JUMP LIKE MIKE (english version)
It all started with this photo ...
In December 2015, I was invited to cover a sport event in the the Magdalena Mixhuca´s sport complex and I found a folding board that was abandoned in a place where there were almost no people, as a good fan of basketball and imitating the logo of the sweater that I wore started to jump imagining slam the ball, as most of us have done when we found a hoop 1.50 m from the floor and to experience what it feels like to reach the hoop.
I did not bring a tripod so it was difficult to put my little camera (Canon T3) on my backpack in the floor at an angle that pointed a little upwards and when I clicked it didn’t move, I left the camera programmed to take 10 photos in a row with the timer in 10 seconds, after several attempts to place the camera, run and jump, replace the camera, run again, jump again, put the arms as if it brought the ball and the other hand open, jump again because no I stretched my knee well, jumping again because the photo was not taken well and trying again until I got it.
That afternoon returning to my house, I remember that I was completely alone in the subway for several stations, a very strange feeling, where I had an idea, jump imitating the silhouette of the logo that has marked my life completely since I am 12 years old , "JUMP LIKE JORDAN", I imagined jumping in my house, in the street, in places outside Mexico, in monuments, in known buildings, in the forest, on the beach, everywere, that day began this idea of "JUMP LIKE MIKE", I set myself the challenge of publishing a daily photo without missing a single day and opened an Instagram account (the link https://www.instagram.com/jump_like_mike/?hl=es-la )
Before the end of the year I went to my first day of "PHOTOS JUMP", my second attempt was in the forest where I used to go running, this time I took a small tripod which allowed me to put the camera almost flush with the floor and being able to take the picture looking like it jumped more than a kilo of tortillas, it was easier and I started to take my camera and tripod everywhere.
On January 1, 2016 I published the first photo on instagram, the description I wrote in English reads: I'm Danai, I'm from Mexico, and I'm jumping around the world, with the purpose of meeting MICHAEL JORDAN, I'm his biggest fan, all photos by myself.
And this is the purpose of so much photo, this in my TRIBUTE to the greatest of the universe, to the GOD of basketball, to whom has marked my life, my way of thinking, of acting, of being. I would love that at some point MIKE could see all the effort and dedication that I have put in each of these photos, all are real none has been editing and I have not failed to publish NOR A SINGLE DAY.
For me being a JORDAN fan goes beyond wearing a shirt with his brand, buying some tennis or saying that I like how he plays, for me to say that I want to meet him in person, that I want him to sign my arm to tattoo his autograph, it’s the greatest dream of my life, it’s more than that, I would like to have the opportunity to talk to him, to know that in reality that fanaticism has made me have a life full of "His philosophy of life" that I have read most of his books, which I see in the videos of the compilations of the finals of the Bulls of Chicago more than a simple championship, that basketball goes beyond a simple game, I see the effort, the not to give up, to fail a thousand times and to get up again, to have a competitive mind and to compete against oneself in being better every day, like leading an honest life towards oneself.
When I have a problem I always think "What will Mike do in this situation" (my friends will not let me lie, they have heard me say it several times) and although I really don’t know what the real Mike will do in my situation, I like to solve my problems in based on what I have read about him, sometimes I say that I follow my Jordan religion, yes I am a really fan of Michael Jordan.
One of the things that fascinated me about this Jump Like Mike project is that it has made me go out to the street to see new places, it has made me walk many kilometers and stop to take my picture in every corner where I find something attractive, has made to go to museums, to parks, to new places that I did not know in the city, I have taken my "photo jump" in forbidden places, in places with a lot of people and with fear that my camera disappears, I even prepare future photos for specific dates, such as Christmas, Day of the dead, civic celebrations and I always prepare something special for Mike's birthday and for my birthday.
Sometimes I have walked so much and taken so many pictures in a single day that my legs no longer give me to jump and I say aloud "jump once more as if you really want to meet Mike" and those words have been the magic potion to keep jumping, I jumped in places I never would have imagined, as in the famous sign in Las Vegas, I jumped on the border with one foot in Mexico and another in the United States, I jumped in waterfalls, rivers, forests, graffiti , temporary sculptures that put in the CDMX, I jumped in the Chichen Itza Castle one of the 8 wonders of the modern world and a very special one that since I started this project I dreamed of, the Sunset on the beach, a backlight and the sun was the basketball, helped me take my best friend Quitzé this summer that we went to Acapulco to celebrate the birthday of my best friend Mariana.
I jumped with my family, my friends and I take the opportunity to thank all the people who helped me take pictures, sometimes I need help and they have shared my madness, thank you very much to someone who gives me a like on Instagram, there are several friends who without fail they give a like to all the photos, like them or not, MANY THANK YOU their likes are a great support for me, all of you will be in my heart the day that the dream comes true, I would be fascinated if some photo went viral and that Mike really sees them one day.
Today I came to photo 1000, when I started this I never imagined how far it would go and the result has been fantastic, publish my photo day by day is wonderful, besides remembering all the places I visited, I remember who helped me take the picture or what it cost me to take it myself, if it was in the first or I had to repeat the jump, I put my heart into each jump and has been thinking about the same dream I've had since I was 12 years old, meet Michael Jordan.
No doubt I will continue jumping even after having fulfilled the dream, I will continue accumulating miles and memories with my little camera and my little tripod, setting the timer and running to jump, all this has been a great madness and a great satisfaction that the only thing that has done is to become a person IMMENSELY HAPPY.
Here is a compilation of some jumps that I managed to record #keepjumping #jumplikemike #1000 #dream #MichaelJordan
