While “parkour” courses, an activity that uses the urban environment to perform acrobatics, are opening up all over France, Mieux Vivre Santé takes you to meet Alexandre Ollier, a fervent follower of this sport. extreme.
When you see him jump from roof to roof without any security, you can only have your stomach in knots. At just 21 years old, Alexandre Ollier is a handsome brunette with a body sculpted by a sport that fascinates him: parkour.
See this post on Instagram
Born in the suburbs of Paris in the early 90s, this acrobatic sports discipline consists of crossing urban or natural obstacles with quick and agile movements (running, jumps, climbing, balancing movements, etc.), without the aid of equipment. . “I started in October 2013 in my garden, at the age of 12. I fell into it by chance, watching videos on YouTube. At the time, it was still a very little known sport”, remembers Alexandre in a deep, firm and poised voice.
See this post on Instagram
As the popularity of parkour grew in France, the young man perfected himself in the streets of Dijon, filmed himself, posted increasingly impressive videos on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram and was spotted by several brands. He then signed a professional contract with Webedia and began to earn his teenage life very comfortably, on the same model as traditional influencers.
“In the beginning, partnerships, content production or product placements brought me 200, 300 euros here and there. In 2020, it could go up to 5,000 or even 6,000 euros per month. Once, I even made 9,300 euros in thirty days”, he reveals without taboo.
A powerful sense of freedom
But Alexandre assures him, he does not practice this extreme sport for the money or to be famous on social networks. “Before, the production of videos was important to me, but today I don’t care, because I no longer seek spectacular movements but rather purity and efficiency in my gestures”, he explains.
What does parkour bring him on a daily basis? A powerful feeling of freedom, first. Our high-level athlete rubs shoulders with concrete alone or with his friend Merlin, without a teacher or a group to tell him what to do. No material, room or imposed schedules either, the stuntman training when and with what he wants, sometimes even all night long.
See this post on Instagram
Parkour also allows you to be alone with yourself, a precious time in our information-saturated society. He also learns precision and concentration, as well as perfect control of his body, his limits and his emotions. “When he was little, my brother had trouble containing violent impulses. This passion channeled him enormously”notes his 23-year-old big sister, to whom he is very different but very close. “I also want to be strong to make myself useful if needed, especially by joining the army. I have also tattooed the phrases “always ready” and “be strong to be useful” on my body”, Complete Alexander.
4 other indelible designs adorn his skin nicely, including a big lion on his shoulder and a long spider on his forearm, because he is “a huge Spider-man fan”. His mother, a real estate consultant, and his father, a commercial agent in retraining, never pushed him towards extreme sports. Positive, ambitious and determined, this son of divorced parents still lives with his mother in the small village of Thorey-en-Plaine where he grew up, and completed his higher education in Dijon until obtaining a technological baccalaureate. with a marketing option and then a diploma as an instructor in the Natural Method (the ancestor of parkour, editor’s note).
Endurance
Since then, he has devoted himself entirely to sport. “For me, a day without physical activity is not productive. I train at least two hours a day. I do parkour of course, but also crossfit, cross training and combat sports. The goal is to become the most complete and versatile athlete possible, without necessarily having big arms”explains the bachelor, who however does not like bodybuilding or competition.
“Alexandre has an enormous level of parkour and a very impressive endurance. He is a purist of the discipline, who respects his values to the letter and constantly seeks to surpass himself”enthuses in echo Merlin, who particularly appreciates the sincerity of his friend, “even if it can sometimes be a fault to say what you think without a filter”.
Does our urban acrobat plan to stop one day? “Maybe, but parkour will always be part of me. It’s a personal quest that allowed me to grow, to evolve, to ask myself the right questions and to forge myself. I wouldn’t be what I am today without this sport”, he concludes, with, it must be said, great maturity.
See this post on Instagram