The slogan goes “Red Bull gives you wings.” And if you’re defying gravity by doing parkour on a roller coaster, that’s a good thing. Jason Paul is a parkour athlete and free runner sponsored by Red Bull. He might just need those wings. Paul spent a day running and jumping around a huge wooden roller coaster. And his display of extreme sports is captured in an exciting video that makes you feel like you’re there, whether you want to be or not.
It all takes place on the wooden trellises of the Mammut roller coaster at Tripsdill Theme Park in Germany. Where apparently it’s legal to have a roller coaster running while people are climbing on it… Or jumping over the train as it goes by… Or sticking their heads up from underneath the track. Definitely don’t try any of this roller coaster parkour at home!
Paul and his friends Krystian and Silke navigate the coaster track via leaps, climbing, rolling, backflips, and all other possible ways. They dare each other into feats and decide who goes first using rock, paper, scissors. They hold group challenges too. And induldge Red Bull product placement. But I can’t deny the parkour antics are incredible to witness. Truly we get to watch this extreme sport in true action.
There’s also a behind-the-scenes video that includes some bloopers and tricks that didn’t make the final cut. Seeing the pilot who shot all the drone footage is impressive. Somehow our parkour athletes feel scared to catch the drone but not to free climb the wooden structure or jump onto a moving roller coaster train.
Honestly, the whole video makes me nervous from start to finish. I think I’ll stick to watching squirrel parkour. Or at least videos of courses designed for parkour, like this giant pinball machine.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.