Midnight Pita

Trouble sleeping brings me to reflect on my recent life decisions. And cook a nice pita meal.

Midnight meal... woke up around 2:00am and was not feeling very well. I knew what I had to do.

For the past two to four weeks I have been working very hard and working all hours of the day. I'm talking behind the scenes stuff... website design and development, graphic design, video editing, project planning, marketing, writing and reading emails, driving, phone calls, trying to shoot photos and videos, social media, meetings, driving, researching many things... and still trying to squeeze in training and teaching, of course. And driving...

It has not been easy at all. I have been staying up until 5am and later on many, many nights. Sometimes only sleeping 3-5 hours and getting back up to start it up again.

I haven't always made time to cook. And I have been trying to make my (relatively) new meatless diet stick. Vegetarian for now, many vegan meals also, and some day soon I hope I will be fully vegan. But I have not been eating well. I have not been drinking enough water. I have not been sleeping well. I need to do better. I need to spend less time sitting at the computer (at least a lot of times it's on the floor, where I can move around and stretch...).

I am so tired.

I woke up this night and said to myself "you need to eat. You need to drink water. You NEED it and you know it. So get up and do it."

Fortunately, I had some veggies and tofu in the fridge and some pita bread I just decided to grab the other day after looking through a vegan cookbook for the first time that my lovely girlfriend got me for my birthday (back in April... did I mention I've been super busy?). So I cleaned my large skillet and got to work.

It was a simple idea. Throw all the veggies in the pan with some oil for several minutes and then pile them into some pita bread. It started off very troublesome... I somehow managed to explode nearly two entire bulbs of garlic onto the floor. Good to feel like I still have some strength, I suppose. But that was still discouraging and disappointing. I continued and this is what I ended up with. A beautiful mound of nutrition for my tired, hungry belly.

Many do not know this, but I have felt very beaten down by life lately. I don’t often share thoughts like that, but there it is. I'm getting older. I’m feeling older. I’m feeling off-track. Something’s been missing. Many things, I suppose. I’ve been doing so many more things lately for work and yet I feel like I cannot get anything done, like I’m trying to scratch my way out of an endless tunnel.

This morning I need to leave my house by 6:30am at the very latest to drive 40 miles north of the city through the morning rush hour traffic to get to Chicago Waldorf School for an all-day (9:00a - 3:00p) first aid/CPR course. Then I have a meeting immediately following the course. Then, it’s back to any one of my dozens of projects I currently have going on...

It won’t end, not just yet. This is what needs to be done. This is my life, working for myself; but really working for hundreds of others at the same time. Thousands even. Millions perhaps. What I’m doing now, I like to believe, will have positive effects that will ripple well into the future, hopefully long past my time. This is the power I believe our discipline can have on the world. Parkour, Art du Déplacement, Freerunning… whatever we call it. This is why I do it. This is how I do it.

NEW Thin Wristbands

NEW 1/4" wristbands with the names "Parkour Ways" and "Art du Déplacement Chicago", our logo, and a hidden message on the inside of the band! Get yours here!

VIE is now Goose Island CrossFit!

NOW you can train your CrossFit and Parkour in one awesome place...

Introducing GOOSE ISLAND CROSSFIT.

Formerly known as "VIE Custom Fitness", our class location on North Kingsbury Street in Chicago has undergone another management changeover... come see the remodel work they've done already! Tons of new CrossFit equipment on the main level, Personal Training has all been moved upstairs (BIG remodel up there!), and of course our Parkour classes and lessons out back in the quiet yard.

Find the gym on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/GooseIslandCrossFit

They're hosting a GRAND OPENING Party on Saturday, September 20th:
https://www.facebook.com/events/372167432930281/

ADAPT Certifications

Next month, we are hosting the first ever ADAPT Level 1 certification course here in Chicago (the first in Illinois as well).

Some disagree with certifications in Parkour, but the ADAPT coaching certification is important in this discipline. Not because we seek approval from others. Not because we are "better" than anyone else. But because we appreciate the original values and spirit of the discipline and hope to carry those on through what we do. Because we seek to improve as not only coaches who teach others in these disciplines, but as practitioners ourselves, and as human beings. It is a way to not only learn more about yourself (as a coach, as a practitioner and in general), but to learn more about how Parkour, Freerunning, and ADD all started. To understand what reasons it was started for. To understand how it has changed, why it has changed, and how we can keep those values and the spirit passed down from the founders alive and well for years to come.

The ADAPT network of coaches is perhaps the strongest network of coaches of Parkour around the world. It is a global effort spanning numerous countries and it continues to grow each year. The certification course is quite difficult, the Parkour Generations coaches who deliver the course make sure that you earn your certification through plenty of hard work... blood, sweat, and tears even.

It is important that we have coaches around the globe that take this discipline seriously (by that, I don't mean that they are super strict!), because it is a serious discipline with serious repercussions if practiced incorrectly. This discipline can be practiced safely by anyone, something that many people do not realize when they are exposed to much of the footage shared on YouTube or in the mass media. This is why we need coaches who stay true to the discipline. So that we do not end up leaving out those who could greatly benefit from the training we offer.

Night Missions and Journeys

We've updated our class types! Check out the new lineup:

Discovery
To get acquainted to our training methods, teaching style, and terminology. Beginners should start here, but these classes are great for all skill levels as well. DO NOT be afraid to come try it out!

Standard
Our standard class is great for all skill levels, but may be a bit intense for beginners or those new to fitness.

Journey
NEW! Journey classes start at one point and end at another, finding challenges along the way. Don't be late, or you may not find us! See the map for Journey classes here.

Night Mission
NEW! Night Missions are more focused on conditioning exercises and challenging movement drills. See the Night Missions map here.

Art du Déplacement
ADD is heavily focused on creativity and play as well as the strong spirit to "never give up", and finding and developing strength to help others... "we start together, we finish together!"

DIVERGENT - On Set & Behind-the-Scenes!

If you haven't already found these photos I took on set of DIVERGENT (#1 movie in America for its release week!) on our Facebook page, here they are! Scroll all the way down for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the train jumps we did!

Behind-the-Scenes Video:



Read a bit more about the jump from this email we sent out to all of our students and parents!