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The art of movement is constantly being reimagined. While treadmills, weight machines, and stationary bicycles have made fitness more convenient, smart dudes understand that our bodies are built to physically test our own limits. Trainers at New York’s beastly Brooklyn Zoo in East Williamsburg are revolutionizing the practices of parkour, breakdancing, tumbling, trampolining, tricking, contortion, aerial acrobatics, and even something called ninja training. They’re turning all those, especially parkour, into an accessible form of fitness, transforming the basics of the obstacle-course training — vaulting, climbing, swinging, and jumping — by bringing them into a gym that mimics an urban jungle atmosphere.
The health benefits of parkour are well documented. According to Samir Becic, author of the book ReSYNC Your Life, not only is parkour a full-body workout but it also promotes quick-thinking, fosters creativity, boosts confidence, builds bone strength, and can even reduce antisocial behavior. Even better? Parkour (and other body weight workouts) are great economic equalizers because you don’t need workout clothes, fancy kicks, or an expensive gym membership to do it.
Photography by Ashley Scheibelhut On location at Brooklyn Zoo (brooklynzoony.com)
Age
30
Specialties
Parkour, tumbling, trampoline, and ninja warrior
Favorite workout
Calisthenics and weightlifting
What’s on your workout playlist?
If I’m doing parkour, intense hip-hop or chill hip-hop. Tumbling can be done to almost any kind of music. For trampoline, I like trance, EDM, or house type of music. Ninja warrior training has to have epic music with a bass or an ancient training-feel, like an old school Japanese beat.
Why train others?
I do what I do for many reasons. I get to create an impact on people’s lives by teaching them how to be as awesome as possible. My family and the people around me influence me a lot, particularly my 4-year-old son, Culture Jr. He was born with autism, so I use parkour as a way to teach him a sport that’s based on creativity and good for life. Everything I do now is for me and him.
Age
26
Specialties
Parkour instructor for mixed levels and advanced classes
Favorite workout
Shoulder shrugs, lat pull-downs, and pull-ups
What’s on your workout playlist?
Right now, it’s a mix between West Coast gangsta rap (Nipsey Hussle and YG) and this Japanese band called
The Gazette.
Why train others?
I like teaching people to do things they think they aren’t capable of. Teaching parkour keeps me motivated in so many ways. People think differently, and so every student brings a new perspective on how to move around. Everyone you teach becomes a new friend to train with, and I feel like the camaraderie that comes with training with friends is one of the things I enjoy the most about parkour.
Age
22
Training
Parkour
Favorite workout
Quadrupedal movement crawls, precision jumps, cat hanging, pole balance, and floor kongs (hand-to-foot monkey crawls on the ground)
What’s on your workout playlist?
Anime music.
What drew you to parkour?
It taught me how to overcome my fears. Through every obstacle and with every step, I start to feel like I am flying. That’s the cool thing about getting over fears. You find freedom.
Age
28
Training
Parkour coach
Favorite workout
Anything involving barbells or rings, sprinting, and plyometrics
What’s on our workout playlist?
Wh00sh or Bomb, based on the mood
Why train others?
Coaching is one of my favorite ways to give back to the parkour community at large, and to other people in general. Seeing a 7-year-old perform a skill kind of better than I do, or change an adult’s perspective on how they see the world around them through movement, is a big deal to me. Seeing others grow around me has always been exciting and a catalyst for my own growth.
Age
29
Special Diet
Keto and intermittent fasting
Specialties
Parkour
Favorite workout
Can’t go wrong with a pushup. Most people use it for their chest, but there are so many [other] benefits, including variations that can target the entire body.
What’s on your workout playlist?
The Megaman 2 soundtrack
Your other gig?
A stuntman for TV and film
Why train others? I coach because it’s the only job I have the patience for. People are depending on me to teach them to move and grow strong. I have to maintain that image of healthy and fit to inspire them. It’s full circled: they’re inspired, I’m motivated.
