Parkour, the art and sport of freerunning, is a new and highly competitive international phenomenon. It’s not just movement, it’s a discipline and philosophy giving back to its athletes. David Richard Thompson, Co-Founder/President WFPF-World Freerunning Parkour Federation explains the ins, outs, trials and triumphs of starting an athletic federation from scratch.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon to American & Canadian parents, raised in Morocco, Jordan and Washington D.C., David spent his university & graduate school years in DC, Paris, France, & New York City and speaks French like a native. His two years as the Los Angeles Director/VP of Development & Distribution for a foreign television/film distribution start-up, positioned David as a natural liaison for the WFPF to the International Parkour Freerunning community, with its deep roots in the French Moroccan suburbs of Paris where it originated as a sport instead of military training.