Greg Roe facts for kids

Gregory Vladimir Roe (born May 17, 1990) is a Canadian athlete, coach, and entrepreneur. He is famous for creating Freestyle Trampoline. This is a new type of acrobatics where athletes lead their own training and competitions. This is different from traditional acrobatics, which usually focuses on coaches.

Greg Roe is also a biomechanics coach and a social media influencer. He has won many national gold medals in gymnastics and trampoline. Greg is known for his amazing skills and stunts online. He has shown his unique acrobatic talents on TV shows like America's Got Talent (2015), Discovery Channel, Daily Planet, and Das Supertalent (Germany). Today, he is a co-founder of the Freestyle Trampoline Association. He works on many acrobatic projects worldwide.

Greg Roe's Early Life

Vladimir Demidov was born on May 17, 1990, in Moscow, Soviet Union. Greg spent his first five years in a Russian orphanage. Later, a Canadian family adopted him. Maureen and Randy Roe from Brampton, Ontario, Canada, welcomed him and their son, Douglas. Greg became Gregory Vladimir Roe, keeping his Russian name as a middle name.

The orphanage experience shaped how Greg saw the world. He found it hard to fit in at first. Greg was diagnosed with ADHD, which made it tough for him to focus. He was even told he would not succeed in gymnastics. However, Greg learned to use his ADHD to be creative. He quickly learned anything he set his mind to. He used sports and his creativity to find his lifelong passion.

Greg Roe's Education and Learning

Greg found his passion for fitness in college. He started studying a lot about the human body and movement. He went to Humber College in Etobicoke, Toronto, from 2009 to 2010. Then, he studied Kinesiology at the University of Guelph-Humber from 2011 to 2013. This is where he earned his bachelor's degree. At the same time, his trampoline career was growing fast. He joined Team Canada in 2010.

During his last year at university, Greg worked at the Canadian Sport Centre Ontario (CSCO). There, he tested Olympic athletes from all over Canada. He later worked there as a fitness tester. He helped different sports teams.

Greg also has many coaching certifications. He is certified for Level 2 Gymnastics and Level 3 Trampoline Coaching. He also has certifications in Olympic Weightlifting and anthropometry. Greg is also CanFit Pro Certified and has CPR and risk management training. Traveling the world has also taught him a lot about different cultures and sports. This helps him coach athletes from many backgrounds.

Greg Roe's Career in Sports

Gymnastics Journey

After his first gym closed, Greg moved to Bramalea Gymnastics. He trained under coaches Doron Kernerman and Titus Ruddock. Greg became the top male athlete at Brampton Gymnastics. He started winning medals once he focused on his training.

When Brampton Gymnastics closed, Greg went back to Gymnastics Mississauga. This time, he was accepted because he was very focused. He worked with coaches Chris Foo and Gary Isaacs. In 2007, he won a gold medal at the Canadian Nationals on the parallel bars.

Greg trained for national competitions. But he felt the strict environment did not give him enough freedom. So, in 2008, he decided to switch from gymnastics to trampoline. His gymnastics background helped him quickly become very good at trampoline.

Trampoline Success

After leaving gymnastics in 2008, Greg quickly learned trampoline. He had already trained at SkyRiders Trampoline facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He used to go once a week for fun to help his gymnastics.

Once Greg started competing in trampoline, he moved up the levels fast. He won Canadian Nationals in his first year at the Junior National Level. Just two years later, he joined Team Canada. He trained with Olympic coach Dave Ross. Greg was always in the top four nationally. In 2010, he started competing internationally for Canada.

In 2013, he became the Senior National Synchronized Champion with his teammate, Sebastien St-Germain. He also won a Highest Difficulty Award in The Netherlands in 2011.

Even though Greg was a strong competitor, he didn't really enjoy competing. He just did it to bounce on the supertramp. His real passion was creating new skills and trying new coaching ideas. These ideas were often different from what others in the sport believed. Greg was independent and didn't mind these challenges. But his independent nature and strong personality sometimes led to disagreements with his sports federation.

At the same time, Greg became very popular on social media. His online videos on Facebook and Instagram became famous worldwide. A trampoline video shot by famous YouTuber Devin Supertramp made him even more well-known. This video was one of the first times a traditional trampoline athlete got international attention online. It helped Greg become a social media influencer.

Around 2013–2014, Greg was officially removed from Team Canada. They felt he didn't fit their team culture. Greg saw this as a chance to create something new. He decided to invent Freestyle Trampoline as a new sport and community.

Coaching Philosophy

Greg started coaching when he was just 12 years old. He began as a 'Coach in Training.' Now, he coaches athletes and other coaches around the world. He has worked with performers from Cirque du Soleil and the Lords of Gravity, a basketball dunk team from Hungary. Greg is currently the head trampoline coach for Snowboard Germany's national teams. He works with all parts of the trampoline industry: garden trampolines, trampoline parks, and traditional trampolines. He also works with other sports that use aerial movements. He even created a special certification program. This program helps all sports use trampoline training.

In 2018, Greg helped create the first Indonesian Trampoline Team for the 2018 Asian Games. He still trains them online. He has also worked with many Nitro Circus athletes. These athletes perform amazing stunts around the world. Greg helps them with his "out of the box" thinking for extreme stunts.

Trampoline parks are a newer part of the acrobatic world. Greg works with park managers to promote safety and education. Many traditional coaches avoid trampoline parks because of safety concerns. But Greg and his team actively help different brands and groups to provide safety education for these new parks.

Greg's coaching ideas are unique. Traditional acrobatics often involves a coach guiding athletes step-by-step. Greg believes this makes athletes too dependent. He thinks athletes struggle to solve new problems on their own with this method. Greg believes that by giving athletes more control, they learn to manage their own training. This helps them self-regulate in any situation, even without a coach. He thinks this is important as more people try acrobatics without formal training.

Greg's special 3-Dimensional model for acrobatics sees it like a "map." Athletes can "load" different parts of this map by doing many types of skills. They move through different body rotations and axes. He believes athletes gain body awareness by doing these movements. This builds connections in their brains for each skill. He sees every skill as a series of rotations in body joints and around different body axes. He teaches athletes to "build" their skills like a tower. They stack different rotations in any order they want, in a safe way.

In his book, "Coaching Creatures – The Unsolved Circuits," he explains this "build up" approach. It helps athletes feel confident and in control of their training. This is true whether they are in a gym or outside.

This hands-off coaching style is very popular with the new Freestyle Trampoline community. They like to control their own training. Greg simply teaches them how to do it safely. Greg has worked with many athletes and is one of the most diverse coaches in acrobatics. He has also started a Research and Development business. This part of his company studies athlete development, parenting, economics, and psychology. It aims to look at the acrobatic industry from a complete 3D view.

Business Ventures

After leaving Team Canada, Greg decided to learn about marketing and business. Instead of going to school, he traveled and gained real-world experience. He met many leaders in and outside the sports industry. He combined his university research with his competitive experience. He worked with business experts to learn how to share his unique coaching style and social media presence globally.

In 2013, he teamed up with Trish McGeer from inGear Productions. He also partnered with Bagjump Action Sports GmbH, a leading airbag maker from Austria. They started a series of training clinics across Europe. Greg also performed at the Baltic Games in 2014 (Poland) and the Bravalla Festival (Sweden). He appeared on Das Supertalent (Germany) in 2014 and America's Got Talent in 2015. He became a social media influencer, one of the first in his industry.

Greg used his influence to help brands reach their audience. He also helped spread education about acrobatics worldwide. This included garden trampolines, trampoline parks, and traditional trampolines. He also helped other sports that use aerial movements, like Flyboarding. Greg travels a lot, meeting his team members to work on different projects.

Greg led the team that created the first 3D Mobile Trampoline Simulator. This simulator has a free version and a Premium version. Gamers can explore the GRT Trampoline Park on their phones. They can bounce, train tricks, and even compete on live leaderboards. Greg has also launched a cryptocurrency coin and a marketplace for NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). He plans to create a Metaverse through his esports branch. The simulator is always being updated and is available in all app stores.

In 2018, Greg put all his businesses into a company called GRT Holdings, Inc. This company includes stocks, cryptocurrency, real estate, and acrobatic equipment. During the Covid Pandemic, GRT Holdings, Inc. bought over 10 other startup brands. This helped Greg adapt to the pandemic. Greg is always looking for new ventures and learning about new industries.

Freestyle Trampoline Association

In 2017, Greg and Trish created the first official Freestyle Trampoline competition. It was called the Garden Trampoline Games (GT Games). This event was a big success and got international media attention. It led to the creation of Freestyle Trampoline as a new sport. The LA Times said it grew online. Greg and Trish quickly formed the Freestyle Trampoline Association (FTA). The FTA helps manage these events worldwide. For several years, it has offered a new way to compete and train acrobatics for young people. The FTA works with many partners globally. They have their own educational platform called the GRT Network. They offer a certification for freestyle athletes and coaches. This teaches Greg's 3-dimensional model of acrobatics. The FTA runs several competition series worldwide. These include the Freestyle Trampoline World Championships for top athletes and T.R.A.M.P Champ for new athletes. The FTA is the first association for these types of events. Media around the world have praised its innovation in a traditional industry.

Media Appearances

• Das Supertalent – 2014 Season 8, Episode 9
• Discovery Channel – 2014
• Daily Planet – December 2014
• America's Got Talent – 2015 – Season 10, Episode 6
• Ripley's Believe It Or Not – 2016
• Riding Zone – Freestyle Trampoline – 2019
• New York Times – Freestyle Trampoline – 2018
• LA Times – Freestyle Trampoline 2018
• Indonesian Trampoline Team 2018