Free Runner Daniel Ilabaca wins MTV competition in America

Jan 6 2010 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

A MORETON free running superstar is making a name for himself in Hollywood.

Daniel Ilabaca is an expert in crossing urban landscapes by roof-running, jumping, scaling walls and leaping from building to building – a skill also known as parkour.

He has already appeared on Top Gear, where he raced presenter James May across Liverpool, featured in a music video for David Guetta and worked on Bollywood films.

Now America is sitting up and taking notice after his latest triumph – winning MTV’s Ultimate Parkour Challenge.

Daniel, 21, said: “It was a competition and I’m totally against them in parkour because I don’t believe in man proving that he’s better than another man.

“But I agreed to take part because I wanted to take the message of parkour over there.

“To me, it’s a discipline. It’s another way of looking at life and a belief that you can conquer any obstacle or challenge in your path.”

The pilot show was billed as “athletes defying gravity and showcasing seemingly superhuman skills in an easy to understand format” and was filmed over two weeks in a Los Angeles warehouse.

The first round saw the eight competitors divided into two groups and asked to make a free running video.

The makers of the best video went straight through to round three but the losing team – which included Daniel – had to battle it out for a bonus place by completing a speed run.

In the last round finalists had to impress a panel of judges by hitting targets placed around the arena.

Daniel said: “Watching it back was a bit nerve-wracking. The only way MTV could see the programme was as a competition but after the pilot they realised it could work without that.

“If they make a series it will be more of a group of guys being put through challenges together, which to me just shows what I was trying to get across.”

Daniel was recently a stunt double in the new sci-fi/comedy series Misfits and harbours ambitions to break into acting.

But he added: “I’ve been spending a lot of time in India doing stunt work and a lot of exciting things are happening but being away really makes me appreciate what we have here. I still love living in Moreton.”