The Takeoff | A Parkour Podcast

Support "Marras" now on The Commons! https://thecommons.boston

This week, I sat down with Valtteri and Wessu to talk about their newest video project. This video starts off feeling like a continuation of "Forever Incomplete," and then takes a left turn into some truly interesting and unexplored parkour videography territory.

From the countryside in Lapland to the streets of Boston, "Marras" explores abstraction and momentum in a beautiful way.

Check out Forever Incomplete (Valtteri's previous project) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efUqiCLPtg0

Check out HELLE here: ⁠ ⁨@HELLEfilms⁩ ⁠

If you'd like to support The Takeoff, use code "TAKEOFF10" for 10% off of your first month on "Maximum Returns," my custom skill, strength, and speed program for parkour athletes: https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/workout-plan/team/maximum-returns-bundle

Thanks to everyone for listening and supporting this project! I appreciate you and am looking forward to chatting with y'all next week.

- Max

Welcome back to The Takeoff!

On this week's episode, we have Sam Govindin ( @SamUltima ) on to talk about his recent collaboration with Nico Vanhole and The Commons, "Don't Ring Ring Twice."

We dig into how Sam and Nico created one of the happiest parkour videos of all time, the importance of tempo and rhythm in parkour - both for flow and power, and how to become a more intuitive mover.

If you'd like to support the show, check out "Maximum Returns" on TrainHeroic and use the code "TAKEOFF10" for 10% off your first month: https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/workout-plan/team/maximum-returns-bundle

If you'd like to show Sam and Nico some love for "Don't Ring Ring Twice," you can do that here: https://buy.stripe.com/4gM4gy34Ae37fwY0n50x200

And if you haven't already seen the video, what are you waiting for?? Check it out now on The Commons Boston :)

See you next week! - Max

Welcome back to The Takeoff!

For our first guest of Season 2, we have Wesley Yoshida (‪@Spinnin_Turtle‬) out of Indiana. Wesley has been on my radar for a while and really popped off within the community in the past 2-3 years. His style is a perfect combination of creativity, power, technique, and a unique element of surprise that has managed to turn the most suburban Midwest spots - curbs, parking gates, steel posts, and the occasional hay bale - into iconic and game changing parkour clips.

This episode is brought to you by "Maximum Returns," an online program I've developed that combines technical parkour prompts and skill development with strength and speed work. If you're looking to get stronger, faster, and more technical this winter - and be part of a community of other athletes who love working hard - you can try your first week for free here: https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/w...

Use the code "TAKEOFF10" at checkout for 10% off your first month if you subscribe! It supports my content both here and on Instagram, and lets me continue to do things like this for free :)

Thanks as always for watching this week's episode! I hope you enjoy this chat with Wesley as much as I did - don't forget to follow him ‪@Spinnin_Turtle‬

Wesley's Recommendation: ‪@miniminuteman773‬

See you next week!

• Max

Season 2 of The Takeoff is here!

Weekly episodes coming back your way and getting started with a big Q&A on precision jumps - both from a technical and strength perspective.

I mention Jake Tuura (‪@jake_tuura‬) few times and wanted to make sure I link his YouTube. His podcast and recent book on tendons are both great resources for any equally nerdy parkour athletes out there looking to get actionable perspective on rehabbing tendon pain in jumpers.

Additionally, this season of The Takeoff is brought to you by...me (or at least my programming). If you like getting stronger and faster - all while getting a diverse set of prompts and technical parkour drills - check out "Maximum Returns" on Train Heroic: https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/w...

You can use the code "TAKEOFF10" to get 10% off your first month of programming plus a free 7-day trial...plus it helps support me and gives me the time and peace of mind to continue making content like this :)

Thanks so much for listening and I'll catch you next week with special guest Wesley Yoshida!

Hey y'all, welcome back! After a week off, we've got a phenomenal chat with Chris Keighley (@charliepapazulu) - head of coaching at Parkour Generations and one of my favorite educators in the parkour space.

This chat was prompted by a workshop that Chris gave at MoveNYC and subsequent conversations around the fine line coaches need to strike between freedom and exploration in parkour. It's a line I have often found myself on the "wrong" side of and one that I think Chris - more than many, many other coaches I've seen - has managed to master.

My apologies for his audio on this one...not entirely sure what happened but it ended up getting a bit compressed and maaaay sound like you're talking to your grandma over the phone. Please don't let that distract from the episode because there are some absolute knowledge bombs in this one!

Chris's Recommendation: Out of Time by Oleg Vorslav https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8qMB2K90ow

Friday Night Madness 3 by Team Ryokou https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkitFN42aGI

Have a great weekend and I'll see ya next week! - Max

Welcome back! This week, we have Georgia Donati Clarke (@strengthwithg) on to chat about her experience learning parkour from some of Laurent Piemontesi's first students, becoming a leader in the UK scene, and her recent release of "The Female Parkour Programme," an online training program tailored specifically for female practitioners.

I found this one incredibly insightful from both a coaching and community building perspective. I really appreciate how passionate Georgia is about meeting people where they're at in their parkour journey and hope you enjoy that energy too!

Georgia's Recommendations: "Daughter of a Good Man" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmsMcb7lsjU

Odd Signals (@odd.signals)

See y'all next week! - Max

This week's guest is Adam McClellan - a longtime friend and fantastic coach/gym owner from Lehigh Valley, PA.

Adam has been a fixture in the US parkour community since the mid-2000's and brings a calm, professional vibe to the scene that I've always respected. His most recent project - Parkour Professionals - aims to help other parkour business owners find a working mix of stoke and professionalism that will help them connect better with students, parents, and their local communities...without sacrificing the values that make training parkour feel so empowering.

I hope you enjoy this episode and get as much from it as I did!

Find out more about Parkour Professionals here: www.parkourprofessionals.com

Adam's Recommendation: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

See y'all next week! - Max

On this week's episode we have Nico Vanhole of Leuven, Belgium chatting about life, the state of Hal 5's parkour scene, and why there may be no such thing as a bad spot.

I finally got to meet Nico in person a few years back and since then he has been one of my absolute favorite people in the community to train or hang with. In addition to being one of the ultimate "parkour athlete's parkour athletes," he also manages the parkour program at Hal 5 - one of the most recognized and well-designed parkour facilities in the world.

On this episode, I wanted to catch up with Nico and see where things are at in the Belgian scene, talk about some coaching and design tips, and dive into how he developed his unique vision for a style of parkour that is equal parts technical and creative.

Follow Nico at ⁨@SPRINGSTOFParkour⁩ here on YouTube and @nicovanhole on IG...and make sure to check out Swings And Other Things if you can make it Belgium for the last weekend of August!

See y'all next week - Max

Welcome back to The Takeoff! In this week's episode, we're digging into plyometrics with The Plyo Guy @mcinneswatson himself.

It was such a cool experience to dive into all things plyos with Matt while coming at it from slightly adjacent angles - myself from (obviously) an extensive parkour background with a decade plus obsession with track/plyometrics and Matt being someone whose plyometric-specific content I have mined for years and incorporated into my training regularly.

We cover the differences between plyometrics and parkour, trends we are seeing in the GPP space with how plyometrics and "parkour"/play are being incorporated, why it's important for athletes to create a clinical space to isolate plyometric work, and what parkour can ACTUALLY contribute to the broader fitness conversation.

Check out Matt's work at https://www.plusplyos.com and follow him on socials at @mcinneswatson and @plusplyos

Catch you next week! - Max

This week, we sit down with Dylan Polin - owner of @HUBPTC and one of the minds behind Sport Parkour League.

Dylan has run the East Coast's most successful and influential parkour facility for almost a decade now, and after expanding into two new locations in the past year is making a run for the United States' top parkour facility.

In this episode, we chat about creating a community that has helped produce phenomenal athletes like Brandon Hooper, Will Hess, James West, Z Zoromba, and others...all while making space for parkour to be a fulfilling hobby to many children and adults who don't want to make it their lifestyle.

Dylan has a ton of great insight to add to the ongoing conversation around what a parkour gym should look like moving forward - particularly when it comes to embracing competition and integrating it in a healthy, positive way.

I hope you enjoy this episode and thanks as always for tuning in!

Dylan's Recommendation: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman