Tempest Freerunning

Dan “Shooter” Mast is a person with many interests. A lover of music, a gymnast at heart, and a stellar stuntman (you can catch his latest work in the remake of Total Recall), he’s a modern day Renaissance man. But how exactly did he find freerunning, and what does it mean to him today? Sit down with us in our quick interview to find out.

How did you get started? I did gymnastics for 8 years, all through high school and before that. As soon as I graduated, I  got bored with competitive gym, but I still loved the physicality, movements, and acrobatics, so that’s how I kinda got into freerunning. I saw videos on YouTube, or maybe some people in the gym where doing it too. I don’t remember how I was exposed to it.

What does it mean to you to be a part of Tempest? Honestly, it’s a second family for me. They are all brothers (and a sister!), and that’s really good to have family like that, friends who are all together.

What’s been the highlight of your career? I would say that’s like picking a favorite kid. That’s hard. There’s so many things that stand out, you know. Any of the Red Bull Art of Motion events…one of my favorites was Vienna, or most recently, Detroit. Maybe Sao Paolo. I did well for myself and that felt really good. It felt like the people there were really into it, there were a lot of Tempest fans out there that I didn’t know 1. Knew who Tempest was, or 2. Even knew who I was.

What was your “big break”? My big break was being a part of Tempest. I owe all of my experiences and all the work I’ve gotten over the past years to it. I would absolutely not be where I am today without them.

When you’re struggling with something, what do you tell yourself to change things? I definitely just look up to the other guys on the team. You know, like Vik, Gabe, Rich and Paul.

If you wanted people to know one thing about you as an athlete and a person, what would it be? If people want to know things about me, they can come talk to me. (laughs)

Who’s your hero? I have people that I look up to a lot. I mean I don’t know if I have any heroes, just people that I really, really look up to, but I’d say Paul, Vik, Gabe and Rich.

Season 2 of MTV’s Teen Wolf is in full-swing and full of surprises. A new shapeshifter, the Kanima, has been introduced, and you may recognize the man under this monster lizard suit.

David “OJ” Elson, who also doubled lead actor Scott McCall (werewolf Tyler Posey), donned a full body suit that completely transformed him from man to reptile.

According to OJ, getting into the Kanima suit was, well, a bit of a process. “When we first started, it took 5 hours [to put everything on and do makeup],” he said. “It eventually ‘dwindled’ to three or four hours,” he added with a laugh.

The time spent was well worth it, because you’d never know it was OJ under that mask (until now, that is). Check out the video above to see how it was all done, and keep your eye out for the next time the Kanima pops up in Season 2 of Teen Wolf.

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There’s so much beauty in the world. We see it in our movement, in training, in mastering a new trick. It’s an intangible, but everyone can feel it.

But outside freerunning, people have a different definition of beauty. They see height, age, weight, size. Even for our favorite lady and teammate, Luci Romberg, this was a struggle to overcome. She battled an eating disorder in college and had a negative perception of herself that took years to overcome. But now, she’s out to change the perception of beauty through a new Kickstarter project, along with support from Brady Romberg, Victor Lopez, and Chad Bonanno.

“Beautiful” will be an incredible film if it reaches its funding goal by August 10. If you have a little extra cash (even $1 helps!), we would love to see this project become reality.

Here’s a bit more from Luci on why this project matters:
“I battled an eating disorder in college, and it came to define me in ways I never expected. I was extremely critical of myself, and I thought that unless I was thin, I didn’t deserve to be happy.

When I met Team Tempest and started freerunning my mind opened and my eyes began to see so much more than traditional beauty. Freerunning gave me the confidence I needed to understand that I am good enough, I am pretty enough, and I have a lot to offer just being myself. A person’s beauty is not defined by how tall, thin, or pretty they are – it is their soul, beliefs, and morals that makes them Beautiful.”

Please support Beautiful today by donating, sharing it with your friends, and being a part of this new movement!

Are you ready for Season 2 of MTV’s Teen Wolf?

The smash series follows Tyler Posey (played by Scott McCall), a typical teen who must hide the fact that he was bitten by a werewolf. His supernatural powers are, frankly, awesome, and who better to bring to life the animal Teen Wolf’s leading man than Tempest’s David “OJ” Elson?

In the preview above, the first 10 minutes of Season 2 get us right back into the plot, along with some wolfish running and jumping. A little parkour in the mix brings authenticity to the moves, and we have to give OJ props for his strength and endurance in these clips!

Enjoy the preview, and don’t miss the premier of Season 2 on June 3!

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Every day, we see people in motion. Walking, running, cycling, driving, jogging, doing aerobics – we could write a list forever. To us, freerunning has redefined what motion means to us. Not only is it a way to get from one place to another, but a way to completely reimagine the world around us in the process.

Brian “NoSole” Orosco got to be a part of an incredible film about just that – the world of motion according to freerunners – called People in Motion (PiM). Also featuring athletes like Lonnie Tisdale, Jacob Seil, Paul Whitecotton, and David Agajanian, the experience was a profound one for NoSole, saying that filming “felt more like a prolonged jam or road trip than it did a documentary shoot.”

Here’s a bit more, firsthand, from NoSole: “Within the first week of shooting I gained respect for Cedric [Dahl, the director] as being easily one of the most organically creative and driven people I’ve met. Throughout the shoot, I grew closer with the guys and met a lot of new people along the way. We all leveraged each others’ strengths and had our own input. From shot composition to action sequences to taking over the cameras ourselves, the whole experience was great team effort, but we all made sure never to take ourselves too seriously. And, finally, we have an amazing piece to show for our efforts, and I have to give props to everyone who had a hand in its production.”

The preview of PiM is above, and if you want to see the whole thing, support the film by paying whatever you want to download it. How’s that for complete freedom?

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For the first time, the Tempest Family has released a new video: “Represent.”

The concept developed from the fact that freerunning worldwide is a collective movement, where everyone is bound with their freedom, passion and love for the art form.

In this spirit, we made a shout-out video to show our admiration and appreciation for all the teams out there who are making freerunning better through their blood, sweat and tears every day. In the video, 23 different teams are represented by a Tempest Teammate or a close friend. The list is below if you want to check out who was featured in this first video.

Don’t see your team’s shirt? Chad Bonanno, our Creative Director who edited this video, probably puts it best, “Even if your ‘flag’ was not featured in this video, it doesn’t mean we don’t have mad love for you. It just means we didn’t have one of your t-shirts.”

Enjoy!

CREDITS:

Director: Luci Romberg
Editor: Chad Bonanno
DP/Post: Chad Bonanno
2ND Camera: Wayne Dalglish
Camera Assist: Joey Wilson

Special Thanks to our friends and the teams they wore:
Heath Hensley (Trü Freedom Dealer)
Spider: The Pack (Miami, FL)
Nosole: Parkour Malaysia
Josh Hill: Urban Freeflow
Shane Daniels: SFPK
Diddy: Storm (UK)
Rich King: Tokyo Parkour
Dan Mast: Air Wipp (Sweden)
Victor Lopez: Tranquil Movement (CO)
DeVille Vannik: South Africa Parkour
Luci Steel: Apex Movement
Jesse La Flair: Parkour Brazil
Timmy Di Cecco: Aura (CO)
Alex Duong: Tru Hope
Natalie Strausser: APK
Levi Meeuwenberg: Philippines Parkour
Brent Steffensen: Airborn (UK)
Mclovin: Lost Boys (CA)
Cory DeMeyers: Team Traverse (TX)
Frosti: FreeZ (Switzerland)
Josh Yadon: Ape Connection (Austria)
Filip Mr. Bubbles Ljungberg from Air Wipp: Tempest
Gabe Nunez: Monos Urbanos (Mexico)

It’s been a beautiful run for The Tempest Years. Our own “flashback” to the 70′s, we took freerunning disco-style with some groovy moves, swanky sweatbands, and a flashback at a time when we weren’t alive, but it sure was a trip.

For your viewing pleasure, we give you the complete set of: The Tempest Years.

Volume I: Travel Back in Time With Us

Volume II: Sweet Stylin’s and a Beautiful Fro

The Final Installment: Dancing, Sweatbands, Even Barney

Is this just a teaser for Samsung’s Superbowl ad? Or, is it a teaser for Samsung’s Superbowl ad featuring Team Tempest freerunners??

If you guessed the second option, you get a high-five and karma points from us! Tune in during the Super Bowl and keep your eyes out for some sick footage. And if you happen to be on a bathroom break and miss it, we’ll post the ad here once it’s online so you can check it out.

Also, the video will be on YouTube’s Ad Blitz Channel, where you can watch Super Bowl commercials after they’ve aired on NBC – and vote for your favorite! We’ll be sure to post links in case you want to bump up the ad featuring our teammates. No pressure

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(Shane Daniels leaps in a still from RUN - The Movie)

At Tempest, we know our work can look pretty glamourous on camera. But behind the scenes, we’ve all got our own mountains to climb, whether its having the guts to pull off a new trick, being in a competition for the first time, or walking onto the set of a movie and learning how everything works.

Throughout January, Shane Daniels worked on a new set of skills while shooting the upcoming 3-D parkour and freerunning film, “RUN,” where he doubled lead actor William Moseley (who you may know as Peter from “The Chronicles of Narnia”).

(Shane drops onto a cop car on the set of RUN - The Movie)

“This is the first time I’ve been the double for the lead character. That’s a big deal,” Shane says.

“Some of the stunts I’ve done have definitely tested me, not only physically, but mentally as well. Having the confidence from [Tempest Teammates and friends] Victor, Luci, and Spider has definitely made me push my mental barriers, because they know my physical abilities.”

Shane was very grateful to Victor and Tempest for putting him on the project. And while getting to work on set with your friends isn’t commonplace, it made the experience even better.

“I’ve been very lucky to work with my teammates on this one, and they have been teaching me the ins and outs of how a stuntman should carry himself on set as well as how a movie is put together.”

Shane says working with the cast has been amazing too, and that he’s grown to be great friends with Will, Kelsey Chow (One Tree Hill), and Craig Henningsen (Broadway’s SPIDERMAN: Turn of the Dark).

Check out Shane and Will in this clip from the set of RUN, and stay tuned for more looks at the real lives of Team Tempest.

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