Sébastien Foucan is a French freerunner of Guadeloupean descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. Known for his views on the philosophy of Parkour and freerunning, Foucan stresses the need for training in the basics of both for individual safety and to maintain a positive public perception of the activities. As creator of freerunning, Foucan has stipulated its values: He became known in the United Kingdom after Mike Christie'sChannel 4 documentary Jump London in September 2003 and the subsequent documentary Jump Britain. In addition to those programmes, Foucan appeared as Mollaka in the 21st James Bond filmCasino Royale. He spent three months in the Bahamas on the film. Foucan appeared in the music video for Madonna's 2005 single "Jump", accompanying the singer on her 2006 "Confessions Tour". He helped K-Swiss develop the Ariake, the first in a line of five freerunning-shoe models. Foucan appeared in a trailer for the gameMirror's Edge. His most-recent role is assassin Anton Bogart in The Tournament. It was reported on 3 January 2012 that Foucan would be among 15 celebrities in the seventh series of Dancing on Ice. On 19 February he was eliminated in a double Ultimate Skills skate-off with Heidi Range. Foucan is working with a clothing line, - Motivational Apparel, in releasing his own signature range through the UK company. In 2018 he appeared in the British TV seriesNinja Warrior.
Freerunning
Foucan attributed the name free running to Guillaume Pelletier, who he had worked with at the time of Jump London. The word "freerunning" was coined during the filming of Jump London to present Parkour to the English-speaking world. Since then it has come to represent Foucan's methodology, which focuses on innovation and expression rather than Parkour's speed and efficiency. Foucan explains freerunning: Foucan has described the core value He defines Freerunning as a discipline for self-development, following one's own way. Foucan's dissatisfaction with Parkour's limited creativity and self-expression motivated him to develop a similar art of movement which became known as freerunning. He reported that he was forced to define free running as a discipline separate from parkour because others had rejected his practice as not being within their definition of parkour. For example, David Belle and other Parkour enthusiasts have criticized Foucan and freerunning: Foucan has described freerunning as a process of movement aimed at self-development through physical activity, play, and creativity. He regards it as an act symbolic of leaving "fixed path and social systems". Foucan appeared in Ninja Warrior UK 4 and cleared the Heats, but his run in the Semi-Final has not been broadcast yet.
