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Urban
Freeflow's induction into the media World
My Parkour experience, from the park bench
by Kerbie's Girl |
I always knew Kerbie was a bit crazy. So
when he told me he’d taken to jumping across rooftops following a French
sport called parkour, I wasn’t in the least bit surprised. It wasn’t until I
logged onto this site a few weeks ago to get his "vibes" (he was on the
other side of the world and I was missing him!!) that I realised just how
spectacular a sport it really is. I found myself watching the video clips
again and again and reading reams of messages from the board. I was hooked.
I was kinda disappointed Kerbie’s first day back in the UK would be spent
with the UF Krew and not me, but I was totally psyched when EZ said I could
tag along to their first ever TV shoot, Sunday the 24th of August 2003.
After the initial and * magical * reunion between me and Kerbs (ahhh!) we
hooked up with the Saiyans at Liverpool Street Station soon after 10 am. I
have to admit, I was so damn nervous of you guys Kerbs had to convince me
not to run home! Once I met them though, I could see why he loves PK days so
much, the attitude free vibe you guys exude is infectious.
About half an hour and 3 iced mochas later (free of course) Sticky Fingers,
Blue Devil, Bam and EZ arrived. The whole Krew were on a high from seeing
their wicked article in the Independent newspaper that morning so couldn’t
wait to assault the local architecture. (Don’t worry Blake, I don’t think
your head looked like an alien’s, they are all just jealous of how awesome
you look doing that tic tac!!) We headed off to the famous jamming area (I
could hardly contain my excitement…Bam couldn’t at all) and from then on the
experience was totally unreal. Seeing these guys in action on film is one
thing…metres away from you is another. Perhaps you can’t visualise the
height, feel the undeniable danger of the concrete, or are just used to
seeing crazy assed stunts on a screen. Whatever the reason, it definitely
the increased magnitude of my admiration for these people.
There was no stopping them once the rails were in sight, I had to bite my
tongue to stop myself screaming " STOP IT YOU’RE GUNNA BREAK YOUR NECK!!!".
After 10 minutes of my heart being in my mouth (Kerbie is just too pretty to
break his face) I began to relax when I realised these guys 100% knew what
they were doing. The level of control outweighed the level of daring and the
concentration on their faces was reassuring (and also quite cute!). I was
soon enjoying watching them taunt each other with new moves they had cooked
up during the interval between seeing each other.
When the film crew (Charlie and Sorrell of Visual Voodoo) arrived at 12 pm
everything was brought to order and the recording began. The Krew began with
some tic tacs, and vaults in groups, individually and in cannon, each time
gaining confidence and audacity. EZ managed a monkey vault from the highest
rail, Blue demonstrated his extraordinary athleticism by simply (!) jumping
right over the rails, and Kerbie pulled a sweet straddle (much to the dismay
of Sticky who then had approximately 3 seconds to rethink his next move!)
From where I was sitting, it looked awesome, so on the other side of that
camera, it must have been even better! Kiell rolled out of bed and was with
us by 1, getting some wicked shots of Sticky’s vertical vaults (dude I swear
you’re gunna swing right off that thing one day!) and showing some smooth
moves of his own.
When the rails were begging for mercy it was time for the walls of the
station to see some action. Mogli and Cable swiftly cat leaped across and
hauled themselves up, being careful not to lean to the right and be met by a
?ft drop! * The bricks on the top were a bit too precarious for the liking
of the rest of the Krew, so they instead began some flips off the opposite
wall. Kerbie eagerly showed off his newly acquired skill of an aerial, along
with a flawless 540 kick and parafuso. Blue Devil couldn’t help but do that
backflip and put Kerbs back in his place! (Only joking love, you both
rock!!) Bam’s moment of glory came when Charlie asked him to swan dive from
the station wall…he managed it with great panache.
The infamous leap of faith came next, which each member of the Krew eagerly
stepped up to. I stayed firmly on the ground (partly because I couldn’t get
up there if I tried and secondly because I was determined to stay out of the
line of that camera!!) but I was able to watch them effortlessly glide from
one rooftop to the other as agile as cats. When the cat leaps began I was
able to see the reflected results in an obliging office window…the moment
when Mogli managed to grab that wall one handed was just stunning. Cable
also managed it, for the first time I believe? Amazing man, truly amazing.
Sticky and Blue then simultaneously leapt from each side, pure candy for the
camera!
A lump of pride came to my throat (hehe!!) when Kerbie was asked to session
the whole area below the leap of faith rooftops. As usual he took the task
on with great enthusiasm working into the run an aerial, some precision
jumps, a wall run and a gap jump across the leap of faith. His transitions
were fantastically fluid and he brought the whole section to a close by
vaulting a rail and running off into the distance like a bullet.
All that was left for the now tired, aching, injured Krew (yes, even Blue
Devil is mortal!!) was a "Reservoir Dogs" stylee walk towards the
camera…which quite frankly was a piece of pie compared to the rest of the
day, eh boys? Actually no… "How do you walk and look natural?!" An interview
with EZ also ensued, then they hit Waterloo for a jam…letting down their
hair and out all the excitement from the day.
So despite D-Man’s insistence that I bring bad luck (cheers dude, appreciate
it) in my opinion the day couldn’t have gone better. I may not know the
technical names for each move and the ins and outs of PK philosophy, but I
know those guys looked totally awesome. Everyone was on top form, giving it
their all and creating such an amazingly visual show. You’ll all see what I
mean this Sunday at 9pm on UK Horizons (Channel 225 for Telewesters like
me!)
A massive thanks to everyone for letting me be a part of the day and making
me feel so welcome – I had a kick ass day and met a great bunch of people.
Couldn’t have hoped for more! |
