Who am I?

email: mark at flipcatch dot com
youtube: http://www.youtube.com/flipcatch

Every 6months or so I update my who am I section, as my motivations and life situations change.

17 Nov 2008
Hello. Another update. Damn life is flying by quickly – and mostly upside down tbh.

I’ve passed the 2 year mark of going to the gym now, last week I went 4 times. Occasionally I look back over my video’s and think, wow I’ve learnt a lot! I have to pinch myself that I’m I the same guy that struggled to do a backflip in to the pits, the same guy that could barely walk the next 2 days in a row because every muscle was aching like hell. But I’m doing ok. Actually I’m doing really ok, and I’ve no intention of stopping.

Sometimes I don’t post here, this isn’t because I don’t want to, its because I don’t need to. There’s the difference. Before, I used to surf the net and find new stuff all the time, I got excited about it and I wanted to see if other people got excited about it. I was that ‘newb’. Now I guess I’m not. Now I’ve seen a fair bit, achieved a fair bit too, and watched the devoted, passionate, hardcore fanboys, hobble off with a sprained ankle never to return again. I understand that, I’m ok with it. People move on. Its just, that I don’t.

Today (17th Nov 08) I’m going to the gym again. I’m making time to train, I’m not slotting it into my life, I’m shaping my life around it. This is a good way to think and function, I am setting myself up for the next 20yrs. I’m not kidding. Wanna make a bet on that?

Tonight I have a growing list of new flips to try out. I hope I can recall them all. Double leg twists, double fronts, backs and sides – these are words I couldn’t even think about trying 2yrs ago. I’m playing on the vault more, I’m increasing my core stability when upside down, and its working. I see people throwing some crazy stuff and I’m impressed. I watch, don’t worry, I am certainly watching… I can see you, and I want to reach that level and overtake it.

I have a new job since the last update. It is a beautiful one that allows me to travel more and commute less. It gives me back something that everyone wants – time. Now I have time again, and I’m looking forward to using it better.

06 May 2008
Another 6 months or so gone by, and where am I now? Well, there’s been a couple of injuries that have set me back, but nothing too crazy and so far i’m still in one piece – or enough bits of one piece to continue at least.

My motivation for flipping hasn’t gone away as you might have noticed - even tho lots of people that started when I started have now disappeared (for various reasons). Basically, peoples lives steer them either into or away from their hobbies. Personally, when I find something I love I tend to hang onto it as much as possible, and try to continually include my life within them. I’m not sure that makes sense, but you get the idea.

As for this place. Hits are climbing up about 1000 each month, and last month was my best ever at over 7,000. I did read this article online btw, about how bloggers don’t tend to share stats with people, because they fear others finding out how little traffic they actually get. As you know, I’m certainly not shy about sharing stats, probably due to the fact that I still can’t believe the number of people that visit! Even if it mostly is all by accident or one-hit-wonders. I’m actually pretty stoked that people don’t comment much as well. I prefer talking to myself mostly anyway and it means I don’t have to spend my time sifting through comments everyday.

15th Nov 2007
I go to the gym and throw myself about doing any flips that I think I’m capable of learning / landing. I blog my progress, experience, thoughts and observations and also post up inspiring videos I find online. That’s about it. The stats shot below, shows how popular this place has become recently. I also like to think this is a statistical respresentation of the overall increased trend of flipping generally in 2007. Particularly as the gym I visit, is at its busiest ever atm.

15th June 2007
I’m a digital visual creative professional. A fancy title that means I do all things creative within the digital media industry. Half my life I’m setting up and building an animation studio (contact me if you have skills, seriously) and half my life, travelling the UK and overseas training youth professionals and various others, on internet technologies.

re: FlipCatch, I’d say I’m a solo flipper. I don’t have/or want a ‘crew’ to chill with, I just turn up and talk to anyone that makes eye contact and can string a sentence together. I have no ego. I do no martial arts. I wish I did (Taekwondo) years ago, but not now… I don’t want to learn to fight, so have yet to discover any formal tuition that appeals to me.

4th Oct 2006
A 33yr old skateboarder, who decided to drag his mates kicking and screaming to a Gymnastics club.

Well it all started like this.

My mate bought a trampoline, we jumped on it, and liked it. I searched youtube for tramping footage and found ‘tricking’. My bro got a trampoline and I bounced on that. I went on youtube and watched more tricking vids. I found a decent gym in bristol, not far from where I usually skate, and invited a few mates along to have a go with me. Result after night 1? Hooked, all of us. Jason, Robbie and myself. All having a go, all struggling, all sweating our arses off and falling on our heads at times.

This little site is to document everything l’m doing at ‘jump club’ every week I go. I hope someone checks it out and gets inspired to try the same. If an old git like me can do it, then you certainly can.

Why flipcatch? I’m a skateboarder, so flipping and catching is what I do.

Mark