Movement Composition: Starting Nomic

This composition shows my progression towards the one of the most mentally challenging stunts I've ever sent. The jump itself is a roof gap measuring just over 11 feet. It has 4 complicating factors:

1. The short run up only gives me two steps before my takeoff step, so I have to generate power quickly.
2. The takeoff requires a step up to a thin wall, so I need to be doubly careful about my foot placement.
3. The far wall is not structurally sound enough for me to land on, so I have to clear it.
4. The buildings are ~60 feet tall, so if I fall, I die.

I filmed the majority of my prep as well as two sends of the jump itself.

The top left panel shows prep work I did to become comfortable approaching the step up. This was done to both gather information about how the step up would feel and to build psychological confidence.

The top right panel shows prep work I did on the entire jump. One of the reasons I chose this jump in particular was because of the nearby ideal prep setup. The prep included a similar run up and allowed me to easily mark the jump distance. I successfully performed several prep jumps in a row before moving on to the real jump.

For me, the hardest part of any high consequence stunt is deciding that the prep work is over. The mindset I use to progress from prep work to send is one of inevitability. The thinking is roughly:

1. I acknowledge the fundamental risk of sending this stunt.
2. The ideal version of my life includes me sending this stunt.
3. In my ideal life, there will inevitably come a moment when I move from prep to send.
4. Given that I have prepared the jump responsibly, right now is an ideal candidate for that inevitable moment.

The bottom left panel shows me breaking the jump. This is the only time I've filmed my first success of a roof gap. I am generally opposed to filming your first send of a high consequence stunt, since it introduces an element of "doing it for the camera." However, I often find great joy when looking back at parkour footage, and I wanted to capture my reaction after breaking a roof gap at least once.

The bottom right panel shows me doing the jump a second time. I generally find that, once a jump is broken, I can do it over and over and over again. I think this is because repetition is so present in the way that I train parkour. I often spend an entire session repeatedly performing the same line.

I only ended up doing this particular gap twice, because after the second jump, I had a realization.

At this point in my life, I had been working on Atlas prototypes for several months in my spare time. I was frustrated that my full time job kept me from spending more time working on it. I had been playing with the idea of leaving my job and focusing on building a company around Atlas, but I was still apprehensive. After the second jump, the following line of thinking hit me:

1. I acknowledge the fundamental risk of starting a company.
2. The ideal version of my life includes me starting a company.
3. I have been "prepping" for the "jump" to full time Atlas work by building prototypes and saving cash.
4. If I want to break the "jump", it is inevitable that I will move on from the "prep work".
5. There is no good reason that the inevitable moment is not right now.
6. If right now is the inevitable moment, and I'm serious about "jumping" to Atlas full time, I should stop jumping across rooftops.

At this point, I collected my drone and climbed back down the side of the building. I have not done a roof gap since. I was self-employed a 3 months later. Nomic raised a seed 6 months later. Nomic raised a series A 16 months later.

We're doing sport, exhausting our bodies, in hopes of having to hear from our minds