Not just the ultimate urban sport, parkour is also a frame of mind, where you have to overcome physical and mental barriers to get from A to B the quickest way possible. And it looks pretty cool, too. We headed to London’s South Bank to talk to the talented young freerunners Will Fraser-Coombe, Azan Ahmed and Jamie Guy about the modern world, facing fears and why they’ll never be able to do a regular 9-5.
Do you feel like this sport has changed your life and yourselves on a more spiritual level?
AA: “I’ve gained a lot of confidence through parkour. Also, aside from the physical-strength building, parkour has also strengthened my character, as patience, creativity and determination are all traits that I have acquired from training.”
WF-C: “I don’t feel it has changed me on a spiritual level, but I do feel it has changed the route my life was taking for the better. It got me away from alcohol, drugs, violence, etc. If you knew me, you wouldn’t think it, but I used to have anger problems and I suffer with mental-health issues as well. It helps me control and manage them, and helps me deal with certain situations better than I would have before.”
JG: “It has changed the way I interact with people and the world, but it has shaped the person I am today. Having started the discipline in my teenage years
and continuing for the past 10 years, I have come
to understand the importance of focus in life for achieving goals. This skill, which I attribute solely to my being able to overcome mental obstacles when trying a new move or going for a scary jump, has transferred over into my everyday life and allowed me to do just about anything I set my mind to.”
How has it shaped your view of your surroundings in your everyday life?
AA: “I can never look at a bench or wall the same way again. One of the best things about being a traceur is that you can never feel alienated by your surroundings. We’re at home wherever we go.”
WF-C: “If you actually step back and take a good look at it, the human body wasn’t designed to be sitting
in an office from 9 to 5, typing away at a desk, just
to spend your spare time in front of a computer or a television. And it certainly wasn’t made to be confined and constricted to certain spaces. It was made to move, to hunt, to chase. And with the development of the mind and imagination, it was made to express. It’s natural when you’re a child, so why would you let your creativity die as you age? Why would you let adventure die? Freerunning brings us back to what it is to be a human being instead of a human doing.”
JG: “The world is no longer the dull, mundane
cage that we are psychologically and sociologically conditioned to believe exists. After just your first jump, your eyes will begin to open up to the virtually limitless possibilities surrounding you. A wall no longer presents restriction but the freedom to move and express yourself in ways you would never think are possible until you let go and just jump.”
Did it actually encourage you to do other things in life that you wouldn’t have considered before?
WF-C: “If I hadn’t got into freerunning, I would have been like everyone else, going to university, probably getting drunk every other weekend and working a job that I have no passion for. Instead, freerunning introduced passion and adventure into my life. It also got me into film-making which I do in my spare time and I absolutely love it. As Arthur Schopenhauer said, ‘Unrest is the mark of existence.’”
JG: “As parkour was so fresh in the small city I am originally from, I was blessed with being one of the first handful of people to push the discipline and help it grow in my area. I took part in many performances and media work, and was in the opening ceremony for the European Athletics Indoor Championships. But the most rewarding thing I have done was teaching. To inspire young and older generations through movement and lifestyle gave me a sense of purpose I would not have today without parkour.”
AA: “The beauty of parkour is that every movement is your own, so whatever you do is unique. It gave me the confidence to pursue acting and public speaking. I would have never stepped on a stage a few years ago, but now I have a passion for performing.”
Jamie, you are taking the acting route as well. Tell me about your next move.
JG: “I am currently aiming to move to South Korea to try to break into acting and continue to pursue more media work. My western appearance with my parkour skill set may give me a unique opportunity to break into film that I wouldn’t have in Europe due to the saturation of people with similar goals as me. I have spent the past six months learning to read, write and speak Korean.”
How is the level in the UK compared with other countries?
WF-C: “The UK has a pretty good scene, with high-level athletes with teams like Storror and Prodigy of Movement, as well as solo athletes such as Joseph Marx. Things like kongs and basic flips and runs are to such a high level, but take GUP — a Spanish freerunning team — for example. They have a much nicer flow to their movements and work efficiently. Then, with a German style, they focus on strength and technique. Each country has their own style which makes them incomparable and you even get that down to individual athletes.”
AA: “Personally, I experienced what it was like to not have a buzzing scene when I lived in Qatar. Although it wasn’t ideal not having anyone to train with, it was great introducing newcomers to the lifestyle and now there is an emerging scene in the Middle East.”
JG: “The UK was one of the first places in the world where parkour really exploded, thanks to the media. The most common thing I hear from people travelling here from other countries is that they wish there were as many people practising in their countries as there are here. Many people travel to London to train here due to the number of locations that have caught the eye of the world through videos posted on the internet.”
Where do you see the scene going in the future?
AA: “Onwards and upwards! Schools are now offering parkour as an extracurricular activity and there are now official coaching qualifications. Parkour is becoming increasingly globally recognised. At this rate, we’ll have everybody jumping around in no time.”
WF-C: “I can see it being as big, if not bigger, than skateboarding and BMX-ing, which are both still huge sports these days. The level of freerunning only gets higher and the moves get crazier with each generation being brought into the sport.”
Why is London the perfect playground?
WF-C: “There are so many spots scattered around the city, with such a variety of movements that can be performed at each spot, so whether you want to stay true to parkour and do jumps and vaults, or if you’re more interested in the flips, there will always be somewhere to go in London, and most of the time you will randomly bump into freerunners from across the world.”
AA: “Our diverse society provides an even more diverse environment to train in. In a city that has pretty much everything, there’s everything to use.”
JG: “With 33 boroughs all containing multiple areas, you are never short of places to go and train. We’ve got many estates hailing from the 1960s with that typical brutalist aesthetic. Two of my favourite locations, Vauxhall and Archway, fit perfectly into my idea of the concrete city jungle.”
Credits:
Interview by ARIJANA ZERIC
Photography by GARY SOBCZYK