7 4
Drum: SPORTIVE
occurred after the screening of J ump London, in
which the charismatic Foucan explained the
background to Parkour while we watched in
astonishment as he and his team of French ‘Traceurs’
vaulted, somersaulted, and tumbled across the
capital using some of the city’s most famous
landmarks as their stepping stones.
“We are not Spiderman or
Superman...”
Isn’t he ever afraid though? “When I was younger,
maybe,” he tells me. “When I didn’t know exactly
my body, how I feel, I was less connected with me,
you know, but now I know me. I know my
limitations. If you give me a musical instrument and
say, play, it’s impossible for me. But learning
something step-by-step, a human being can achieve
amazing things.” So does he have other interests
outside of Parkour like Buddhism or meditation, I
asked. “Parkour is my meditation. But I also like
Asian philosophy and martial art. I like Bruce Lee,
Michael Jordan, Mohammed Ali, and Gandhi, and all
these people and these things ha ve influenced me.
For me, it’s about how you can be efficient without
destruction without doing bad things. It’s about
doing good things that people can admire and that
help them to do better.”
Noble ideals, but what does he think of the growing
commercialisation of Parkour and its activities? The
opposing camps argue that this growth towards the
mainstream will either see Parkour blossom, or result
in the death of its true meaning at the hands of
corporate exploitation. Wary of the popularisation of
their sport, some Parkouristes claim that this will
destroy the community feeling they attribute to
being part of what separates Parkour from other
activities and makes it special. They fear the posers
and fashion labels stepping in for a killing. They
speak of the nightmare of Parkour becoming like
skateboarding. Those involved in the
commercialisation of the discipline claim that
increased money in a sport is positive and that large
companies supply equipment that would otherwise
be unavailable, while consumers retain the right not
to buy what’s on offer.
With its large teenage appeal and following, you can
be sure that the economic pressures which drive
brands to seek out new markets will inevitably
squeeze more and more profits from Parkour like
anything else from football to hip hop. It could also
be argued that these activities still retain much of
the special appeal for those who love them, but few
would seriously claim that these interests and
activities are ever left ‘untainted’ by commercialism.
For many, the imminent release of a Parkour video
game from Core Design is the beginning of a frenzy
of media exploitation, and indeed, the concept of
the game does seem remarkably opposed to the
actual principles spirit behind Founcan and Belle’s
original ideals. Do they themselves feel exploited?
Sébastien didn’t want to answer that question and
I didn’t want to pursue the issue. Does he have an
agent then, I asked him. “Yes,” he said. Did he have
an agent when the game was first presented to him
as an idea? “No.” But he’s got an agent now! “Yes.”
So what’s it like seeing himself in a video game? “To
see my face in a video game as a kid would have
been really funny. But now my daughter can play
with me when I’m away, and for me, her Daddy,
that’s very, very good.”
So what is it about him that makes him so giving,
so willing to share his skills and experience with
others, I wanted to know. “Because I love this!” was
his reply. “When we were children, we were
practising Parkour with love, fun, and a good feeling.
We organised parties in the forest and each person
brings their own food, and we cook with fire, and
people play the guitar; it was peaceful. Nobody
knows this, but I remember, and this is always in
my mind.”
Yes, but is there anything in his growing up, in his
family life, in the way they loved as a family, and
dealt with each other, that makes him this very