Sébastien Foucan (born 27 May 1974 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) is a French freerunner of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

an descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of

parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...

. 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. In 2002, Foucan featured in a television advertisement for the Nike Presto running shoe. He became known in the United Kingdom after Mike Christie's Channel 4 documentary ''

Jump London ''Jump London'' is a documentary first broadcast by Channel 4 about parkour and free running in September 2003, directed by Mike Christie and produced by Optomen Television. It later spawned a sequel, '' Jump Britain'' that first aired in J ...

'' in September 2003 and the subsequent documentary ''

Jump Britain ''Jump Britain'' is a 2005 documentary about freerunning. Directed by Mike Christie and produced by Carbon Media, it is a sequel to Channel 4's ''Jump London''. Two of the three freerunners from ''Jump London'', Sébastien Foucan and Jérôme ...

''. In addition to those programmes, Foucan appeared as Mollaka in the 21st

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Casino Royale''. He spent three months in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

on the film. Foucan appeared in the music video for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's 2005 single "

Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

", accompanying the singer on her 2006 "

Confessions Tour The Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, launched in support of her tenth studio album, ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005). The tour began in Inglewood on May 21, 2006, and ended in Tokyo on ...

". He helped

K-Swiss K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles and currently owned by Xtep. History K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles by Swiss brothers, Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in tennis after emigra ...

develop the Ariake, the first in a line of five freerunning-shoe models. Foucan appeared in a trailer for the game ''

Mirror's Edge ''Mirror's Edge'' is an action-adventure platform game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2008, and for Microsoft Windows in 2009. Set in a near-future city, the game follows th ...

''. It was reported on 3 January 2012 that Foucan would be among 15 celebrities in the seventh series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...

''. On 19 February he was eliminated in a double Ultimate Skills skate-off with

Heidi Range Heidi India Partakis ( Range; born 23 May 1983) is an English singer, best known as a former member of the girl group Sugababes. She was an original member of girl group Atomic Kitten, although she left the group before they released any materi ...

. Foucan has also won World Chase Tag PRO 2 GO Europe with the team he founded and created, Blacklist. He was the star of the tournament, defeating teams from around the continent. Blacklist also finished 3rd/4th in World Chase Tag 4, mainly due to Foucan.

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 ''

'' 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.Foucan
Foucan (16 August 2012). 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 David Nicholas Williams 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 fr ...

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".Sébastien Foucan: Founder of free running , Life and style
the guardian.com. Foucan appeared in series 4 and 5 of

Ninja Warrior UK ''Ninja Warrior UK'' (also known as ''Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory'') is a British physical obstacle assault course game show, created for ITV. The show is based upon the format of the Japanese game show '' Sasuke'', created by Ushio Higuch ...

Filmography

;Acting: * '' Casino Royale'' (2006) as Mollaka * '' The Tournament'' (2009) as Anton Bogart * ''

The Antwerp Dolls ''The Antwerp Dolls'' is a 2015 British action/crime/ thriller film written and directed by Jake Reid and starring Jason Wing, Bruce Payne and Sean Cronin. Premise A ruthless businessman's payoff to the Belgian mafia is intercepted by his revenge ...

'' (2015) as Marco * '' Creators: The Past'' (2020) as Tammuz ;Stunts: * '' The Tournament'' * '' 55 Degrees North (TV series)'' Episode #1.1 freerunning performer (2004)

References

External links

* * * Sébastien Foucan in British Documentary
Jump Britain
at Google Video {{DEFAULTSORT:Foucan, Sebastien Living people 1974 births Parkour Freerunners Traceurs Male actors from Paris French stunt performers French sportspeople French people of Guadeloupean descent French male film actors Ninja Warrior UK contestants