Pentak grew up in Columbus and went to The Ohio State University (OSU) to study film.

He says he’s always known he wanted to make movies and began filming his documentary about Parkour while at OSU. In fact, some of the filming was done at OSU.

Shortly after he graduated, his documentary won an award.

“My whole goal at Ohio State was to make a short film that would do well at film festivals and hopefully win some awards. And I thought it was very fitting that the day after I graduated I won my first award,” he said.

“Interning at WOSU has definitely added to my knowledge of professional side of TV and film,” he said.

Pentak describes Parkour as “a sport that is very focused on the movement of the human body. It’s all about getting from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.”

“The main focus of the movie was a club at Ohio State that wanted to become an official sports club. I kind of went out to their practices and just shot day after day after day and eventually I figured it out,” he said.

About what brought him to film in London, Pentak explains: “Well, I went to London because they had to have certified instructors to be able to be an official sports club. So they went to London because that’s where they could get a certification that had just come out through Parkour Generations, which is a group of practitioners who are all like, either founders, or second generation Parkour practitioners.”

“It’s not just about doing a back flip to impress your friends,” Stephane Vigroux of Parkour Generations said.

“It’s all about overcoming that fear and kind of trusting yourself to do what’s right, and land and roll and kind of get out of it okay,” Pentak explains.

“I would definitely say, just make movies … Don’t just sit there and talk about it, but actually go out and make something.”