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About charles

Charles is the co-founder and co-owner of the Rochester Parkour Gym - the first Parkour training facility in New York State. He holds a degree in Exercise Science and Fine Art from RIT and has worked as a personal trainer, strength coach, and Parkour instructor for almost a decade.

A New Adventure Begins for Instructor Devin!

We’d like to take a moment today to wish our Instructor Devin a safe journey as he packs up and moves to the Mid-West to start a new career!

For those of you who didn’t know, Devin began his parkour journey right here with us something like 5 or 6 years ago as a student. He was energetic, quirky, and super talented. He brightened up any class he was in and his movement creativity inspired and awed others.

When he approached us to say that he was interested in the pursuit of becoming an instructor, we couldn’t have been more thrilled! Becoming an instructor is really challenging, arguably more so for someone who can literally just see something done and almost instantly perform it themselves, but Devin’s prowess was so quickly adapted to it. His ability to make curriculum fun but also attainable for a variety of age groups and athletic backgrounds was exceptional, to say the least. The loss of these talents will leave a void for sure.

We’re sad to see this journey come to an end, but we’re just the same proud for what he’s accomplished as a representative of Rochester Parkour. Thanks for being awesome!

Safe travels,

Charles and Nicole

By |2018-11-21T23:32:14-05:00June 2nd, 2018|Uncategorized|Comments Off on A New Adventure Begins for Instructor Devin!

We’re Changing our Registration Software for 2018!

Dear community members,

Only a small handful of you have been around long enough to remember our first registration system, Mindbody, and all the complications that came with it. For the rest of you, your relationship with us has also required your relationship with our registration software, Frontdesk (more recently known as Pike 13). This relationship has lasted almost 5 years and began out of a request from our members for a system that was simpler to use and could more easily be integrated with the way they wished to use the system – mainly through smartphones.

The simplicity and ease of access with its responsive design came with limitations, which we accepted under the promise of its developers that updates would continue to roll out to expand its abilities and fix its bugs. We are writing now to inform you that Pike 13 has stagnated for too long and this month, we will be making the switch to a new company.

What’s going to change?

The new software is not yet live. We’re hoping to flip the switch either this week or next week, but we wanted to give you a heads up. Here’s a brief overview of everything that will change:

  • Zen Planner (new software) is fully embedded into our www.rocpk.com website (no more remembering different url’s!)
  • Interactive schedule that lets you more easily find the services you’re looking for
  • Better level system and skill tracking for all our members
  • Simpler check out procedures
  • Fully functioning Google Play Store and Apple App Store App
  • Rollover visits can no longer be a benefit of membership (new software doesn’t have it as a feature)
  • Memberships can no longer be shared (memberships must be bought separately for each person on a family account, but the prices are remaining the same)
  • Class packages can still be shared among family members, but this must be manually done by RocPK Staff

For everyone who currently has an active membership or a pass or plan, you should expect to just log in to the new system and see that nothing is different except for the Zen Planner name. Billing information will remain the same, prices remain the same, and expiration dates for previous purchases will remain the same.

What you need to do

Nothing yet.

Our TENTATIVE flip date is scheduled for this Thursday, February 1st, but there’s still some back end work that may push us back. When the change does happen, you will receive an email from Zen Planner with an automatically generated password for your new account. All you need to do is login using that password, change your password, and double check that all of our data transferred from Pike 13 correctly.

Feel free to continue reading for more specific details on these changes and to see how cool the new software is!

Meet Zen Planner

We settled on Zen Planner after months of searching and several demos from a handful of other companies in the industry because of its features, its ease of use for our customers, and the reputation of the company. It first sprouted out to serve the needs of martial arts studios which lends itself nicely for our industry as well. The dev team is not only attentive, but responsive, and we’re excited to see where they go in the future.

Details on all these Changes

Fully embedded into our website

Unlike Pike 13 which required you, our members, to leave our website or bookmark their url to be able to login to your account to enroll for classes or purchase classes, Zen Planner is completely embeddable into our www.rochesterparkour.com website. The schedule is interactive and you can pre-enroll for classes or login to your account directly from our website without ever leaving our url!

Interactive schedule view

We offer a lot of different classes, services, and events over the course of a week and it can sometimes be overwhelming to try and find the right class you’re looking for to pre-enroll into. Zen Planner makes this easier by allowing you to filter out categories of classes that you’re not interested in seeing. For example, if you were only interested in enrolling your 7 year old, you can filter out all other services except for the Kids Classes to more easily see when the classes are offered and better locate the exact one you want.

Better Level System Structure

Up until now, for our Youth and Adult members, we’ve needed to have anyone who would like to move up to Level 2 classes prove that they have learned or acquired the necessary skills and strength required for those classes by submitting a video. Given that Zen Planner grew out of the martial arts world, they have developed a back end system of skills and techniques that can be updated on every student’s profile by their instructors as they see the student make progress. When that student enrolls into a class with a different instructor, the instructor can simply click on their profile and see what the student knows already and can plan their curriculum accordingly with full clarity.

This also means that we will be removing the requirement of our current students to submit level test videos in order to move up. Students can either ask their instructor for an update on their progress or login to their account and look at their progress themselves. Level Test Video Submissions will remain in effect only for new incoming students who believe that their talents warrant them instant access into the Level 2 classes.

Simpler Checkout Procedures

Compared to the store in Pike 13, Zen Planner makes it significantly easier for our clients to understand what package or drop in passes are options for the available class service they’re trying to enroll into. Once again, this can all take place on our website every time you go to enroll into a class.

Zen Planner Smartphone App

Pike 13 was a separate url that could only be accessed by visiting it through a desktop or mobile browser. If you didn’t know the url, you needed to travel to our website first, then click through to get to the Pike 13 site. The mobile browser, while revolutionary when we saw it in 2013, is now a pain in the butt. Features and buttons periodically disappear when viewed on a mobile browser and requires an excessive amount of button clicking to do something as simple as enroll yourself or your son or daughter into a class.

Zen Planner has an extremely simple app, found on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, that simply requires you to sign in with your account email and your (soon to be created) account password. From there, you can easily enroll for classes, update your profile information, purchase items, and create new accounts for family members.

Everything is a compromise

If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Cheap. Fast. High Quality. Choose two.” then you know that the perfect solution we’re looking for, either doesn’t exist yet, or may never exist. This is still true with our decision to move to Zen Planner and we’d like you all to be aware of certain things that will need to change about some of our policies and procedures and understand why.

Rollover visits for Memberships: We’re listing this one first because it’s the one we’re most upset about losing. Currently, Zen Planner does not have a system in place to automatically roll over unused visits into the next month. We’ve created a feature request ticket for this feature with them and have pleaded our case as to why this is an important tool for businesses, but there is no guarantee that they will enable this feature or that they will ever begin development on it. Given our great number of people on memberships, it would be unwise for us to initiate a manual system to keep this feature, so we are regretfully going to remove this feature as a benefit of membership.

Despite this change, please remember that our facility has created our systems and policies specifically in contrast to the way big box gyms have – hiding behind mountains of paperwork, contracts, and hidden fees. No matter who you are, all RocPK clients can enter membership without signing a contract, without a registration fee, and can also cancel their membership at any time prior to their next billing date for no cancellation fee. If losing roll over visits is important enough for you to drop your monthly membership, please let us know and we can find the next best solution for you and your family.

No Shared Memberships: We’re conflicted by this change partly because the feature seems like it would be very useful, but it’s also been the source for a number of back end issues with account members who accidentally purchased memberships with the wrong people linked, or clients who purchased multiple memberships at full cost because they didn’t know to look harder at the confusing store system to see that family memberships came at a discount.

Zen Planner does not have this system in place, meaning it will both no longer be a feature nor will it be a nuisance to our members. Discounted add on memberships for families will now be listed as separate membership offerings. Additionally, Zen Planner does not have a system in place like we’ve had in the past, where some purchasable items will only be shown to current members. Rather than remove this benefit, we’ve decided to keep these membership offerings publicly available so you all can purchase them for your family members at any time and at your own convenience. This also means that it will be shown to people who do not currently have a membership plan. We’ve created some triggers in the back end of the system to alert us whenever someone purchases these add on memberships to not only double check your work and make sure the membership is set up correctly, but to also ensure that no one is scamming our system and getting a discount reserved for our amazing families.

Manually Shared Class Packages: This change is not as direct as the shared membership plans are. Instead, class packages can continue to be shared among family members, however, the linked accounts must be completed by a staff member. To help ease this process, we’ve created an automation whenever a class package is purchased to alert you all that if you would like to have multiple family members share one class package, to reply to that email with the names of the linked accounts, and one of our staff members will create the links as soon as possible.

When does this change happen?

Nicole and Charles have been working overtime on this change since mid-November! They’ve manually checked every one of our 5,000+ accounts in our database to try and make this transition as seamless as possible for you all. Ideally, when we flip the switch, all you will need to do is open the email that Zen Planner will send you (not sent yet), and log into your account with their auto-generated password for the first time, and then change your password. Downloading the Zen Planner app is not required (although it’s so amazingly easy why wouldn’t you!?). We’ve also worked diligently with our payment processors to securely transfer (through encrypted portals) everyone’s payment information. Again, ideally, all you have to do is log into your new account with Zen Planner and see that you do not have to update anything!

Our TENTATIVE flip date is scheduled for THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST!

There’s still some things we need to fine tune until then that may push this date back. We’ll keep everyone updated once we have a confirmed flip date.

PLEASE NOTE!

5,000+ accounts is CRAZY! It’s simultaneously so incredible to see that we’ve serviced that many people in our short 7 year life span and also super overwhelming when you look at 5,000+ lines in a spreadsheet filled with numbers and letters! We’ve really worked hard to ensure that no one’s account got mixed up in the data transfer, but it is possible. Once you log in to your account, please look through your profile and double check everything in it to make sure it looks correct. If something is out of place, shoot us an email to let us know and we’ll take care of it as quickly as we can to ensure nothing affects your ability to pre-enroll for the classes you want.

By |2018-11-21T23:32:14-05:00January 29th, 2018|Uncategorized|Comments Off on We’re Changing our Registration Software for 2018!

Help Wanted! We need a Front Desk Admin

Hey everyone!

Rochester Parkour is looking for a new Front Desk Admin! Someone to help with the growing number of emails and phone calls we get on a daily basis. This position currently requires 23 hours a week, with possible expansion as a class assistant. This position starts at $10/hr with expected wage increases bi-annually with good performance.

Duties include:

  • Maintaining a clean and inviting front desk area
  • Greeting and checking in members and clients for classes
  • Assisting and answering in-person questions and complications
  • Answering and returning phone calls, voicemails, emails, and all other inquiries
  • Quoting and scheduling of private events and birthday parties
  • General cleaning and maintenance of gym space and bathrooms

Front Desk Admin Requirements:

  • Must be punctual, reliable, and professionally presentable for a fitness gym setting
  • Must have own transportation
  • Prior experience as a front desk admin preferred
  • Prior experience in customer relations
  • Knowledge of Excel and Google Sheets

This Front Desk Admin position can also have supplemental hours as a Class or Birthday Party Assistant. Currently, we have 3 assistant hours per week available plus 2-6 birthday party hours when available.

Class Assistant Duties include:

  • Helping and assisting the Instructor on duty to prepare movement space for classes
  • Managing student participation
  • General spotting of specific skills and techniques as needed
  • Fostering and maintaining positive relationships with both students and parents

Class Assistant Requirements include:

  • Mandatory participation in unpaid internship (expected graduation of 3 weeks to 2 months depending on weekly time commitment)
  • Must be able to lift 70lbs
  • Must submit to a background check
  • Prior experience as practitioner or instructor in comparable fitness field/discipline

 

Please email your up-to-date resume and cover letter to us at info@rochesterparkour.com.

By |2018-11-21T23:32:14-05:00November 15th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Help Wanted! We need a Front Desk Admin

Rochester Parkour Board Game Night!

Ours is a community filled with incredible people who come from all walks of life, bonded together through a shared love of playful movement. It makes sense that a lot of the events we coordinate revolve around that theme.

However, sometimes it’s just nice to kick it with friends and have some fun playing board games, card games, or just simply hanging out! That’s why on November 9th, we’re hosting our first Community Board Game Night!

Here’s the details:

  • Thursday, November 9th 6:30-9:30pm overlapping Adult Open Gym
  • Ages 18+
  • FREE – bring friends!
  • BYO Snacks and Drinks*
  • BYO Board Games to share (except Risk, because it’s bad AND YOU KNOW IT!)- So far we have Settlers of Catan, Dominion, Joking Hazard, Dixit, Munchkin, and Sushi Go.

This event will be overlapping the regularly scheduled Adult Open Gym. If you wish to play around, you may, but must be enrolled and have an active waiver signed. Open Gym passes will be half-off for this event. You can pre-enroll for the Open Gym using this coupon code: ROCPKGAMENIGHT.

Pre-Enroll for Game Night by clicking here!

*Please try to bring snacks that are either contained or don’t make messes so we can keep the gym looking nice! Responsible alcoholic drinking will be permitted to attendees of legal drinking age.

By |2018-11-21T23:32:15-05:00October 26th, 2017|Events|Comments Off on Rochester Parkour Board Game Night!

RocPK’s 2016 Halloween Gorilla Gauntlet!

Halloween is coming… and so is this year’s Halloween Gorilla Gauntlet! 

The Gorilla Gauntlet is an obstacle course unlike any other, designed to test your strength, speed, stamina, and skill. Rochester Parkour will be hosting two separate events – one adult course and one for kids and teens.

These courses work differently than most you’ve seen on tv or have done elsewhere. Our courses allow you to choose your own course difficulty on the fly to scale to your unique athletic ability. This means that ANYONE, regardless of athletic prowess, can participate and enjoy the challenge of our obstacle course.  

Adult Gorilla Gauntlet
Friday Oct. 28th 6-8pm
Ages 18+
Open to the public

Kids & Teens Gorilla Gauntlet
Sunday Oct. 30th 4:30-6:30pm
Ages 6+
Ages 4+ permitted with parent helper if actively enrolled in our Tinies classes!
Open to the public

Costumes encouraged! We are giving away prizes to the best 2; Just steer clear of excessively loose clothing that could impede your climbing abilities! This event is free to watch and $15/person to participate. Members are only $10. Spots are limited so enroll early! See you all there!

By |2016-10-19T13:24:13-04:00October 19th, 2016|News, The Gym|Comments Off on RocPK’s 2016 Halloween Gorilla Gauntlet!

New Changes to the RocPK Level Test!

We’ve been working hard to figure out the best method to assess who should move up and when. We’ve tried several different methods in the past, but we are excited to announce our best solution yet!

Video Submissions

In the past, either an instructor told you that they thought you were ready to move up to Level 2 classes or you had to sign up for a Level Test. These methods were deemed impractical because they left out certain people who either didn’t feel like they were noticed or could never attend testing nights due to schedule conflicts.

Our new process will not only give you full explanation of what skills are required in order for you to prove you’re ready to move up, but it also allows anyone to do this at any time! Here’s how it works:

  1. Research and View all the skill requirements for your age group
  2. Practice these skills during Open Gym time. If you need extra assistance on a particular skill, request to your instructor that they cover it during your next class
  3. When you feel like you can perform the skill well enough for the test, take a video of you doing it! Open Gym Supervisors can help video you if you wish
  4. Clip all your videos together as one video or send them all individually using our new online submission form
  5. RocPK will look over your submission and notify you within 7 days of your submission to either let you know that you passed or what still needs work in order to pass the test

Skill Requirements

While most techniques and skills are designed to be completed by both Youth and Adults, there are some that are age specific. We’ve set up two different Imgur albums with handy Gif videos demonstrating what we’d consider as passable performances of all the required skills. These albums can be found on the Level Test page located under ‘The Gym’ tab, but we’ll also embed them below so you can see now:

Youth Level Test

Adult Level Test

Questions?

We feel like this is the most complete version of the Application process to date! However, if you still have questions about the techniques or the submissions, don’t be afraid to ask your instructor or email us at info@rochesterparkour.com.

By |2018-11-21T23:32:16-05:00October 17th, 2016|News, The Gym|Comments Off on New Changes to the RocPK Level Test!

RocPK Special Events @ the University Ave Music and Arts Festival July 23rd 11am to 7pm!

Lava & Lazer Courses!

Saturday, July 23rd, 2-4pm, Ages 6+

This one-of-a-kind event is being held in honor of the First Annual University Ave Music & Arts Festival. We’re so proud of our small community of locally owned and operated businesses!

We will be designing two separate courses:

– The Floor is Lava! – This Ninja Warrior inspired obstacle course is appropriately challenging for kids and adults ages 6+! Test your ninja-like abilities as you try to navigate the course without falling in the Lava!
– Ninja Spy Maze! – This special course is a HUGE Lazer Beam course. We’ll be stringing up tons of bright, neon-pink ropes with bells. Your mission is to navigate through the maze and collect special items on the way. But be careful- set off an alarm and you alert the guards! This maze is appropriately challenging for kids and adults ages 6+!

Each attempt at a course will require 1 ticket which you will give to the attendant at the front of line. Tickets can be bought on site or online. Tickets are $1 each or $5 for 6 or $10 for 14. These courses will be open to try as many times as you wish for the whole 2 hour event.

Pre-Enroll for Obstacle Courses July 23rd 2-4pm

Family Nerf Battle!

Saturday, July 23rd, 5-7pm, Ages 6+September2015-21

After a short 1 hour intermission, we will be re-arranging the gym and hosting a Family Nerf Battle! Here are the details:

– Family Nerf Battle – The Family Nerf Battle Royale is a super fun event open to all kids 6+ and their parents! Spots are capped at 20, so if you find you can no longer attend, please be sure to unenroll so another family from the wait list may join.

Our General Safety Workshop runs before the event can start and is required in order to participate. Please come a few minutes early to ensure we get this workshop done as quickly as possible so we can spend more time having fun shooting and dodging darts!

$10 to participate; Protective Eyewear & guns are a must. Bring your own or rent from us for $2. We’ve got the Nerf Elite darts covered.

**Pre-enrollment ensures you have a slot in the Family Nerf Battle

Pre-Enroll for Family Nerf Battle July 23rd 5-7pm
By |2016-10-19T12:20:14-04:00July 12th, 2016|News, The Gym|Comments Off on RocPK Special Events @ the University Ave Music and Arts Festival July 23rd 11am to 7pm!

Mindfulness Collaborative Workshop – Introducing Adam Cristantello of Move Aware

On July 9th, Rochester Parkour will continue our “Collaborative Workshops” series to bring you Mindfulness with strength coach Adam Cristantello.

This Saturday workshop will be 90 minutes long and comprised of ‘enLighten Your Step’ with Adam Cristantello and ‘Mindful Movement’ circuit training with Rochester Parkour. Adam Cristantello is a pioneer in the health community with his unique and holistic approach to fitness. In this workshop, you will explore meditation methods and learn how to apply these meditation techniques to enhance your training and well-being. During Mindful Movement with Rochester Parkour you will learn how to explore intention in your circuit training to improve your awareness and control through body weight movements.

Spaces are limited so pre-enroll now to ensure your spot!

Saturday, July 9th
10am-11:30am
$20, Unlimited RocPK Members are free

Mindfulness + Parkour!
By |2016-10-19T12:20:14-04:00July 7th, 2016|News, The Gym|Comments Off on Mindfulness Collaborative Workshop – Introducing Adam Cristantello of Move Aware

Intermediate – The Railing Squeeze

Challenge Level: 5
Skills: N/A

Description: Pro Tip – double-check to make sure you can fit through the hole before attempting this challenge! Start on top of the box next to the railing. Using any means necessary, but without touching the floor, climb through the hole and finish back on top of the box.

SPOILERS!

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By |2018-11-21T23:32:17-05:00June 30th, 2016|Parkour Training, QR Code Challenges|Comments Off on Intermediate – The Railing Squeeze

Beginner/Advanced – The Cave Climb

Challenge Level: 3-9
Skills: Body Prop, Cat Shimmy

Description: Start in a Cat Hang on the grab bar and begin by shimmying across the face of the wall towards the entryway to the cave. Finish on top of the Rock.

  • Beginner:
    • Challenge Lvl 3 – Cat Shimmy across the wall to the next grab bar. Body prop through the entryway to the cave to the next set of bars. Climb up the chute to the platform.
    • Challenge Lvl 4 – Same as above, except the grab bar at the entrance of the cave is OUT.
  • Intermediate:
    • Challenge Lvl 5 – Same as above. All bars OUT.
  • Advanced:
    • Challenge Lvl 8 – Same as above except instead of climbing up the chute, you must climb through the Cave. EVERYTHING is IN except the 2×4 boards on the floor.
  • Insane!
    • Challenge Lvl 9 – Same as above except all 2×4 grabs are OUT.

SPOILERS!

VID_GIF-1467315426
By |2018-11-21T23:32:17-05:00June 30th, 2016|Parkour Training, QR Code Challenges|Comments Off on Beginner/Advanced – The Cave Climb
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