“Yamakashi” forever: what Leito from “District 13” is doing now.

As time passes, we not only grow older, but also, we grudgingly admit, we age. However, there are individuals in our world who, like wine, only get better with age. David Belle – French actor and leader of the world parkour movement, famous thanks to the movie “District 13”. – is one of such personalities.
Despite his age, in the French film he appeared before the audience in excellent physical shape. Find out what happened to the actor after filming and whether he has not lost his skills now.

How did the career of David Belle begin?

The man who showed the world what parkour is, never dreamed of working in the film industry. But since childhood he dreamed that he would glorify a new and interesting sport. David’s love for him was instilled by his father. The man, who underwent special training in the army, told the boy about the technique, which in the future was called parkour. To achieve success, the child practiced gymnastics, track and field athletics, mountaineering and martial arts.

It was parkour that young David Belle began to devote a large amount of time. At the age of 15 he even quit school and went in search of like-minded people. This decisive and, at that time, reckless step became fateful for the Frenchman. In 1987, together with Sebastien Foucan, they organized the parkour team “Yamakasi.

The guys formed their own lifestyle – a certain mixture of acrobatics, rock climbing and various martial arts. This movement was called Parkour, which means “obstacle course” in French. Soon people from other cities joined their team.

All of them wanted more and more people to know about their team. The Yamakasi were featured in magazine articles, television programs, and also starred in a music video by the band I AM. The members believed that this would help them earn a living.

But soon, amidst internal disagreements, the team broke up. After the discord in “Yamakasi” David worked in the fire department for a while. However, due to a broken wrist, he had to leave the service. The guy began to shoot and edit videos demonstrating his successes in parkour. It was they who gave the Frenchman a way into the world cinema. The clips posted on the Internet were noticed by directors.

In 1997, David made his debut appearance in a feature film. He played in an episode of the series “Louis the Page”. Then followed a series of minor roles. Of course, the most important work for David Belle was the role of Leito in the movie “District 13”. In 2004, director Luc Besson invited Belle to participate in the filming.

After the premiere of the action movie, in which Belle independently staged and performed all the stunts, the Frenchman woke up famous. The success of the movie was colossal. Together with David received world fame and parkour. Many viewers were amazed by the agility and abilities of Belle, although the actor himself did not pay much attention to training. Parkour, it seemed, was in his soul.

In 2009, the actor and stuntman covers a new wave of popularity. The reason – the movie “District 13: Ultimatum” is released. Luc Besson again entrusted the main role of David Belle, but the much-anticipated sequel did not repeat the success of the first movie.

How does David Belle look like now?

Now the actor is 46 years old. Periodically he can be found at events related to the development of the parkour industry. He has a wife and three children.

Throughout his film career, the man never forgot about his favorite sport. David participated in the creation of various competitions, staged specific scenes in action movies filmed in Europe and Asia, and regularly trained himself. In April 2018, David Belle attended the first round of the Parkour World Cup and followed the competition closely.

His athletic form is still admired and respected to this day. Since the filming of the first movie “District 13” he has not changed much. The actor managed to preserve athleticism and musculature. This really amazes and motivates.

David, whose tattooed body with incredible speed moves in space, has become one of the favorite actors and stuntmen Luc Besson and an idol, a role model for young people. All this thanks to his charisma and incredible stunt scenes.