I recently had the opportunity to interview a rising star in the trampolining world, Evan Rocha. He tells us how to get into freestyle trampolining, what he loves the most about the sport and gives some advice to those who are self-isolating. But first, let’s learn a little bit more about freestyle trampolining.
What is trampolining & freestyle trampolining?
Freestyle trampolining is a sport in which the athlete has to use precision and creativity to create flair.
Traditional trampolining originated in the 1940’s and had the first world championships in 1964.
It was eventually accepted into the Olympics in 2000 thanks to George Nissen, the man who invented the modern day trampoline!
Athletes perform many different moves, the most common being the Adolph, Dolphin & Liffis.
Let’s get to the interview!
Before we get started, tell us a few things about yourself!
I`m Evan J. Rocha. I´m a 16-year-old Freestyle Trampoline Athlete/ Content Creator from Austria.
How did you get into freestyle trampolining?
Already as a young kid, I loved bouncing in the trampoline and trying new skills. I never knew that trampolining was an actual thing until I randomly saw people flipping on YouTube. That`s when I started watching a ton of Trampoline videos and got inspired to train a lot too. At some point, I met this other kid who also likes trampolining and I started to train and progress together with him. That was also the time that I started posting my flipping videos on Social Media and could notice that I was able to inspire many other to start doing this sport. Obviously that also pushed me to go harder and I put more work into quality content. 2018 I attended my first ever Freestyle Trampoline competition and was able to win it. A couple of days after that, one of my biggest dreams came true. Greg Roe Trampoline, the organizer of almost all of the trampoline events done worldwide, offered me a sponsorship. As a GRTCrew (Greg Roe Trampoline Crew) Athlete, I don`t just attend the biggest competitions and create content with/for them, I also run my own Events for GRT and get the possibilty to travel and meet lots of other Athletes and Brands.
What do you love the most about trampolining?
I love freestyle trampolining because you don`t have to listen to any coach that tells you what to do. Freestyle Trampoline is all about creativity and making your own thing. You can train when you want and at the level, you feel comfortable with and there is nobody who give you pressure to risk anything you don`t want to.
Related: How to effectively exercise without equipment?
What do you see for yourself in the near future?
I hope that in the future I can keep running events and most importantly keep insiring people to do what they love.
What are some long term goals you have?
As I don`t know how this industry will look like in 10 or 20 years from now, it´s hard to say what I´ll be doing then yet but what I can say for sure is that I`ll never stop inspiring people and putting hard work into things that I love.
What is your one piece of advice for people in quarantine?
My most important advice I have for everyone, who is stuck at home, to stay positive and try to find something interesing/ creative to do at home.
Related: What are the 5 best exercises at home?
Conclusion
Evan has taught me a lot of things when it comes to trampolining and the way it is conducted. He has achieved so much in such a short amount of time and is taking the trampolining world by storm. We can only guess what he will achieve next, it surely will be greatness.
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