by Anika Jain (’22), Will Li (’23), and Sophia Tran (’24) | October 11, 2021

In the frenzy of a rally, one Lancer claims fame for performing flips in the distance. Perhaps you know him simply as “Flip Guy,” but this athlete is actually Jake Randazzo (’22). Dedicated to his craft, Randazzo possesses one of the most challenging and fascinating passions on campus — parkour. 

Inspired by his experience as a breakdancer, Randazzo dove deeper into the gymnastics aspect of breakdancing: “I decided to learn flips and liked it a lot more, so I kept doing it, and got pretty good.”

Mostly self-taught, Randazzo regularly practices flips on his trampoline. As a result, he has mastered some of his favorite tricks, such as the Cork Shuriken, which involves twisting horizontally in midair with one leg twirling over the other. Randazzo added with a laugh, “Probably the hardest trick I’ve ever done was a triple backflip this summer. And now I’m like ‘I’m never gonna be able to do that again.’”

As he shared anecdotes about his performance at rallies and football games, Randazzo recalled his favorite memory at Saint Francis—the third rally of his freshman year. He reflected upon a Smash Ultimate game between freshmen and seniors at the rally as “super hyped” and “really, really cool.”

In addition to being a traceur, Randazzo is considering diving in college. “I want to stick with doing something, whether it’s being an athlete, doing photography, filming, or stuff like that,” he added. Through his parkour journey, he has acquired a significant following on Instagram for his self-edited videos that portray his incredible talent.

Always motivated to learn, Randazzo strives to progress in his training: “It’s super fun learning new techniques and tricks, and then putting them in lines or combos.” 

“Creativity is a big aspect of [parkour],” he said. Whenever he has the time, he watches parkour athletes to break down their flips and observe how they invent new tricks, hence his attachment to other amazing traceurs. “I really like the parkour community,” he added.

Randazzo will soon be leaping his way to senior graduation, so look out for his authentic stunts at the upcoming rallies!