When it comes to ruthlessly flipping mid-air—propelled by a simple backyard trampoline— junior Evan Brown has it covered. Although this might just seem like a fun activity, it additionally serves as an outlet for Evan to display his talents on social media, as well as an established spot in a corresponding community with new friendships enabled by it.

“I’ve met a lot of new people, and I think I’ve made some of my best friendships [through the online community], ” Evan said.

Besides the fact that doing these stunts has socially benefitted him, Evan loves how he is able to go at his own pace and grow his trampoline skills at the speed of his own progression. He even plans on looking back on his videos at a later age and reminiscing on the adrenaline it brought him.

“My favorite aspect is the freedom of it,” Evan said, “There’s no coach and you can just progress at your own rate. You can just teach yourself, and don’t really have to worry about being perfect.”

In relation to freedom, junior Ben Ruffer simply stated, “I like the moves that make you feel like you’re flying,” in terms of parkour.

In sixth grade, Ben discovered his liking for parkour during recess. Through the years, as his parkour enterprises became more challenging, he switched his aim to learn from an instructor.

Other than just the increasing momentum of his skills, Ben uses this as a way to seek physical activity—now more than ever—in regards to the pandemic. It has even improved his efficiency in certain areas.

“It kind of gives you a different way of getting to places,” Ben said. “ It just creates a more convenient lifestyle.”

In correspondence to Ben’s training and technique, senior Sam Musgraves says that breakdancing increased his drive and motivation for the forthcoming days.

“It just gave me something to do when I came home from school,” Sam said. “I started getting some recognition for [breakdancing], so I just kept on going for it.”

Although Sam doesn’t necessarily breakdance very frequently anymore, he still loves the entertainment factor it brings to both him and his friends. Sometimes, it is best for people to have certain activities that satisfy the need for excitement for the time being while still providing skill and physical exertion, and that was exactly the case for Sam.

Likewise, certain activities are best just to grow stronger bonds between interpersonal connections and relationships, relating to Sam’s circumstance.

“I don’t really practice it much anymore on my own,” Sam said. “But sometimes me and my friends go back to my old dance studio and go every once in a while to either dance or flip.”

Between the three of these uncommon talents, they all have similar derivations of inspiration: Youtube. Evan, Ben, and Sam all initially saw certain videos that encouraged their incentives behind their talents.

“There is a YouTuber named Tanner Braungardt,” Evan said. “He used to post videos on YouTube of him doing trampoline stunts and stuff. He became famous on YouTube, and I kind of thought, ‘Oh, I want to do this.’”

Watching people on Youtube with extreme talent executing their passion is highly galvanizing to Evan, Ben, and Sam. In correspondence to these specific activities, certain YouTubers who partake in similar ventures can spark a great deal of passion.

“I definitely like videos on YouTube of people [breakdancing],” Sam said. “It just motivates me to make more progress.”

The general consensus of these uncommon activities is that having fun is the key element along with training.

“It’s all technique-based,” Evan said. “But just have a good time. Some people are going to be more athletic, and some are going to be better than you, but honestly, just have fun and make new friends. There’s a pretty good community around it.”

At a first glance, taking on something as intense as trampoline stunts, parkour, or breakdancing can seem intimidating. But eliminating the doubts and negativity from the mind will open the gate for an exponential gain of talent and gratification, especially in relation to these matters.

Giving all possible efforts toward a goal will likely make it happen, similar to Ben’s case. He simply started off on a playground, and completely blossomed his talent into something substantially more complex.

“Just try it out and if it’s for you, keep on going [with it],” Ben said. “It is plenty of fun, in my opinion.”

Beating the odds both physically and mentally is a huge sentiment in the lives of Evan, Ben, and Sam. They do what exceeds their happiness all while challenging the laws of gravity. They collectively have an unprecedented amount of talent and motivation in their interests, but they make sure to not take these matters too seriously and have a strong emphasis on the fun of their sport.

“For anyone who wants to get into it, just go for it,” Sam said. “You will get a little criticism here and there, but if it’s something you’re passionate about, do it as much as you can, especially if you want to be serious. But always remember to have fun.”