An Interview with Josh Pouliasis
We recently interviewed a teen parkour/freerunner for the Cliché Teen Journal Interview Blog page.
Read about the interview below!
*A conversation between Daania S. and Josh Pouliasis a teen parkour/freerunner.*
Question 1: Explain your hobby to teens who wouldn’t know of it?
Josh: My hobby is Parkour also known as free running. Parkour is an art form in which you move and jump around your environment in a creative and efficient way. Although, there is no set way to move, you can refer to it as moving from Point A to Point B in the most efficient way possible.
Question 2: When did you first get introduced to it and how?
Josh: I got introduced to Parkour in primary school. It happened that my school I went to create a new climbing playground to which me and friends would find ourself moving and jumping along the area. Over time, I realised that I really enjoyed moving in this area and me and friends would be excited during lessons to get out there. Around this time, I stumbled along a viral video on YouTube of someone doing Parkour and I thought it was incredible and wanted to do that myself to which I ended up doing.
Question 3: How often do you train a week, where do you train, and what do you train?
Josh: In Winter and during school times, I usually train on the weekend as have other commitments on the week days. However, during holidays and summer I go out to train every day. I train in my local town around spots outside ranging from rooftops to low down places. I also go to a local Parkour gym in Poole called the Parkour Project which helps me train in a safe environment for trying things I haven't done before. I train a wide range of jumps and flips that random locations offer potential.
Question 4: Have you made many friends at the Parkour Project?
Josh: Most of my friends are based outside of the Parkour Project but in the wider community around the UK. I've met many people through Parkour in London, Southampton, and some abroad. Parkour is great for making new friends as we all get together and nust train. There are no barriers between us even in a Religious conflicted area.
Question 5: Does school get in the way of parkour?
Josh: School seems to constantly get in the way of Parkour. Teachers have mocked me for doing dangerous "jumps" up high as they see Parkour as reckless. However, there is so much preparation behind every jump I do and I'm having to constantly explain to teachers how calculated everything I do is. They seem to dont like Parkour but I believe that's because it has bad press by some local media who portray it as reckless
Question 6: Do you fear getting hurt while doing Parkour? You posted recently that you had injured yourself. Does the fear of getting injured prevent you from doing parkour?
Josh: I dont fear getting injured in Parkour as I have got to understand my limits of what I can do and how far I can jump. So when I go for a new jump I know I have done that distance many times before so I get comfortable and gain certainty that I can execute what's in front of me. However, I do fear going for jumps outside my comfort zone (this is typically associated with ground as the consequences are not fatal) but I can slowly decrease that fear as I prep the jump and risk assess what's could happen.
Question 7: What keeps you motivated to do Parkour/Freerunning?
Josh: What keeps me motivated is thrill of the movement and the stress relief is gives me from every day life. Parkour is a way for me to be take things off my mind as feel free
Question 8: Do you feel that Parkour has interested you in certain careers in the future?
Josh: Parkour is in it's own aspect a career that has opened up to me. Sponsorships from certain brands can help you carry on doing parkour and get paid. Not only this, but recently a parkour group called STORROR on YouTube have nearly 4 million subscribers and they earn money from clothing and Ad revenue. I believe it is possible to create a career on Parkour if you get big on YouTube which I hope to do one day.
Question 9: Speaking of fame, you have gotten almost 200k followers on Tik Tok, how does that make you feel? What do you think attracts them most to your Tik Tok?
Josh: It makes me think that there is an audience who are interested in Parkour outside of people who do it themselves. I think they are attracted to the aspect that there are significant consequences if things go wrong. And they are curious to why we do that.
Question 10: What was the best advice you were ever given relating to parkour that other teens following your footsteps should hear?
Josh: Make sure when doing parkour, you always test your surfaces. Some walls are unstable and not meant to be jumped on and some a very slippery. Test what you are landing on before you jump to it to minimize risk and injury.
Question 11: What is the best advice you can give to teens?
Josh: Try not to fall into society's norms of what is normal and what isn't. Do what you love even if people think it's crazy or dont support you. Or you won’t ever be truly happy doing what is classed as "normal" just to fit in.
Last Question: Anything else you’d like to add?
Josh: Not that I could think of. Thank you!
Josh's Instagram: @Josh.pouliasis
Click link to see him freerunning!
Josh: My hobby is Parkour also known as free running. Parkour is an art form in which you move and jump around your environment in a creative and efficient way. Although, there is no set way to move, you can refer to it as moving from Point A to Point B in the most efficient way possible.
Question 2: When did you first get introduced to it and how?
Josh: I got introduced to Parkour in primary school. It happened that my school I went to create a new climbing playground to which me and friends would find ourself moving and jumping along the area. Over time, I realised that I really enjoyed moving in this area and me and friends would be excited during lessons to get out there. Around this time, I stumbled along a viral video on YouTube of someone doing Parkour and I thought it was incredible and wanted to do that myself to which I ended up doing.
Question 3: How often do you train a week, where do you train, and what do you train?
Josh: In Winter and during school times, I usually train on the weekend as have other commitments on the week days. However, during holidays and summer I go out to train every day. I train in my local town around spots outside ranging from rooftops to low down places. I also go to a local Parkour gym in Poole called the Parkour Project which helps me train in a safe environment for trying things I haven't done before. I train a wide range of jumps and flips that random locations offer potential.
Question 4: Have you made many friends at the Parkour Project?
Josh: Most of my friends are based outside of the Parkour Project but in the wider community around the UK. I've met many people through Parkour in London, Southampton, and some abroad. Parkour is great for making new friends as we all get together and nust train. There are no barriers between us even in a Religious conflicted area.
Question 5: Does school get in the way of parkour?
Josh: School seems to constantly get in the way of Parkour. Teachers have mocked me for doing dangerous "jumps" up high as they see Parkour as reckless. However, there is so much preparation behind every jump I do and I'm having to constantly explain to teachers how calculated everything I do is. They seem to dont like Parkour but I believe that's because it has bad press by some local media who portray it as reckless
Question 6: Do you fear getting hurt while doing Parkour? You posted recently that you had injured yourself. Does the fear of getting injured prevent you from doing parkour?
Josh: I dont fear getting injured in Parkour as I have got to understand my limits of what I can do and how far I can jump. So when I go for a new jump I know I have done that distance many times before so I get comfortable and gain certainty that I can execute what's in front of me. However, I do fear going for jumps outside my comfort zone (this is typically associated with ground as the consequences are not fatal) but I can slowly decrease that fear as I prep the jump and risk assess what's could happen.
Question 7: What keeps you motivated to do Parkour/Freerunning?
Josh: What keeps me motivated is thrill of the movement and the stress relief is gives me from every day life. Parkour is a way for me to be take things off my mind as feel free
Question 8: Do you feel that Parkour has interested you in certain careers in the future?
Josh: Parkour is in it's own aspect a career that has opened up to me. Sponsorships from certain brands can help you carry on doing parkour and get paid. Not only this, but recently a parkour group called STORROR on YouTube have nearly 4 million subscribers and they earn money from clothing and Ad revenue. I believe it is possible to create a career on Parkour if you get big on YouTube which I hope to do one day.
Question 9: Speaking of fame, you have gotten almost 200k followers on Tik Tok, how does that make you feel? What do you think attracts them most to your Tik Tok?
Josh: It makes me think that there is an audience who are interested in Parkour outside of people who do it themselves. I think they are attracted to the aspect that there are significant consequences if things go wrong. And they are curious to why we do that.
Question 10: What was the best advice you were ever given relating to parkour that other teens following your footsteps should hear?
Josh: Make sure when doing parkour, you always test your surfaces. Some walls are unstable and not meant to be jumped on and some a very slippery. Test what you are landing on before you jump to it to minimize risk and injury.
Question 11: What is the best advice you can give to teens?
Josh: Try not to fall into society's norms of what is normal and what isn't. Do what you love even if people think it's crazy or dont support you. Or you won’t ever be truly happy doing what is classed as "normal" just to fit in.
Last Question: Anything else you’d like to add?
Josh: Not that I could think of. Thank you!
Josh's Instagram: @Josh.pouliasis
Click link to see him freerunning!