Past and …future practices

From a very young age, I have been interested in exploring and navigating the environment. I always had a preference towards all the disciplines that made me experience the totality of life. I remember dreaming of becoming an artist, a warrior, a superhero and an explorer while wishing to surround me with likeminded individuals. This direction kept my motivation alive and brought me towards martial arts (tai-chi, judo), athletics (pole vaulting, running), games of all kinds, acrobatics, and ultimately Parkour in 2006. Since then, I have faced the hardest challenges, growth a tougher skin, travelled the world for it, became conscious about the reasons why I practice and learned to look at people and surroundings in unconventional way: creating universes out of stones. I have developed an intelligent body and a strong mind, capable of transferring principles from the mirror of training into a balanced and harmonic life. This discipline shaped my being and it allowed me to build my personal integrity, independence and inner vitality.  

With the years going by, I approached Sport Science, developing a huge variety of tools to support my body in its development and allowing myself to stay injury free. Since 2012, I started achieving the bigger picture of my personal development; observing at movement through a wider perspective.

Until 2018 I studied and spent countless sessions by the side of my friend and teacher Federico “Gato” Mazzoleni, an original pioneer in the Italian scene of various urban and natural movement practices. After this period I entered in close contact with Ido Portal and Odelia Goldsmith founders of the Movement Culture, first as a disciple of the mentorship group and later as a researcher. This led me to become a member of the core team, of which I was active part for over 3 years in Berlin and Tel-Aviv creating my original contribution that I named the:

Environmental Movement Practice – A discipline that redefines our acts of perceiving, moving and living the environment.  

In 2021 I exited the company and continued on my own journey, leading multiple communities worldwide as well as a group of committed people in Vienna, Austria with my wife Giulia Laner. Here we make sure to create a novel school of practice, and continue to study with the best teachers on the globe while staying plagiarism free. In my process of development, I want to make sure to provide orientation and guidance to those who want to start this movement journey with me or that are already travelling the way on their own.

Teachings

I believe creating and sharing to be the two essential pillars of higher thinking skills, and among the most powerful factors that will create a real progression for humanity as a whole.

Practicing while passing one’s knowhow onward creates a fertile place for growth, and the trial and errors that occur in the process allow for consolidation of competence, and obliteration of incorrect processes: not dissimilar to any evolutionary route.

Officially I started teaching in 2012 when I founded ParkourWave an organization mainly operating in Northern Italy. Through it, I have been providing daily classes, workshops, and national education for coaches through the ADAPT qualification – of which I have become a certified tutor.  The experienced lived with the co-founders of ParkourWave, Federico, Riccardo and Giorgio were vital for me to become who I am today. For 6 years I taught classes on an ordinary base both in Italy and worldwide in some of the most important parkour events: Rendezvous (London, UK); International Parkour Gathering (Gerlev, Denmark); JungleWave Camp (Valbondione, Italy); Supreme Parkour Armageddon (Juvasküla, Finland) and more. 

From 2017, as my practice transformed, I transitioned to teaching events of my own craft to share my message and vision in the field of movement education. From dense intensives in the hot summers of Italy, to daily classes in the cold winters in Austria, to multiple workshops with affiliated schools and groups from planet earth. In 2021-2022, I have visited, and presented my views in: Austria, Slovenia, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, the USA, Brasil.

On top of this I continue to teach and shape hundreds of students through live or online means, and not planning to stop. I want to give everyone (regardless of age, previous experiences, understandings, etc.) the chance to grow in this game of movement. 
I want the people around me to rise and shine and improve the quality of their lives, importing attentive, diverse and meaningful movement practices into it.

I will always be where the flux of information is moving forward, riding new waves in open grounds, but also keeping myself rooted in core principles and ideas.

Interested in coming and trying this all firsthand?

Learning by experience

Unless you missed it from above, by now, one thing should be clear about me: I am studying all the time, everywhere. I am attempting to learn both in formal and in unexpected settings. Either you are kid or an old zen teacher, you have my full attention if you have something interesting to share. This can be legends told by the old sages in a village; the work of a professor immersed in deep science for a lifetime; the experience written in the dust of a bridge in an urban exploration; the symphonies of the nature played by the insects at night; the laws of risk whispered by the hot wheels of my bike at sunrise.

In essence I am very aware that the archetypal and symbolic nature of our psyche is both within and distributed in the world, and the only way to fully discover ourselves is to go look for it with an open mind.

Formal education

Getting education from the world is essential, but it can create many biases or get us swimming in our “own potion”. This is why I did not limit myself to that, and I kept up my formal studies. Formal education is capable of constantly reshaping one’s mind and develop critical thinking to a high degree. That’s why I am in a continuous interrogation with myself also from an academic point of view.

I hold a 

– Bachelor Degree in Sports Science
(3 years of study at Università degli studi di Verona, Italy)

– Master of Science in Strength and Conditioning 
(3 years of study at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, London)

I have to say this journey gave me a lot and allowed me to grow on many topics, such as practical application of training, research methods and statistics, motor regulation and control, biomechanics and skill acquisition, physiology, program design… And meet some truly bright mights, such as: Dan Cleather, Dan Baker, Dan Jon, Steve Magness.

What am I interested about

I don’t care about building a cold monthly relations or a one-time-only meeting.

I love the idea of cultivating a community of like-minded people, that share the same passions that I have. I believe in loyalty, friendship, respect and support. Call me ancient-minded, but that’s how life works in my view.
I am one with which you can build long life relations with.

On top of this, I do not make preferences. I don’t care about your gender, age, previous experience or current state; and ultimately I don’t care about your talents. We are a talentless army. Here, we grow together in order to become the best possible version of ourselves. Not to compete. Not to show off. So, if you came here with this mindset, please leave our community alone. I am sure you can find your space inside one of the many sporting federations and clubs available out there.

I am not here to motivate anybody; I am here to provide guidance and assist growth for those who love what they do and want make a difference out there. Alone I am nothing, but together we are everything.

Special Mentions

I am currently living in Vienna, Austria (when I am not travelling the globe) with Giulia, my wife, partner in crime, and immense daily inspirations. She is by my side with the determination of a lion and the gentleness of a butterfly.

I have a brother, Matteo, and a cousin, Alessandro, that protect my childhood memories as a golden gems. Together, we lived the craziest experiences. We explored all sort of terrains, lakes, caves, forests and mountains; making fires, running away from wild beasts at night and camping under the stars.

Lastly, I had the luck of being born from a loving mother (Giovanna) and loving father (Angelo) that have always been supporting me; positively criticizing my actions at any stage of my development and helping me with all I could ever need. They never stopped challenging me and I will forever be grateful for this. To freely rearrange the speech of Bilbo Baggins during his birthday party: I wish I will be half a good parent half as good as you are and love my sons or daughters more than half as much as I deserved from you.

Well, if you made it through this description, and you have any questions, insights, or wish to start an educational process in my school: