Alexander Helmut Schulz (born 1991) is a German professional tightrope walker, multiple highline world record holder, and keynote speaker. Schulz is internationally known for pioneering the first walks of several slacklines and world records at extraordinary locations. In his most dangerous project to date, "LavaLine", he crossed the active volcano Mount Yasur on a highline in April 2020 on the South Sea island of Tanna, Vanuatu.
Life Alexander Schulz grew up in Rosenheim as part of a family that valued outdoor and sporting activities. During his early childhood he joined his father, Raimon Schulz, on numerous adventures and expeditions. His hobbies included sports such as hiking, gymnastics and ice hockey as well as white-water kayaking, climbing, skiing, caving and canyoning. Before slacklining became a trend sport in the early 2010s, Schulz had put up his first slacklines. In June 2011 he walked his first highline and found entry to the slackline community. During this time, he met many well-known people of the slackline scene, including future teammate and business partner Johannes Olszewski.
Since graduating high school in 2011, Alexander Schulz has devoted himself to slacklining full-time. Together with Olszewski and three other friends he founded the collective "One Inch Dreams" in early 2012. One Inch Dreams started as a slackline portal, and over the course of many successful projects and world records the company developed into a creative agency and film producer.
Schulz also gives lectures on the topics of risk management and coping strategies, as well as the conscious handling of fear. In addition to his daily training, regular yoga practice, mental training and breathing exercises help him to carry out his projects in terms of overcoming fear and stress. He is a regular guest in film and television, reporting about his expeditions and projects in Galileo (Fernsehsendung)|Galileo, Bayerischen Rundfunk, Deutsche Welle, SAT1, WDR, ZDF, RTL, MDR, SWR and France 3. Schulz shares his expertise with highline beginners in workshops in Rosenheim as well as in his chosen home of Innsbruck.
Career Schulz began his career as a professional athlete in 2011 when he signed his first sponsorship contract and set his first records. On June 4, 2011, he broke the then world record with a 140-meter-long waterline in the Salzburg Land. At the Natural Games in Millau, France in mid-June, 2011, he crossed the longest highland in the world at the time with 115 meters in both directions (onsight fullman).
At the end of 2011, Schulz constructed the first so-called "Space-Highline" (also known as Space-Line) during a two-month highline trip in the western United States, the forerunner of the Spacenet slackline structures that are occasionally found today (as of 2020). On the same trip, Schulz beat his record by four meters when he climbed the 119 meter long highline over the Consumnes River Gorge (California). In the following years, various world records and special projects followed.
Together with his teammate Niklas Winter, he gained a lot of media attention in the German-speaking world with a highline stunt at Zugspitze Glacier Cable Car in July 2014.
With the crossing of the 375m long highline The Ghost Inside in Yangshuo, China, he doubled the length of his old world record.
On the occasion of his world record in China, Schulz was invited as a distinguished guest to the Opening Day of the German Embassy in Beijing. With a slackline show, he symbolically connected the capital of China with the Federal Republic of Germany. A few days later, with the help of his team, Schulz managed to walk a 610-meter-long slackline in the Gobi Desert, breaking the world record for the longest slackline over ground (longline).
In 2016, Schulz failed in his attempt to walk over a 650-meter-long polyamide highline over the volcano Roches Tuilieres et Sanadoire in the French Auvergne. The attempt had to be interrupted because gusts of wind with wind peaks of over 120 km/h caused amplitudes of up to 100 meters in the highline, making the crossing impossible. The project was successful one month later and Schulz broke the world record for the longest polyamide highline.
In December 2016, Schulz crossed the world's longest and highest highline in urban surroundings in Mexico City. The slackline was installed between the city's highest buildings (Torre Reforma and Torre BBVA Bancomer) over the Paseo de la Reforma as part of a film production.
In October 2018, Schulz and Olszewski produced the key visual for the Deutschlandjahr 2018/19 in the USA together with One Inch Dreams. The symbolic image was created as part of the film production BuildingBridges, which was commissioned by the German Foreign Office,Mit der Highline out of Rosenheim: Kurzfilm "BuildingBridges" mit Akteuren aus der Region, auf ovb-online.de, retrieved 12 November 2020. the Goethe Institute and the Federation of German Industries as part of the initiative WunderbarTogether .
On April 15, 2020, Alexander Schulz and his Brazilian colleague Rafael Bridi succeeded in crossing the first highline over an active volcano, Mount Yasur on the island of Tanna (Vanuatu). The athletes wore gas masks to protect themselves from the toxic sulfur vapors at the crater. According to Schulz, the biggest challenge were the shockwaves caused by the lava eruptions, which disturbed the athletes' sense of balance. The expedition lasted almost two months because the outbreak of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the following local lockdown of Vanuatu significantly impacted the undertaking.
Slackline world records and other achievements
World records in main categories DateCategoryLength / Height (no record in brackets)Place (country)Details4 June 2011WaterlineLength: 140 mUttendorf (AT)During the Boulder- & Slackline festival Boulderjam 201121 June 2011HighlineLength: 115 m (Height: 110 m)Millau (FR)During the Outdoor- & Music festival Natural Games21.21.2011HighlineLength: 119 m (Height: 100 m)Consumnes River Gorge (USA)Shared record with Jerry Miszewski2 June 2012WaterlineLength: 166 mUttendorf (AT)During the Boulder- & Slackline festival Boulderjam 201213 June 2013HighlineLength: 140 m (Height: 80 m)Werdenfelser Land (DE)Documented by German TV "Abenteuer Leben" (Kabel 1)14 August 2014WaterlineLength: 271 mHelgoland (DE)Advertising campaign for Germany's first 4k TV channel HD+28 August 2014WaterlineLength: 327 mEibsee (DE)19 November 2014HighlineLength: 375 m (Height: 100 m)Yangshuo (CN)9 May 2015LonglineLength: 610 mInner Mongolia (CN)Change of pretension during the ascent18 September 2016WaterlineLength: 535 mSchnalstal (IT)Within the scope of the 25 year anniversary of the discovery of Ötzi glacier mummyMay 2017WaterlineLength: 674 mWanFo lake (CN)Within the scope of an internationalen Slackline competition - Shared with 10 other athletes4 December 2017Urban HighlineLength: 217 m Height: 247 mMexiko Stadt (MXN)Longest and highest highline in urban environment24-26 May 2018Endurance SlackliningDistance: 8 kmSpreitenbach (CH)Longest distance walked on a Highline in one day (breaks and leaving the Highline were allowed) - Shared record with four other athletes during charity event15 August 2018Endurance SlackliningDistance: 11 kmVillach (AT)Longest distance walked on a Highline in one day (breaks and leaving the Highline were allowed)15 April 2020LavaLineLength: 260 mYasur, Tanna (VANUATU)First and longest Slackline ascent at an active vulcano
World records in sub-categories DateCategorylength / height (no record in brackets)Place (country)Details8 May 2012Longline PolyesterLength: 300 mRosenheim (DE)Longest polyester slackline sent21 October 2012Longline PolyesterLength: 340 mMitterbuch (DE)Longest polyester slackline sent9 September 2012Highline PolyesterLength: 110 m (Height: 100m)Hochkönig mountain range (AT)Longest polyester highline sent5 June 2014Waterline PolyesterLength: 196 mIngolstadt (DE)Longest polyester waterline sentSeptember 2015Waterline PolyamidLength: 202 mFilms (CH)Longest polyamide waterline sent16 October 2016Highline PolyamidLength: 650 m (Height: 200 m)Auvergne (FR)Longest polyamide highline sent - Up to 120 km/h strong storm during first try5 June 2017Highline PolyamidLength: 680 mVancouver (CAN)Longest polyamide highline - Circulating fog during the ascent
Other achievements and personal accomplishments DateSuccess / LeistungDetailsPlace (country)November 2011Setup and walking of worlds first Space-HighlineWith the help of participants of the 4. GGBY slackline GatheringMoab, Utah (USA)4 June 2011Winner of Waterline Speed competition in UttendorfFastest run over a 33 meter long waterlineUttendorf (AT)October 2012Ascent of Germany's highest highline (2962 m)Together with German skier Felix Neureuther at the peak of GermanyZugspitze, GermanyJuly 2014First Highline between cable cars in German speaking regionAt cabins of the Zugspitz-GletscherbahnZugspitze (DE)August 2015First highline at the Maunsell Sea FortsAs part of a film project, Schulz and his team set up highlines between English air defense towers from World War II.Red Sands Sea Forts (UK)26 November 2015World's first combination of aircraft and slackliningRedBull pilot Kirby Chambliss circled around Schulz in an aerobatic plane while he stood on a 250 m long highline.Cerro Tetakawi, Sonora (MEX)June 2016Personal longest completed highline (800 m)During the French Riviera Highline MeetingSaint-Jeannet (FR)9 July 2017First highline at the Old Man of HoyHoy, Scotland (UK)17 August 2019Highline-Show at the Federal Foreign OfficeHighline-Show at the open day 2019Berlin (DE)
Literature
Roanne van Voorst: Alles onder controle. Schuyt & Co Brandt, 2016, . Alexander Schulz: Stille ist mein innerer Anker. In. Manu Theobald: stille ist. Adeo Publishing house, Asslar 2020, .
External links
Homepage Alexander Schulz
References