It is one thing to watch amazing tricks or stunts performed in a closed venue for a captive audience. It is quite another to see unusual sports practiced in a busy and unpredictable urban setting. Here are some extreme city sports you aren’t likely to see in a sports stadium, starting with an incredible urban parachute landing under a bridge to a Paris city street-surfer in a full body suit covered in 31 roller wheels.
(Check out our complete collection of Urban Exploration Tips, Tricks and Guides.)
Extreme Urban Parachuting: the initial camera shots are a little disorienting, but once this parachuter swoops under a bridge at a high landing speed the scene becomes frighteningly clear. And to prove it’s not a fake: watch for the follow-up shot from a above trailing his progress on the way down.
Extreme Street Rollerblading: watch as Paris resident Jean-Yves Blondeau takes on the streets, sidewalks and tunnels of Paris. Armed with 31 rollerballs and an armored body suit, Blondeau flips between riding on his feet, back and front as he passs shocked pedestrians and cruises at speeds up to 50 miles per hour.
Extreme City Cycling: check out this guy as he sneaks his way into the incredibly packed Holland Tunnel in New York City. He not only evades detection and passes cars in the tunnel, but he even manages to flaunt his success at the end by asking a cop a question as he exits.
Extreme Bike Tricking: every object in the urban environment seems to be an obstacle-in-waiting for these industrious bikers. Their ability to trick and balance is almost as impressive as the variety of benches, stairs and other street furniture they adapt to their own purposes.
Extreme Building Jumping: this best-of video features parkour and free running experts and novices from around the world, doing tricks and jumps off of everything imaginable. Of course, they make these incredible tricks look a great deal easier than they are.
Extreme Freestyle Motorcycling: Julian Dupont seems to feel comfortable biking up, down and around just about anything. Impressive as his work is on a predefined stunt course, it is all the more amazing when seen in the city streets and on high-flying bridge supports hundreds of feet in the air.
Mass City Skateboarding: it would have been too easy to include another skateboard tricking video. Instead, take an inside look as hordes of skateboards take to the streets on Go Skateboarding Day in New York City. As you can see, the police aren’t entirely pleased.
