Zen Shimada

Background

Zen Shimada was born on May 13, 1993, in Tokyo, Japan. He is popularly known by his stage name, Zen. He was always fond of sports and tried a variety of them before settling on parkour. Zen began parkour at age 15 and moved to the United States the following year on his own. He competed in the international parkour competition “RedBull Art of Motion Yokohama” at the age of 18, which was hosted for the first time in Japan, and received widespread international praise for his remarkable performance.

He got a deal with L.D.H. at the age of 19 and became Japan’s first professional parkour athlete. In 2015, he became the first Asian to win the U.S. title and the first Japanese to do so in the parkour discipline. The following year, Zen joined the worldwide parkour team, Team Farang, which is made up of world-class parkour athletes from all around the world and leads the global parkour community. In the same year, he made his acting debut in the HiGH&LOW franchise and also launched his first photo essay, “FLY.”

Zen also once broke the Guinness World Record for “longest distance swung between two bars (parkour).” Zen challenged 11.5 feet compared to 10.4 feet, which was established in Hampshire, England. To continue his athletic endeavors and establish his own parkour art project, Zen relocated to Los Angeles, California.

Zen continues to make strides in the parkour world and establish a name for himself in the industry. Currently, he works as an international parkour athlete and participates in a variety of events aimed at promoting parkour culture. He also tries to express himself as an artist by using movies, photography, and design.