Who We Are
Skydiving in Missouri ,Illinois and Indiana
At Gateway Skydiving Center, we have the best skydiving instructors in the St. Louis area. Our instructors compete in U.S skydiving competitions and have years of experience and thousands of skydives under their belt.
In 2024 Gateway Skydiving Center celebrated it’s 12th season( over 14,000 1st time tandem students) and we are proud of our unbeatable safety record, unmatched in all of Mid-West.
Our core values are to teach and help others grow and gain confidence with each skydive. Skydiving is a pure and unexplainable experience to someone that has never tried it. Skydiving is simply one of the most amazing things that you can do for fun and all of us started with Skydive number one. We know that most people are intimidated when that door opens (jumping out is probably the best part) but you need to step out of your comfort zone and try skydiving. We guarantee you it will be one of the coolest things you have ever done. All of our skydiving instructors started their skydiving careers at Gateway Skydiving Center and share the same love and passion for this great sport. They can not wait to take you on your 1st Tandem Skydive.
We are a family friendly drop zone where everyone is welcome, regardless of who you are or where you come from.
We can’t wait to make you part of our skydiving family.
MISSION STATEMENT
At Gateway Skydiving Center our mission is to create a fun and friendly environment for our first time and experienced jumpers alike, while putting safety first. We know that your first jump can be intimidating, we understand, we all started with skydive number one just like you! Our staff is very passionate and knowledgeable about what they do and will make sure that you have an unforgettable experience.
Arnel Smajic, Owner
I was born and spent an early part of my childhood in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For those not familiar, it is a small country nestled in the heart of Europe (south central to be exact).
Our apartment was less than a mile away from a skydiving club ran by my father.
Given the early exposure to skydiving, you would think that I always wanted to be a skydiver, but that wasn’t the case at all. Too young for skydiving, I spent a lot of time in the cockpit of a plane while the pilots were flying around doing acrobatics.
Naturally, I wanted to become a pilot. In my head, pilots had all the fun. Well, all of that changed in 2005 when I did my first skydive. As they say rest is history….
