Tyler Hayden
LOW-KEY VS. HIGH-OCTANE: Sometimes writers stumble upon stories because they relate to their sources, but other times — like in this week’s cover story about BASE-jumping dentist Joseph Weber by The Santa Barbara Independent’s news editor, Tyler Hayden — they find they have nothing in common at all.
“We were like complete opposites in certain respects,” said Hayden, a San Francisco-Marin native and UCSB grad who started working at the paper in 2009. “He’s high-octane, and I’m low-key. But that’s what made it interesting.”
Though not itching to jump off cliffs anytime soon, Hayden is interested in paragliding one day, and he had “a blast” skydiving with his mom and sister over Lompoc a few years ago, when he yanked the cords too hard and started a briefly frightening spin. “I just remember the straps in my crotch,” said Hayden. “It was not good.”
