The Moments Between; A parkour road trip through Italy

a parkour road trip through italy words and photographs by andy day

the moments between

www.kiell.com Š Andy Day 2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Andy Day

a parkour road trip through italy words and photographs by andy day

the moments between

Three in a 2CV In July of 2008 I went on an adventure with two esteemed parkour athletes:

explore, to train, to make the most of a connection through parkour that

Chris “Blane” Rowat and Thomas “Des Bois” Couetdic. Together we took

seems to go beyond international boundaries and language barriers, whilst

Thomas’s 1976 Citroën 2CV on a lap of Italy, exploring cities and mountains

also progressing our understanding of what parkour meant to each of us.

and the countless roads in between, training with and teaching the Italian parkour community, and inevitably seeking out fresh terrain for our own

When first invited on the journey, I questioned whether it was worth taking

movement and challenges.

such a leisurely (or perhaps sluggish) means of transport. I wanted to race between Italian cities and lose as little time as possible given that there

I am a photographer of parkour, a fascination that coincided with the

were also mountains to climb and stretches of coast to explore. I was further

emergence of the UK scene back in 2003. Since then I’ve worked with

perturbed by Thomas’s insistence that, wherever possible, we avoided all

many of the art’s leading practitioners, seen my photographs appear in a

toll roads and motorways. I was to learn that whilst our various destinations

wealth of magazines and had my shots used for advertising by companies

were important, the journey held equal if not greater significance, echoing

around the world. Most of my projects are motivated by a love of trying to

many a traceur’s thoughts on parkour itself, a philosophy often drawn

convey an understanding of parkour through photography. Occasionally

from Eastern mythologies. Thomas’s choice of transport was deliberately

I am fortunate to receive a commission but, most of the time, it is through

indulgent in the slow process of going from one place to another. We were

ongoing relationships with traceurs (practitioners of parkour) that I

here to see Italy in its entirety. Along with cities and mountains, we would

create new work.

also experience the road, its sights, its weather, and the random twists and turns. For me, this distinguished us from conventional tourists who

When I received the invitation from Thomas and Blane, the unlikeliness

merely race from one major location to the next, and led me to a better

of such an adventure had huge appeal; three guys in a very old car going

understanding of what it is to travel. It is these often forgotten, connecting

to visit fellow practitioners in various cities around Italy, exploring hills

spaces that give a truer understanding of a country and, more importantly,

and mountains and coastlines along the way. There was no specific goal

greater value to any journey: what the traceur might call the “moves

or destination, and a journey such as this did not need one. We went to

between moves”, or perhaps the “moments between”.

As the sun dipped, Thomas completed a massive standing precision

either reckless or brave, but through regular confrontation with this

jump that even I doubted was possible. Absorbed by my photography, I

moment, we can learn and progress, not merely judging the physical

only learnt afterwards about the conversations that took place between

challenge in front of us but engaging with the various thoughts and

Thomas and Blane. At first Thomas had thought that it was too big, but

emotions that build towards such a commitment, an engagement that

with Blane’s assurances otherwise, Thomas eventually did the jump.

reaches beyond the world of parkour.

Blane’s confidence in Thomas’s ability was enough for Thomas to trust his friend’s judgement and push aside his own doubts. Had Blane not

Thomas hoped that Blane would be able to find a means of switching off

told Thomas that he could do it, he would not have tried.

from the mental processes that negotiate the fear and commit himself to Thomas’s judgement. In effect, he wanted Blane to jump blind,

And then came Blane’s turn. Thomas knew that it was within Blane’s

asking him to place all of his faith in another person’s perception of his

ability. Having the bigger jump, Blane also knew that he was capable,

ability. For Blane, however, the fight was not inside him on that day and

and yet something held him back. Thomas later explained to us both that

although he did not try the jump, neither Thomas nor I regarded Blane

he had hoped to prompt Blane to trust him just as he had trusted Blane,

as having failed; at least experience could be drawn from the encounter.

and to trust himself, to unlock his mind and commit to going beyond his

And having since spoken to Blane about the jump, I know that he is

usual mental comfort zone.

determined to one day return to Romolo to finish what he started. Three times, no doubt, if not more.

I knew something of Blane’s position; this encounter with fear was something that connects traceurs everywhere, of every level of skill, and

After saying good bye to many of the traceurs from Torino, we made

of every level of experience. Whilst many of us will only ever aspire to

our way back to the city centre with Nino and Valerio from Genova. We

reach Blane’s power and technique, we have all encountered moments

paused to take on some food at the statue of Leonardo da Vinci. Thomas

where we cannot convince ourselves that we are capable of achieving

and I amused ourselves by asking our Italian friends, “So who was this

something that truly challenges us, no matter what assurances we

Leonardo guy anyway?”

receive. Deciding the point at which to push beyond the fear can be

The complete book is 116 pages and documents the journey made by Andy “Kiell” Day, Thomas “Des Bois” Couetdic and Chris “Blane” Rowat to Italy in 2008.

Available for purchase in December 2010.

To find out more, please visit www.kiell.com.