How do you define a "true chaser"??

[jeremy wilson]

Somebody that would die or ask others to die for their hobby.

What the?!?! OK, maybe someone should lay off the paint chips.

A true storm chaser has at least one amber lightbar and wig wags.

 

[Lanny Dean]

That is straight up FUNNY!!! Love it! (Have to say though, I've chased w/ Jim Reed a few times, and he does have an addiction to Starbucks and Red Bull.) lol

And Shawna, maybe those little brown cigars?? lol

This thread is getting really funny.

How about this....someone who has payed their "dues" and doesn't ask stupid questions like "what defines a true chaser?"

 

[Ryan Wichman]

So I have been asked this a lot in the previous few months...

"Was that corvette guy a storm chaser??"

If you don't know what I am referencing, it was the person who drove his corvette into the Kirksville HP tornado. Many times I have told my friends that he is not a 'storm chaser'. But based on a lot of definitions written before this post it would seem he would have to be included. (Just trying to ruffle a few feathers here )

 

[Jason Boggs]

So I have been asked this a lot in the previous few months...

"Was that corvette guy a storm chaser??"

If you don't know what I am referencing, it was the person who drove his corvette into the Kirksville HP tornado. Many times I have told my friends that he is not a 'storm chaser'. But based on a lot of definitions written before this post it would seem he would have to be included. (Just trying to ruffle a few feathers here )

Sure, I think he's a storm chaser. I think anyone that actually pursues storms for whatever reason is a storm chaser. I think it's that simple.

A cop can be an ass ever day and write tickets for every little thing. They can choose to study up and be informed, or they can choose to just know what they need to. They can be nice, be hateful, and be rude. But in the end, if they enforce the law, they're still called a cop.

What I'm trying to say is this. A person that pursues storms can choose to be informed or not. A person that pursues storms can choose to be courteous or not. A person that pursues storms can choose to be a yahoo. A person that pursues storms can drive fast in a corvette and almost get killed. In the end, if a person pursues a storm, they're still a storm chaser, in my opinion anyway. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Bob Hartig]

So is every person who learns a couple chords on the guitar a guitarist? This issue boils down to a matter of individual opinions that everyone is entitled to and no one is likely to resolve definitively. And really, what does it matter? I'm chiming in because it's a fun topic, but I think the real point has already been made, which is to pursue storms, not labels, and to not let people's opinions keep you from doing so.

I think it's safe to say this much: if a person gets out and chases storms consistently, then over time that individual will learn a few things about them, and find that somewhere along the way he or she has become a storm chaser by pretty much everyone's standards.

 

[Jason Boggs]

So is every person who learns a couple chords on the guitar a guitarist? .

Sure...they may not be good and they may not be a pro, but I'd still call them a guitarist.

 

[Jason Foster]

Sure...they may not be good and they may not be a pro, but I'd still call them a guitarist.

Yeah...I think the Wii game all proved anyone can be a guitarist....right...

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Well, don't want to start anything here, but I was talking with Dave Drummond couple Saturday's ago after a chaser party was winding down. I told him that I've totalled my vehicle getting to a target in some heavy rain, then i've chased for a week straight only to come home and get fired. He told me that he thinks I've paid my dues and am a real chaser. I really took that to heart, makes me feel good about what I did. Sure I went through a big insurance mess hitting another pickup head-on on the highway with my wreck, and sure I was unemployed for 6 weeks during June and July, but I didn't care. Mostly because those event didn't take away my ability or will to chase, if anything it drove me to further pursue wild weather. I'm not self-proclaiming me being a real chaser, but I think that mentality is what its all about; to have nothing but trying to document and see some of the world's most dangerous conditions, no matter what's at risk.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I also think a lot of it has to do with long-term consistency and more importantly what one considers themselves to be. Where their 'heart' is, so to speak. Many of the 'chasers' we want to classify as such probably don't see themselves as one for doing it once. For instance I've been whitewater rafting once, yet I don't consider myself a whitewater rafter. I won't expect to be counted as one by other hardcore whitewater rafters for that. It's no insult to me if they don't accept me into their unofficial community. In fact it would seem pretty awkward if I read this type of thread on a whitewater rafting forum saying they considered me to be a part of them because I did it one time.

It all boils down to intent, and as I said, a consistency in that intent. There are some in our ranks who have longed to chase for years but can't get out to do it for one reason or another (finances, health, other obligations). These same people watch chase videos, read weather books and soak in as much knowledge as they can. In some cases more so than those of use who actually do get to go out. I would give them the distinction because the basic 'heart' for chasing is present.