Our guest this week is Ryan Ford, an internationally-recognized expert and coach in a lesser-known and fascinating sport called “parkour.” If you have never seen a video of Parkour (see below), it’s a sport where people in urban environments climb, jump, flip, twist, and generally maneuver through their environment like Batman or Spiderman. Besides performing world-wide for dozens of respected organizations and competitions, Ryan is also an accomplished entrepreneur, with a network of his own gyms and online businesses. His success – and superhuman feats – have lead to media attention from such media giants as the New Yorker, TIME, and ESPN.

Whether or not you have a burning desire to jump off of rooftops, this interview will offer you a lot of awesome takeaways, ranging from fitness advice, tips on how to avoid injuries, ideas on how to turn your passion into an entrepreneurial career, and a better understanding of how one should approach obstacles – both physical and mental. I know you're going to enjoy it!

In this episode, we discuss:

• Ryan's bio, what he's done, and his journey towards becoming a professional Parkour specialist
• What is “Parkour,” where does it come from, and why should you care?
• What Parkour is about today, and why might someone practice it?
• Why Ryan believes that everybody has tries Parkour, and everyone should pick it back up again
• How to safely start experimenting with Parkour at home
• Where can you safely practice Parkour, and how does law enforcement feel about it?
• Is Parkour a standalone exercise regimen, or should it be paired with other forms of training?
• Practical tips anyone can use to avoid injuries
• What kind of mobility work does Ryan advocate?
• What is the single most important movement the human body should be able to do?
• Ryan's journey from professional athlete to successful entrepreneur
• How Ryan built his businesses
• Why Ryan chose to finish his college degree despite his entrepreneurial success
• How many women are doing Parkour?
• Ryan's views on CrossFit
• Two of Ryan's favorite books, and why he loves them

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• The sport of Parkour (Wikipedia)
• Ryan's network of Parkour gyms, Apex Movement
• ParkourEDU, Ryan's online school for Parkour
• MovNat and our interview with Erwan Le Corre
• Raymond Belle, the founder of Parkour, and his son David Belle
• Our interview with Yuri Marmerstein
• Kelly Starrett and his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard (iBookstore)
• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• Steve Blank, the Customer Development methodology, and his book on the subject
• Movement expert Ido Portal
• Carl Paoli
• Rock Climber Alex Honnold
• CrossFit
• The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle (iBookstore)
• The Sports Gene by David Epstein (iBookstore)
• Find Ryan on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram

As promised, here is a great video featuring Ryan and some of his team members: