Urban Freeflow
Urban Freeflow (often abbreviated to UF) is a UK-based limited company that was started in 2003 and was active in the discipline of free-running. The company no longer has any involvement with Parkour or Freerunning, and is now a fitness/bodybuilding clothing company.
Origins
Established in 2003, Urban Freeflow (UF) was founded by Paul Corkery (known as Ez), a former boxer who saw an opportunity to monetize the fledgling movement of parkour. As the first mover, they managed to capitalise on the momentum of parkour as its popularity grew. The reputation built at this time allowed them to grow to be the most prominent group within the scene and it has allowed them to continue to enjoy success today, much to the dismay of many practitioners within the scene. The corporate structure of the group was compromised in 2005 when Companies House dissolved the trading company for failing to meet their statutory filing obligations. At this time, Ez and former partner Mark Toorock (M2) split and Ez formed a new company, Urban Free Flow.[1]
The company has a well established website, although the popular forums have been shut since 2010. Through the website they also sell branded clothes, many of which feature the Urban Freeflow glyph logo. On the company's online store, it is described as the 'first EVER brand of Parkour & Freerunning,' as well as claiming 'The Glyph logo has since become recognised globally as the symbol of Parkour & Freerunning.'[2] Claims such as these have been known to offend and frustrate other traceurs, as Urban Freeflow are seen to exert dominance and influence on the scene thanks to clothes sales rather than involvement in pioneering the scene.
Criticism
Despite having over a million registered users on its website, Urban Freeflow has polarised opinion within the parkour and free-running communities for its self-appointed leadership of the movement and its commercialisation of what many consider to be a grass-roots movement. Due to its position as the largest UK based group, it is the popular choice for new traceurs, thus guaranteeing it a constant stream of new customers. However, many become disillusioned over time, and migrate towards other groups which better represent their ideals. It has been criticized over the years more than any other free running or parkour group. It stems from the fact that they claim to be the "Official Worldwide Freerun/Parkour Network", while the website is neither multilingual nor affiliated with David Belle, the founder of parkour. UF does however have some affiliation with Sébastien Foucan, the founder and lead ambassador of freerunning. Worldwide Jam may have also contributed to some of the criticism of Urban Freeflow because of an ongoing feud between UF and Worldwide Jam.
Many people in the worldwide parkour community also accused UF of distorting the image of parkour, associating it with the flips and artistic movements of freerunning and tricking. Because of this, in 2006 many UF team members walked out. Some critics have even gone as far as making public demonstrations against Urban Freeflow, such as burning UF memorabilia.[3] Furthermore, Urban Freeflow was criticized for organizing freerunning competitions sponsored by Barclaycard. The critics believed that freerunning, like parkour, should be a non-competitive activity. There are also complaints of the corporate nature of the event, many freerunning sites saying that the introduction of merchandising and sponsorships would compromise the true nature of the sport. To this one of the founders of Urban Freeflow, Ez has replied "The people who are saying this are the ones who don't have any sponsorship,".[4] However many people practicing parkour and freerunning believe that they are "free" disciplines and they don't belong to corporations, sponsors and medias.[5] Sébastien Foucan has since commented on the matter, that free running is about following your 'own way,' and though he himself does not personally believe in competition, others might believe that to be their 'way.'[6]
Past projects
Feature Films: Breaking & Entering, Blood & Chocolate, Casino Royale, 28 Weeks Later, Devil's Playground, Punisher War Zone.
Documentaries: Jump Britain, Urban Freeflow, The Way, Planet Parkour, Boost - Urban Running, Some Truth About Youth, How Bruce Lee Changed the World.
Promotions and Commercials: Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Adidas, Ecko, Redbull, Guinness, BT, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Barclaycard, Schwarzkopf, Ford, Snickers, Swatch, SAP, Canon, Speedstick, Relentless, Hewlett Packard.
Live Performances: Toyota (3000 spectators), Royal Navy (10,000 spectators), Hewlett Packard (2000 spectators), Mercedes (2000 spectators), Microsoft (1000 spectators), World Freerun Championships (2000 spectators), Nokia (6000 spectators), Mayor's Thames Festival (750,000 spectators over two days - although it is highly unlikely that every visitor over the two days would have experienced the Urban Freeflow performance).
Jump Britain
Jump Britain is a 2005 documentary about free running. Directed by Mike Christie and produced by Carbon Media, it is a sequel to Channel 4's Jump London. Two of the three free runners from Jump London, Sébastien Foucan and Jérôme Ben Aoues, appear alongside the members of Urban freeflow, as they interact with numerous famous landmarks all over Britain. Another section of the documentary sees various members of Urban Freeflow go on a 'pilgrimage' to Lisses, France, where parkour was founded. The trip includes a visit to the famous Dame Du Lac climbing wall.
The free runners tackle some of the UK's most iconic sites including Edinburgh Castle and the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland, the Giant's Causeway and Derry's walls in Northern Ireland, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle and the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.