Parkour is...
Parkour has been defined in many different ways, by many different people, but in the long-run it is a personal journey and is diverse for that exact reason. Here at Walk the Walls we encourage a traditional approach to parkour; a movement-based discipline that reflects the philosophy of the founders of parkour as well as the wider parkour community and the individual.
Here are some definitions and phrases we like:
"Getting from point A to point C as quickly as possible."
"Moving through your surrounding landscape (often urban) in a quick and efficient manner."
"Adult play"
"Être fort pour être utile - To be strong to be useful"
"Être fort and et durer - To be strong to last"
"Être fort et durer"
"To be strong, and to last"
Walk
the
Walls
Walk the Walls has grown organically from the passion of Flynn Patrao and Cameron MacLeman, and their need to share parkour with those around them.
For both Flynn and Cameron, parkour played an important role in their formative years. The opportunity to explore normal and natural movement of the human body in a challenging, personal, and non-competitive manner allowed them to find confidence in their own bodies, and make the most of their lives. The strong community spirit of the global parkour scene captured their imagination and taught both of them about the value of compassion. The mental health benefits of parkour are perhaps some of the least obvious, but most impactful for the two; a reason to spend time with friends and meet strangers alike, while also coming to realise that challenge, and struggle are not dead ends, but walls to climb over (becoming stronger in the process).
It took only a few years of training for Cameron and Flynn to begin to pass their knowledge on to others - and now, after more than 10 years of coaching and guiding they have come to realise that the dream of teaching parkour for a living is more a reality than they thought.
Walk the Walls is about sharing parkour with others, and helping them experience the benefits that it can have on a practitioners life.
Flynn Patrao
Born in Shepparton, Flynn moved to Bendigo when he was just three years old. Having lived in many of Bendigo’s suburbs, he has an extensive knowledge of the best playgrounds.
Flynn met Cameron in his mid teens, through Venturer Scouts - forming a fast friendship and consolidating their shared enthusiasm for adventure. Parkour provided the perfect framework to indulge this adventurous spirit and consumed most of his free time. Flynn rapidly mastered the foundations, and as he continued to push his physical boundaries he began to pass his knowledge to others.
Flynn has fostered the Central Victorian parkour community for years - teaching classes in local spaces, at YMCA Bendigo, and in various locations in Castlemaine. He has also run workshops for local schools, designed and run a parkour obstacle course, and volunteers for Xtreme Inc. Youth to bring parkour to those who cannot always afford it. In recent years, Flynn has expanded his repertoire of movement to become an accomplished trampolining and gymnastics coach as well as establishing parkour classes with Castlemaine Circus.
Flynn aims to be a coach who not only teaches people how to move, but who acts as an important role-model for his students - embodying the values that underlie the philosophy of parkour.
Outside of parkour, Flynn’s passion for Dungeons & Dragons remains strong - and he follows a family tradition of quietly becoming a talented musician. Rumor has it that similar to Samson, Flynn will lose his power if his mutton chops are shaved.
"Être fort pour être utile"
"To be strong to be useful"
Cameron MacLeman
Cameron was born just outside of Bendigo. He turned his country-grown sense of adventure to exploring the city as he grew up.
After forming a close friendship with Flynn in 2006, Cameron started training parkour. Quickly realising that parkour was much less about ‘jumping off things’ and more about movement in general, the passion consumed his life. Flynn and Cameron trained every day together throughout their high-school years. They quickly become competent in the basics and began running public jams and teaching small classes.
Cameron’s role in coaching continued to evolve over the years, including workshops for local fairs and festivals, performances with dance groups, running parkour competitions with youth organisation Xtreme Inc., and coaching parkour with Castlemaine Circus. His knowledge and expertise in movement and the mechanics of the human body led to his employment as a qualified gymnastics coach.
A passion for the outdoors has remained a strong influence in Cameron’s life. He is an avid rock-climber and indulged this passion to study Outdoor Education at LaTrobe University.
Armed with strong belief that parkour can offer life-changing support for people who feel they “don’t fit” in regular sport, Cameron aims to make parkour accessible to all.
He remains adamant that all his warm-ups make great dance moves.