The Commons

Alec: Ross, congratulations on the video!

Ross: Thanks so much! I’m so excited to get this thing out for everyone to see!

Alec: I love some of the return to traditional parkour in this video, and I think some of the younger generation doesn’t know that about you. Can you speak to your roots in trad pk?

Ross: Growing up in the Colorado parkour scene, I was exposed to some of the best and most influential athletes of their time. People like Dylan baker, Brandon Douglass and Dante Grazioli really showed us what was possible within a traditional parkour style. I wanted to be just like them and hit the jumps they were doing. So my training for a matter of years was centered around just that. Very traditional parkour, jumps, rail precisions, vaults, descents, etc. Being able to train with these guys and learn from them was a huge benefit and my landing form and jump technique were drilled into me at a young age. I can recall Brandon Douglass telling me to train in Feiyus (very thin shoe) for a couple years at least because it would reinforce my technique, resulting in better and safer jumps and landings overtime. I really took his advice to heart and I’m so glad I did. Even to this day I’ll throw on some feiyus for a while to make sure my tech is staying good and sharp.

A 14 yr. old Ross Alen with Dante Grazioli

Alec: In light of SPL season… If you had to compete in skill, speed, or style, what category do you think you’d do best at? I really couldn’t pick.

Ross: I would definitely want to do a style competition. I love watching them and I think about competing in them a lot. It’s not my best event though I don’t think.
With where my skill set is at right now I think I would actually choose speed. Which feels weird to say because I’ve only done one speed competition in my life I think.

Alec: From the outside, it seemed like you had a long period of experimentation, transitioning from trad pk to a “beans style” and then landing somewhere in the middle. Do you think “Dirty” displays your mature style?

Ross: Yeah that’s a good way to put it. I put a lot of thought, care, and effort into every clip. When we would find a new spot I would usually spend some time just looking at the spot and asking myself what’s the most visually satisfying thing I could do here? Sometimes the answer would jump out at me and I would know right away what the spot was asking for. Other times it would be more of a challenge and I would play around on the spot and try a handful of things until I found what I felt the spot was asking me to do. In the past I wasn’t too concerned with this. I was letting my movement dictate the spot, while now I try to let the spot dictate my movement.

Alec: What are some new avenues of movement you are experimenting with these days?

Ross: Since finishing Dirty towards the end of may, my training has looked a bit different. I can’t say I’ve been experimenting with anything very specific but with no camera on me at the moment and no big project in the works, I’ve been focused more on having fun with friends and getting some good exercise. I spent so much time doing things that were scary and were hurting my body it’s been nice to tap into older ways of training that aren’t as focused on difficulty, aesthetics or spot use. It’s nice to just move around for the sake of moving around. However that may look. I’ll always get a lot of satisfaction from doing something scary or aesthetically pleasing, it just hasn’t been my biggest concern at this point in time.

Alec: I feel that! There are always some disgusting challenges that video won’t do justice. What was the sketchiest challenge in “Dirty” that didn’t come through on camera?

Ross: The one that comes to mind is the front flip through the metal frame. The camera angles display it well but there was so many factors that made that one scary. It’s hard to tell but the wall I’m running on is basically falling apart. There’s a bunch of holes in the wall on the run up and on the landing area that made it so I had to be really precise with each step and the landing. I flipped through that thing probably like 25 times across 2 days. It never got less scary running full sprint at a metal frame and I really had to lock in for every attempt haha Luckily I only hit the frame once, bruising my elbow. Trying to get a good exit off the wall became the real challenge towards the end. I got a little reverse vault off the wall to work well enough and I was happy with it.

Alec: That’s crazy that you did that 25 times. Jeez. Who are your movement influences within parkour, are there any big influences outside of parkour too?

Ross: My biggest influence these days has to be Josh Malone. A lot of the clips in the video are the outcome of him and I walking around looking for spots and both coming up with ideas. Having lived and trained with Josh for years now he knows my abilities as well as I do. So to be able to go out to a spot and use his mind and ideas is something really special. And it’s even more special when I can make one of Joshes visions for a spot come to life. He’s been my biggest supporter through this project and he pushed me to do a lot of things I normally wouldn’t. Very thankful I’ve had him by my side for the making of this video. Love you Josh <3

Outside of parkour inspiration, this video is definitely influenced by skateboarding a bit. I’ve been immersed in the skate world for the past year or so and I wanted my project to feel like some of my favorite videos from the past year. I wanted it to be fast paced, compact with trick variety, and lots of different feelings throughout.

Alec: Any shoutouts?

Ross: Definitely shoutout to all my friends and family who’ve believed in me and cheered me on during the making of this video! Bradley Jotte, Snek, Trevor Kunkle, Orry, Leo, Josh! Love you all <3