Take Flight

-We are on the verge of announcing our newest editions to the Take Flight team of sponsored Traceurs (the Take Flight Street Team). The decisions that have been made were difficult, and as such Adam wanted to personally address the entire Parkour community regarding them.-

At Take Flight we have always been focused on spreading Parkour by David Belle and on making everyone new and old to the discipline feel welcomed and encouraged to train and pursue their dreams within Parkour and beyond. Building the Take Flight Street Team is one of the methods we have implemented to further this pursuit via supporting a select group of international Traceurs who both represent Parkour and David’s vision for the discipline through their training, outlook and personal endeavors. Unfortunately the downside to selecting a team is having passionate and skilled Traceurs apply for the team who are not selected. This is the part that burdens me, which is why I have decided to publicly address it.

This year we had hundreds of applicants to the Take Flight Street Team and we will only be extending a handful of invitations. Each new TF team member that receives an invite was selected for unique reasons, and each has his own personality, skill set, and personal story that we feel represents Parkour and Take Flight in a very special way. For this reason, we do not have a specific “Why not?” for every Traceur that was not given an invitation. However, I can confidentially say that the Traceurs who were not invited were all extremely heartfelt, skillful, hardworking, and inspiring, and I could not be prouder of how far Parkour has come in the last few years to see such a strong contingent of passionate Traceurs around the globe.

No one talks about Parkour quite like David, and I’d like to emphasize one of my favorite quotes from him. It not only speaks volumes about who he is, but it also speaks volumes about Parkour. David says:

There is no stronger or weaker. You are strong in the moment that you go right to the end for the cause you are defending.

Parkour isn’t about winning. It’s not about being better than someone else. It’s not about one-uping others, or being cool, or being recognized. Parkour is, as it has always been for me and David, a personal pursuit that is focused and routed in self-improvement. The Take Flight Street Team epitomizes those that have found this path for themselves by allowing them to join directly with us in spreading the discipline around the world. But all of us in the community are a part of this larger goal, and we become stronger when we are all together.

The true purpose of the Take Flight Street Team is to bring the worldwide Parkour community together and point us in a common direction – that being to spread Parkour worldwide. Regardless of who is given an invitation to the team I hope that we can realize this vision and work towards it as a community of Traceurs striving for something bigger. The Take Flight Street Team is just a small part of the Parkour world and what we do at Take Flight. So if we can think beyond this, and strive for or bigger common goal then we will really have something. And you don’t have to be a Take Flight sponsored athlete to do that.

I look forward to the journey we all have in front of us in the Parkour community and beyond. Thank you again to everyone that applied to the team, and I look forward to working with you all to continue to expand and grow Parkour around the world.

Sincerely,

Adam Dunlap
Take Flight Founder & CEO