In this incredibly wholesome episode of The Takeoff, I dig into all things community with David Ehrlich and Alec Reduker of The Commons.

If you're unfamiliar, The Commons (‪@thecommons.boston‬) have been evolving parkour media and culture for the past three years - pushing the boundaries of how we see jams while providing the first paid platform for parkour media. I wanted to know how much of their aesthetic was intentional, where they see The Commons going in the future, and how they wanted to continue their mission of providing a community that embraces all aspects of parkour.

Follow @thecommons.boston on socials and visit www.thecommons.boston to see Alec's sweet handmade site plus purchase Thyme & Roses and other recent releases. See you next week!

• Max

Darryl Stingley (@iamwavezilla) is known for his impressive competitive parkour record, viral short form content, and insightful parkour films like Trials Morales.

In this episode, we dig into how his history as a comic book nerd and childhood in the Bay Area helped shape not only his creative voice but his incredibly physical style of movement. We also get pretty deep into the technical weeds breaking down doubletaps (a new variation of tic tacs/180s that Darryl has been pioneering) for all the fellow parkour nerds out there trying to progress. Enjoy this one and we'll see you next week!

Join Max Henry and Dominic Di Tommaso - better known to many as Dom Tomato - for the inaugural episode of "The Takeoff," a parkour podcast for people who train and people who don't.

In this episode, Max and Dom dive into how Dom balances his reputation for pushing the physical and mental limits of the sport with his honest belief that parkour can be for everyone. Along the way, he breaks down his approach for committing to hard challenges, how he views parkour's future, some of his favorite athletes in the sport right now, and what it means to train with no finish line in sight. I hope you enjoy this episode and I'll see you next week! If you have athletes you'd like to see come on or topics you'd like to see me tackle in future episodes, please drop a comment and I'll see what I can do.

Athletes mentioned: @larryvinventor @amyybaldwin @roku69pk @fletchflips

Lilou Ruel (‪@lilouruel‬) has been on my radar since a video of her crushing at age 11 popped up ten years ago. Since then, she's gone on to dominate the competition circuit, become a Red Bull sponsored athlete, hit tons of NBDs (including first female send of the iconic Manpower gap), and establish herself as a creative visionary in the parkour space.

In this episode, we dig into her early training years and the pressure she felt to perform after her early success...but also how that pressure helped shape a unique outlook on parkour that combines an Olympian's training approach with an eye for photography and fashion. Her perspective on fashion in particularly really stood out to me in this one, and I'd love to hear what y'all think in the comments.

Also, please give Lilou some love for exploring a few incredibly nuanced topics in English - I really appreciated her willingness to get out of her comfort zone on this one and she killed it!

Wenxin Yang (‪@wenxinyangg‬ on YouTube and @wenxinyang on IG) is a parkour athlete and digital creative making some of the most interesting content in parkour. His media profile is a balance between short form content for some of the world's biggest brands and touching, grounded pieces about his journey in parkour.

In this conversation, we dig into what he's learned about conveying ideas through video in his branded work and how he's started to translate that into his parkour content. We also touch on what it means for "everyone" to do parkour, how to find your most authentic self, and how to start creating art from that place - with plenty of nerdy parkour history moments along the way.

I hope you enjoy this episode. If you do, don't forget to share it around and tag Wenxin when you do. His content is always a treat and deserves even more recognition inside the parkour community. Until next week!