Physical Graffiti

By Max Bell

PledgeMe.Project

Performance,

NZ $30 pledged


1 people pledged


Closed


NZ $1,000 minimum target


3 3% Complete

This campaign failed to reach its target by 03/12/2012 at 6:00 PM (NZDT) and is now closed.

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About

Physical Graffiti

Project 2012-10-27 03:16:33 +1300

Concept art for a team logo - the design uses 'PG' in a graffiti art style.

Physical Graffiti are raising funds to form one of New Zealand's first sport teams in Parkour. Parkour is a new sport founded in the 1990s in France and now prominently featured in blockbuster movies (2010's Prince of Persia), hit video games (2012's Assassin's Creed 3), and across the internet.

“The opportunities for practicing this discipline at a high level don't yet exist in New Zealand, like they do overseas. So we thought we'd just stop complaining and do it ourselves.” 

The athletes have taken the name Physical Graffiti, based on their discipline's gravity-defying feats of human movement and also the artistic way in which their movements interpret the environment. There are opportunities in international competitions, sponsorship, and stunt work that exist overseas, but this high level doesn't yet exist in New Zealand. The goal of the team is to provide opportunities for its members, by making professional parkour available to the New Zealand market for sponsorship, performances, media, stunt work, promotions, and advertising. Underlying their actions is the commitment to support the community and the practice of parkour and freerunning in New Zealand.

About Physical Graffiti:

Physical Graffiti is a part media crew and part stunt team in parkour and freerunning. The vision behind the team is to merge sport with art... it is to use movement and media to challenge people to no longer overlook their seemingly mundane world that thay pass by and neglect every day, but instead ask them to re-awaken their long-lost sense of child-like wonder, to re-envision their surroundings as a canvas that is alive with potential. Physical Graffiti expresses this vision upon the environment through its art of movement.

It consists of seven amateur athletes in their late teens and early twenties: Max Bell, 25 - Student, sports business; Rowan Worthy, 22 – Fitness instructor; Gerry Tuohy, 18 - Student, personal training; Jordan Shand, 18 - Student, media design; Louis Gower, 19 - Student, geology; Tim Dorrian, 20 - Student, marketing; Madison Fitzmaurice, 16 - High School student.

 
See more photos at Physical Graffiti on Facebook.
Goal:
The funds raised will go towards:
  • Filming a show-reel
  • Getting to a professional level with our service
  • Supporting our member's training and development
About parkour and freerunning:
Parkour is a physical discipline based on being strong and skilled enough to move freely in your environment, with the goal of getting from point A to point B as quickly and as efficiently as possible. As a practice it reveals your physical and mental limits, and simultaneously offers a method to surpass them. 

Freerunning is a physical discipline that is closely related to parkour. Its main difference lies in its replacement of parkour’s goals of quickness and efficiency of movement with alternative goals of artistic and self-expressive movement. It thus incorporates tricks, flips, acrobatics, and so forth into its philosophy of moving freely in your environment.

------

What do I get for pledging?
Rewards are available for pledging certain amounts. See the rewards section to the right.

-Funding Jam
Physical Graffiti will organise a jam in Wellington to celebrate the success of our funding goal. A VIP package will be developed including goodies... if we reach our funding goal. If you train parkour, this VIP package will be the best parkour experience of the jam. If you don't train parkour, this is an opportunity to see what parkour is all about, meet the community, and we'll include things in the VIP package that don't just relate to parkour.

-Facebook Shout-out
We'll shout-out a massive thank you for your support for being the leaders in trusting us and supporting our dream. You can include a link to your profile, or your page, or website, etc if you wish. Links will be reviewed.

-Tshirt
Cuts will be selected that are appropriate for parkour and look good. The graphics will be designed by Physical Graffiti team member Jordan Shand, and then transferred onto the tshirt using using a special bleaching technique done by hand. The tshirts will be limited edition 'funding project' tshirts - we won't be making this design again. This reward is limited to only 30 tshirts available.

-Official Funding Sponsor
Please contact us regarding this.

How can I contact you? Email: [email protected]

Where can I find out more? The home of Physical Graffiti is on Facebook at Team Physical Graffiti
Concept art

Comments

Updates 2

Max's Update Two - 22/11

21/11/2012 at 9:58 PM

This project is ending in 12 days. If we successfuly raise money, examples of what it will go towards are these two upcoming events:

We're doing a parkour demonstration at Te Papa, NZ's National Museum, on Sunday 16 December - http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/WhatsOn/allevents/Pages/PhysicalGraffiti.aspx

We're also doing a special event in the Fringe Festival 2013 - http://www.fringe.co.nz/

We haven't announced these two yet, but they're a fantastic start for Physical Graffiti. Money raised through this project will go towards providing equipment for these sort of things. We also hope to film a showreel at the end of this year, and money raised will go towards the costs of making that.

Come along and watch those events. We'll post up more info on our facebook when it gets released.

Peace

Max's Update - One, 6/11

06/11/2012 at 10:02 AM

I have a lot of thoughts on parkour. Here's a few...

Most of us have been busy with exams at this time of the year.

Wanganui is a beautiful town to be in at this time of the year – a great place to clear my head from all the studying and replace it with all the blooming flowers up and down Victoria Ave. I had some time to kill by myself last weekend while I was in the city, before helping my girlfriend move her fitness studio to a new location (it specialises in holistic fitness if you want to check it out - https://www.facebook.com/Star.HF.Studio). So I changed into my usual gear – well used shoes from too much running, and baggy trackpants that are a few sizes too large just because that's how we roll – and headed to the conveniently located Majestic Square. As I put my stuff down and warmed up, I noticed a young kid, maybe 10, at the top of the square vaulting over a rail. I started a conversation with him, and it turned into that amazing moment when I'm in a foreign city and unexpectedly run into someone also doing parkour. Even with our odd age differences, we were soon training together. 

He asked me if I'd met Wilf. I had. Wilf is one of the 'founders' of the Wanganui parkour scene. Even though he hasn't lived there for a few years, it's amazing to hear him talked about as if he were a legend. This isn't the first time I've heard guys in Wanganui talk about Wilf as if he were a mystical figure of their scene. He's now up in Auckland starting up a fitness business (it's at if you want to follow what they do https://www.facebook.com/KoriMovement). This creation of legends that parkour inspires is fascinating. It's the creation of role models. It's something that is associated with sport. All sports have their role models. And in an activity like parkour that appeals to youth especially, role models are especially important. That's not to say that parkour is not open for everyone – of course it is. It has no barrier of age or discrimination to its practice. But the 'street' nature of its training seems to appeal to youth especially. With Physical Graffiti, part of what we hope to do is provide an avenue for some of the strong guys in the scene at the moment to sustain their training and develop it further, and thus become, or continue to be, role models for the new and/or younger people getting into the discipline. Parkour doesn't have this upper level of support to sustain it's experienced practitioners at the moment in New Zealand, like it is starting to have overseas – so many athletes are forced to give up their practice because they can't balance it with other areas of their lives. It would be a dream come true to use Physical Graffiti to aid in developing this upper level of practice within New Zealand for parkour and freerunning.

I'm studying for my exam on tomorrow. So tomorrow, after my exam, I'm going to direct some energy into this PledgeMe project. Kick it into action further. Get some more happening on it. I'm excited.

    Pledgers 1

    Anonymous pledger
    13/11/2012 at 5:34pm

    Followers

    Followers of Physical Graffiti

    Physical Graffiti

    Project 2012-10-27 03:16:33 +1300

    Concept art for a team logo - the design uses 'PG' in a graffiti art style.

    Physical Graffiti are raising funds to form one of New Zealand's first sport teams in Parkour. Parkour is a new sport founded in the 1990s in France and now prominently featured in blockbuster movies (2010's Prince of Persia), hit video games (2012's Assassin's Creed 3), and across the internet.

    “The opportunities for practicing this discipline at a high level don't yet exist in New Zealand, like they do overseas. So we thought we'd just stop complaining and do it ourselves.” 

    The athletes have taken the name Physical Graffiti, based on their discipline's gravity-defying feats of human movement and also the artistic way in which their movements interpret the environment. There are opportunities in international competitions, sponsorship, and stunt work that exist overseas, but this high level doesn't yet exist in New Zealand. The goal of the team is to provide opportunities for its members, by making professional parkour available to the New Zealand market for sponsorship, performances, media, stunt work, promotions, and advertising. Underlying their actions is the commitment to support the community and the practice of parkour and freerunning in New Zealand.

    About Physical Graffiti:

    Physical Graffiti is a part media crew and part stunt team in parkour and freerunning. The vision behind the team is to merge sport with art... it is to use movement and media to challenge people to no longer overlook their seemingly mundane world that thay pass by and neglect every day, but instead ask them to re-awaken their long-lost sense of child-like wonder, to re-envision their surroundings as a canvas that is alive with potential. Physical Graffiti expresses this vision upon the environment through its art of movement.

    It consists of seven amateur athletes in their late teens and early twenties: Max Bell, 25 - Student, sports business; Rowan Worthy, 22 – Fitness instructor; Gerry Tuohy, 18 - Student, personal training; Jordan Shand, 18 - Student, media design; Louis Gower, 19 - Student, geology; Tim Dorrian, 20 - Student, marketing; Madison Fitzmaurice, 16 - High School student.

     
    See more photos at Physical Graffiti on Facebook.
    Goal:
    The funds raised will go towards:
    • Filming a show-reel
    • Getting to a professional level with our service
    • Supporting our member's training and development
    About parkour and freerunning:
    Parkour is a physical discipline based on being strong and skilled enough to move freely in your environment, with the goal of getting from point A to point B as quickly and as efficiently as possible. As a practice it reveals your physical and mental limits, and simultaneously offers a method to surpass them. 

    Freerunning is a physical discipline that is closely related to parkour. Its main difference lies in its replacement of parkour’s goals of quickness and efficiency of movement with alternative goals of artistic and self-expressive movement. It thus incorporates tricks, flips, acrobatics, and so forth into its philosophy of moving freely in your environment.

    ------

    What do I get for pledging?
    Rewards are available for pledging certain amounts. See the rewards section to the right.

    -Funding Jam
    Physical Graffiti will organise a jam in Wellington to celebrate the success of our funding goal. A VIP package will be developed including goodies... if we reach our funding goal. If you train parkour, this VIP package will be the best parkour experience of the jam. If you don't train parkour, this is an opportunity to see what parkour is all about, meet the community, and we'll include things in the VIP package that don't just relate to parkour.

    -Facebook Shout-out
    We'll shout-out a massive thank you for your support for being the leaders in trusting us and supporting our dream. You can include a link to your profile, or your page, or website, etc if you wish. Links will be reviewed.

    -Tshirt
    Cuts will be selected that are appropriate for parkour and look good. The graphics will be designed by Physical Graffiti team member Jordan Shand, and then transferred onto the tshirt using using a special bleaching technique done by hand. The tshirts will be limited edition 'funding project' tshirts - we won't be making this design again. This reward is limited to only 30 tshirts available.

    -Official Funding Sponsor
    Please contact us regarding this.

    How can I contact you? Email: [email protected]

    Where can I find out more? The home of Physical Graffiti is on Facebook at Team Physical Graffiti
    Concept art

    Comments

    Max's Update Two - 22/11

    21/11/2012 at 9:58 PM

    This project is ending in 12 days. If we successfuly raise money, examples of what it will go towards are these two upcoming events:

    We're doing a parkour demonstration at Te Papa, NZ's National Museum, on Sunday 16 December - http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/WhatsOn/allevents/Pages/PhysicalGraffiti.aspx

    We're also doing a special event in the Fringe Festival 2013 - http://www.fringe.co.nz/

    We haven't announced these two yet, but they're a fantastic start for Physical Graffiti. Money raised through this project will go towards providing equipment for these sort of things. We also hope to film a showreel at the end of this year, and money raised will go towards the costs of making that.

    Come along and watch those events. We'll post up more info on our facebook when it gets released.

    Peace

    Max's Update - One, 6/11

    06/11/2012 at 10:02 AM

    I have a lot of thoughts on parkour. Here's a few...

    Most of us have been busy with exams at this time of the year.

    Wanganui is a beautiful town to be in at this time of the year – a great place to clear my head from all the studying and replace it with all the blooming flowers up and down Victoria Ave. I had some time to kill by myself last weekend while I was in the city, before helping my girlfriend move her fitness studio to a new location (it specialises in holistic fitness if you want to check it out - https://www.facebook.com/Star.HF.Studio). So I changed into my usual gear – well used shoes from too much running, and baggy trackpants that are a few sizes too large just because that's how we roll – and headed to the conveniently located Majestic Square. As I put my stuff down and warmed up, I noticed a young kid, maybe 10, at the top of the square vaulting over a rail. I started a conversation with him, and it turned into that amazing moment when I'm in a foreign city and unexpectedly run into someone also doing parkour. Even with our odd age differences, we were soon training together. 

    He asked me if I'd met Wilf. I had. Wilf is one of the 'founders' of the Wanganui parkour scene. Even though he hasn't lived there for a few years, it's amazing to hear him talked about as if he were a legend. This isn't the first time I've heard guys in Wanganui talk about Wilf as if he were a mystical figure of their scene. He's now up in Auckland starting up a fitness business (it's at if you want to follow what they do https://www.facebook.com/KoriMovement). This creation of legends that parkour inspires is fascinating. It's the creation of role models. It's something that is associated with sport. All sports have their role models. And in an activity like parkour that appeals to youth especially, role models are especially important. That's not to say that parkour is not open for everyone – of course it is. It has no barrier of age or discrimination to its practice. But the 'street' nature of its training seems to appeal to youth especially. With Physical Graffiti, part of what we hope to do is provide an avenue for some of the strong guys in the scene at the moment to sustain their training and develop it further, and thus become, or continue to be, role models for the new and/or younger people getting into the discipline. Parkour doesn't have this upper level of support to sustain it's experienced practitioners at the moment in New Zealand, like it is starting to have overseas – so many athletes are forced to give up their practice because they can't balance it with other areas of their lives. It would be a dream come true to use Physical Graffiti to aid in developing this upper level of practice within New Zealand for parkour and freerunning.

    I'm studying for my exam on tomorrow. So tomorrow, after my exam, I'm going to direct some energy into this PledgeMe project. Kick it into action further. Get some more happening on it. I'm excited.
      Anonymous pledger
      13/11/2012 at 5:34pm

      Followers of Physical Graffiti

      This campaign was unsuccessful and finished on 13/11/2012 at 5:34 PM.