WHAT is the pressure of flying a plane when you have bared all in front of the eyes of the world?
That is the question that American model and influencer Kinsey Wolanski answered when she decided to earn her pilot’s licence after going viral for her antics at the 2019 Champions League Final.
Wolanski became a global sensation when she streaked across the pitch at the Wanda Metropolitano in nothing but an extremely revealing one-piece swimsuit in the middle of Liverpool‘s 2-0 victory over Spurs.
She ran across the field in front of a roaring crowd of over 63,000, as well as 22 unimpressed players, 2 coaches… and the MILLIONS of eyes watching from home.
The publicity stunt was designed to promote a porn website owned by her then-boyfriend – internet prankster Vitaly Zdorovetskiy – through a logo adorning Wolanski’s chest.
She was escorted off the pitch by stewards after they eventually caught up with her, and ended up spending five hours in a Spanish jail.
But boy did the bold stunt have the desired effect, with Kinsey immediately soaring from 300,000 Instagram followers to over TWO MILLION.
And life has not slowed down for the now-29-year-old in the wake of her 15 minutes of fame, having reinvented herself in the five and a half years since that iconic day.
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A new adventure
Wolanski’s signature thrill-seeking is not limited to daring runs in skimpy outfits.
The blonde stunner is also a fan of more traditional brands of stunts, being a qualified skydiver and dual rated pilot.
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She even suffered a broken ankle as a result of her skydiving escapades in 2020.
She told her social media following, which has ballooned to a massive 3.7million followers on Instagram alone: ” It was a really windy day skydiving, and I dropped 20ft straight onto my ankle on the landing.”
In a slightly less death-defying hobby, Wolanski is qualified to fly planes and helicopters, and regularly uploads clips of her flying herself and others around.
When discussing the demanding requirements needed to reach her piloting aspirations, she revealed: “I flew for 112 hours before taking my final check ride exam. You have to pass three exams.
“An intense written exam, an oral exam on the ground, and lastly, the in-flight exam. This entire process took me one and a half years.”
Now qualified, Wolanski takes to the skies in her single-engine Piper Archer, alongside a host of other vehicles including jets and choppers.
Celebrity break-up
One of the masterminds of Wolanski’s Champions League pitch invasion was her infamous YouTube prankster boyfriend Vitaly Zdorovetskiy.
The Russian internet personality built a following on his increasingly daring stunts, some of which have even landed him in legal hot water.
He first drew attention in the world of football when he invaded the pitch during the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in Brazil.
But after the explosion in his girlfriend’s following after her more viral stunt in 2019, a rift began to grow between the pair.
After the duo split following the stunt, Wolanski would tell the Residency Podcast: “Vitaly’s a great guy, we were best friends and we had the same career, so it was really easy to have our goals aligned.
“But there’s only one star in the show. Once I got my career, that was really hard on Vitaly, it wasn’t like that split equal time.
“It got weird and competitive.”
Things would get worse for the 33-year-old after he got himself into trouble while live streaming in the Philippines in April this year.
He remains in custody pending the resolution of his case, regarding three counts of ‘unjust vexation.’
Wolanski is now in a relationship with American fitness influencer Vince Sant, with the pair sharing a couple’s Instagram account on top of Vince’s cameos as a passenger in some of his partner’s flying videos.
Presenting career
Though her piloting dominates a large portion of Wolanski’s social media content, an even bigger part is dedicated to her new career as a sports presenter.
Though much of her output is dedicated to NFL content, she has also shared the screen with stars from the worlds of baseball, the UFC and even the WWE.
She has been joined recently by Buffalo Bills running back James Cook, and regularly features on American football show Arena Gridiron with three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas.
Wolanski had already featured in Sports Illustrated and Maxim before her stunt in 2019, but it is clear to see the opportunities that overnight fame brought her.
She reflected on the event: “After I was released from jail, I had gone from 300,000 followers on Instagram to over two million.
“You can’t buy that kind of publicity. Suddenly, I was famous all over the world and had job offers flooding in.
“I don’t think I did anyone any harm, it was just a bit of fun.”
