Thank you life for Today on March 4th, 2016

Thank you life for today on March 4th, 2016

Good evening friends.

Welcome to the weekend. Thank you life for allowing me to participate on March 4th, 2016.  It didn’t have to be this way, thank God that it is. I am interested in only one asset in this life, simply to wake up tomorrow. All the rest is minutia.

The fruits of the Earth are plentiful enough for all animals and people to live with abundance. Whether that principal is ever respected or not, is up to the people. I personally know that as a mathematical fact. I feel blessed to be alive these days. When I see all the animals who are not privileged with the freedoms people are, for me life just cannot be as sweet. This is not about politics or laws, this is about acknowledging that animals are angels walking amongst us.  The fact that most people don’t see that does Not negate that its the truth. All it is does is confirm how selfish and stupid some people can be.

Thank you God for not putting me down for the count in September of 2013. I am here to make life better for animals with the remainder of my time here. And that starts with changing how Non Animal Lovers think about Animals.

I don’t know what it is about Barry Manilow’s song; “Weekend in New England,” but every time I hear that song, I feel like I can change the world.  Thank you Barry. By the way, Barry was my father’s name, and they both are from Brooklyn.

Signing off from Puerto Rico on day 417, Dr. Harp Seal for Sammy & Family.

Round two with Rocky

Round two with Rocky in a bone fight

Good morning friends.

Round two here with Rocky.  A few months back we had our original bone right and he beat my pretty bad. That all changed yesterday. As you can see I am in complete control of this bone match.

Letting all Pit Bulls know, never pick a bone with this man from NYC.  All fun bone fights aside, we love Pit Bulls, love them.

Day 417 in Puerto Rico and day 107 since we rescued Rocky.

Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Patrick holds his head with Gratitude

Patrick holds his head with Gratitude

Good evening friends.

Little Patrick came to say goodnight to everyone. He holds his head with a great deal of gratitude tonight. He remembers what it felt like to be unwanted and unloved. Patrick is humbled knowing that is still the reality for millions of animals around the world.

I love this boy to death. We have developed an unbreakable and unshakable bond. He knows how loved he is. Seeing him happy and feeling secure, makes me happy.

Sammy & Family prays for all animals around the world and their plight. Life can be sweet, it would be so much sweeter if animals can enjoy the freedom that people do. 

This land is made for them and us. No lives will go in vain, no pain will go unnoticed.

Amen. Dr. Harp Seal for Sammy & Family.

The Loeb Boathouse in Central Park

The Loeb Boathouse, Central Park, NYC

Good morning friends.

This is me and my boy at The Loeb Boathouse restaurant in Central Park.  Many of you have probably dined here or even rented row boats right outside the restaurant. Is the same body of water when you are at the “Bethesda Fountain.”

Thanks to philanthropist Carl M. Loeb and his wife Adeline who donated $305,000 to construct the restaurant  which then officially opened in 1954.

Its considered a very romantic spot for couples to have dinner and enjoy nature at the same time. Loeb’s Boathouse is an historic landmark in Central Park, NYC.

To learn more;  http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/index.php

Roberta Mancino: Jack of all Trades, Master of Everything

Hi friends. We are thrilled to feature Roberta Mancino on “The Good News Channel”

As you know we have been doing features on people and animals doing amazing things all of the world. Roberta is arguably one of the best skydivers, base jumpers and wing-suit flyers in the world. She’s racked up countless awards across all of those categories. I will list several of them later in this feature. We all have seen and heard of Skydiving and Base Jumping, but Wingsuit flying really made its way to the mainstream stage in just the last couple of years. I can say with confidence, Wingsuit flying is by far the most extreme sport on Earth.  We want to give a shout out to Matt Meyerson who represents Roberta for being so accommodating with respect to this feature.

Flying Smile

 

Just another day at the office for Roberta 

Roberta Mancino was born in Italy about 25 miles south of Rome. She keeps herself in tip top shape for the extreme life she lives.  She danced a lot in her life, she even was into kickboxing for 8 years, and she hits the gym frequently.  Before flying and diving with animals, she did many other sports starting with classic ballet at the age of 4 and kick boxing and boxing at the age of 14. Roberta first started skydiving in 2000 at 19 years old. Her first base jump was in 2009.

Roberta Swimming with Crocodile

Swimming with Crocodiles off the Coast of Mexico

As if that was not enough, Roberta is an avid scuba diver who frequently scuba dives with sharks and other marine life. All kinds of sharks; Tiger sharks, Hammerhead sharks, Whale sharks and etc. She also has an affection for stingrays and finds them very playful. Roberta has also spent time underwater with Manatee seals. The one encounter I saw that blew me away was when Roberta got up close and personal with a  crocodile. She said, “Often times Predators are misunderstood. What looks like a monster can actually be harmless and gentle if you show them love”  —  You can see more of Roberta swimming with Crocodiles.

Wing Suit flying in Panama City

Flying between buildings in panama city photo by Noah Bahnson.  Checkout Robert’s Website.

Roberta is very well known in the skydiving and Wing-Suit flying circles, but what catapulted her on the mainstream stage was her Wingsuit flight through two towers in Panama City, in December of 2015. This is when Sammy & Family first learned of Roberta Mancino.  I remember seeing this young woman literally fly like a bird between two towers in Panama City and almost fell off my chair.

picture selfie with my Gopro in Panama

Selfie with my Gopro in Panama. Roberta is sponsored by Gopro. See more of Robert’s adventures on her  Facebook Page

I started looking around my living room wondering if I actually just saw that, or if I was inside of some dream or something. So I started doing some research on this real life Super Hero to learn what she was all about. The more I read about her, the more I could not believe how Roberta literally lives life to a level I’ve never seen before.

Roberta with two Whale Sharks

photo by Shawn Heinrichs in between the whale sharks, Cebu Philippines.  Checkout some of Robert’s best skydiving and scuba diving experiences on her;  www.tsu.co/mancinoroberta

You might want to think of Roberta Mancino as a combination of a 21st Century Wonder Woman, a female version of James Bond and Indiana Jones. Here’s the thing about those comparisons, that still would not compare to the real life of Roberta. I mean after all, the characters I just mentioned are Actors and Actresses. Roberta Mancino is the Real Life version of all of them put together and more.

GoPro adventure in Canada

In Canada during the Gopro adventure camp. Roberta always makes time for animals and nature. 

I will take it a step further, if the Hollywood studios that own the James Bond Franchise were smart, they would change “007’s” name to “00Mancino” starring Roberta Mancino — Think about it, the studios would Not even have to write the script because Roberta’s actual life is the script.  Someone get Hollywood on the phone, Roberta Mancino will trounce the box offices bringing in billions of dollars worldwide in tickets sales. No question about it.

GoPro Selfie in Canada

Selfie with my Gopro in Canada during Gopro adventure camp. More of Roberta on Facebook.

Roberta has done stunt work for movies like “Iron Man Three” and others, and television shows also. But for Pete’s sake, forget hiring her as a stunt woman, give her the leading role. Anyway, that is my two cents for Hollywood in regards to this larger than life young lady.

bobby brown commercial in dubai photo by Noah Bahnson

Bobby Brown commercial in Dubai photo by Noah Bahnson.  Roberta is Sponsored by Gopro.

Lets talk statistics. Roberta Mancino has done almost 9,000 skydives and about 500 of those were Wingsuit dives. She has done about 450 BASE jumps and 300 of those were Wingsuit jumps. By the way, you did not misread that. She has done just about Nine Thousand Skydives. That number is staggering. Think about just hitting the “Enter” key on your keyboard 9000 times, that would be crazy right ?  Well that’s how many times she has jumped out of small aircraft and helicopters, ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 feet high. All I can say to that is, Holy _hit. Pardon my French.

Roberta Wingsuit flying in Dubai

Picture During the Bobby Brown commercial in Dubai photo by Noah Bahnson
For those unfamiliar with what exactly Wingsuit flying is, this will help….. Wingsuit flying is the art of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit. It’s the closest thing to flying like a bird does.  The Wingsuit shapes the body into an airfoil, which helps to create lift. A wingsuit can be flown from spots that provide enough altitude to glide through the air, such as skydiving aircraft or BASE jumping exit points.

picture photo with my mom in rome

Roberta with her mom in Rome

Let’s take a closer look at what BASE Jumping is.  BASE is an acronym for building, antenna, span, and Earth; which are the objects that Base Jumpers jump from. So in essence, they jump from buildings, antenna towers, span, which is a term used for all kinds of bridges. The Earth part of the Acronym, “BASE” refers to mountains, cliffs, canyons and etc.  Most base jumps take place below 800 feet. The average base jump is anywhere from 200 to 500 feet.

picture at the safari zoo photo by jeb corliss

picture at the safari zoo photo by Jeb Corliss

This Video above is of Roberta Wing-suit flying through Panama City Skyline. Folks this is possibly the greatest Video of all time.  #Yup

 picture with my best friends those girls are incredible skydivers in Norway

Roberta with her best friends who are incredible skydivers in Norway.
The more I learned about Roberta, the more impressed I became. In the midst of all these extreme sports she is involved in, whether in the air or the Ocean, she is a very grounded person. Her life philosophy is follow your dreams until they become true. It doesn’t happen overnight, you have to put in the work and be patient. Sammy & Family loves that message. Too often, we see all this glory in the media and forget the fact that 15 years of work went into perfecting these skills. And not just work, hard core training.
roberta 8
 Photo by Max Haim at the rescue zoo in Dubai with baby lion.  More of Roberta on Facebook.
Roberta also happens to be a Supermodel. She did her first modeling job at 16 years old. She been featured in Vouge Italy, Rolling Stone (Italy), Vanity Fair (Italy), New York Times (USA), Extreme SPort Magazine (Australia), Maxim (USA), Men’s Fitness (USA) and dozens of other shoots for print magazines.  Roberta has done many commercials as well.  From, Honda, to Hello Kitty international campaign, to Ducati Moto, Tittarelli Jewels and so on and so on.
picture underwater in Tahiti Monrea photo by @mataiealifestyle
 Awesome picture of the Oceans surface seemingly connected to the sky. picture underwater in Tahiti Monrea..  photo by @mataiealifestyle on Instagram. 

Although Roberta is a one of Italy’s top models, she promotes herself more as an extreme sports athlete. It’s not that she does not like to model, but it pails in comparison to jumping out of planes when skydiving, BASE jumping off mountains or Wingsuit jumps and flying like a bird.  When you think of it in those terms, you can see how runway modeling might seem kind of flat.

picture whale shark red dress photo by Kristian Schmidt in Cebu philippines

 Whale shark red dress photo by Kristian Schmidt in Cebu Philippines. Checkout Robert’s incredible pictures on Instagram

This photo shoot above with the Whale Shark is breathtaking.  Its a stunning photograph.  When “The Good News Channel” was deciding which pictures to use for this feature, it was overwhelming. I mean every picture was better than the next. We went through hundreds and hundreds of pictures of Roberta doing so many different activities that was hard to keep track. Fortunately, when we saw this picture with the whale shark, Roberta had commented that this had been one of her favorite pictures. So for us it was a No Brainer to use this one, lol.

 a day of skydiving in Puerto Escondido photo by Klockner

A day of skydiving in Puerto Escondido photo by Klockner

Roberta was all smiles despite that she’ll be free falling from 10,000 to 15,000 feet in the air within moments.  I guess its true what they say; “No Guts, No Glory.”

skydiving with clouds photo by my gopro

Skydiving in the clouds photo by Robert’s Gopro. More of Robert’a adventures on WEBSITE 

This is a powerful picture of Roberta and friends skydiving above the clouds. Despite the extreme nature of these kinds of sports, she speaks about the Comradery that has developed between these professional thrill seekers. Roberta admits that most of her friends are men due to the risk of such extreme sports. And she hopes to come across more female skydivers and Base Jumpers in the future.

Picture in China during the world wingsuit league photo by Kristian Schmidt

Picture in China during the world wing-suit league photo by Kristian Schmidt

When you are an Extreme Athlete, a Shark Diving enthusiast, a supermodel, and just a down to Earth really nice person, its no surprise to have crowds around you like this.

picture picture by Dario Perroflauta wings for love competition in China

Picture by Dario Perroflauta wings for love competition in China. See more of Roberta on Facebook.

To us mortals this picture above of Roberta Wingsuit flying in China, seems unfathomable. It’s amazing to see how poised and composed she is while flying like a bird. I guess it’s like they say; “Experience is the best teacher.” And Roberta Mancino is as experienced as they come.

with a sting ray in Tahiti photo by mataiealifestyle

With a sting ray in Tahiti photo by @mataiealifestyle on Instagram. 

Quote from Roberta “Sometimes I just want to be in the ocean with those animals and feel thankful to be part of their day and happy to play with them.”

Roberta Noah 1

Here’s Roberta skydiving, cool as a cucumber.  Here’s the literal definition of Skydiving; its a method of exiting an aircraft and returning to Earth with the aid of gravity, then slowing down during the last part of the descent by using a Parachute.  See more of Roberta on Instagram.

Roberta with Manatee Seal

Roberta with Manatee Seal in Florida.  See more of Roberta on her Website.

This is a very touching picture of Roberta and a Manatee Seal. It shows friendship across specie lines. What a wonderful world it could be.  Roberta says, “Beauty is in all living creatures.”

Friends, I will close with this. After doing my homework on Roberta and writing this story, let her be a reminder for us to live our lives. Not just exist simply because oxygen is still flowing through our bodies. But to engage in life and work at something you love. There is a famous expression many of us are familiar with; “When you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.” — Roberta Mancino clearly lives by that expression.

This young woman at the age of 35 has lived more of a full life than 100 people put together. Roberta truly makes the world a better place with her kindness and passions. They say a cat has nine lives, well Roberta Mancino must have hundreds of lives then. I am truly inspired by this larger than life young woman.  We hope all of our friends from around the world were inspired by this feature as well.

Sponsors; GoPro and Turbolenza.

Representation; Matt Meyerson.  You can find him on Twitter; @MattRPRT

Below is a list of some of the Championships and awards Roberta has won.

2003 Malevski Cup, Russia Freestyle and Space Games Freestyle, 1st
2005 Italian Record
2005 Euro Record
2007 European Record for Formation Freefly
2007 World Record for Formation 69-Way Freefly
2005 Italian Nationals of Skydiving, 1st
World Record 108-way freefly
2013 ProBase Worldcup, 2nd

Source of award info above is from;  Turbolenza.com 

 

Summation of her multiple Professions below;

Professional Extreme Athlete and Model
About 15 years of skydiving experience with 9000 skydives in locations all around the world.
For the past several years Roberta has been training extensively in the art of base jumping and wing-suit
flying. Over 12 years of scuba diving experience, recently focusing on diving with the most dangerous sharks on earth. Over 8 years of full contact kickboxing experience. Professional model for the last 15 years.