Remembering Andy “Sketchy Andy” Lewis, World Champion Slackliner and Base Jumper, Who Died at 39

Andy Lewis, known around the world as “Sketchy Andy,” tragically died in a tandem BASE-jumping accident near Mineral Bottom in Grand County, Utah. He was 39 years old.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the incident occurred on June 14, prompting a response from deputies, Grand County Search and Rescue, Grand County EMS, and two Intermountain medical helicopters. Lewis and a second man were both pronounced dead at the scene, with officials confirming the men were tandem BASE-jumping.

Lewis was the owner and operator of BASE Jump Moab, a guiding company that offered commercial tandem BASE jumps in the Moab area since 2018. However, it is unclear if the fatal jump was part of a commercial operation. The second victim had not been publicly identified as of Monday, and investigators had not released details about what caused the accident.

Andy was born on October 7, 1986, in California and grew up in Greenbrae and the Santa Rosa area. He became one of the most influential figures in modern slacklining, popularizing tricklining in the mid-2000s and quickly emerging as one of the sport’s biggest stars. Lewis became the first slackline world champion in 2008 in Fort William, Scotland, then won overall titles at the Gibbon World Cup Series in 2009, 2010, and 2011 as competitive tricklining expanded globally.

In 2011, he set a Guinness World Record for the most side-surfs performed on a slackline in one minute. The following year, he performed during Madonna’s Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, exposing millions of viewers to slacklining. Beyond competition, he pioneered highline projects, completing a series of landmark “first ascents,” including the first successful crossings of lines longer than 55 meters, 60 meters, and 100 meters. He also held American records for the longest highline, longest free-solo highline, and the highest slackline walk, completed between two hot-air balloons.

Lewis successfully crossed more than 100 highlines without a safety leash and, in 2018, completed an 888-meter leashed crossing on his first attempt, one of the longest documented onsight highline walks ever achieved.

As Andy shifted his focus toward BASE jumping and adventure-sports operations in later years, he made Moab his home, completing thousands of jumps and remaining one of the most visible figures in Moab’s community.

Several friends of Lewis have shared tributes on social media, including legendary climber Thomas Huber, who remembered Andy as “the wildest among us.”

Lewis signed off his final video on social media, which he posted on the day of his fatal accident, with, “What a journey it’s been—and it’s only just begun.”

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office expressed sadness about the incident, saying, “The Grand County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and all those affected by this tragic incident.”