The Beasts Down Under
The Australian parkour scene has been gradually growing for years now, and is currently super underrated, so we thought we’d do a little showcase of some of the sickest Australian athletes today!
G’day Farangs. Australia is a place very close to the heart of Team Farang. From way back in the days when Anan was studying in Sydney, and Shaun was just a small town daydreamer from the coast. Right up to the present day where Dom, arguably now the face of Australian parkour, represents the team all around the world. That connection to the land down under has always been there.
We think the Australian community needs a bit more love! They may be tucked away there in a relatively remote corner of the world, but the Aussies make a lot of effort to come out to events around the world. And when they do they tend to stick around for almost forever! It’s always a blast though - who doesn’t love that chill Aussie sense of humour, and their no nonsense attitude to training?
I asked around and compiled a list of some of the beasts of the Aussie parkour scene that deserve a bit more of the world's attention. The Sydney and Brisbane scenes in particular are looking strong, so there’s a fair few names from those places. But I tried to feature people from all across the country! Without further ado...
Brodie & Dylan Pawson - @dylanpawson @brodiepawson
The Pawson twins from Brisbane may well be the most well known Australian parkour exports. After appearing on the Australian version of Ninja Warrior, Brodie and Dylan have amassed around 400k Instagram followers between them! They consistently post really cool stuff on their Instagrams. As you can see they recently had a news report run on them, which featured stuff like the classic Brisbane 180 challenge!
Sam Carter - @samc.ogp
Next we have Jump Squad and Owls Gang Parliament member Sam Carter, but you’ll be lucky to find him in his hometown of Melbourne as he’s always off exploring some new part of the world. You might have seen him on the Mosquito Island in the Storror Supertramps film. He’s one of the most sound guys you’ll ever meet, and his movement is top notch! He's also super smart, and studied architecture at University.
Stephania Zitis - @stephiiezee
Steph Zitis is an up and comer from Sydney. She’s only been training for around three years now but is rapidly progressing - her dedication has seen her become one of the most skilled women in the australian parkour scene today. She’s competed in a few speed competitions and even achieved best female time a couple of times at the national level.
Jesse Turner - @mrjesseturner
Over to the Gold Coast now - Jesse Turner is an Australian parkour OG. He’s been affiliated with 3Run ever since I can remember, and freerunning has taken him around the world. His flips are unbelievable, and he was years ahead of the game with many of the most gnarly movements. I believe he was one of the first freerunners to take tsukaharas outside, way back in the late 00’s!
Heesoo Chung - @hs.chungypk
Heesoo Chung is a relatively less known beast of a mover from Sydney! His parkour Instagram only has 400 followers at the time of writing this, so he deserves way more! His jumps are powerful and super lucid - he can land exactly where he means to even in the most awkward of situations and still keep the flow going. See him effortlessly glide around the AAPES gym:
Heesoo also has amazing photography skills - check out his photography IG: @hs.chungy
Ashlee Camens - @ashleestyle
Next we have Ashlee Camens from Adelaide. Ash is a free spirit who spends a big chunks of each year outside of Australia, traveling around the world and showing up at all the major European parkour events. She’s got heaps of confidence, and likes trying out loads of different types of challenges. Last year she competed in the first ever women’s Air Wipp Challenge in Sweden!
Marx Marsters - @mastamarx
Another Aussie parkour OG, Marx Marsters from Sydney is a member of Jump Squad. He’s got years of experience under his belt now and it shows in how surefooted he is in his clips. Another cool thing about Marx is that he’s just as into political philosophy as his name would suggest!
Anna Yamashita - @littleninjanna
The youngest athlete on this list is Anna Yamashita from Sydney - at just 16 she’s already been training for almost three years, and has a dance background before that. It translates into her movement, which is really playful and flowy. She’s already one of the most creative women in australian freerunning today!
Rhys Kirk - @rhys.hopsville
Rhys Kirk is a small town guy with some big city jumps. He’s based out of Townsville in northern Queensland, but travels around a lot. He’s holding it down for both the redheads and the jeanscrew, with his mad power and precise landings.
Ethan Blondel - @ethanblondel
And on the other side of the continent we have Ethan Blondel from Perth. At 19 years old he’s a bit of a young gun, but has already found an affinity for spinning really fast. It looks like a really idyllic life out there; throwing down on the beaches of Western Australia, and getting a bit of surfing in inbetween!
Monique McDonald - @skitzkitz
And last but not least back over in Sydney we have AAPES coach and co-owner Monique McDonald. She has really good power behind her jumps, and puts a lot of effort into drilling parkour techniques and getting them nice and clean! She also wins the award for coolest hair on this list!
Monique and all the other women from Sydney Parkour recently got together to make this video which showcases what they're all about! Definitely worth checking out!
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Just want to throw out a big thank you to Steph and Dom for helping me compile this list of sick Aussie athletes! Please show all the athletes some love by checking out their Instagrams, which are all linked next to their names in the article!
Australia is a huge place packed with opportunities for adventure - most people that I know who have visited have said it’s an experience of a lifetime. Aussies are really fun and crazy people, and their spots apparently live up to that too! The parkour scene may be a bit less developed than Europe or even the States, but the more people who visit the more it can grow. So, definitely consider it as a potential training destination!
Let us know who your favorite Australian athletes are in the comments!
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