Andy Lewis, an extreme athlete known for BASE jumping, slacklining, and tricklining, died in a tandem BASE jumping accident Sunday, June 14, 2026, near Mineral Bottom on the Utah-Colorado line in a remote desert area [1, 2]. Two men died in the crash, the second victim an unidentified man about 50 years old [1, 2]. Both died immediately at the scene [1].
Lewis was known for high-risk stunts and held multiple Guinness World Records in slacklining. In 2011, he set a record for slackline surfing above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall and another for a slack rope walk above a waterfall in Mudanjiang City, China [1, 2]. He also set a highline record of 480 feet above Las Vegas in October 2013 [2].
The California native, who later moved to Moab, Utah, earned the nickname "Sketchy Andy" locally [2]. He owned Base Jump Moab, a business offering tandem BASE jumps for less experienced jumpers [1]. Lewis performed onstage with Madonna during the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show and appeared on Red Bull's "Ultimate Rush" in 2016 trying a slackline walk between two hot air balloons 4,000 feet above the Nevada desert [1, 2].
A Moab resident said Lewis "was a very big personality. Everyone knew him" [2]. Lewis had said about the dangers of his sport, "It’s weird to think about how many people are dead, because it’s like a normal thing" [1].
His last social media post expressed excitement for the season ahead, stating, "Thanks for keeping me in frame for my test jump <3 ...Stoked for the rest of the season. What a journey it’s been — and it’s only just begun" [2].
Lewis previously helped remove a mysterious 12-foot metal monolith near Salt Lake City in 2020 [2]. The deaths on June 14 mark the most recent fatal incidents in the sport in the Utah region.
