About

Parkour was created in Lisses, a suburb of Paris, in the early nineteen-nineties, by a reserved and restless teen-age boy named David Belle. Discover the journey behind Parkour and how David Belle's passion, groundbreaking artistry, and fearless spirit transformed a visionary idea into a global movement.

David Belle

David Belle (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour, coining it based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle.

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History of Parkour

The Parkour adventure began in France in the 1990s, in Lisses and Evry, in the outskirts of Paris. David Belle originally developed the Parkour concept according to precepts about the art of movement laid down by his father, who was a Parisian firefighter.

As teenagers, David Belle and his friends practised jumping and climbing over stairs, barriers, walls and other fixtures in his city and on the now legendary Parkour spot called "La Dame Du Lac" Parkour was born as the art of moving, taking advantage of all the constructions and obstacles that were not originally created for this purpose. For them, Parkour was just a kind of training method to overcome all forms of obstacles in urban and natural environments, such as forests.

Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG)

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"Watching him flirt with gravity is something totally amazing. He plays with void, strokes concrete, flies on wind. He can come up with as many stories in mid-air as a ballet dancer on an opera floor."

Luc Besson - Filmmaker, screenwriter and producer

Iconic Parkour Movies

David Belle's appearances in Parkour videos, TV Commercials, and Films such as District 13, District 13: Ultimatum, written and produced by Luc Besson, and the American remake Brick Mansions with the late Paul Walker and RZA, all contributed tremendously to spreading the popularity of Parkour around the world.

David also consulted on the making of Babylon A.D., Prince of Persia, Colombiana and The Family and the Video Game Dying Light, in which the character Hakon was modeled after him.

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"Do it, Do it well, Do it Fast and Well"

"Faire, faire bien, faire vite et bien" is one of David Belle's most known quotes and a piece of advice he likes to give when teaching Parkour practitioners.

Rush Hour (2002) | BBC Commercial Starring David Belle

No Obstacles - The Birth of Parkour (The New Yorker)

Parkour, a made-up word, cousin to the French parcours, which means “route,” is a quasi commando system of leaps, vaults, rolls, and landings designed to help a person avoid or surmount whatever lies in his path—a vocabulary, that is, to be employed in finding one’s way among obstacles. Parkour goes over walls, not around them; it takes the stair rail, not the stairs. Spread mainly by videos on the Internet, it has been embraced in Europe and the United States by thrill seekers and martial-arts adepts, who regard it as part extreme sport.

David Belle invented parkour in France. It has spread mainly by videos on the Internet, and has been embraced in Europe and the United States by thrill-seekers and martial-arts adepts.

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Get The Merch

Choose from a selection of exclusive official merchandise by David Belle.