He takes a deep breath. He focuses. Sophomore Erick Chavez visualizes his body as he prepares to flip.

His curiosity sparked on a trampoline in Guerrero, Mexico. “There was a park around my middle school that I went to,” Chavez said. “There, was a trampoline where I practiced mortals.”
Mortals are back flips, front flips and side flips.

The first ever trick he learned along his peers was “el gato” or also known as monkey vault.

Chavez and his friends advanced as they practiced the tricks together. “We would watch a video and try to imitate it after without practice.”

With the numerous injuries Chavez has suffered, he has learned the limits of his abilities. “Sometimes when I would try a jump of precision or longitude, I would hesitate in mid air, causing me to fall on my back,” he said. “I only perform the tricks I know I can do, I don’t risk getting injured.”

Since he kept his injuries a secret from his parents, Chavez learned to treat his wounds. “I would ask for money and use it to buy bandages and other things from the pharmacy.”

Chavez hopes in traveling the world in the future to further his parkour experience. “I want to visit Spain, and try doing parkour on top of houses.”

“I want to discover other places around the world where I can do parkour.”