About Us
Meet the URBAN YOUTH PARK Team
Jessica Funke Ho
Founder & CeO
Meet the california Team
Alex Desierra
Director of operations
Coach Alex, Originally from New Port Richey FL, has 10+ years of experience teaching Parkour, Gymnastics & Cheerleading. Coach Alex puts an emphasis on technique and understanding for all athletes and staff, and is always looking past what is and taking steps to what can be.
He’s always up to test his abilities on all three disciplines: Speed, Skill and Freestyle, holding gold and silver metals in SEPKC finals for Skill and Freestyle.
“I was encouraged to be creative and push my own limits both physically/mentally from a very young age. From diving to the bottom of the pool at the age of 3, all the way to my very first parkour competition at 18. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to make my own mistakes and learn from them. My Mom plays a crucial role in my development as a leader as well as an athlete!”
On his down time, Coach Alex enjoys spending quality time with the amazing staff at UYP, training, as well as catching the sunset/ sunrise in his van from the most breathtaking views in LA.
jJ Hamilton
south bay assistant manager
jordan mcmannis
General manager
jordan sandoval
palos verdes manager
Brandon Slayden
palos verdes Assistant manager
ryan contreras
coach
clark good
coach
Christian degroot
coach
josh money
coach
ben esponda
coach
jeremiah estill
coach
lance Laralin
coach
Brady Hancock
coach
SEBASTIEN WHITE
Media
Coach Sebastien was born in Maryland, raised in Arizona, and belongs in California. He has 7 years of experience with doing Parkour, Freerunning and Tricking and has been coaching each of these for the past 3. Coach Sebastien aims to assist in realizing self-potential and gain a better understanding of movement.
Sebastien is currently a professional Tricking athlete signed with Torque Tricking, and is an official Shapes of Tricking Instructor. He has toured across the country to teach Seminars with Shapes at some of America’s best training facilities such as Camp WoodWard, Steel City Parkour, and many others. He has also been a special Guest Athlete at Events and Gatherings all over the World.
Sebastien’s current focus is building his brand/cause XPLRMVMNT, with the goal of bringing communities together, hosting events, producing media, organizing projects within our communities, and overall showcasing why the Exploration of Movement and why Movement sports/art-forms are so important to our society and our World as a whole.
Meet The Florida Team
Jessica funke ho
CEO/OWNER
Nik Crisp
Director of Operations
Coach Nikolas is from Tampa, Fl where he found a group of friends that trained parkour/flips. He developed a strong foundation for parkour through training with other amateur athletes and watching tutorials on social media.
Eventually he found a gym in Florida and started to coach parkour, tricking martial arts, tumbling, cheer, and gymnastics. He then found himself in Long Breach California and found a family owned parkour gym called Urban Youth Park and fell in love with their unique culture. “UYP is different than other athletic facilities. We really try to reach out to our students and show them how parkour relates to life and how they can set goals and overcome obstacles and learn that it’s ok to fall, not just in parkour but anything they pursue and what’s important is getting back up ” Says Nikolas “Our main focus is helping everyday families mentally and physically while also having fun, not just creating super athletes” . He has been coaching parkour for 7 years.
He spends his free time training for the NAPC (North American Parkour Championship) and hopes to place first in every category by 2025. He is an Avid reader and is always looking for ways to improve upon his thoughts and actions by also attending personal growth seminars and workshops. His goals this year for UYP is to reach and help over 800 families in Los Angeles by June 2023 and start a non profit to help teach under privileged kids and schools successful life skills through learning parkour while at the same time providing jobs to the parkour community he hopes to have coaches at at least 10 schools by 2025.
parker durant
Nocatee Manager
This is Parker Durant from Ocala, Florida. His passion for movement and excitement for the growth of the younger generation has brought him here to UYP. He has been training parkour for 7+ years and is always striving to push his physical and mental limits. As an older brother of 3, he also encourages his siblings to push their limits in every sense to become the best version of themselves. In the same tone, he wishes to positively impact as many lives as he can through the sport and mindset of parkour.
Find him on Instagram @slothtricks
tanner Holtz
coach
Coach Tanner…
daniel law
coach
Coach Daniel…
Santiago Silva
coach
Coach Santiago…
felix booth
coach
Coach Felix…
gabby catlin
coach & social media specialist
Coach Gabby…
luke Ball
coach
Coach Luke…
Haven boyer
coach
Coach Haven…
Kacy
lead flips & trICKS coach
Coach Luke…
Jack mcdavitt
coach
Coach Jack…
Johnathan ray
coach
Coach John started parkour and freerunning in 2016. He was born in Charleston, WV. He has made his way to Florida through the armed forces, and has been training pkfr for 7+ years.
“I strive to get to the Red Bull Art Of Motion someday. I take every opportunity I can to get new skills and learn from my peers, as well as new ideas for creative movement.”
Nohea tumale
coach
Coach Nohea is from Honolulu, Hawaii and started training parkour in San Diego with SDPK (SanDiegoParkour). Nohea won multiple natural bodybuilding competitions as a teen and has had extensive training experience. He has worked as a professional trainer, clinical fitness coordinator, and has over 9 years of parkour/freerunning experience. Nohea’s goals for 2022 include running a 50 mile race ( to qualify for 100 miles ) and to franchise at least 2 gyms by the end of the year.
“challenges are inevitable, perseverance is optional”
Fun Fact: Coach Nohea became friends with Coach Ruben on the set of American Ninja Warrior before either of them were working for Urban Youth Park!