Famous BASE Jumper Andy Lewis Perishes In Moab Accident

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Famous BASE Jumper Andy Lewis Perishes In Moab Accident

Originally posted on Powder | By Max Ritter | Last updated Jun 15, 2026 5:04 PM ET

Andy Lewis, a Moab-based professional slackliner and BASE jumper, was killed in a tandem jump accident in the Mineral Bottom area outside Moab, Utah, on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

The Grand County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue teams responded to the accident, confirming that 39-year-old Lewis and another 50-year-old man were dead in a press release.

Lewis rose to international fame after appearing in the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI halftime show behind Madonna, "surfing" a slackline while wearing a Roman-style toga. At the time, he already held a Guinness World Record and was a four-time World Champion in competitive "tricklining," a sport in which athletes perform acrobatic maneuvers while bouncing on a slackline.

"Sketchy Andy," as he was called within the tight-knit community, helped invent a number of tricks in these competitions and was celebrated for his visionary approach to the sport.

Outside of competition, Lewis set numerous distance and height records for highlining (walking a slackline rigged at great heights). One famous walk was between Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Casino towers, approximately 480 feet off the ground.

Another record was onsighting a highline nearly 3000 feet long in 2018, the longest at the time, which included several pitches of hard rock climbing and complicated rigging to set up.

In 2018, Lewis opened a BASE jumping school in Moab and began offering tandem jumps, rope swings, and instruction.

Similar to a tandem skydive, the $750 commercial tandem jumps involved clients strapping themselves to Lewis, leaping off a cliff together, free-falling for a short time, and opening a parachute, with Lewis controlling the descent. Lewis had safely completed thousands of jumps before this accident.

Lewis was known for his eccentric, fun-loving demeanor, inspiring an entire generation of adventurous souls to find joy in the outdoors. He coined the movement he inspired, "Slacklife," and welcomed all who sought an escape from a traditional mainstream existence.

He helped organize annual community events in the Moab area and was a well-known figure in the climbing, slacklining, and base-jumping communities worldwide. He will be missed.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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