Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Robbie scales dizzy heights
Parkour star is living the dream
A young Coatbridge athlete admits he is “chasing his dream” after going viral for a second time on social media.
But 16-year-old parkour enthusiast Robbie Griffith may also end up seizing reality by the scruff of the neck if he maintains his current trajectory.
In March the St Ambrose pupil surpassed two- million views for an inventive homage to the classic Trainspotting intro scene which showed him free-running, flipping and flying through the streets of Edinburgh.
Now eyes are widening even further after Robbie again teamed up with friend and film- maker Johnstone Macpherson- Stewart to produce jaw-dropping footage for the BBC.
The talented teen, who is already signed to agency JLM Sports Management, has racked up nearly halfamillion views and thousands of shares and likes so far on the footage which was shot with a GoPro camera and shows a firstperson parkour point of view. Robbie told the Advertiser: “I’m quite overwhelmed with the response this video has had. “Before you upload something online you can never be sure what kind of reaction it’s going to get but when it’s like this it’s crazy. “They seem to keep taking off and I hope it keeps going this way. “I’m chasing my dream job and would love to have a career in parkour, making adverts and doing stunts. “That’s what I’m aiming for and hopefully videos like this help achieve as much promotion for me as possible.” Outlining his relationship with the BBC, Robbie explained: “I was asked to go in for a radio interview about the Trainspotting video and while Johnstone and I were there we were asked if we fancied doing some work for their social media sites. We had a couple of meetings once they floated the idea and wanted us to film a couple of videos based in Glasgow this time.
“This one has gone down really well and there’s a second one being posted soon which features lots of recognisable landmarks.
“They’ve really let our creative juices flow and hopefully the next video does as well as this one!”
Robbie flew out to the United States last week for a five-week parkour tour with his sponsor – clothing brand the Motus Project.
He added: “We’re going to be touring the bigger parkour communities along the east coast.
“I’m looking forward to training at gyms in places like Boston and New York and meeting new people who share the same passion as I do.
“Filming stunts in cities like these and experiencing new surroundings is exciting.
“Many athletes travel and maybe I’ll meet some people in America who will be good contacts to have going forward for my career.”