JAMES KINGSTON
Meet FLY53′s new friend, professional free runner JAMES KINGSTON. We caught up with him for a chat, and asked him a few questions about his career so far…
FLY53: What age did you start free-running and where did you practise?
JK: I started Parkour/Freerunning back in early 2007 when I was 16 years old. It pretty much began in my back garden where me and my brother used to mess around jumping over benches and stuff <laughs>. It became more serious when we took it to the streets of Southampton as we started to see things that we knew would one day be possible if we trained hard enough!
FLY53: Where is the best place you’ve been to free-run?
JK: Oh man that’s a difficult one! I’ve been to so many places in my time and they’re all good for different things but if I had to choose one place I reckon it’d be Paris. I love the French culture, the women are beautiful and the language is sexy but aside from that, some of the more deprived and run-down areas in Paris are amazing for training!
FLY53: Being so fast paced and high risk, there must be some bad injuries sometimes, what’s the worst that’s happened to you?
JK: The only injury I’ve had that I guess you could call bad was back in 2008 when I broke my 1st metatarsal. I tried a back somersault with a full twist off a 4 foot high wall even though I had never done one before <laughs>. I landed flat on my side and crushed my left foot with my right.. It was pretty stupid <laughs> but I definitely learnt a lot from it. I had to have surgery to realign the bones and had a titanium rod sticking out the side of my foot for 4 weeks but against everyone’s orders, I was playing on the trampoline and strength training the day after. I couldn’t just sit down and do nothing for 4 months like I was told to and I knew that doing something would help more with recovery than doing nothing and it definitely did. I was back to full health after 3 months and thanks to the trampolining and conditioning, my ability and strength had improved tenfold. That was my first and last ‘bad’ injury.. Other than that it’s just occasional cuts and bruises really!
FLY53: Would you say you have a free-running hero? If so, who would it be?
JK: I wouldn’t say I have any heroes but there are definitely a few people who’s movement I enjoy watching. When I first started I would look up to people that were doing big jumps and crazy flips but now it’s not like that at all. Most movements and somersaults are surprisingly easy to do but there’s only a handful of people that make them look nice…
FLY53: What advice would you give to someone trying to get into free-running, but perhaps doesn’t know where to start?
JK: My advice would be to look on YouTube for videos of people training in your area or nearby. Once you find someone, contact them and I’m sure they’ll be happy to help!
FLY53: What kind of music are you into?
JK: Every kind! It all depends on the song really and the feelings it provokes but my library contains about 20GB’s of everything!
FLY53: Who is your favourite artist to train to?
JK: I never train to music. I think being able to hear everything that’s going on is pretty important.
FLY53: Last but not least, which is your favourite FLY53 piece from the new Spring/Summer collection and why?
JK: I’d have to go for the Stevie Hooded Knit. It’s pretty rugged looking which is my kind of look!
To stay up to date with what James is up to you can follow him on Twitter @JamesLKingston and can view all of his videos by clicking here
