Verena Lechner is another athlete that I've looked up to from the start of my training! A few years back, she was the only girl I saw doing decent kong pres! I still consider her to be the queen of kongs and swings! Her smooth parkour-based runs are a pleasure to the eyes!
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How long have you been training?
Nearly 5 years now.
What got you into parkour?
I got into parkour trying it out with my friend Lisa at first, but really into it I only got in Barcelona, where I did a semester abroad during my bachelor's. Hardly ever went to uni but learnt parkour and Spanish hanging out with the local community and it's there where I really got passionate about parkour.
What do you do for a living?
I'm doing my master's in Denmark right now in a mixture of IT, design and business. Besides that I teach parkour for Streetmovement and work as a student worker in digital marketing for a startup company.
Do you have any other skills/passions besides parkour? If so, what are they?
I love traveling and being in nature which goes in hand with my love for movement. I love languages and playing the ukulele a bit and in general constantly extending my skillset. (Getting into basic programming and web design right now)
How do you manage fear when going for something scary?
Thats a tough one. Fear used to stress me out and leave me frustrated a lot but currently I have two ways: I either think back when a simple 6 feet precision on a meter high wall brought me joy and let me feel like I'm Superman and try to focus on enjoying movement without forcing anything. Or I try to break the jump by building up to it and finally trusting my body and committing to it without thinking too much. It also sometimes helps me if someone is spotting me of course!
Do you have any obstacles that interfere with your training? If so, how do you deal?
Yes work and uni are big and time limiting obstacles but somehow you gotta make a living. Since I moved to Copenhagen, of course, the weather and darkness in winter are also obstacles, which however got me into climbing and working on flips.
What piece of advice would you give to someone starting out?
Going to Parkour classes and training in a safe environment is a great way to start, but don't stick to it. Parkour has so much more to offer apart from being your once a week sports class to get in shape. It can give you a whole new view on things and let you see the world as your playground.
Who is a woman that inspires you and why? (in or out of parkour/freerunning)
Training-wise, I love Tam's training. Strong and flowy parkour moves and it just looks like a lot of fun. Also really like Alyssa serpa, she seems strong af. Cheesy af but another woman inspiring me is my mum cause she's awesome and I'm incredibly grateful for having her.
Check her out ↓