Today we’d like to introduce you to James Crutcher.
Hi James, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started my acrobatic career when I saw some other kids at my elementary school (in Boise, Idaho) doing backflips and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
I remember going home and watching countless YouTube tutorials on how to backflip and attempting everything they told me (I was around 8 years old). After learning how to backflip, I began watching a lot of Olympic gymnastics floor routines and trying to copy what I saw them doing!
It was around that time when my grandparents bought me a trampoline so I could practice all of these skills in a safer environment than the grass I was originally on. A few years down the road, I went to my first parkour/gymnastics gym, and then, when I saw people doing a sport called Martial Arts Tricking (the sport I do now that consists of the martial arts kicks with the gymnastics flips and twists) and I was blown away with what these people were doing.
So I talked to one of the guys at the gym (who ended up going to my high school) and he taught me a lot of the basic skills I needed to know to start. I also began watching more YouTube tutorials and following all of the big-name tricking athletes on Instagram studying the videos they posted trying to understand how they did what they did.
I later moved from Idaho to Utah to work at a gym called Woodward Park City where I have been training, coaching, and performing for the past few years now!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a tough journey, I’ve been fortunate enough to have never had any major injuries but I have had my fair share of minor injuries that put me out and demotivate me for months on end.
I also struggle with being too hard on myself when I think my progression isn’t going as fast as it should be which makes me demotivated to train. At the end of the day, I have to remember why I started in the first place (which is for the love of movement).
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am currently a lead coach at Woodward Park City, and I specialize in tumbling and trampoline skills. At work, I am known for being almost ninja-like with my movement and for being able to send crazy flips/skills as if they’re no harder than walking.
I’m most proud of how far I’ve come in this sport and how I’ve been able to meet and perform for such amazing people and big names in my line of work (such as Will Smith). I’m also very proud of being in a workplace where I am valued for my skills and work ethic as well as being in a place where I can impact people’s lives for the better!
And one thing I’ve been told that sets me apart from the others is my outgoing personality. I personally don’t see it because I’m simply just being myself but I’ve been told throughout my life that I have that personality that is perfect for engaging with people and making their experiences all the better!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t think of myself as a risk-taker, but I have taken a lot of huge risks in my life that brought me to the place where I am today. It all started when I was choosing which high school to go to, I was originally going to a music-based high school for guitar but then I decided to go to an academics-based high school instead.
After agreeing to go to this high school, I had to drop out of the wrestling program at my home high school (which is just the normal non-charter high school, I would have gone to). Since I chose to go the route I did, I was able to meet my friend Aladin who showed me what tricking was and help teach me how to start.
The biggest risk I’ve taken was moving out of my parent’s house in Idaho just after turning 19 and moving to an apartment in Utah to work at Woodward with my best friend Rickie. This was a huge risk because we didn’t know we got the job or were moving until a week prior so we had to find a place to live and move in within a week!
This was also my first time ever moving away from my parents (and essentially my entire life that I started in Idaho) just to go work in park city with my friend (who I didn’t know very well at the time). Taking this risk has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done because I absolutely love living in Utah and Rickie is one of my best friends who is a brother to me now!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Jamezboyy
- Youtube: James Crutcher
