Grand Opening of "California’s First" Freerunning Gym
Tempest Freerunning Academy is being billed as the first gym solely dedicated to freerunning
Saturday saw the grand opening of Tempest Freerunning Academy. Tempest is billed as the first gym solely dedicated to the sport freerunning
The first gym solely dedicated to sport of freerunning in the state of California and possibly the world opened Saturday in Northridge.
When Tempest Freerunning Academy opened its doors, hundreds of athletes and spectators filed in, eager to become a part of the newest extreme sport bursting onto the scene.
Freerunning combines elements of break dancing, acrobatics, and of course running, to overcome obstacles in everyday environments. Even if you've never heard of freerunning, or its predecessor parkour, chances are you've seen the stunts. Free runners have become Hollywood's new stuntmen du jour as their gravity-defying flips have been prominently featured in everything from commercials to movies to TV shows.
Tempest Academy is the dream of veteran free runner Paul "Diddy" Darnell.
"You're an athlete when you're training in this. You're respecting your environment and you're doing it to become stronger, not to be reckless and hurt yourself," Darnell said. "That's what I want to dispel. We're not just reckless kids just jumping around. We're actually focused athletes doing what we love to do, which is jumping and freerunning."
The academy is located at 19821 Nordhoff Place, Suite, 115.
