Petra Nemcova Reveals Her New Addiction
Supermodel says skydiving reminds her of near-death experience in 2005 tsunami.
Nov. 30, 2007 — -- Supermodel Petra Nemcova's near-death experience during the 2005 tsunami in Thailand has inspired her to pick up a new passion.
Nemcova told ABC News Radio's David Blaustein today that she started skydiving a month ago and she's totally hooked.
"It's very addictive, it's incredibly addictive," Nemcova said.
The Czech beauty said her new hobby has changed her life.
"It's been such an incredible liberation. Just to take that step into the unknown and let go," she said.
Nemcova said that the feeling of jumping out of an airplane is very similar to when she almost drowned in the tsunami.
"When I was under the water and I was actually drowning at one point, I was drinking the black water, and I said if it's meant to be, it's meant to be, and I let it go," Nemcova said. "It was the most blissful moment in my life when I just let go, and I kind of didn't feel any weight. I felt one with the water, with the nature."
Nemcova was vacationing with her boyfriend Simon Atlee in the Thai resort of Khao Lak on Dec. 26 when one of the deadliest tsunamis in modern history hit. Areas of Asia and Africa were flooded, and more than 200,000 people died in the disaster.
Nemcova clung to a tree as the water crashed over her. She suffered a shattered pelvis and internal injuries. Atlee was missing and presumed dead for more than three months, until his body was found and formally identified March 3.
"Our lives are so planned, and scheduled and hectic," Nemcova said. But when her parachute opens, it's a "peaceful experience, just letting it go."
She praised people in the skydiving community as having "so much love and compassion, and not so much competition."
In some ways, skydiving is not necessarily good for her professional modeling career.
"But I have to work on my biceps, so I can flare properly," she said. "I don't have those muscles yet, so I've been having some hard landings. I have some bruises."
In fact, she just told her agent about her new hobby this week.
"You can't get bruised as a model," she said with a laugh.
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