Urban Bouldering In Central London

Today Louis tries his hand at the emerging sport of 'Buildering'. We recruited the strong boys who are spearheading this scene - Alex and Bobby to give us a tour of some of the finest urban climbs that the city has to offer.
Team:
Louis Parkinson - / captaincutloose
Sam Douglas-Jones - / samdj_
Alex Norden - / alexander.norden
Bobby Gordon-Smith - / bobby.hum4n
Buildering London - / buildering.london
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DISCLAIMER:
This video features urban climbing performed either by professionals or under the supervision of professionals.
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[@alexander.norden]

Yo it's Alex from the video here... thanks very much for coming out to climb with us, it was a super fun day! Hopefully we can do it again when a bit warmer and drier 😂

[@MusclesfromB]

You are a legend mate! Sick commitment!

[@amberblackford9999]

Yes Alex! Absolutely more of this, so cool

[@jacktrussler20]

This opens the door to training with segar and Pete! Hell maybe all of storror

[@althejazzman]

Yes!

[@genderkingermichelle9659]

no. this guys are much better and the spots are much more authentic as this storror things

[@wheels808]

@@genderkingermichelle9659Why you hating on storror? talented athletes who do good for the community

[@genderkingermichelle9659]

@@wheels808 maybe. i'm tired of big balls and capitalist competition.

[@perrinheyman546]

???

[@scusi02]

it would be really cool to see a parkour group like phat or Storror compete against a climbing group like the Bobats in this and see which sport has the better carry over to buildering :D

[@Fred-oz3tw]

the winner gets to claim it as part of their sport

[@BoulderingBobat]

yeah we are doing this in 2 weeks

[@BoulderingBobat]

with toby ❤

[@georgestone8099]

Parkour has more crossover to bouldering, than vice versa, would be my guess

[@ghoul14]

@@BoulderingBobatGASP

[@RyanRad01]

I feel so attacked with the quote: “if you send it V4, if you don’t send it it’s a V7” ☠️

[@SirSillageSniffington]

Feels weird seeing someone call IMAX “this blue underpass” considering what a legendary spot it is. 😂 Cool to see it being used for climbing as well as Parkour though. 🙌🏻

[@CatalystClimbing]

Hahah sorry! This climbing noob has no idea about the legendary parkour spots 🙈

[@bobbyatopk]

Such a fun day, hopefully we can do it again when the weather is better 😊

[@kavali6320]

I'd never thought to see Louis in a corner at IMAX ;) He mastered challenge three so effortlessly. Great to see that Louis is always up for a challenge, no matter where or how uncomfortable it may be.

[@xcuree]

that 1st (imax) spot is ICONIC in the world of parkour

[@trulyinfamous]

In the past few days I've been watching a massive amount of Storror and this video fits right in with the stuff they do. If you guys do more of this kind of stuff (or even collab with storror!) that would be awesome. I bet this crew would be great fun in one of Storror's parkour escapes.

[@itszaque5031]

It's really fun seeing some of these iconic parkour spots being used in a totally different way!

[@wheels808]

A similar video featuring Toby/Strorror would be sick

[@durabelle]

Let's be honest, pretty much any video featuring Toby would be sick.

[@wheels808]

@@durabelle also true

[@TonyFisherPuzzles]

I was hoping to see Dom Tomato flying through the air and landing on the wall at some point.

[@solomonreinman7452]

This video passes all the vibe checks, hell yeah

[@filipivan5125]

Bringing your own mats that's dedication and maturity.

[@bberis1]

Nice video. Brings back a memory of buildering on a posh sandstone built school on the outskirts of Leek. Made front page headlines in the local paper. Vandals blamed for covering front of school with white paint. True story.

[@stuartwebster2203]

Loved this, great use of buildings around us and enables outdoor climbing in cities. Thanks Alex and Bobby. Amazing.

[@nskZoOL]

15 years ago I'm watched Bobby's parkour videos, now I'm watching Bobby's climbing videos :D what's our next hobby?

[@bobbyatopk]

Thanks i appreciate that :D ! There's been quite a few other hobbies along the way, I'm not sure whats next though haha

[@FluxeyHnS]

This was amazing! my favorite thing is urban climbing!

[@jross2229]

I'd love to see more of this

[@Hedrix44]

Love this kind of thing, would be super interested to see a collab with louis and a parkour group like storror

[@danrkelly]

I'm going to assume the Alex/Bobby/Segar collab is in the pipeline. Popcorn at the ready.

[@sovereignyx3158]

Haha I remember Bobby from the gold old parkour videos back in the days „he‘s been cycling around the wooorld“ haha good times!

[@MusclesfromB]

Awesome video Louis and crew! Alex and Bobby are legends wtf

[@kase10313]

Such a cool idea would love to see more videos of this

[@nickemery3101]

Did building back in the early eighties. Some good brick edge pulling on the Regents canal by the bridges in Islington. Seem to remember one being called Magician which went up a corner and just adjacent Abracadabra. Bridge by New North Road I think.

[@VEE3RDEYE]

i'm keen to try that bridge V7

[@citronmirab3083]

Love urban activities

[@johnfrancke1943]

Such a sick vid!

[@harold4thofhisname.499]

that was really really cool.

[@balakingston4684]

the first route was insane

[@pdebra6542]

Nice vibes!

[@Josiahr343]

Awesome video 🎉

[@pkbreeze08]

Great to see Bobby still frequenting old haunts. If only Tiege were there too.

[@schnabelinski6067]

Did anybody else notice the "This is Storror TV guys" at 18:00 or was it just me?

[@danyunowork]

Who knew Tom Wambsgans and Captain Darling were so good at parkour...

[@maxfinn3085]

you have got to try the bridge problem again when it's dry. it would be such a great watch.

[@Keeoh]

This was such a sweet watch- love the uniqueness of the building climbs

[@tomriddle2257]

I psychologically cannot even do indoor slabs and this gives me shivers. 😱😱

[@yiningsun501]

The fact that they are kicking the “kings college london” sign is weirdly satisfying.

[@madinge711]

Damn imax is just good for everything😂

[@biomorphic]

I am gonna stick with the gym, especially in winter time!

[@hugofortuna6432]

ive been waiting so long for this oh my

[@hugofortuna6432]

also cant believe I just watched Louis do parkour, this made my day

[@markkelly3694]

Completely badass!! I can’t wait to see you gents do an update in Spring or Autumn!

[@SuedeNWings]

Buildering is sick

When watching Bobby I cannot escape the feeling that's actually Mariusz Mario Czerniewicz. Nice climbs/parkours everyone.

[@hulkthedane7542]

Bouldering - buildering - parkour, definately a spectrum. .... ..if nothing else, then a spectrum in the lighther end of insanity 🙈😂👍👍. You do counterintuitive things, running towards walls..... Stay safe!

[@DoomBlasterBerry]

i hope you have move videos w these guys. also plz come back to that second problem

[@kingkirisuto7225]

So coool!!!!

[@Pumbear]

Very nice edit on the thumbnail ;)

[@CaedmonMullin]

Looks great! The last British Buildering Championships was in 2007 - time for another round?

[@user-us9zq8uf3z]

Which climbing shoes do you recommend I climb for half a year and climb 6b 6c

[@althejazzman]

This is like the transition when I first bouldered outdoors after thinking I was pretty good as I could climb a 6B+ indoors!

[@Zenthex]

i live in a mining city with a lot of streets that go past blasted rocks. sometimes i go climb on them and people are usually trying to tell me an easier way around the rock. lol

[@n3v3r1s4]

awesome

[@vikkilowe9608]

Next you need to try the @STORROR start to challenge 3...!

[@manicantsettleonausername6789]

This was so cool, I'd love to see more of this

[@phkit420]

the art of movement

[@BatLB]

at some point, bouldering will ultimately lead to parkour and then to a serious injury that makes you stop everything :D

[@MrPiranBlyth]

As somebody with an instable left shoulder which dislocates the first problem gives me major anxiety 🤣

[@aidanoc19]

I unwittingly found this sport in lockdown when I started bouldering on a very long stone wall in my local park. For a novice climber, think I worked out three 'builders' in total and was really fun. Then a couple of years ago a big tree fell in a storm and smashed the wall making my builders about 5 feet high! This looked a lot of fun.

[@idonno87]

Not sure who this guy "I'll try the static way" is, but definitely not Louis :p

[@yohsin123]

cheeky team PHAT jumper

[@borntoclimb7116]

This looks like a nice place

[@jarvisvinton5270]

Wish the brits empire left us here in Canada some cool buildings to climb lol. Question about the mantras @CatalystClimbing for Louis. How long of a life does the rubber and shoe have with the amount of climbing you do?

[@tomthecasual5337]

"very well set this boulder". yup, that was totally on purpose :) ps: i think you didn't feel that confident on the dynamic stuff because there is a fundamental difference between dynamic movement in climbing vs parkour. in climbing you almost always start dynamic moves from a static position, whereas in parkour we use runups with a lot more momentum. figuring out what speed you need and how long your steps should be, where to place your last two steps and where to start your run ups to get to precisely that speed, is 70% of that dyno :P

[@mayabrody2522]

Gotta go back for that offwidth with Pete

[@khchoi2012]

You guys need to write a guidebook about the spots.

[@mbainrot]

22:34 that ledge is what? 25mm?? and you're mantling it, you beast 😅

[@PankakeFFS]

Lol the thumbnail, didn't know Southwark got flooded!

[@kauaandrade4098]

what are those shoes Louis is wearing? cause at first glance i thought it was just some low profile climbing shoes

[@foobar201]

The successful attempts look superhuman, especially after you see all the failures.

[@dickersnoodle1025]

im so happy parkour and rock climbing are slowly putting aside the differences and just enjoying the movement of going up and the growth mindset associated.

[@mikehayden7691]

Not entirely sure why they were filming a bakery: 22:53

[@patriklindholm7576]

Scary part comes... when?

[@AutonomousPlayground]

hahahaha I peeled all that filler out the crack so that alternate route didn't exist until about 3 months ago 😂

[@milesdevlin7547]

This would get shut down IMMEDIATELY in the United States. 6 cops would show up trying to be assertive: "You can't film here." "You can't be on the sidewalk." Or a white lady would lose her cool: "It's dangerous!" "You can't be on the sidewalk!" Maybe they would epicly own her. As an American, I'm honestly kind of baffled this went so well and the video lasted so long. You were able to direct pedestrians while taking up a huge amount of space, shutting down half of a SUPER busy sidewalk! I'm definitely not saying it's bad, it's pretty cool that people are ok with it actually, but damn this would NOT fly in la place like NYC or Chicago. Obviously a different culture about the use of public space, but in the clip at 19:26, I don't care how 'good of a climber' that guy is, he could've clobbered the shit out of that woman and her child!!! The fact that there is even a possibility of that happening is probably not ok. But we're all rock climbers here in the comments, not parkour enthusiasts, I'm surprised there're not more people talking about the ethics of this. We do a thing where you have to be isolated. Maybe the UK is more familiar with climbing, but huh. I don't think these guys are a good influence on Louis lol... he's too nice for them :(

[@milkymat]

God level clickbait thumbnail

[@sportenapfeltorten2095]

Thats what I thought. Its a really cool video! But then when I was through with it I was like " wait, where ist the deep water solo???" :D

[@alexclawson6107]

👍

[@jonnes__4657]

🗽 For the parcour you need a lot of jumping strength, much more, than in bouldering. .

[@DustedTurtle054]

Trying to inspire me to find a new local crag eh?

[@deslomator]

#2 feels like my first 50 tries on any mild coordination move. Thank you all for being so wholesome.

[@pkbreeze08]

Just call him Louis PARKOURinson.

[@itsacharliegoround]

ah yes the 1 day it snowed this year in london

[@tobinbh3940]

The urban version of chalk is Coke to make the wall sticky..

[@pand1024]

What happened to the climb above water in the thumbnail?

[@fraz_the_mediocre]

They photoshopped in the water, which was a bit 😒

[@denislejeune9218]

Love the video, but qualifying buildering as an 'emerging' variation is to handsomely underselling history.

[@CatalystClimbing]

Perhaps not emerging globally - but the scene in London is definitely emerging and growing. The word ‘buildering’ isn’t a term that’s been frequently referenced in popular culture - but it has the potential to be recognised that way, in the same way that bouldering has in last few decades. The fact that the climbs featured in this video have such a small number of ascents is evidence of this

[@denislejeune9218]

@@CatalystClimbing Maybe I didn't write what I meant. It was already past emerging in 2006 when I first gave it a go. Quite a few vlogs have also been documenting it in various places, not just the UK. Number of logged ascents you mean, right? These spots existed long before climbers could log anything anywhere, in fact even before the internet existed. Personally I think the term 'growing' would fit better, but that's just me and don't worry, there's worst in the world and life. Like downgrading.

[@GourmetBurrito]

Louis looking very wide in that crack

[@jross2229]

Someone get Toby Segar in here lol

[@Olli999Olli999]

Where is TobySegar

[@rubennys8086]

I thought this was a storror video when i clicked on it lol

[@Jesse-ig8mm]

Anyone else think that Bobby looks like Brendan Fraser?

[@0i1sTypeBeat]

I was really hoping storror shows up especially toby since he does actually climb as well

[@bryanbryan6108]

The amount of risk here is not worth it. The idea of not being able to climb for 6 months because I injured myself jumping on to a rail is too much

[@bendavis575]

almost kicking a baby in the head at 19:33, maybe try using a spotter while climbing in public??

[@ayuminor]

Second one is such a cool and powerful movement! We can't compete with our climber chicken legs :D Big ups to Alex!

[@dreadcoil]

FIRST

[@nickdefrancis3050]

Not a huge fan of the thumbnail with a bridge over water. But otherwise this was a phenomenal video looks like you guys all had a blast.

[@berniekatzroy]

Dont leave the crash pads unattended, random homeless will snatch it up.

[@StefanSte]

...the thumbnail was kinda misleading.

[@robertocaccini]

i don't like clickbaits