I had just devoured Frank Ladue's book, Two Seconds of Freedom, which showed (through photos and some flip-through pages to give a sense of motion) more intermediate and advanced moves on the trampoline. It also had photos of George Nissen, smiling and fit.  So his reputation preceded our meeting, and I was as one might imagine, awe-struck and a little tongue-tied.  I showed him what I'd learned, a few flips, including a stomach-drop to back somersault (cody).

Mr. Nissen kindly suggested that if I did a 3/4 back somersault to my stomach prior to the cody, it would be even easier.  But, to may total chagrin, on that day I lacked the courage to do a back flip to my stomach ? even for George Nissen!  There is no way George or my teacher, Mr. Leonard, might EVER have predicted from my dismal performance that day, that I'd be doing 3/4 backs, 1 3/4 backs, and 2 3/4 backs to single, double and triple codys a few years later.

Looking  back, I don't think the purpose of my first meeting with George Nissen was to learn a 3/4 back, which I soon learned anyway ? it was a spark that set burning a desire to fulfill something I could not yet articulate ? an ambition or dream unfolding.  What I remember most about him was his kindness ? the way he treated me like the most important young man in the world, as if he saw something in me that he couldn't have seen based on my performance that day.  The only thing obvious to anyone was my devotion to the art of trampolining.  

To the best of my recollection, the next time I saw George Nissen was six years later, in London England ? at Royal Albert Hall ? on the occasion of the First World Trampoline Championships, sponsored by George himself.  I was 18 years old, a college freshman at U.C. Berkeley.  Without going into detail about what transpired that day, I'll just say that I was inspired to see not only George, but also Xavier Leonard, my old middle-school homeroom teacher and first trampoline and tumbling coach.  When the day ended, I had won a world title.

As the years passed, I had other occasions to meet with George Nissen, once at his home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where I had the pleasure of meeting his gracious wife, Annie.  I got a tour of the Nissen factory.  As the years passed, I was to see George only on rare occasions, but it was like picking up a conversation.

Along with hundreds of other friends and admirers, I attended George's 80th Birthday Celebration in Las Vegas, where he pressed to a handstand on the table ? you and I can only dream of such a feat at 80 years old!

Many other people knew George Nissen far better than I ? they worked with him, saw him regularly, and have innumerable stories to tell. But for me, it wasn't just his achievements, or the many patents he held as an engineer and inventory, that stand out.  The one quality I find most important in any man or woman he had in super-abundance:  It was kindness.  He brought a quality of respect, attention, courtesy and kindness to his interactions.  Seeing myself in George's eyes made me willing to jump higher and become more than I might have otherwise dreamed.  He had a huge impact in my life from that first meeting, and those that followed.

He will be missed by many, but remembered into the years, and will always serve as an inspiring model in my life and all those who knew him.

Dan Millman

1964 Trampoline World Champion