills you already have into better, more enjoyable flying, with mental training, post-flight debriefs and a gaggle of pilots in the core with you. No gear upgrade required.
5.0
Loved by 30+ pilots in 14 countries
“Grant understands that paragliding is won in the mind, not with gear. He's doing great things for the paragliding community by bringing the science of flow to the forefront with Wingmates.”
Does This Sound Familiar?
The conditions are good and your skills are good, and you are still uneasy about who is watching from launch.
You had a plan for the flight, you turned back early, and you still cannot say why.
You leave thermals before they stop climbing, knowing full well they are still going up.
You fly plenty of hours and you still have not got away from your local hill.
You replay the decisions you got wrong, and you cannot tell which ones were actually wrong.
“The community drive to improve, also seeing other pilots with the same issue so its not just you.”
The Moment That Catalysed My Shift From Ego to Flow
I almost killed myself.
A week before the one and only SIV course I’ve ever done, I threw my reserve.
I didn’t even have time to see it open. It opened just before I hit the perfectly angled slope. I landed without a scratch.
I’d burst onto the XC scene that year winning our local league and when I saw a friend doing wingovers I felt compelled to try them too. I hadn’t studied the skill and didn’t understand the dynamics, so when I had a small asymmetric on high side my immediate thought was, “ah that doesn’t scare me, I’ll just do it bigger,” incorrectly thinking that it was a lack of energy that caused the collapse. On the next turn I went bigger and the typical sequence of events for this type of mistake occurred — big assym on the topside into a cravat.
The cause of my cascade was a type of Egofear born from insecurity and driven by the need for recognition.
The need to prove myself, to be the best, to win and fly further than others came from deep wounds.
What turned my trajectory around wasn’t more airtime, it was the insights I gained through struggle and reflection. A debrief that only came years later. I had to dig deep. To be open and see the part my ego had been playing. To be open to feedback as a path to growth.
To explore and uncover deeper truths about why we fly.
That paragliding is a mind game and that it’s gifts can be found when you focus on...
Connection over competition.
I became isolated twice in my paragliding journey.
After getting my licence I didn’t fly for four years. The second time, while living in Sweden, it was two years.
Wingmates is the community I wish I had had.
Somewhere to keep a home in this elemental art when life makes flying hard.
To keep learning in the seasons you fly a lot and to stay connected in the ones you do not.
To connect and find a crew to fly with, no matter what country you find yourself in.
There is nothing more powerful than group flow.
To share your own hard won experience with others to help them stay on track.
To keep yourself accountable.
This is the power of community and why I started Wingmates.
Be part of a new connected movement of pilots putting flow and the love of free flight first.
Most Paragliding Advice Creates Rankings and Competition. Wingmates is Designed to Create Group Flow and Connection.
Traditional paragliding culture encourages you to chase metrics, enter XC leagues, and participate in competitions.
This works if it enriches your flying and helps you to learn and grow.
Unfortunately, when society forces the elemental arts into an organized, competitive box, it fundamentally changes the nature of the activity.
Success is measured by points, podiums, medals, and judges’ scores.
Other pilots become an obstacle.
Rivalries are born.
Suddenly flying, humanity’s dream since the dawn of consciousness, becomes a zero-sum status game. A game of ranking and hierarchy. A game of comparison.
The ego gets attached to results which become a proxy for your value as a pilot. Your status in the community and individual worth gets boiled down to a single metric.
A metric that says nothing about the quality of the experience.
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Flying a big line through complex terrain is a deeply subjective, profound experience. Kilometres and league points turn a complex, soulful act into a cheap, easily digestible number. A pilot can land from an objectively stunning and creative flight feeling on top of the world, only to have the feeling whipped away simply because they fell 5km short of another pilot’s tracklog.
The problem with zero-sum games is that for you to win, someone else must lose. In this model joy is scarce and fleeting.
However, in a positive-sum game everyone can win simultaneously.
This is known as wealth creation. And in this case the wealth you create is of experience. Success is measured by mastery, presence, a connection to the environment, and the richness of the experience.
In adventure sports, this shift from zero-sum competition to “the act of doing” is a deeply researched and lived philosophy. Many free-ride movements have broken away from the shackles of this imposed structure.
They moved towards connected communities, supportive celebration, and group flow.
That’s why Wingmates uses a community-first XC Growth System.
A place to connect with other pilots and increase the collective knowledge and safety of the group in a supportive and collaborative environment.
The debrief is the learning.
“A bunch of pilots without hero-attitude.”
“In the last two months I have made more progress in my flying journey than in the last two years.”
Zee
Broke a personal best twice in a month, crossed to another valley for the first time, and flew higher than ever before.
The Four-Step System Behind Lasting XC Growth
Built on flow science, the state where your best flying happens. Here's how Wingmates turns the flights you already have into a project worth flying, and a crew that keeps you flying it.
Plan a Meaningful XC Project (Before You Waste More Time Chasing the Wrong Goal)
Choose a project that means something to you, whether that's a first 30K triangle, a flight home from the hill, or a 100km line. You'll map what it takes to get there, so you're working toward your own dream not someone else's.
The right goal stretches you without scaring you, and that's where your best flying happens.
Discover What's Holding You Back (Before Spending More Money on Gear)
When XC progress slows, most pilots blame time or gear. Usually it's something else: a mental block, a skill gap, or a sky they're not yet reading well. Find out which, and learn what gets you into flow, so you build a practice that lifts your flying and your enjoyment. No gear upgrade required.
Turn Every Flight Into Progress
The debrief is the learning. If you're like most pilots you glance at your track, see what number you flew, compare it to others on the day, and move on. The lessons from a great flight or a bomb-out disappear. Inside Wingmates you'll run a simple debrief and share it with your crew. Work through your decisions, your state, and the moments you were in flow, and take those insights into your next flight.
Stay Connected and Keep Growing (Even Through A Flying Slump)
You don't need to be flying actively to benefit from Wingmates. Pilots in a flying drought often get the most out of it, because that's when support matters most. When you're part of a gaggle, you keep learning in the seasons you fly a lot and stay connected in the ones you don't, with a crew to fly with wherever in the world you end up.
The debrief is the learning.
“It's only been a month and seen a real change.”
Mark Limb
Found Grant on YouTube and joined
Exactly How Wingmates Helps You Build Confidence and Fly Further
Four parts, working together: a system to follow, a coach who reviews your flying, 1:1 time when you need it, and a crew that keeps you plugged in.
01 · THE XC FLOW SYSTEM
Follow the XC Flow System Inside Wingmates
The whole system lives inside the community, broken into steps you work through at your own pace, with the templates and prompts for each one.
You are never guessing what to do next, and you are never doing it alone.
The four steps:
- Plan a project that fits your skill level, and what you want from flying.
- Find what is actually holding you back, and develop a practice around it.
- Debrief, so nothing you learn disappears on the drive home.
- Use the insights from each debrief for the next plan: iterate, repeat, grow.
“Grant = emotional intelligence + didactical excellence + flying expertise.”
Nikola Dentschev
02 · THE DEBRIEF
Share Your Insights or Send Me Your Tracklog or Video To Review
Upload a launch, a landing, a climb, or a tracklog from a day you want to learn from. Share your experience and what you thought was going on.
I go through it and help you discover your own insights. No marks, only learning.
Example of what a debrief covers:
- The decisions you made.
- What was happening internally.
- Uncover what works well so you can repeat.
- What lessons the flight was trying to teach you.
“I'm finally starting to feel after two and a half years of flying that I'm actually starting to fly now.”
Kurt Bester
03 · HOT SEATS
Get 1:1 Time on Something You Want To Work On
Some things do not belong in a group thread. A hot seat with me, on whatever is holding you back, available to you inside the community.
Not a group call where you wait your turn, and not a fixed syllabus. We work on whatever is most meaningful to you.
Pilots bring topics like:
- A flight that rattled them.
- Coming back after a break, an accident, or a season off.
- A wing decision they keep going back and forth on.
- The gap between solo performance and group flow.
“I think Grant's skill is in recognising what people want from the sport and assisting in their own personal journey.”
Jeremy Samson
04 · YOUR WINGMATES
Fly With Pilots On The Same Journey
Thirty pilots across fourteen countries, growing through paragliding. Members organise their own flights, meetups and XC days.
Somewhere to stay connected when life makes flying hard, celebrate wins when things are good, and to fly with wherever you end up in the world.
What the crew gives you:
- Feedback and support on your debriefs.
- Pilots to connect with while traveling.
- Friends that keep you going even through periods when you are not flying.
- Direct access to support from Grant in the DMs and the community.
“Wingmates became for me “the paragliding club I always wanted to have”, even that it is virtual it became a good place for exchange of ideas.”
“I like the connection that it gives.”
Wingmates Is for Pilots Who Put Flow Before Status
It's for you if
- You want to keep growing as a pilot, whatever that looks like for you: a first flight away from the hill, a big XC line, or a better comp result.
- You want to sharpen your skills and your head, because you've noticed both decide your flights: technique, weather reading, and the fear, hesitation, or pushing that sits underneath.
- You'd rather understand one flight properly than log ten more.
- You want a crew to learn with, wherever in the world you fly.
- You'll share honestly, including the flights you're not proud of, and help others do the same.
It's not for you if
- You're here to prove you're better than other pilots. Rankings have their place, but this isn't it.
- You want praise more than honest, kind feedback.
- You're looking for quick tips without reflecting on your own flying. Here the learning comes from doing the work to reflect on your flights, with supportive feedback from Grant and the community.
It doesn't matter if
- You compete, fly XC, or mostly soar your local site. Bring your goals, whatever they are.
- You're not flying much right now. The learning is in the flights you've already had.
- You're coming back after a break, an accident, or a season off.
- You're quiet by nature. Start by reading other pilots' debriefs and share when you're ready.
Mentored by an instructor and flow coach, so you get the technical skills and the mental game in one place. While entering leagues and comps are welcome here, we take a flow approach prioritising growth, connection, and the joy of the journey, not status and ranking.
Hey, I'm Grant - The World's First Paragliding Flow Coach
I'm a qualified paragliding instructor, guide, and accomplished XC pilot with multiple local records. I'm also an accredited Flow Coach with The Flow Coaching Federation, the leaders in Flow Science.
My method follows the tradition of Gallwey's Inner Game. Not more technical instruction, but removing the interference getting in your way. When the noise clears, you discover that you already know how to fly. The work is in getting out of your own way.
I see paragliding as an Elemental Art. A practice that has the power to transform your life if you approach it in the right way. I'm here to help you on that journey.
Join Wingmates
An ongoing coaching room for XC pilots who want consistent growth and confidence in the air.
What you get
- The Debrief: Send a launch, a landing, a thermal climb, or a tracklog from a flight you can't explain. Grant reviews it and tells you what he saw.
- A 1:1 call with Grant: Available to you inside the community, on whatever is actually holding you back in the air.
- The Way of Fear ($97 value): The work Grant does with pilots on launch anxiety, on committing when the air changes, and on what your body does before you have decided anything. Yours the day you join.
- The crew: 30 pilots across 14 countries. Members organise their own flights, meetups and XC days with people at the same stage.
- A direct line to Grant: DMs, not a help desk.
$149/quarter
Billed every three months.
Join Wingmates“It's only been a month and seen a real change… Open up to the program and it delivers.”
“The most valuable thing for me has been The Way of Fear Course that’s offered on this platform.”
Keri
Wingmates member
You Might Be Wondering...
What happens if I cancel?
You stop being billed and you keep access to the end of the quarter you have already paid for. No call, no form, no talking me out of it.
Do I have to talk to anyone?
No. Plenty of members read and watch and never post. The debriefs work either way. The one thing I would ask is that you send a flight, because that is the part that actually changes anything.
What does a debrief actually look like?
You upload a video or a tracklog, and you tell me what you thought was happening. I go through it and tell you what I see, which is usually a different story. It is not a mark out of ten.
Do I need to be an experienced pilot?
Most people here have flown XC. You do not need to be good. You need to be flying, and willing to look at what you did.
Is this a course?
The Way of Fear is a course and it is included. Wingmates is not. It is a practice you keep returning to, each flight and each season.
You talk a lot about not chasing numbers. Does that mean Wingmates is against goals?
No. We're not against goals. We're against goals that own you.
Wanting to fly 100km is a legitimate dream, and so is a first flight away from the hill, a podium at a comp, or simply flying your local ridge with more ease and joy. What matters is who owns the goal and what it means to you.
A goal as a scoreboard is a number set by a leaderboard or someone else's tracklog. Hitting it proves your worth, and missing it means you failed. That's the version we step away from, because it turns flying into a status game where your worth rides on a single number.
A goal as a project is one you choose, shaped by your site, your wing, and what you want from flying. It gives you direction. A flight can fall short and still be a good flight, because the debrief turns it into learning either way.
This isn't just philosophy. Clear goals and immediate feedback are two of the classic conditions for flow. In Wingmates, your project gives you the goal and the debrief gives you the feedback. Without a direction, pilots tend to drift. With a rigid attachment to the outcome, they tend to push, and pushing for the wrong reasons is where many of the worst decisions in the air come from. I learned that the hard way.
And if you'd rather not set a distance goal at all, that's fine too. Your project can be to enjoy your flying more, and the system works the same way.
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
What if I fly in winter, or hardly fly at all right now?
That is the best argument for joining rather than against it. The learning is in the flights you already had, and most pilots have years of them that nobody ever looked at. The debrief is the learning.
“This has become more than just a flight skill — it's a way of being. I feel a pervasive sense of calm and a significant reduction in mental noise. I've developed a new relationship with fear and anxiety, recognising them not as stop signs, but as energy to be transformed and utilised.”
— Alex, UK · Wingmates Member
“Working with you has changed my flying, especially dealing with the fear. I breathe, recognise it and now use it to my advantage.”
— Kurt Bester · Coaching Client
“Fear in this sport is something we need to be talking about more.”
— @sebass156 · YouTube