Blog Archives

Jun 04 2014

Watch Dogs inspired Parkour

Enthusiasts of the highly popular new video game Watch Dogs will be exceptional excited about a real life portray of the tech savvy main character with a parkour twist. Those unfamiliar with the game should only note that Watch Dogs is a game about a guy who has access to the entire computational grid in his city. This means he can hack into anything with just his self phone. Anything from city lights to computers can be hacked into and in this video you get to see a movie like rendition of Watch Dogs. Anyone who has ever wished they could hack into a red traffic light will enjoy this video.

Chris Romrell and Robert Bennett take to the streets and preform parkour to the theme of the video game Watch Dogs. Watch as they scale buildings and run through alley ways demonstrating amazing flips and stunts you would see in a parkour video, but more unique than most other videos in the hobby. The two put on a showcase of fantastic dives, flips, and somersaults known in the sport of parkour but themed after the video game Watch Dogs created and distributed by Ubisoft in Montreal. The two put on the costumes and put on a spectacle like you have never seen before.

+ Who

The video is posted and produced by Youtube user devinsupertramp. This guy is known for all kinds of extreme sports and artistic videos. This makes a perfect match for Ubisoft who has sponsored the efforts for this Watch Dog parkour video. They use highly trained professional parkour athletes to create a scene depicting a chase between a criminal and the main character who appears to be a vigilante similar to Batman with a different attire. By the time the video is done you want a movie version of Watch Dogs. With athletes Chris Romrell and Robert Bennett and comedian Wheezy Waiter as the cop, this video will get plenty of repeat views.

Chris Romrell and Robert Bennett, two friends who have joined together in the sport of parkour, put on costumes and take to the streets dressed like characters from the new hit video game Watch Dogs. They have had their youtube channel up for some time that shows they are no stranger to the sport of parkour. They are produced by Jacob Shwarz and David Thorpe, two people who have spent many years making short films. The costumes are done by cos-play costume designer Allison Dredge and the music is preformed by Stephen Anderson.

+ Where

Shot in parts of Chicago, this video feels like they shot in the middle of New York and had traffic stopped so they could do production. Some of their scenes take place in the same locations as the movie The Dark Knight where the truck flips over itself. The rooftop scenes were scouted out by the director to try to find the coolest places. They did not want to have a dull chasing scene so they made sure everything was exceptional.

+ What

At the beginning is the introduction to the main character. You can see him watching the news intently while not trying to be noticed. At 0:21 he leaves the bar in pursuit of the criminal. For most of the video after this is the chase. At 0:24 you get to see him stop the traffic light and the suspect has to get out of the car. At 0:30 he is confronted by the police but makes a run for it. The hero takes on after him at a leisurely pace. At 1:00 you see the suspect has lost his breath but he notices someone following him. Then the pace picks up as you see both men doing parkour throughout the video. At 2:10 you see the here hacks into something that resembles a roof air-condition vent to create an explosion which hurts the suspect. More parkour ensues until at 2:26 the hero kicks the suspect down a ladder and the cop catches up with them. Then the hero hacks the cop car just so he can dim the lighting long enough to get away while the mob suspect is in custody.

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May 30 2014

When Spider-Man runs out of web, he free runs

With the recent release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, you might have found yourself wondering how exactly Spider-Man would get around the city if he were to ever run out of webs. That webbing can’t simply be infinite can it? Now that would just be unrealistic! Well I bet you didn’t know that Spider-Man is also an expert free runner. The Amazing Spider-Man shows off his amazing parkour skills from sprinting full speed across ledges high in the sky to jumping from building to building in this short three minute video, made all the more impressive when you consider he’s doing this while wearing a mask which MUST cut down on his visibility.

+ Who

The video stars parkour athlete Ronnie Shalvis as Spider-Man. Ronnie is known as a professional free runner, stunt coordinator, and parkour trainer. According to his website, he has been practicing this art for the last seven years and has been involved in several extremely popular parkour videos including “Assassins Creed Meets Parkour in Real Life” which has received 36 million views on YouTube to date. Ronnie also has his own YouTube channel called Ronnie Street Stunts where he has uploaded over 100 videos and accumulated over 19 million views. Another stunt man, Chris Romrell helped coordinate the video. Both Ronnie and Chris are part of the CBR Stunt Team.

+ Where

The video was shot in the city of Provo, Utah. Provo isn’t a very big city and only has a population of around 115,000 (according to the U.S. Census Bureau). That’s a far cry from the 8.3 million of New York City, where Spider-Man actually lives. But hey, for the purposes of this video, Provo’s architecture looks really nice. Most of the scenes are on rooftops of various buildings and high rises. One of the coolest parts of this video is the crew actually used a flying drone with a camera attached to it to get a lot of the overhead shots.

+ What

At the beginning of the video everything is just fine and dandy as Spider-Man slings his way around the city then at (0:14) he goes to shoot a web and finds that nothing comes out! Spider-Man falls to the ground. This doesn’t deter him for long as he flips up and begins free running at (0:21). At (0:36) he jumps off a high ledge and spins around in mid-air then at (0:52) he crawls up to the roof of a building. (1:00) Spidey literally jumps from building to building and at (1:10) he does a handstand on the corner of a skyscraper. One wrong move and he could fall… (1:26) Spider-Man crawls up what looks to be a fire escape then back flips out of a window at (1:32). At (1:37) he does some handsprings through a back alley before climbing up another fire escape at (1:40). (2:05) Spider-Man begins to climb one of the tallest buildings in the city and at (2:18) there’s a panoramic view of him hanging from part of the ladder. (2:22) some police officers respond to a call as Spider-Man watches over them from above.

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May 19 2014

Parkour doesn’t have to be on foot

Parkour has become more and more popular and you often watch a video to see people scaling buildings and leaping over various obstacles, but Ronnie Shalvis is taking parkour up a notch. Ronnie brings in a car and shows off his parkour skills by leaping, jumping, flipping and sliding all over a car. Ronnie doesn’t just stop with parked cars either, but also flips and jumps over a moving vehicle all at a park structure showing you that there is nothing you can’t do with parkour with a little time, a lot of talent and your imagination. He doesn’t even just leave it to jumping over or around a car, but going through as well leaving you shaking your head as you watch.

+ Who

Ronnie Shalvis stars in this car parkour video. He jumps, flips and slides over a parked car leaving you watching in amazement and wonder as he performs each stunt. The leaping and flying over a parked car is one thing, but Ronnie also adds a touch of style by jumping over a moving car as it’s driving by all filmed by Warialasky. Ronnie is a professional parkour trainer, free runner and stunt coordinator from Utah and has spent the last seven years training and perfecting his craft and for the last two years has worked as a professional stuntman with his crew.

+ Where

This video of Ronnie Shalvis is an urban landscape featuring a parking structure where he does all his parkour stunts. From moving cars to parked cars, Ronnie shows off his skills in parkour and free running. The Moscow – Minsk House provides the soundtrack as we watch Ronnie do his thing keeping the video upbeat and high energy.

+ What

Kicking off this video, Ronnie Shalvis drives into a deserted parking area and stops. Getting out he gets right to work showing of his parkour skills (0:14). After a few backflips to get a bit of distance, Ronnie leaps to the top of the car (0:18) and flips off before launching into his next set of skills. He leaps and jumps over the entire car (0:23) in a mix of power and grace. One of the most exciting moments is the complete jump over the car (0:42) without touching it at all adding in a little rolling flip. As the video continues, Ronnie opens the back doors on the car (0:51) and goes right through showing off his dexterity. An eye-catching moment is the leap off the cement wall (1:03) over the car driving by ending in a tuck and roll. After a few leaps over the car onto the cement wall (1:11) Ronnie really shows off his power by hurdling several parked cars (1:18) with different and unique moves.

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May 17 2014

Meet Jumpy the parkour dog

Parkour is growing by leaps and bounds and it’s never been more apparent that this is a sport that has no limits than by meeting stuntman Alex Duong and Jumpy, the parkour dog. In this video, Alex and Jumpy show off just what is possible with parkour. You’ll be amazed and entertained as this duo jumps, flips and flies over all sorts of obstacles from trees to picnic tables to the soundtrack of “Straight West” by Kasket Club. Jumpy was trained by Omar VonMuller and teams up with Alex to entertain and amaze you with their skills and talents.

+ Who

This video was directed by Darren Dyk with Beyond SlowMotion and shows off the skills, talents and abilities of stuntman Alex Duong and Jumpy the Parkour Dog trained by Omar VonMuller. This duo teams up to showcase just what is possible with parkour and blast through the limits. Man’s best friend can definitely keep up and even upstage other two-legged partners. Jumpy flips and flies his way through this video as the two enjoy some time in the park.

+ Where

The video was made at a park and a skate park to allow both Alex and Jumpy plenty of obstacles to show off their skills. From easy things like leaping over bushes to scaling trees and leaping over picnic tables, this duo let’s nothing stand in their way as they play together in the park.

+ What

You get right into the action from the very beginning with this video of Alex and Jumpy as they get into their parkour fun. The pair vault over a garbage can (0:15) and launch you into a nonstop action adventure at the park. Jumpy starts to steal the show with his skateboarding skills (0:42) and then continues to amaze us with some tree climbing (1:31) and ball catching before jumping over Alex (2:06). However nothing stands out more in this high energy video than the double back flip (2:27) which just leaves your jaw dropping watching them in action. Another fun moment was watching the two leap over a picnic table (2:56) showing off both their power and grace. Watching Jumpy leap from post to post (3:06) followed by Alex is just a fun moment and continues to make you smile. This is a video you just have to watch more than once so that you can be sure you did see what you just saw.

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Feb 02 2014

Team Zoic at Rebounderz

This fun video highlights Team Zoic, a parkour and freerunning team out of Orlando as they take on and conquer Rebounderz, a trampoline park in Orlando Florida. The team bounces around the trampolines, doing flips and kicks from trampoline to trampoline and into a foam pit. They also play dodgeball and dunk basketballs. The guys show off their parkour and freerunning skills all over this trampoline park and show how to get the most out of an amazingly fun theme park. Watch this video and you’ll definitely get the itch to head to the closest trampoline park to you get some bouncing in.

Rebounderz is the best trampoline park I’ve been to so far. Last time I was in Orlando I visited out another one called Airheads first, but it was closed for a kid’s birthday party. When I visited Rebounderz I was glad I hadn’t paid at the other one since it looked way better equipped. I spent a few hours jumping around and playing dodgeball. It’s amazing how tiring it is if you go all out.

+ Who

Team Zoic, or Zoic Nation, are a group of traceurs/freerunners from Orlando, Florida in the United States. The members are Jon Watson, Andy Taylor, Angle Santiago, Gareth Norvell, Mark Stowell, Will Brown, Crazy Stupid Kid Jimmy, Casey Jones. They have a very active presence on social media including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Vimeo. In their own words, they are a group dedicated to having fun and spreading their love of parkour, and not getting tied down in defining what it means to do parkour, free-running or tricking. They are simply all about having fun and accepting all styles as they get better and enjoy life.

+ Where

This video was filmed at Rebounderz in Orlando, Florida. Rebounderz is an indoor trampoline arena promising family fun and fitness. They have an open jump arena, with trampolines on the floor and sides that adds up to 24,000 square feet to jump. They also have a foam pit jumper, where you can launch yourself into a pit of foam squares, a dodgeball arena, and a basketball dunking jumper. They also host parties (which include pizza) and summer camps. On the Rebounderz website you can take a virtual tour, sign your wavier form (all jumpers must sign a waiver) and book your party.

+ What

The video begins with the Zoic crew getting out of their cars and heading in to the arena. They begin jumping (0:17) into the foam pit, and then take on the open jump arena (0:24). Shots of foam pit jumping and open pit jumping and flips are mixed until (1:18) when the crew gets together for an exciting game of dodgeball. At (1:38) we see some breakdancing on the floor. More dodgeball and shots of Rebounderz are joined by more foam pit jumping and then (2:15) basketball dunking. (2:35) the video ends with Jon Watson, the Youtuber and member who uploaded the video, talking about next week’s video and instructing users about how to manage their Youtube subscriptions.

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Oct 23 2013

Summer Workout Battle 2013

Some Russians doing planches, one-armed pull-ups, breakdance moves, muscle ups and performing other feats of strength and balance in Moscow for the Summer Workout Battle 2013.

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