Parkour – a Lifestyle
by Nick Masters
Parkour, that “free-running” thing? No one does that anymore, right?
THE Magazine spoke to Stefan Granger who assured us that this is definitely NOT the case!
THE: So, Stefan, how long have you been into the Parkour scene?
S: I’ve been free running since I’ve been able to walk, really! My parents always took me to playgrounds when I was growing up and I’d be all over the climbing frames!
THE: Is that what you class as Parkour? What would you say is the proper definition of the sport?
S: Literally, Parkour is the getting from A to B in the quickest way possible using the surroundings available. So, me as a toddler clambering over a climbing frame to get to the other side of the swing park sort of counts (although I don’t think at that age it would have been the quickest way to get there!)
THE: Even getting up to this interview space was a bit of Parkour then? [Stefan jumped up a wall in double-quick time to get to where we held our interview rather than walking up some stairs]
S: (laughs) Yeah, even that!
THE: Are you often on the look-out for things like that?
S: Yeah. I’m always practicing, wherever I go. It keeps me fit, limber and means that when I fuck one of my many female fans I can last for hours!
THE: Whoa! This interview escalated quickly! On that note, do you have a big fanbase through the Parkour?
S: People see me flipping, rolling and bouncing around in different music videos and tend to look me up.
THE: As did we! You mentioned earlier that you had a love of climbing frames and such from a young age. Surely the term Parkour wasn’t on your mind back then though?
S: Of course not, it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I saw a couple of documentaries about it. I’ve always been a bit acrobatic but didn’t really have the enthusiasm for proper gymnastics at school. Seeing these people on the streets doing their thing really inspired me to apply myself in these different ways.
THE: We’ve checked out your stuff and you’ve certainly mastered those skills now! You’re undergoing a big project now, New Movement. What’s it all about?
S: New Movement is me putting all these skills I’ve acquired to use. It’s really a collective term for any visual art I’m involved with, photos, videos, there’s even an illustrator who wants my help in creating a comic book character! Parkour is all about movement and this is hopefully the new way my career is going to so I just put the two terms together – New Movement.
THE: It’s all looking so exciting for you! Did you have mentors that taught you how to refine what must be a natural talent?
S: I do have a natural flair for it, but it’s all about practice and training too! Anyone can become adept at Parkour, go see my website: stefangranger.ninja David Belle from District 13 was someone I got in contact with at a young age. I thought he’d dismiss some little wannabe like me but he actually replied after I emailed him! I was well chuffed and, like you say, he was a real mentor for me.
THE: Did he put you on the right track to learning the skills you have today?
S: Yeah. You see, with a proper mentor you can really put everything into context that you’ve seen in films and on TV in line with your talent. A trainer can see what skills you can use that you probably didn’t even realise you already had and let you know what needs to be developed.
THE: To stop you jumping off a roof before you can do a basic somersault, for example?
S: We tend not to “jump off roofs”, safety is always paramount! With tutelage from David I was able to get a grip on what I needed to learn next and he really encouraged my enthusiasm in the sport. So, basically, that’s how I got into it all.
THE: That’s so interesting! Can we see a bit of what you’ve learnt in action?
S: Sure thing.
Stefan was as good as his word as you can see from the video here: