Welcome to the Starseed team, a collective boasting over 90 years of flying expertise and a drive for innovation. Our vision is to revolutionize personal flight by blending the art of paragliding and paramotoring into exquisite paramotors, offering a unique and relaxed flying experience. With Trond's visionary leadership, Steffen's Scandinavian design prowess, Lars Ove's mechanical engineering expertise, and Fabrizio's contributions towards improvements and work on a future thermal booster version of Starseed, we're dedicated to transcending the ordinary in every flight, creating unmatched experiences in the sky.
To me, flying is not about fabrics, lines and engines - or airplanes for that matter. It’s not about falling out of airplanes or doing the most radical stuff to feel alive. To me flying - and especially paramotoring - is about the total freedom it brings: ultimately without the need for gadgets and fancy, man-made contraptions to lift you up. I can fly by just thinking of leaving the ground. It’s yoga in the air. It’s about piloting with your soul. It’s almost religious.
- Trond Nyman Aarre
Trond, a clear and strong visionary, is the driving force behind the Starseed® brand, owned by Neverland Ltd., drawing inspiration from a life-altering experience at the age of 5. This pivotal event has been a catalyst throughout his life, influencing his thoughts, actions, education, and approach to customer-centric solutions, and will be the subject of a book set for publication in 2024. At the heart of Trond’s work lies a professional integrity deeply rooted in art, where he admits no compromise in his quest for excellence.
Trond's empathic approach is evident in everything he does, from identifying customers' pains and gains to understanding their dreams. He believes in co-creating solutions with customers that exceed their expectations. Trond does not subscribe to mass production; instead, he is a firm believer that every product should be designed, built, and delivered with love. He finds satisfaction only when the products are so valued that they take a place of honor, like a cherished piece on a pedestal in the living room.
As a Nordic pioneer of paramotoring since 1988, starting at 16, Trond's aviation background is extensive, with over 2000 flight hours across paramotoring, paragliding, skydiving, and piloting ultralight aircraft. In his multifaceted role at Neverland Ltd., he is a team manager, concept developer, and test pilot, contributing significantly to the Starseed® brand. His 26 years of experience in innovation leadership, spanning various national and international companies, have led to more than 50 awards, and a noted expertise in process facilitation, particularly in Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile methodologies.
Embodying a philosophy in line with Ash Maurya's view that 'Life's too short to build something nobody wants,' Trond is constantly driven to seek improvement, embrace uniqueness, and maintain consistency in all his work, from ideation and strategy to the execution of products, services, and communication tools.
Steffen, a fusion of engineer, designer, and UX specialist, embodies meticulous attention to detail in his work. Not a single aspect is overlooked in his pursuit of perfection. Once a project appears flawless, he embarks on a process of further optimization and refinement, engaging in constant iterations until he is ready to sign off on the finished product.
Drawing from his Danish roots, Steffen has been immersed in the Danish design culture from an early age, gaining a nuanced understanding of the key elements of Scandinavian design: simplicity, minimalism, and functionality. Graduating in 2011 with a MSc in Industrial Design from Architecture & Design, Denmark, he has since been instrumental in bringing various products to life, each time with a user-centric focus. Part of these accomplishments includes creating international success stories, most recently as the chief designer for renowned electric vehicle chargers and related products for the Norwegian company Easee.
As the Head of Design for all Starseed® products, Steffen is responsible for overseeing the design and innovation aspects of the company’s products and services. He is a strong proponent of an empathic approach in all innovation processes. Steffen, along with the rest of the Starseed® team, shares the absolute and unwavering philosophy of working problem-focused, uncovering pains and gains, and collaboratively finding solutions with the users (the pilots). A crucial part of his role is mastering the user-centered design process, transforming early ideas into production-ready products and services that not only meet but exceed customer expectations. For him, it's vital to find innovative solutions to existing problems and blend them into a sophisticated, simplified, yet beautiful design, without compromising the flight experience.
Lars Ove, a certified mechanic from Suldal, one of Norway's most picturesque locations amidst the majestic fjords, grew up on a farm where he was immersed in hands-on problem-solving from a young age. From the moment he could walk, he was engaged in repairs, optimizations, and often radical improvements of various kinds. Anything that made a sound and moved captured Lars Ove’s attention, fueling his passion for adding new functions to existing products or creating improved or entirely new ones. Whether it was motorcycles, snowmobiles, go-karts, or something entirely different, his childhood was marked by a fascination with mechanical innovation.
Bringing 28 years of rich and diverse experience in mechanics and hydraulics from the offshore industry to Starseed®, Lars Ove is instrumental in translating ideas into technical solutions that align closely with design and concept sketches. His extensive mechanical expertise is pivotal in strength calculations and optimizing geometry. Additionally, he plays a key role in assembly, technical testing, and quality control throughout all stages of Starseed’s production process.
Having nearly three decades of flying experience in paragliding and paramotoring, Lars Ove co-designed 'Skywalker One' with Trond in 1990, marking the first commercial paramotor model in the Nordic region. His unparalleled contributions in building and servicing paramotors for the Norwegian market reflect his deep engagement in the field. A steady, reliable, and highly competent engineer, he excels in problem identification and resolution, working collaboratively with the team and customers.
Fabrizio, based in Italy, plays a crucial role in our team as a test pilot and concept ideator, working closely with Trond. With a certificate as a mechanical chief, his rich technical background includes roles as a technical drafter and developer of industrial air plants. His career took a significant turn towards military aviation, and he is currently employed in the Italian air force, managing the planning and scheduling of helicopter maintenance and inspections.
A fervent enthusiast of paragliding, paramotoring, and powered hanggliding, Fabrizio's passion lies in free flight. He has spent years merging the essence of paragliding with the freedom of powered flight. Notably, he has successfully integrated cocoon harnesses with Starseed® frames, blending the best of these two distinct sports. His contributions are significant in the development and testing of the revolutionary e82 engine and in refining the Corsair N80 engine with an updated carburetor setup, among others.
Driven by innate curiosity, Fabrizio is relentless in his pursuit of perfection. Aligned with this ethos, he adopts empathic approaches in innovation, involving fellow pilots in the development process to ensure that solutions profoundly resonate with users. For Fabrizio, true success is not merely meeting standards but continually pushing boundaries to forge solutions that genuinely enrich and connect with the experiences of fellow pilots.