I’m Cristin Whetten, also known as Badass Brunette on social media. I do my absolute best to live up to that name and involve myself with a wide range of outdoor hobbies. From off-roading in my Tacoma to dirt biking; skydiving to paddle boarding. I’m living on the road full-time and pursuing the dream of creating and sharing. Getting to this point has been quite a long road but I’m incredibly proud to be here now.
Prior to getting Skydio 2, I had an original DJI Mavic Pro. It was entirely manual flying. For my lifestyle and the activities that I enjoy doing, like dirt biking for example, manual flying was always such a challenge or was simply out of the question. I could never get the action shot I wanted, the follow feature never really worked, and obstacle avoidance was not really reliable with that drone.
Flying Skydio 2 was an immediate day and night difference. The autonomous flying is spectacular, the obstacle avoidance is spot on, and the footage it captures blows me away every single time.
As mentioned earlier, I am currently living on the road full-time. In the months leading up to that I had reached out to Skydio to see if they would be interested in joining me on the road. With dirt bike adventures, paddle boarding excursions and epic camp locations all planned for this summer, the Skydio seemed like a perfect fit. We’ve been a team ever since.
My favorite activity to pair with the Skydio 2 is dirt biking for sure. I never have to worry about how the shot will turn out and can simply focus on riding. The end results always make me stoked.
It’s hard to pick just one favorite video but I’d probably say the footage from dirt biking in the Utah desert is up there. That was the first time I said, “Alright, let’s see what this Skydio 2 can do”, and started riding. I kept glancing over my shoulder to make sure it was still following me, and sure enough, it was there every time. Once I reviewed the footage, I knew I was sold.
Greatest tip I can give is to practice. Practice. Practice. I have hours of drone flying experience and I’m still learning every single time I launch my drone. It takes time to learn shots and how to capture exactly what you want.
Skydio 2 easily accomplishes many shots on its own, but I would say to practice manually flying as well. There are times I have a very specific shot in mind that can only be achieved if I fly the drone myself. So get comfortable with that aspect as well. It’ll make you an even better skilled drone operator.
I share Skydio footage on my Instagram (@badassbrunette). However, Skydio 2 footage makes an appearance in many of my YouTube videos. It’s such a fun perspective. Have fun out there and don’t take life too seriously!
