Am I moving too fast here?

It’s only been 2 weeks since my last blog post but holy mackerel a lot has happened 🐟️ 

Weight Loss

Okay, not much has happened here.

I went to Mexico like I said, and while I was there, I gained a ton of water weight. Today’s the first day I’ve come in under the weight in my Before photo from that last blog post:

ADAPT Level 2

While I was in Mexico, I got a reply back from Parkour Generations Americas. I originally reached out to them instead of ADAPT Qualifications about my ability to retake the ADAPT Level 1 course, back when I still didn’t know I had finished the Level 1 certification.

They were supportive and told me I could take the Level 1 again, but I replied back letting them know I’d since figured out that I have the Level 1 already, providing the certification as proof. I also wanted to know how I could prepare for the Level 2.

They shocked me when they said the best preparation was to actually enroll for the ADAPT Level 2 course. I always thought I’d need to do a lot of coaching and physical training to prepare for that course because they say it’s physically demanding, but the course itself is not pass/fail, as it turns out.

The 2-day assessment you have to schedule within 2 years of taking the course, following your 40 reflective coaching sessions, is where you are actually graded pass/fail.

To directly quote the Level 3 Coach I spoke with:

So, even though it freaked me out to do so, I bought my non-refundable ticket:

I’ve already started doubling down on my weight loss & parkour training because I have real fear in me now.

If I’m not in better shape by the time I roll up to Boston on June 24, I’m going to feel pretty embarrassed, and I’m definitely going to have a rough time during the physical challenges.

The next 4 months are going to look like a Rocky montage.

Even so, no matter how well I do, I’m certain the next 12 months will be the same thing, except more focused on my weaker areas.

In the meantime, I know the only prerequisite I’m missing for the Level 2 course is an up-to-date First Aid certification, so last week I enrolled myself in an online course through the American Red Cross:

The YMCA

Last time I wrote, the CEO of the Door County YMCA was calling around to other YMCAs that were already offering parkour classes, and I was supplying her with a few other things along the way:

• My ADAPT Level 1 Cert & confirmation that it doesn’t require ongoing CEUs

• Resources on parkour & parkour coaching to handle objections/clarify the offer

• Proof I enrolled in a First Aid course through the American Red Cross

And wouldn’t you know it, the day after I boarded that plane to Mexico, I get an email from her saying she’d like to set up a meeting.

So this past Thursday, I met the CEO in her office with the program executive who originally thought that parkour would be too risky to offer at the YMCA.

Both of them turned out to be incredibly kind, curious, and — after I explained why the kids wouldn’t be “hanging from the railing of the gymnastics gym” 🤣 — enthusiastic about the concept of offering this class for Fall 2025! 🎉 

I’m used to answering questions about parkour that address common misconceptions, because the American media has done a terrible job of imparting the true nature of the discipline to the public. When they hear the word “parkour”, if they even know what it is, most people think of American Ninja Warrior, Assassin’s Creed, the Office, or similar. But most of all, they think of flips and jumping off buildings and leaping across rooftops, all of which are extremely dangerous for the uninitiated. More than that, most practitioners never do anything on rooftops: most training is done at ground level or at modest heights. There’s even evidence to suggest that the non-competitive and self-preservation-oriented nature of parkour makes it less dangerous than gymnastics or traditional team sports.

Needless to say, they were relieved after I told them what parkour actually looks like when taught to beginners. The movements are familiar to people who’ve seen pilates, yoga, CrossFit, gymnastics, martial arts, or rock climbing. In fact, I’ve met people who came to parkour from all of those disciplines and more. One of my coaches used to be a ballerina.

But enough singing the praises of parkour. This is an update post.

Here’s where things stand as of today:

• The CEO plans to pitch the Fall 2025 parkour class idea to the leadership team this coming week

• The CEO is also waiting to hear back from their guy who handles the insurance for their programs

She’s planning to follow up with me once she has more information on those 2 things.

In the meantime, I learned during our meeting that First Aid/CPR is a required certification for all YMCA staff members, so I now have a 2nd reason to finish that certification ASAP.

Now what?

It seems like the next 4 months are going to involve a lot of hunger pangs, sore muscles, sweat, and tears. Hopefully not blood but can’t rule that out.

There’s currently no guarantee that the Door County YMCA will offer parkour classes in the fall, but I sent the CEO my ticket so she has proof when she addresses the leadership team next week. Can’t do anything about the insurance side, though, so I have to hope that part naturally works itself out.

If all goes well, I’ll be coaching a parkour class at the Door County YMCA in the fall while preparing to take my ADAPT Level 2 Assessment…while working a full-time job, obviously. Ah, adulthood… 💖 

Other Thoughts

On that note, my wife and I daydream about the kind of businesses we’d want to start if our startup shares ever made us millionaires, one of them including the parkour coaching practice I’m trying to establish right now.

The ideas we’ve thought of recently:

Cat Leap Café

Cat café, cat adoption, parkour tourism

Services:

• Enjoy café food & drinks while you play with cats

• Adopt cats

• Book parkour classes taught at state & county parks in Door County

Definitely not something anyone else would come up with…except maybe the cat café part, but right now the closest one is a 90-minute drive away. Door County doesn’t have one yet, so it’d be cool to plop one in Sturgeon Bay, right in the heart of the county. It’s be great during tourist season.

Soup & Gurt

Soup in the cold months, froyo in the warm months

That’s it. Simple idea, we think it’d take off since there’s no frozen yogurt or soup vendors downtown right now, and both are comfy foods during those times of the year.

Conclusion

I don’t know if we’ll see the first tech company we worked for IPO or sell this year, but if they did, it would sure make all this parkour stuff a lot easier 😂 

In the meantime, gotta get to work. As long as I eat & train diligently, June will be a great month.

I’ll keep the updates coming as I have more to say.

Addendum: the AI app for parkour coaches

I’m not going to say much about this right now, but I’m making an app that will help parkour coaches.

I brought it up to the same Level 3 coach who advised me to take the Level 2 course, and they gave me some great feedback that I implemented into the product spec.

I spun up a “dumb” UI app for this using Bolt the other day and I have it installed on my iPhone right now.

No functionality, data storage, auth, nothing.

But I can tap around in the app. I started setting up auth and storage yesterday but I’m not finished yet.

The coach invited me to share the idea on a call on March 10 where a bunch of other ADAPT-certified coaches will be, so that’s exciting! We’ll see how that goes.

Update → Flight to ADAPT Level 2 booked

I officially booked my flight ✈️ 

Earlier in the post I said I was going to do that today, so here’s proof: