Today we’d like to introduce you to Jefrick Barrios.
Hi Jefrick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I always had a deep interest in action movies, watching people jump, kick and flip their way across the screen. I never thought I’d be able to measure up to any of it, but I hoped to one day be able to do some small fraction of what I saw. My dad taught me a simple kick combination, and I practiced it to exhaustion, and slowly I began to develop a homegrown martial art skill. As funny as it may be, a girl in high school I liked encouraged me to try out for the hip-hop dance school team, and so for her, I started trying to learn how to breakdance and to my surprise I enjoyed it. Another skill began to develop. I wanted to add more flair to my dance, so my mom, with little money she was able to put together got me into a gymnast gym for a month when I learned how to do a backflip. From that moment on I fell in love with flips. We could no longer afford classes after that month, but I was determined to learn more, so I began to watch YouTube videos of people flipping, watching frame by frame and taught myself parkour and free running. I still enjoyed the other art forms I practiced, and worked on them on a regular basis, until I started mixing them together, to make someone uniquely my own. I wanted to make a living from my passions, to become one of those guys I saw in the movies, fighting and flipping. So I made an Instagram to try and gain an audience, hoping the right person would see what I can do, and get my stunt career started. One day I found a small throwing knife in my garage, and decided to make a little video with its, some small throws, maybe mix it in with my other moves, like handstands. To my utter surprise this video did well, so I began to experiment more with this concept, knife throwing with my other skills. Kicking knives, Bboy moves while throwing knives, flipping while throwing knives, until I made a throw that was uniquely my own. The “scorpion throw”, a move in which I throw a knife with my hair. This got me noticed by the tv show “the GoBig show” which flew me out to Georgia to participate. Now I’m still pursuing a stunt career, teaching parkour and knife throwing along the way, and dipping my toes into acting.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The biggest struggle that I’ve had in my journey has been my ACL injury. In 2017 I auditioned to be a part of the Houston Rockets Launch Crew, a Bboy team to entertain the crowd during breaks and such. On the night of our first big performance, while rehearsing at the Toyota Center, I flipped off of a team member as per the routine, but landed poorly and undenounced to me, I had torn my ACL. My coach sent me to the team chiropractor who informed me that without an MRI he couldn’t do much. I didn’t have the money for one so nothing was ever done other than provide me with a brace. It wasn’t until 1½ years later that I had the money for an MRI and found out my ACL was completely torn, along with other complications. I reached out to the rockets, and it turned out my coach never made an incident report and the chiropractor “lost” my paperwork. I’ve never been one to give up easily, so for 4 years, I had to teach myself how to move and flip without an ACL until I finally was able to get it reconstructed in November 2021.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a performer, Coach, and stuntman. I’ll perform my array of skills for events, bringing all of my energy! Coach my students in parkour/free running so they can reach their goals safely. I also coach the more daring students in a variety of knife throwing styles. Locally I’ve been involved in some movies doing some stunts; fighting, falling, flipping. I specialize in creative knife throwing and is predominantly what I’m known for, I mix my various disciples with knife throwing to create some new, unorthodox throws. I’m most proud of my Scorpion throw, a wholly original idea that most do not see coming, a knife hidden in, and thrown with my hair. I think what sets me apart from the rest is my ability to mix art forms, in a fluid manner, expanding the possibilities.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family deserves the bulk of the credit. Always supporting my dreams and encouraging me to pursue my passions. My daughters have always been a driving factor to try my best to set an example they can follow and be proud of. The gym owners that have allowed me to train day after day free of charge at their gyms were absolutely instrumental in honing my skills. The world champ knife thrower Adam Celadin who got me my first pro throwing knife and encouraged me to continue throwing. The athletes I’ve met that helped me polish my moves, so willing to share their knowledge with me. Just countless people. I wouldn’t be here without so many of people of had the fortune of meeting.
Pricing:
- Parkour/freerunning private class 80/hr
- Knife throwing class 50/hr
Contact Info:
- Email: ninjaness72@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/ninjaness72
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ninjaness72?t=0yQPVTCHVvdRdzXBge01-Q&s=09
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCClDN1B0INQFhlU9hGk7pvA
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdaubACC/
Image Credits
Alex Biserchich
Christie Goldstein
Alexandre
Obi Kat Larry
Tello Dave
