A real rocket belt is not science fiction, and Dan Schlund’s story proves it. He goes from a kid in Santa Clarita chasing adrenaline to becoming one of the few humans to fly a true rocket belt, a jet pack driven by a rocket motor. The machine is brutally simple and dangerous: about 800 horsepower, superheated steam blasting out at extreme speed, and a roar around 160 decibels. You strap it on like a corset, control throttle and yaw with two handles, and get roughly 30 seconds of flight time. That tiny window turns every takeoff, turn, and landing into a high stakes decision, which is why this episode sits at the intersection of extreme aviation, stunt performance, and human resilience.
Photos Courtesy of Dan Schlund
Training is its own gauntlet. Dan starts on a safety cable, working toward the basic goal of lifting off, moving forward, and landing cleanly. Then, on his third flight off the cable, everything collapses. A hard landing, a bad bounce, and the thrusters twist him into the ground. Worse, the rocket belt will not shut off, and the superheated exhaust burns him in the field until the crew can get it off. He spends months in the hospital, goes through multiple skin graft surgeries, and has to rebuild his strength just to walk again. The physical scars are obvious, but he’s candid that the mental scars and anxiety can be even harder, especially when your body remembers danger before your mind can talk you down.
What keeps someone coming back after that? Dan names a fear many people understand: regret. He refuses to let his last memory be a failure, a mindset he learned in stunt work where you often need one clean attempt after a mistake to reset your confidence. That stubborn clarity helps carry him into professional rocket belt flights, traveling to 26 countries on six continents and performing for massive crowds. He describes surreal moments like flying the Rose Parade with the clock ticking and fuel nearly gone, and performing in Turkmenistan with security warnings and the stress of having your passport held at the airport. He also emphasizes a key truth about the “daredevil” label: rocket belt pilots are trained professionals managing risk with strict procedures, not thrill seekers improvising chaos.
The later crash that ends the run hits differently. During a Guinness World Records flight in 2013, the rocket belt inexplicably runs out of fuel at 24 seconds instead of the usual 30. Dan drops from about 15 feet, flips on impact, and realizes something is wrong in his neck. The injury, the public embarrassment, and the financial reality collide at once. He talks about losing identity when the applause stops, and how anxiety can push you toward unhealthy coping, including a difficult stretch with prescribed hydrocodone that unintentionally masks the anxiety and becomes hard to quit. It’s a raw look at how high risk careers can leave a vacuum afterward, and how reinvention is not inspirational fluff but a practical necessity.
That reinvention becomes the most surprising part of the episode. Dan leans into his paramedic skills and discovers the world of set medic work, building Texas Set Medics and later National Set Medics into a nationwide network with thousands of registered medics across all 50 states. The work is about film set safety, fast response, and protecting cast and crew during stunts and harsh conditions, including reality TV environments. COVID becomes an inflection point as demand rises, and Dan turns success into support by paying medics well and giving back through his own Rocket Man Charities efforts. Then, with the past calling again, he buys a rocket belt and returns for one last flight for a documentary, not to chase fame, but to close the loop on fear, aging, and the cost of unfinished stories.
To learn more about Dan and his upcoming documentary check out his website www.rocketman.tv.
