"Parkour!" isn't just for "The Office" — it's a rising workout trend
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Fr3running Society owner Christian Elijah Mayo helps reporter Carly Mallenbaum face her fears. Photos: Carly Mallenbaum/Axios
Parkour — once synonymous with an outlaw, fence-hopping subculture — became one of the fastest-growing fitness trends in the U.S. last year, according to ClassPass.
Why it matters: The sport all about moving freely through space has gone mainstream, which means even this reporter tried it out.
- And it is thrilling.
Catch up quick: Parkour was created in the '90s by a Parisian teenager who ran on rooftops and scaled walls with his friends. Visibility grew in the U.S. in the early 2000s as videos circulated online.
- Then freerunning — a more expressive style that added tricks — branched off from it.
- In recent years, the popularity of obstacle-course TV shows like "American Ninja Warrior" helped fuel broader interest in movement-based workouts and training gyms that incorporate parkour-style skills.
The sport also went viral after "The Office" Season 6 made "Parkour!" a punchline.
What they're saying: Parkour is "everything I used to do as a kid that I was told not to do," says Christian Elijah Mayo, owner and operator of parkour gym Fr3running Society in Los Angeles.
- Mayo trained as a gymnast, but was turned off by the rules and point deductions.
- As a teenager, he decided to quit gymnastics "but keep flipping." He'd get in trouble for walking on top of the monkey bars and swinging onto the slide, and vowed to eventually create a parkour safe space.
- Mayo opened his first gym five years ago — after working in stunts — and a second location last year.
How it works: At Fr3running Society, you wipe your shoes on a sticky mat, then step into a vast, industrial space — a maze of wooden platforms, metal pipes, black mats and rock-climbing walls.
- For my class, the equipment was arranged into stations for drilling specific movements.
- The section that made my eyes widen: I had to leap from a block to catch a bar, swing through the air, and then release and land on a raised platform that looked very, very far away.
I was scared. And said as much. But Mayo brushed it off.
- I wasn't "afraid," per se, he said — but "your central nervous system was taking over and saying 'don't get hurt' and preventing damage." I wasn't sure I understood the distinction.
- He recommended breathing through it, and continuing to expose myself to more challenging scenarios — like higher jumps and swings — in a controlled environment. That helps "sharpen the blade in your brain" and expand your comfort zone, he said.
- My nerves didn't go away, but after swinging and not jumping, I finally did let go. I barely made it.
I was euphoric. Sure, it feels good to do any kind of workout, but this was different.
- In this class, I felt myself pushing physical limits — and tapping into a kind of play I hadn't experienced in years. It ended in a game of tag, for goodness' sake. (Being chased has a way of quieting second thoughts.) And there was a camaraderie you don't usually get in Pilates.
Yes, but: Writing this days later, my palms are blistered, my shins bruised, I can barely put my hair in a ponytail because my arms are so sore, and I think I tweaked my ankle. At 36, I'm feeling especially old today.
- Mayo says that done over the long-term, though, parkour functions as an injury-prevention class because it strengthens smaller muscles and tendons, while also increasing mobility. I'll see how I feel next week.
My state of play: I will definitely be back soon — first, with my toddler for more "ninja tots" classes.
