Skydiver Ben Lewis to soar with world's best

Now his passion is taking him to the World Games in Colombia, where he will represent Australia in the canopy piloting event on July 25.

Canopy piloting, or swooping, involves jumping at half the normal skydiving height, deploying a parachute straight away and gliding just above the ground at high speed.

Competitors swoop and loop through a course of gates before trying to land as close to the landing target as possible.

Parachutists are judged on speed, accuracy and distance as they weave through the water-based course.

They perform the crowd-pleasing trick of skimming different body parts on the water for extra points.

Lewis is a Skydive the Beach instructor, who was introduced to the sport through other instructors.

"I saw friends of mine practising swooping and I decided it was something I would like to do," he said.

Even though he jumps out of planes for a living, canopy piloting presented something of a new challenge for Lewis.

"It's not something you can just go and do - it's a slow learning process and I became better at it over a couple of years," he said.

Despite the being conducted over water to lessen the chance of harm, the sport has had its fatalities. At least two competitors died in 2012, including one Australian and a Navy SEAL-trained American.

Lewis has not let the sport's potential dangers deter him.

"It's like anything you do - if you make the right decisions and sensible judgment calls, you can do it safely," he said.

He admits that as a competitor he "tries to push boundaries as much as I can".

The skydiver said his mum's concerns about accidents had subsided over the years.

"She understands that it's not always as dangerous as it looks."

Lewis hopes to rank in the top half of all competitors and as close to the top 10 as possible in Colombia.