ABOUT + HISTORY

About

Revolution Parkour  (RVPK) is dedicated to teaching Parkour as taught by David Belle. Demonstrating respect and knowledge the RVPK instructor’s balance the teaching of proper Parkour technique along with its philosophy and purpose, with training the physical condition comprised of strength, range of motion, aerobic endurance, bone density, joint alignment, and structural efficiency. Whether learning, training, or performing, Parkour is first and foremost always safe, and keeping our students injury free through proper training and instruction is our number one priority.

History

Instructor and Parkour professional Adam Dunlap started revolution Parkour in 2008 as one of the largest and longest established Parkour gyms in the United States. In 2011 Revolution Parkour, under new ownership, underwent an extensive remodel and continues to be one of the most versatile Parkour facilities. As the RVPK students continue to grow in ability, multiple students have since become instructors allowing more students to learn Parkour across the greater Portland areas.

STAFF

Matt and Whitney Antis

 

Matt – Manager & Parkour Instructor

After returning from Iraq with the United States Army and marrying his beautiful wife in 2010, Matt officially began Parkour in February of 2011. He had practiced Parkour at Oregon State with Adam Dunlap, a college room mate who first introduced him to the discipline but left his training for multiple Army schools. Matt plans to stay in the Beaverton area and teach Parkour to anyone that will listen and train. In addition to Parkour Matt is passionate about religion; as he is a Christian, politics; although he won’t talk politics at work, and anything he isn’t supposed to talk about at the kitchen table.

Whitney – Front Desk Manager

Whitney is a prominent advocate for Parkour and has attended classes and workshops but prides herself in her ability to support the goal for many Traceurs and Traceuses. She is a wonderful woman that loves people and supports her husband Matt and together they keep things moving at Revolution Parkour. Whitney’s favorite thing about RVPK is the awesome people that she gets to spend time with.

Rick King – Parkour Instructor

Through childhood, Rick had always felt efficiency was one of the greatest virtues a human can strive for. He happened across the idea of Parkour while surfing the web one day and its core principals struck a chord with him. He immediately started looking for classes around Portland and found Revolution Parkour. At the time, he had no idea how rare Parkour teachers were or how lucky he was to find one nearby, but now he works to spread Parkour like his first teacher, Adam Dunlap. He works to teach the value of efficiency in everything he does. The most important thing about RVPK to him is the emotional drive it gives him to surpass himself.

Brandon Latocki – Parkour Instructor

For Brandon, what started as simply a way to get in shape became a passion.  Until he discovered RVPK, Parkour was something Brandon had only seen on the internet and in movies.  But at the beginning of 2008, he dedicated himself to a New Years resolution to get in shape.  One night while browsing the internet, he discovered an advertisement for Revolution Parkour and decided to try it.  After his first lesson, he found himself hooked on the physical and mental challenge provided through this unique form of exercise.  Through the practice of Parkour Brandon gained not only greater physical ability, but a bolstered self-confidence through conquering obstacles he never thought he’d be capable of.  “I feel incredibly lucky.  I’m living my dream right now.  Having the opprotunity to pass this discipline on to others is very rewarding.  Even though I’m performing feats now that I’d never known were possible for me, I know there is so much more for me to learn and discover.”  Today, Brandon is known for his outgoing personality, creativity in both parkour and fitness, and a desire to push his physical endurance to new heights.  A new father of a healthy baby girl, Brandon cannot wait to share Parkour with his child.

Chris Miller – Parkour Instructor

Chris moved to the Portland area on a whim from Chicago in 2008 looking for a change. Parkour was a bubbling desire for many years, but like many, he had no idea how to go about starting. A few months after settling in, he started looking for a path towards training and found to his surprise that classes were being taught at Adapt Training by Adam Dunlap (just on the other side of town). He started training with Adam in January of 2009 and has never looked back. Revolution Parkour, to me, is a haven of safety, family and innovation. Within this ultimate playground we are able to open our minds to thousands of possibilities in movement in a safe setting that we can then translate to the outside world with the movements already fully ingrained in our bodies.

Joey Adrian – Parkour & Freerunning Instructor

Joey has been officially training for a little under a year now (2011) but has been testing and training his body for as long as he can remember. He has always loved to test himself and expand his limits by jumping over different obstacles and climbing buildings. When he learned of Parkour/Freerunning, because he had built up his body awareness over years of practice, it didn’t take long for him to learn the basic vaults and movements but he says, “it will take many more years before they are perfected.” When he first began, he knew nothing about the difference in definitions between Parkour and Freerunning, in fact he was learning wall flips (through trial and ERROR) at the same time he was learning the basic vaults. He was, and still is, out every day doing what he loves! To him the best thing about RVPK is that it brings the Parkour community together giving everyone a safe place to train with each other and learn from one another. The fact that everyone has a common goal, to get better at Parkour, means that it is easy for people to get along.

 

ABOUT PARKOUR + DAVID BELLE

Parkour

“Parkour is a method of training which allows us to overcome obstacles, both in the urban and natural environments. It’s a weapon in disguise. We train… and when one day we encounter a problem, we know that we are able to use it.  It can be the art of flight, of the chase, of helping someone with a problem, something ordinary.” – David Belle

David Belle

David Belle (born 29 April 1973) is well known as the founder of Parkour. Belle founded Parkour based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle. The discipline has since spread around the world and now has adherents in virtually every country. Belle is also an actor and choreographer, and he is well known for his work incorporating Parkour into films such as in District B13, Babylon A.D., and Prince of Persia. (Source: Wikipedia)

Revolution Parkour gives respect to David Belle as the founder of Parkour and they listen to what he says about the discipline. “If we don’t demonstrate respect where it is due then how can we expect our students to respect us? If there is no respect then you can’t have Parkour, because without respecting each other or your surroundings there would be no environment to train in.” –Matt Antis

To learn more about David Belle click here to visit his website.