Meet the Crew
What we do

Who We Are

Access Parkour: Scotland’s leading parkour provider

Founded in 2014, Access Parkour began with a simple mission: to bring parkour to the people of Edinburgh and beyond. A decade of learning, growth, and development later, we became what we were always meant to be - a Community Interest Company.

As a not-for-profit, our goal is to make movement accessible to everyone, regardless of social, economic, physical, or developmental obstacles. Losing our home in Leith in 2024 was a huge challenge, but with the strength of our community we endured a long, cold winter and emerged stronger, opening a new indoor parkour space within a community hub in Granton.

Today we continue to build and grow, providing free or subsidised places and programmes whenever possible. Our mission is simple: to demonstrate the benefits of enjoying safe movement, and to make our coaching free at the point of contact for those who need it most. We believe it is in everyone’s nature to move, play, and connect with their environment — whoever or wherever they are.

What We Do

We get people moving: those entirely new to movement or exercise, and those more budding athletic enthusiasts. Parkour engages those who may not naturally take to traditional sports and doesn’t require specialised equipment or spaces - or even other people - to practice. Simply doing it makes you fitter, focused and uncovers a world full of fun, creativity and challenges.

Classes

Classes are the heart of Access Parkour. We run a full timetable of indoor sessions at The Pitt — our custom-built, ever-changing parkour space — as well as outdoor sessions across Edinburgh and beyond.

Parties, Events & Private Sessions

We bring parkour to all kinds of occasions — birthdays, festivals, stag and hen dos, school health weeks, corporate team-building, and more. Our experienced coaches create fun, tailored sessions that make every event unique and memorable. We also offer one-to-one and private group sessions for a more personalised experience.

Schools & Community Work

We’ve built long-term relationships with schools and youth organisations across Scotland, as well as Active Schools, University of Edinburgh, St. Margaret’s University, Police Scotland, Edinburgh Council and more.

Accessibility

Accessibility runs through everything we do. Our coaches have extensive experience working with participants with all kinds of additional support needs, and we collaborate with ASN professionals to make sessions and programs truly inclusive. From special schools to community outreach to 1-1 sessions, we work hard to make sure no one is left behind.

Support healthy lives and communities

Every time you book a class, a party, or an event with Access Parkour, you are investing into free places, subsidised programmes, and concessions for those who need them most. By training or planning an event with us, you’re helping make movement accessible to everyone.

Meet the Crew

  • Matt Jones

    Matt Jones

    MANAGER / COACH

    “This should be available on prescription” was “crash” Matt’s first impression of Access Parkour back in 2019 — and he’s been proving himself right ever since.

    Having crashed into the role of Manager of Access Parkour CIC, he helps steer the organisation day to day, balancing logistics, coaching, and community development. His role is equal parts planning, problem-solving, and keeping the whole operation running (sometimes with duct tape, sometimes with sarcasm).

    He believes deeply in the power of movement to support both body and mind, and works to make sure that everyone - regardless of background or circumstance - has the chance to experience it.

  • Chris Martin

    Chris Martin

    HEAD OF SCHOOLS / LEAD COACH

    Chris is one of the most experienced children’s coaches in the country. Chris’s unique style recently received worldwide acclaim as he innovated the children’s program at a global gym.

    Chris is one of the cornerstones of our coaching team. With years of experience, he’s helped shape how we teach, train, and share parkour with the wider community.

    Known for his creative and playful style, Chris makes movement accessible to everyone - whether it’s a child in their first class, a teenager finding their confidence, or an adult rediscovering play.

    From running classes to mentoring new coaches, Chris continues to be a steady presence at the heart of Access Parkour.

  • Stefano Sardano

    HEAD COACH

    Stefano brings a truly international perspective to Access Parkour. From Italy, he has spent years travelling the world - from the US to the UAE - gaining global coaching experience and qualifications along the way.

    A dedicated mover, he trains parkour daily and has a passion for helping others unlock their potential through movement. Beyond coaching classes, he designs courses in strength, mobility, and parkour, and supports the next generation of coaches through training and mentorship.

    With his mix of technical expertise and enthusiasm, he is as committed to his own practice as he is to the growth of the community around him.

  • Dylan

    Dylan Jones

    COACH

    Dylan has been part of Access Parkour since the pandemic and brings a burst of energy to everything he does. With a love of skateboarding, street art, and music, he blends creativity and movement to make every class exciting and memorable.

    He leads our flips and tricks sessions, inspiring participants to push their boundaries safely while having fun.

    Dylan’s youthful energy, enthusiasm, and artistic eye help make parkour feel playful, dynamic, and full of possibility — whether in the hall or out on the streets.

  • Nina

    Nina Ballantyne

    COACH

    Nina started parkour back in 2006 as an over-enthusiastic teenager, making her one of the first women to train in Scotland. Nearly two decades later, she’s still passionate about sharing that love of movement with everyone she meets.

    Formerly General Manager for over two years, Nina is now focusing more on coaching, blending old-school techniques with the latest innovations. As a Parkour UK Assessor, she stays at the forefront of the sport while inspiring participants of all ages to explore, play, and challenge themselves safely.

    Her experience, energy, and enthusiasm make every class she leads a mix of skill, creativity, and fun.

  • Bella Sutherland

    ASSISTING COACH

    Bella comes with a boundless enthusiasm for movement. Outside her dayjob, she channels her energy into running parkour sessions and jams around the university community.

    She’s passionate about making parkour fun and accessible, regularly assisting with school sessions and our Saturday morning women’s classes. Bella’s positivity, creativity, and dedication help participants of all ages feel confident, challenged, and inspired to move.

  • Grzegorz Krasa

    ASSISTING COACH

    Grzegorz came to Access in 2023 with a dream of becoming a qualified parkour coach. After a little time settling in to life in the UK, he is now within reaching distance of the completion of his level 2 ADAPT qualification alongside his degree in Fitness, Health & Exercise. He trains whenever he can, marrying his penchant for urban exploration with safe, practical movement.

  • Adam Romaine

    FOUNDER & COACH

    ​Adam is a founder of Access Parkour and continues to shape its direction as a director. While he has stepped back from regular parkour coaching, he leads strength and conditioning sessions and provides personal training, helping participants build the fitness and resilience that underpin all movement.

    He works closely with the management team, supporting day-to-day operations, team training, and the development of new features for the space. Adam’s strategic vision and hands-on approach ensure that Access Parkour continues to grow, innovate, and stay true to its mission of making movement accessible to everyone.

  • Hedge

    John 'Hedge' Hall

    CHAIR & FOUNDER

    John Hall or 'Hedge' discovered parkour in late 2004 after watching a parkour video in school. After a short career in academia, he founded Access Parkour in 2013.
    Hedge now lives in Sweden with the love of his life and mostly just helps out a little in the background.

  • Gordon Tsang

    FOUNDER

    Gordon has been training parkour since late 2005 and is now a full-time solicitor at a global commercial law firm. Gordon is one of our most experienced coaches and organises the CIC Parkour Outreach.
    He no longer teaches any regular classes but he dedicates his free time to training our new coaches, as well as developing the wider Parkour scene.

FAQs

  • Access Parkour started as a solution to a problem. Somewhere in the last few decades, we stopped moving and started sitting, children stopped playing and started gaming, and the majority of employment moved from physically demanding activities to nine-to-five office jobs. Many would argue that this is good. Life is not as hard as it used to be, and most people live more comfortable lives.

    ​However, through living comfortably we forgot how to live any other way. Any action not regularly performed is an action that our bodies will forget. If a day involves nothing but sitting, and occasionally moving from one seat to another, eventually all we will be able to do is sit.

    ​We are not talking about putting on a pair of trainers and going for a run every other week. Access Parkour believe in the fundamental tenant of parkour; "être fort pour être utile" and we understand this as "to become stronger by learning to overcome both mental and physical challenges."

    ​To achieve this, Access Parkour introduce people to movement and challenge through parkour training. Whether that is by simply attending an Access class once a week to be able to reach the bottom shelf in the kitchen, or by dedicating our lives to parkour, we are here to help you every step of the way.

  • At Access Parkour, we have reclaimed P.E. It should be physical education, rather than just another hour of organised sport. It is our firm belief that without sufficient grounding in movement, we lose out in all aspects of life. After all, our brains are designed to control our bodies. Access Parkour helps schools and school children rediscover the joy of both learning and play through movement.

    We want to initiate a wider discussion of how we, at all levels, interact with physical exercise. As children, we are introduced to exercise as a method of getting involved in competitive sports. Almost all PE curricula and game initiatives constantly revolve around competitive sport. However, physical education seems to have been removed from PE. This has a number of problematic results:

    • Children are immediately ranked by their competence in a sports environment, and those who do not excel are told that exercise simply is not for them.

    • Competition and physical exercise become synonymous.

    • There is a lack of physical education: proprioception, dexterity, and functional fitness.

    At Access we want to interrupt this cycle. We do not want to get rid of all competitive sports, but we do want to create an understanding: that there is more to being fit than being competitive. And parkour, with its focus on personal goals and non-competitive achievements, is a solid basis for this reclamation of physical education.

  • While our focus has always been on coaching, we regularly find our services in demand for all sorts of reasons. So, in 2017, we formed Access Performance. The performance section of our company contains a wide cross section of skills and backgrounds. From martial arts and stunts, to high level parkour performance, to partnered acrobatics and circus disciplines.

    What makes Access Performance unique is that many of our performers are also some of the top coaches in the country, and we are able to provide bespoke mixtures of performance and outreach. We have provided performances for small charity events, adverts, photo shoots, and Edinburgh's Hogmanay Celebrations. Members of our team have travelled all over Europe, and we even have extensive experience in in-house video production thanks to Donald Dalziel Media.