MEET THE
FRANCHISEES
Bill Adams
Founder of iFLY Seattle
Bill Adams’ extensive background ranges from Green Berets to aviation manufacturing, private security, hospitality, and entrepreneurship. Bill honed his management and operational acumen while serving 20 years in the Army Special Forces, developing and managing large multinational operations in a zero- defect environment. After retirement from the military, Bill, and his wife, Lysa, began their pursuit of owning an iFLY franchise. In 2009, the couple partnered with one of Skyventure’s former owners, Alan Metni, to become one of iFLY’s earliest franchisees opening iFLY Seattle in 2010. He then helped find and build the iFLY El Paso franchise in 2018.
In 2013, Bill sold iFLY Seattle back to the company and transitioned to supporting iFLY Tunnel Systems, developing numerous iFLY facilities around the US. Bill remains involved in a number of different iFLY franchises, including several that are currently in the design and permitting phase.
Bob Pizzini
Managing Partner & CEO of iFLY Virginia Beach
Bob Pizzini served 26 years in the US Navy based in Virginia Beach, Italy, and various deployments throughout Iraq. After training across the world, Bob retired to Virginia Beach in 2010 with his wife and their twins. This desirable resort environment, combined with high density military, presented a unique opportunity to introduce a vertical wind tunnel and bring the dream of flight to reality for the local community.
Bob established a partnership with Torrey Breeden and together they pursued the vision of delivering the dream of flight to both consumers and the Navy Seals Community. Bob’s military leadership in Special Operations coupled with Torrey’s proven success in real estate development, catapulted the duo into successfully opening iFLY Virginia Beach Indoor Skydiving in 2015. iFVB has since been named Small Business of the Year in 2018 by the Hampton Roads Chamber, hosted the 2019 National Indoor Skydiving Championship and continues to perform as one of iFLY’s most successful franchises to date.
Manoel Damasceno
CEO and Owner of iFLY Brazil
Manoel Damasceno has over 20 years of experience in Business Development, Strategic Planning, Civil Engineering, Business Analysis and Brazilian Law. Manuel’s enthusiasm for body flight is as organic as it comes; as a member of the National Brazilian 4-Way Team in 2001, he spent a remarkable amount of time traveling to iFLY Orlando 3-4 times a year to professionally train. Shortly after those initial visits, Manoel teamed up with Skyventure for the development of Brazilian’s Army wind tunnel. iFLY Brazil now has two open facilities, one in Sao Paulo and another located in Brasilia.
Manoel accepted the position of Executive Vice President at iFLY Brazil in December 2014 and went on to purchase both locations in Brazil as a franchisee in early 2020.Manoel and his team plan to deliver additional iFLY tunnels throughout Latin America over the next several years.
In Treasured Memory of
Tracy Forrest
Tracy is remembered as an accomplished pilot and a mentor to the next generation of aviators. He supported a variety of philanthropic aviation programs including Veterans Airlift Command, Corporate Angel Network, and the EAA Young Eagles program.
Tracy’s desire to share the joy of flight with others was so strong that he built and operated iFLY Jacksonville in 2018. He then went on to pursue three additional iFLY facilities in Las Vegas, Detroit, and St. Louis. Unfortunately, Tracy left us far too soon, succumbing to brain cancer in October 2020.
iFLY Detroit opened in 2021 and is managed by ProParks Attractions Group. iFLY has reacquired and will pursue both the Las Vegas and St. Louis markets, with plans to dedicate and display a special memorial to Tracy at the future iFLY St. Louis location.
“iFLY was a passion,” Lisa Harris recalled, his long-time executive assistant. “He loved iFLY because it gave everyone an opportunity to experience flight”
Tracy is survived by his wife Rae, his brother Jeff, his two sisters Jan and Jenny, along with his nephew and his grand nephew.
Matt Wong
Owner of iFLY Queenstown, New Zealand
Matt Wong has spent almost 20 years in Queenstown’s tourism and travel sector, holding senior roles
with NgāiTahu Tourism, aviation, adventure tourism operations, outbound travel agencies and the
domestic agency network i-SITE.
When iFLY Queenstown was built in 2018, Matt onboarded as their General Manager and spent time in
iFLY Orlando studying the iFLY product and operations. Matt is an extremely passionate leader that has
built iFLY Queenstown’s reputation of being an all-inclusive tourism operator, delivering the dream of
flight to everyone and all abilities.
iFLY Queenstown weathered the storm of COVID-19 far better than most tourism businesses in New Zealand. After only opening a year and a half prior to the pandemic, iFLY Queenstown had its biggest revenue month in July of 2020 and has consistently remained cash-flow positive. When presented with the opportunity to purchase the business in 2021, Matt and his wife, Amy, did not hesitate. By early 2022, iFLY Queenstown was named the winner of the Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Award at the Tourism Industry Association’s 2021 Tourism Awards.
