The Takeoff | A Parkour Podcast

Today, we've got Denali Siruno ( @denali.siruno ) on to chat about style, aesthetics, expression, and how we define novelty and creativity in parkour. Denali has an insanely technical style that draws heavily from tricking and has competed in most major style comps, including SPL and KOTC. He is also known for being willing to share some good-natured hot takes online regarding style in parkour and how the concept of style in our sport is constantly being reassessed and pushed by the next generation. In this episode, I wanted to give him space to share his thoughts on what "style" in parkour even means - if anything - and how we can constructively judge, compare, and talk about it from his perspective. I definitely came away from this episode with some fresh thoughts on style comps, judging, and general expression in the parkour scene. Curious to hear if y'all do as well! - Max

This week, I'm chatting with Sam Coppack - lead coach at Nova City and early days UK practitioner - about the recent Project Underground 13 comp, his perspective on the UK's growing gym/youth parkour scene, and what we may be neglecting when it comes to delivering the best possible parkour experience to the next generation of practitioners. This conversation was an absolute pleasure and (as you probably can tell) involved quite a bit of off-the-cuff brainstorming that may lead to some interesting and implementable places for coaches, gym owners, and community leaders down the line. I'm very curious to hear what your thoughts are on this one, particularly regarding the whole non-competitive youth events question I brought up. Does your gym do any inter-facility youth events that aren't competition specific? Let me know! And as always thanks so much for taking the time to listen. - Max

After a short hiatus, we’re back with a big one - a brief (ish) dive into parkour’s history with Callum Powell, nerd supreme of all things parkour. Callum just released his first book, “What is Parkour?” which covers parkour’s culture, history, and practice through hilarious anecdotes from his own training and adventures alongside STORROR. I had the privilege to proof-read quite a decent chunk of it over the past few months and I have to say…I didn’t think I’d ever laugh out loud at parkour non-fiction but here we are. In this episode, we cover the development of parkour - from the founding Yamakasi group to the modern day - in broad strokes, and try to leave references for an interested listener to dive deeper into anything we skip over. Hope you enjoy it and check out the links below for some of the key reference points we make throughout the episode! Callum Powell, “What is Parkour?”: https://www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk/products/what-is-parkour-the-sport-with-an-identity-crisis?_pos=1&_sid=5a6f0b197&_ss=r&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnREnSf2HlzEHcHlfxq1nOFWLVexrvtMHRTEPjU1OIAoPADks2yrDrn3CmODU_aem_94H_DUiBXAGopJKACLm51A Julie Angel’s “Breaking the Jump”: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Jump-secret-Parkours-rebellion/dp/178131554X Jump Britain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TJurAP9l-Q&t=1234s Jason Paul’s Russian Parkour video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2flqoWkVM0&t=1294s Matthias Mayer’s Eastern Parkour video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSziShdcEmY&t=5286s New Year’s Eve Eve Jam Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpA61Cty6fI

On this week’s episode, we have Jimmy Davidson - owner of Freedom of Motion in California and one of the minds behind Motion Mentors. He is also the author of Million Dollar Parkour Gym, a book that aims to help parkour gym owners create a space that is not only fun and authentic but also runs on all cylinders as a thriving business. Whether you own a parkour gym or not, I think you’ll find this episode really insightful. We dive into some of the biggest problems gym owners face today (with some simple and actionable solutions) and talk through where the sport may be going next - particularly as the current generation of young kids training parkour in gyms around the world grow into teens and young adults. Links for this episode:Motion Mentors website - https://www.motionmentors.org/Million Dollar Parkour Gym book - https://www.motionmentors.org/bookMotion Mentors Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/0BouhCqyFAkLvvnyH8a9vS

In this episode, Marcio Filipe ( @hgmrtgiv ) walks us through both his terrifying bail in Portugal and how handling the recovery has helped him answer some of the toughest questions parkour athletes ask themselves during their training. It was amazing having Marcio on to share both his story and his absolute love of parkour. He's a true parkour nerd, and we dive into some of the content that helped him become the best precision parkour athlete our sport has seen so far. I hope you find this episode insightful. In some ways, it raised as many questions for me as it answered, but I think that is often the mark of a good conversation. Be sure to follow Marcio on both YouTube and his socials (@marcio.filipee) keep up with his training and recovery. Thank you as always for listening and I'll see you next week! - Max

Robbie Corbett is the co-owner of WFPF and main brain behind both the WFPF coaching certification and USA Parkour competition circuit. In this episode, we dive into his parkour origins story and how that led him first into the stunt industry and then into his current role with WFPF, and what WFPF is up to in 2026 - including the upcoming USA Parkour Cup in Austin, TX. As always, thanks so much for listening. My apologies for the slight delay on this episode - as you can probably tell the whole family has been fighting a cold and sick kiddos make editing on a schedule a bit tougher. Enjoy the episode and I'll catch you next week! Max

Alec Blenis is one of the biggest voices in the hybrid training space right now. In addition to holding the record time for Murph and boasting a 2:40 marathon time alongside some really impressive strength numbers, Alec Blenis is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the current state of evidence-based training. It was a blast getting Alec on to chat about the fundamentals of running faster, training harder, and getting nutrition right when it comes to parkour - and how parkour athletes can get a ton out of an extra hour or two of strategic cardio work each week. If you aren't already, follow ‪@alecblenis‬ both here on YouTube and on the 'gram (his posts are equal parts hilarious and educational) and check out his programming via the links on his socials! Couldn't recommend it enough to anyone in the parkour space looking to build a better training engine without sacrificing power. As always, thanks for listening and I'll see you next week! Max

On this episode of The Takeoff, Sydney Olson and I dive into everything from parkour competitions to identity in sport to building a healthier relationship with commitment. As a multi-time SPL Style and Red Bull Art of Motion winner, ‪@SydneyOlson‬ has had a phenomenal competitive career in parkour and is also a highly successful stuntwoman in Los Angeles. Additionally, she hosts the Collecting Scars podcast (available on her YouTube and Spotify) and has recently moved into the mindset coaching and personal development space. As many of you probably already know (and experience), it's easy to wrap up your entire identity in doing what you love. We talk through the benefits and pitfalls of that experience here. I hope you enjoy! Max

Giles Campbell Longley has been behind the scenes for many of parkour's most iconic moments - from capturing some of parkour's early days in the UK to filming Roof Culture Asia and starting The Motus Projects. These days, Giles is helping refine what has become parkour's biggest and most successful brand - Storror - from your experience buying merch to the emails you get over the holidays. We jump into some of the lessons he's learned from his biggest successes (and failures) over the past 20 years in the sport and where he sees parkour industry and culture going in the future...don't worry, it's surprisingly optimistic. If you'd like to see guests on future episodes of the podcast, drop them in the comments below and be sure to follow @thetakeoff.pod on IG for more shorts and BTS! Max