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What is Mike Steen?
Mike Steen is a professional aviator and instructor whose career centers on unpowered and powered flight: paragliding, paramotoring, wingsuit flying and speedwing flying. He is also described as the COO of Squirrel, a wingsuit and BASE equipment brand.
What that means in practice
His credentials suggest several distinct roles rather than one job title:
- Instructor and tandem master — training and flying with students, including tandem passenger flights.
- Competition- or expedition-level pilot — paraglider, wingsuit and speedwing flying are separate disciplines with different risk profiles.
- Aircraft pilot — conventional powered flight experience alongside the foot-launched sports.
- Company executive — the COO role at Squirrel puts him on the equipment and business side of wingsuiting and BASE jumping.
Who would look him up
- New or intermediate pilots researching instructors, coaching or progression paths.
- Wingsuit and BASE jumpers interested in the people behind Squirrel's gear.
- Event organizers, media and brands looking for an experienced speaker or collaborator.
A useful next step
If you are evaluating him as a coach or speaker, check current activity rather than biography: which disciplines he is actively flying and teaching now, where he is based, and whether he takes private students or only runs group courses. For gear-related questions, the Squirrel connection is the more relevant thread.
What experience does Mike Steen have as a paraglider, wingsuit and speedwing pilot?
Mike Steen's listed experience is broad and cross-disciplinary: paragliding, paramotoring, wingsuit flying, speedwing flying, wingsuit BASE jumping and skydiving, plus conventional aircraft piloting. He is described as a master-rated paragliding/paramotoring instructor and a tandem master, and he is the COO of Squirrel. Those roles suggest someone who both flies at a high level and teaches or organises others in the sport.
The combination matters more than the individual labels. A pilot who moves between paragliders, speedwings and wingsuits has to understand very different wing loadings, speeds and landing approaches; an instructor and tandem master also has to communicate that judgement to less experienced pilots. That mix is useful if you are looking for coaching, equipment insight or a sense of how these disciplines connect.
For a concrete next step, decide what you want from the site. If you want instruction, look for instructor or tandem information. If you want equipment or wingsuit context, note his Squirrel role. If you want general inspiration, start with the flying disciplines themselves rather than a specific course.
What does Mike Steen do as COO of Squirrel?
Mike Steen’s COO role at Squirrel is best understood through his broader profile: he is described as one of the world’s most experienced paraglider, wingsuit and speedwing pilots, a master-rated paragliding/paramotoring instructor, tandem master and aircraft pilot, with years of wingsuit BASE jumping and skydiving experience. In an operations role at a wingsuit and BASE-jumping equipment company, that mix points to work that connects product development, athlete testing, safety and day-to-day company operations rather than a single narrow task.
Practically, a COO in this field typically:
- Turns pilot and athlete feedback into product requirements and testing priorities.
- Oversees manufacturing, quality control and order fulfilment with safety-critical standards.
- Coordinates sponsored athletes, events, media projects and brand partnerships.
- Manages staff, budgets, schedules and supplier relationships.
- Represents the company at drop zones, competitions and industry gatherings.
For example, if a new wingsuit or container design needs field validation, a COO with Mike’s flight background could organise test jumps, gather structured feedback and decide whether a change is ready for customers. That is different from a purely administrative COO who would rely on second-hand reports.
If you want to understand the role’s current scope, check Squirrel’s official site and recent team or product announcements, then compare them with Mike Steen’s own site: Mike Steen and Squirrel.
How can I learn paragliding or paramotoring from Mike Steen?
Learning from Mike Steen means going through the instruction and flight-training channels he is part of, rather than booking a lesson directly on mikesteen.com. His personal site is a profile page: it establishes that he is a master-rated paragliding/paramotoring instructor, tandem master and aircraft pilot, and that he is COO of Squirrel. It does not present a course catalogue, schedule or booking system, so the site is best treated as background on his credentials and a starting point for finding where he actually teaches.
What the page tells you
- He holds a master rating as a paragliding and paramotoring instructor, plus tandem master status.
- His background spans paragliding, paramotoring, wingsuit and speedwing flying, BASE jumping and skydiving.
- He works with Squirrel, which is a wing and equipment manufacturer, so his public activity often sits within that company's events, testing and team context rather than a conventional flight school.
Practical routes to training
- Go through Squirrel. As COO, he appears at Squirrel events, dealer clinics and testivals. These are realistic places to meet him and to hear about instruction or coaching he is involved in. Start at Squirrel.
- Use national association instructor directories. In most countries, a master-rated instructor is listed with the governing body for free-flight. That is the reliable way to confirm current teaching status, insurance and where lessons run.
- Ask about the specific discipline. Paragliding, paramotoring and speedwing coaching are different tracks with different gear, sites and legal requirements. Say which one you want before you enquire.
- Expect the standard progression. Any reputable instructor, including someone at his level, will typically require a tandem or introductory flight, then a certified beginner course, then supervised flights toward a licence. Advanced wingsuit or speedwing work comes much later and usually requires significant skydiving and canopy experience first.
Choosing between the two disciplines
| Paragliding | Paramotoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Lift source | Ridge lift and thermals | Powered thrust plus wing |
| Site dependence | Needs hills, ridges or towing | Flatter ground is often workable |
| Typical first step | Tandem flight or beginner course | Tandem or ground-handling plus engine training |
| Main trade-off | Weather-dependent, quieter, lighter gear | More autonomy, but more equipment, noise and maintenance |
If your goal is simply to fly, paragliding is usually the cheaper and simpler entry. If you want to fly from flat land or at times when there is no lift, paramotoring gives more freedom at the cost of a motor, fuel and extra training.
A useful next step: decide which discipline you want, then contact Squirrel or your national free-flight association and ask specifically whether Mike Steen is currently taking students, and if not, who he recommends. A short, specific enquiry about your location, experience level and chosen discipline will get a far more useful reply than a general request for lessons.
What qualifications does Mike Steen hold as a master-rated instructor and tandem master?
Mike Steen holds a master rating as a paragliding and paramotoring instructor, and he is also a tandem master, according to his site Mike Steen. In paragliding and paramotoring, a master rating is typically the highest instructor certification level, indicating advanced teaching experience and assessment authority, while a tandem master is certified to fly passengers in a two-place harness setup.
For someone evaluating a tandem flight or advanced instruction, those two credentials matter in different ways:
- Tandem master — relevant if you want a first flight as a passenger; this certifies the pilot to carry a passenger safely.
- Master instructor — relevant if you are a pilot seeking coaching, instructor-level training, or progression toward your own certifications.
The page also notes he is an aircraft pilot with years of wingsuit BASE jumping and skydiving experience, and serves as COO of Squirrel. Those are separate qualifications from the instructor and tandem ratings, so treat them as additional background rather than the same certification.
A practical next step: if your goal is a tandem passenger flight, ask directly about current tandem certification and insurance; if your goal is pilot coaching, ask about the master instructor rating and which national association issued it. Certification bodies differ by country, so confirm the issuing organization rather than assuming a rating transfers.
How does Mike Steen's wingsuit BASE jumping and skydiving experience inform his instruction?
Mike Steen's wingsuit BASE jumping and skydiving background shapes his instruction mainly by grounding it in real flight experience rather than theory alone. According to his site, he is a master-rated paragliding/paramotoring instructor, tandem master and aircraft pilot, alongside many years of wingsuit BASE jumping and skydiving — a combination that means students are learning from someone who has spent years managing aircraft, canopy flight and body flight in high-consequence environments.
What this likely changes in practice
- Canopy and body-flight awareness. Wingsuit and skydiving experience builds precise understanding of body position, airflow and canopy control — skills that transfer directly to paragliding and speedwing instruction.
- Decision-making under pressure. BASE jumping and skydiving demand quick, conservative judgment calls. A student is more likely to absorb that mindset than a purely recreational syllabus would provide.
- Discipline and risk management. The progression from skydiving to wingsuit BASE jumping is unforgiving; that background tends to produce an instructor who emphasises margins, equipment checks and weather judgment.
- Cross-discipline perspective. A pilot who also flies aircraft can explain aerodynamics and airspace in practical terms, useful for students moving between paragliding, paramotoring and speedwing.
Who benefits most
| Student type | Likely value |
|---|---|
| Beginner paraglider pilot | Solid fundamentals, safety-first habits |
| Experienced pilot adding speedwing | Body-flight and canopy skills from skydiving |
| Aspiring wingsuit/BASE jumper | Realistic progression advice from someone who has done it |
| Paramotor or tandem student | Instruction from a master-rated, tandem-rated pilot |
Practical next step
If you are considering training, ask directly how much of your course covers canopy control, weather judgment and emergency decision-making — the areas where this kind of background shows up most. If you already fly, ask whether he offers discipline-specific coaching (speedwing, wingsuit progression) rather than only entry-level instruction. For his own account of his experience and current role, see Mike Steen.
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