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Made In The 956: Kiskeya Athletics

11 months 3 days 10 hours ago Tuesday, May 16 2023 May 16, 2023 May 16, 2023 1:12 PM May 16, 2023 in News - Local

Kiskeya Athletics in Pharr might look like your ordinary gym, but one step inside, and you'll see what makes this place stand out from the rest.

They've got a strength training gym, a common area with drinks, snacks and ping-pong tables and four indoor tennis courts.

But it's what's upstairs that really sets them apart.

"This is an absolute state-of-the-art modern parkour facility," Kiskeya Athletics Program Director Lorena Abreu said. "I'm like 99 percent sure this is the biggest parkour gym in North America. It's def among the top biggest in the world."

Abreu knows a thing or two about parkour.

In fact, she was featured in Made In The 956 last May. She's a parkour athlete, actress and stunt woman. 

"I actually started parkour when I was a whole adult. I was 19 and it became my career. So at this point, I've been doing parkour for over 10 years," Abreu said. "So parkour is an actual discipline in which you use specific movements to interact with obstacles. I like to tell people it's where sport meets creativity, and it's where discipline meets art because we give you the moves, you put them in your toolbox, but then you get to choose your own adventure and do what you want."

And she's the one who designed the gym. If that wasn't enough, there's even a surprise under the parkour course, hidden tunnels.

But this gym is much more than parkour, it's an idea that started when Abreu was just a kid.

"We're from the Domincan Republic, but we were raised here in South Texas. This is where I grew up," Abreu said. "When I was a kid, I was so hyper. My mom had to take me to karate, she had to drive to take me to tennis, she had to drive to take me to gymnastics...she had me all over the place. And she thought to herself, I wish there was a place where I could just leave my kids for the afternoon where they could do sports, be physical, have fun, maybe even get some homework done, and that's where the idea for Kiskeya was born," Abreu said.

And it's not just for kids. 

"Our focus here was to really make something here that everyone could enjoy, regardless of their level, regardless of their physical strength or ability. Just a place where people can find joy through movement, and so far, it seems like it's working," Abreu said.

Kiskeya Athletics, Made In The 956.

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