[Video shot and edited by Zero Kazama]
It’s hard to put into words the pride and sense of accomplishment we feel as we watch our students grow in their parkour and freerunning practices. Even though Tempest Freerunning Academy has only been open for a little over a year, the progress we’ve seen has been mind-blowing. Each of our student’s stories is worth sharing, and this is the first installment of what we hope to be a series that brings real life and energy to the potential behind dedicating yourself to this incredible sport.
We are honored to introduce you to an inspiring, up-and-coming team, Freedom of Reach (FoR). Made up of the talented Kyle “Twitch” Wattles, Evan “Protégé” Reinhardt, Ryan LaChance, Aidan “Lil Bear” Campos, Julian “Peek a Boo” Campos, Meade “Mr. Mr.” Ridgley, Kman “Fro” Crawford, and Ethan “Shamrock” Wattles, FoR is a product of everything we love about coaching: dedicated, hard-working, creative and warm-hearted athletes.
Each FoR member has been a student at The Academy since it opened, with Coach Shane Daniels also training Twitch and Shamrock for over two years. Get an inside look at an amazing team, along with the story of how they formed, courtesy of parkour-mom-extraordinaire, Stacy Wattles.
Kyle “Twitch” Wattles
1. Why did you start freerunning? What was the initial spark?
I started freerunning because I’ve been climbing and jumping off of things for my whole life, and when I saw it on YouTube, I thought is was amazing, and I just tried copying what they did. I never liked conventional sports because there were too many rules – that’s why I fell in love with freerunning and martial arts, because of the ability to express yourself and make each move yours.
2. What’s one of your proudest moments so far?
My proudest moment was when we developed FoR, and we bacame a family and actually performed with Tempest.
3. Looking back on when you started, what was one of your biggest fears or hesitations that you got over?
My first real mental block was taking things I learn outside, and a mental block I have now is twisting.
4. What’s your ultimate goal for your training? Any big future plans?
I want to get into stuntwork and make FoR a name that everyone knows, not only in the freerunning world.
5. Got a tip or two for people who want to get started seriously training?
My advice to anyone trying freerunning is to never give up, and when something seems hard, just keep trying because it’ll make it that much more special when you get it. Always express yourself through what you love, and never let anyone stop you from being who you are.
Evan “Protégé” Reinhardt
1. Why did you start freerunning? What was the initial spark?
The reason I started freerunning was because I saw some amateur parkour video, and I thought it was kind of cool. I looked at some related videos, and I was amazed. I would just go outside and climb on things even though they weren’t real moves. Now I’ve been freerunning for about a year. It’s been amazing. I don’t want to stop.
[Click the next page to keep reading about Evan and meet the rest of FoR!]
