Boxer Skip, Freestyle Flair: Eddie Jumps Skips Rope & Takes the Mic (Ep. 18)

Dizzy Skips (00:37)
Well, Eddie Adby, thank you so much for joining me on the Jump Rope Podcast. I’m so excited to have you here and talk. This is great.

Eddie Jumps (00:41)
Yeah, man, now I’m excited to be here

and chat, like I said, before we hit recorders. First time I’ve done this sort of thing, not obviously talking in public and stuff, but jumping on and connecting with someone from the Jump Rope community. So yeah, I’m excited to talk Jump Rope and hopefully inspire a few others with my journey.

Dizzy Skips (00:58)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It’s always fun to talk to people who actually talk jump rope. Like I’ve made jokes before about, you know, when you have that family member who’s like, yeah, you jump rope. It all looks the same to me. And you’re like, no, no, you don’t understand. I just learned the EB.

Eddie Jumps (01:17)
Yeah, people like I play football,

obviously you’ll call it soccer and all my friends just like who don’t get it they’ll say like, just say skipping. I used to use the word skipping, it’s big in the UK knowing it’s called a skipping rope. But like now I’m like, you can call it skipping but it’s a jump rope. And then I’m like, it’s a sport as well you know, you can give it a little bit more credit than just skipping in my garden.

Dizzy Skips (01:33)
Yeah. Right.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. You have a video.

I think it’s one of your latest videos or it’s like an introduction to 2025 or your plans where you were saying you were out for a couple weeks while you were remodeling stuff in the gym. And one of the comments that you made that I liked was that I think you said something to the effect of like jump rope is a performance based goal. And so the progress is endless. And that is one of things I love about jump rope. Like we were chatting just a little bit before we hit record about like all the stuff that you can learn and developing your own style. I’d love to hear you talk a little bit more about

developing your own style and that versus like, know, just copying other people or whatever. How did that work for you?

Eddie Jumps (02:22)
Yeah, yeah definitely.

But yeah, I’ve always been motivated by performance-based goals and I didn’t start, I’ll mics it up, sometimes I’ll call it skipping, sometimes I’ll call it jump rope, but I didn’t start skipping because it was a performance-based goal. just…

Dizzy Skips (02:35)
Me too.

Eddie Jumps (02:38)
I just picked it up one day and then once I sort of dive deeper into one being bad at it, I was like, oh my God, there’s gotta be some sort of technique behind how to do it. And that was literally like as naive as that. And then when I put it into YouTube, I couldn’t believe the level of detail that it can be exposed to. And I gravitated initially more to Rush Athletics. I’m quite inspired by his journey, his progress, his brand, everything really.

Dizzy Skips (03:09)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (03:10)
So, so yeah, so then I just

dedicated time to getting better and then I realized how big it was that the one it was called jump rope and how big it was worldwide Yeah, and then I became you know stuck on it But the fact that it’s a performance based goal Now for me and that’s something I say quite a lot and I’m the same when when I was training in the gym in my early days I I used to just train to look good and do like bodybuilding sort of workouts, know when I was younger, but then I

Dizzy Skips (03:20)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (03:38)
gravitated more to powerlifting and strength training. And when I did that, I enjoyed training more because I wasn’t bothered about the way I looked. It was about performance. Like, was I getting stronger? Was I improving my technique on my lifts? And I then literally was obsessed with the details of the big lifts and ended up competing in powerlifting. I know we’re not on a powerlifting podcast, but basically that’s how, when I started learning more about jump rope, I had that same feeling. Like, you’re rewarded on such a frequent basis because when you’re

Dizzy Skips (03:39)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

That same mentality.

Eddie Jumps (04:07)
your,

for example, if you’re training, which again, I do train still for this along the side, it will like body composition and looking better. It’s such a long term goal that some days you might feel good, some days not, and it’s changed. But with jump rope, it’s like, I couldn’t do that an hour ago, or even just working on some technique. And for me, that is what just keeps the hunger all the time, especially with learning off other coaches and others in the game. It’s like,

Dizzy Skips (04:28)
Yeah.

Right.

Eddie Jumps (04:35)
she would do something it’s like I’m gonna try the harder variation or I’m gonna do it in a combo so it’s like you just at the minute I literally I’m so passionate about it I like eat sleep drink think I wake up going to bed or go to bed just thinking about jumping. My missus will be talking to me sometimes she said you’re thinking about jump rope aren’t you? I’m like yes I am

Dizzy Skips (04:54)
That’s hilarious. Put the jump rope down and come to bed, honey.

Eddie Jumps (04:55)
That’s it, that’s it, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dizzy Skips (04:57)
One of the things I have loved about watching your videos is that you emphasize skipping like a boxer, And I love your boxer flow. Did you ever do boxing kind of stuff?

Eddie Jumps (05:05)
I’ll be honest with you.

My first time I ever picked up a skipping rope, my best friend was MMA fighter, mixed martial arts. And this was when I was like 18, he was a few years older than me. We both personal trained together. And when he was getting ready for a fight, he used to be a member of a strength conditioning gym. I said to him, I’d like to join him with you like a pre camp sort of session, see how I get on. Anyway, the warmup was skipping, so they threw us a skipping rope. I was so bad, I was like a horse, like elephant trying to skip.

Dizzy Skips (05:15)
Okay.

Okay.

Eddie Jumps (05:34)
I was that bad. had, and you’ll know because you’ve been to these gyms, they had like this rubbish bike in the corner of the gym. And that was like the naughty step. If you couldn’t skip, you just had to sit on the bike. And I was like scarred then. I would never even look at skipping rope. was so embarrassed. Embarrassed, sort of like being a bit like this in the gym wasn’t my thing. So I was humbled. So that’s why when the opportunity came after having a bit of an injury where I my Achilles, lockdown happened.

Dizzy Skips (05:42)
Yeah.

Hahaha

Eddie Jumps (06:00)
I was just walking but I was still in bit of pain. I wanted to build up my confidence again so that’s when I started skipping because I thought, one, can’t believe that, like now I’m practicing in the garden no matter how bad I am, but I wanna actually just see if I can master it a bit, so that’s where it started. But in terms of the content that I create and aiming at boxers, I recently linked up with a lot of boxing, well, a boxing gym in the local area. I haven’t.

actually competing like fought in boxing. I admire that type of training. I’m a lover not a fighter.

But for me, the reason why I’m passionate about the boxing content is because I know I went to a mixed, like, costret for condition gym, but I actually know how it felt not to be able to skip. And I know that, especially in the UK, there’s a lot of, like, we call it white collar boxing, where, like, yeah, you’ve got the elite boxers who, yeah, they know what to do. They’ve been skipping since they were maybe five. But then if you actually water that down, there’s a lot of young boxers who maybe never picked up a rope or a bit embarrassed to, because that’s how I felt.

Dizzy Skips (06:32)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (06:59)
They’ve also got like real amateur life. I wanted to compete in a boxing thing. I could sign up to a 12 week course, have a fight on the end of it. So that’s part of their training. So for me, I definitely see from my past experience how beneficial that it can be for those people, but also making them look, listen, if you suck at skipping or you don’t know how to do it, don’t be embarrassed. Let’s get you better at it. So yeah, so I’ve been down to a local boxing gym delivering quite a few sessions to their boxers and stuff.

I love about it is, I know jump rope is for everybody, right? And that’s what I love a lot about it. What I like about sometimes boxers is the fact that they’re already motivated to pick up the rope because it’s part of their training. They’re semi-athletic because I know that they can handle the demands of jumping because if you’re someone who’s just looking to get fit, you’ve got to just sort of, you know, we know that, take it easy to start with. And I know that they’re going to practice regularly to get better because they want to. So, yeah.

Dizzy Skips (07:31)
Cool.

Eddie Jumps (07:57)
boxing even my son he’s in the other rooms right now he always says boxers learn how to jump ropes I get that a lot and that’s one story right this is that I’ve it’s only happened twice I’m not like trying to pretend that I’m like mr. superstar but I live in Manchester so my brother was in London for the weekend and and some guy kept looking at him in the bar and he was with his friend and he come over to him and said excuse are you Eddie Jumps to twin brothers you see so much and are you ready jumps and the brothers like no and he was like mate

Dizzy Skips (08:24)
Right, right.

Eddie Jumps (08:26)
I follow you with your brother on Instagram. One, he didn’t believe it, but then he’s like, I follow your brother on social media. He’s helped me so much. I do boxing training. He’s helped me to get, and my brother around me is like, mate, you’ll never guess what’s happened. And I was like, that is like, it was mental. It was a good feeling. I was just, I said, that’s the power of.

Dizzy Skips (08:41)
That’s awesome.

Eddie Jumps (08:43)
social media sometimes, especially living in a small area. You’re so used to sort of, for me, just operating where I am. You don’t actually recognise the actual reach of these videos and who you’re connecting with really.

Dizzy Skips (08:46)
Right.

it’s great. And it’s very much consistent with conversations I’ve had with people recently, which is that you really never know how far what you do is gonna reach on Instagram. I had no idea when I started my Instagram in March of last year that, you know, after I posted my first video, it wasn’t gonna take that long before someone was like, keep it up, dude, you’re doing all right, you know?

And now I have people from different areas of the world going, you’re an inspiration or I love watching you dance or stuff like that. like, this is crazy to me. Like I’m just some dude in Minnesota, you know?

Eddie Jumps (09:29)
Well, that’s that and that is the beauty

of it, you know, and I was in some industries and obviously sports and stuff. It can be really, especially in the fitness game, can be quite, because it is competitive. People don’t like to, you know, give information or be supportive. But one thing I love about the jump rope and is I don’t find that at all, you know, like people aren’t, you know, even obviously, you know, it is competitive in terms of people maybe trying to build businesses, but I actually don’t. think there’s so much on my part anyway, there’s just admiration and

Dizzy Skips (09:48)
Right.

Eddie Jumps (09:56)
really for everybody in the game. and I like that because it’s nice when you know someone like your coach, Ghadi or you know Lauren might comment on your video you think wow it feels good you know it’s nice to get recognition and be supportive because we’re all in the same game.

Dizzy Skips (10:11)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You and your brother own a fitness gym, correct?

Eddie Jumps (10:15)
Yeah, we do. We own a group

personal training gym, obviously, yeah, fitness and strength. we’ve, we’ve.

Dizzy Skips (10:21)
What does group personal training mean?

Eddie Jumps (10:22)
So yeah, so basically

what we do is we’ve had the gym 10 years, but I started in the fitness industry as an apprentice when I left college. I didn’t even like the gym, but I did it because I was doing football coaching at the time. And I thought if I could get my fitness as well as my football coaching badges, then clubs would look at me more. But the more I got into the fitness game, obviously working in the gym, working with people, my passion is coaching. And then I become a student and I use my body in terms of,

trying to improve the way I look, get stronger, learn how to lift. Anyway, so me my brother, we become fitness instructor apprentices, fitness instructors, then personal trainers, then we built up a client base and went freelance. Then once we got a good amount of client base, we then decided to, left a commercial gym where you’d sort of pay rent and use, and then we started renting private facilities, but then we built up a client base so much that we decided to open up our own gym. So the way we operate is different really,

I won’t bore you too much but this is a group personal training gym. we train, so we’re not open for clients just to come to the gym whenever so our gym isn’t just open for the public to just pop in whenever. We have scheduled sessions in the morning and in the evening so our clients can commit to training with us up to three to four times a week but every time they come in we know that they’re booked into their session, we have a limit on the groups because then what we do is we coach them in small groups so we have like 12 people in the group

Dizzy Skips (11:25)
No, it’s interesting.

Eddie Jumps (11:51)
I’ll coach six my brother or the other coaches might coach the other six we guide them through the workout Every time someone comes to the gym They’re getting guided shown what to do from the minute walk in to minute leave and that’s how we operate So it’s like a high service, but again for us light and you’ve probably seen this with gyms It’s always that balance between getting more people in the gym like a class for example less coaching and then the quality of what you deliver isn’t as high and for us like the fulfillment of coaching is

Dizzy Skips (12:05)
That’s cool.

Yeah, right.

Eddie Jumps (12:21)
in

terms of, because we love it, getting in there, making sure it’s personal, obviously in a group so it’s inspiring, people are working with each other, building that camaraderie and building a community. yeah, so we made big changes this year in terms of investing quite a lot of money into the refurb of the gym, made some big changes with how we operate. But yeah, so that’s been good. mean, I’m lucky really because the gym for me is obviously my day-to-day, that’s my life, but the jump rope

Dizzy Skips (12:30)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (12:50)
is just a passion for me and it’s a hobby, which is good really because as much as sometimes I get excited with it and I want it to go, like carry on going like that.

And I actually don’t ever want it to feel like a job and it doesn’t now But I don’t want to have that stress towards it. I like creating content filming, you know Packaging the ropes, you know sending the ropes out, you know building the community. I always I want that just to constantly feel Fun and I feel like if I lose that I’ll be so gutted So it’s sometimes like you might feel this as well But obviously when you’re filming con especially now, obviously you’ve created your podcast and stuff. It is easy to sometimes get a bit

Dizzy Skips (13:20)
fun. Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (13:30)
Maybe a bit overwhelmed a little bit maybe or no consumed and you know get a bit too like you’ve got loads of quite a lot going on you’re trying to do so some whenever I feel like that I always scale it back and just think right the reasons why I jump row is because I want to get better so I just take the foot off the gas and just dedicate more time just practicing myself and then what I find is naturally the content is easy because it just happens you know like it might be the end of my session I think you know what that was cool that I’m gonna do that in the tutorial you know I mean or whatever so anyway that’s an overview of

Dizzy Skips (13:50)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (14:00)
I suppose that’s how I

Dizzy Skips (14:00)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (14:01)
ended up with the jump rope really, you know, because…

because of my background, know, in terms of now having the coaching skills with my tutorials and my information that I give out, I feel like I can break down the techniques really well for people. And I think people do not blow my own trumpet, but they seem, which I love on my videos, they respond quite well to my coaching style. And I think that every coach is different with their style, their delivery, it’s unique. So I like to think that I offer something a little bit different to other people, which makes us different, don’t it?

Dizzy Skips (14:30)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. do you do any skipping stuff at the gym or is the coaching more around like weight training and stuff like that?

Eddie Jumps (14:36)
It’s strength training, resistance

training. I have jump rope clients, I have probably two or three. To be honest with you though, I don’t over commit with having too many one-to-one clients because I’m so busy with my time with the gym and other kids and just everything. And again, so I always keep it flexible with my clients. Although I could set it up where it’s a bit more like, you know, we do this every Tuesday at X, I actually like, look, know, anytime you wanna drop in for a session,

let’s arrange it, let’s do it. And then that flexibility works both ways. I’ve had a couple of clients who’ve been pretty long term. One’s Kel, who she always, I let her feature a lot on my videos. And I like featuring my clients when they do come to the gym. Because one, it shows a little bit more about how I coach them. Two, it shows, inspires people with their coaching. And I always like that groundwork of working with someone for a while where…

They represent obviously all their hard work, but they also represent your style and your teaching how they’ve progressed and it is a proud feeling as a coach gives me a lot of fulfillment So I wouldn’t want to so the reason why I’ve kept it separate to the gym is although I’m so tempted to get it involved I almost feel like sometimes it’s nice to keep the both paths just a little bit separate for now again Once you sort of like start mixing them in again, I might find myself coaching not only skipping myself, but also creating content then going into the

gym

coaching and it’s just that burnout I suppose and I’m nowhere near that but I’m just cautious that I want to keep the flames going so again if clients sort of said to me like all my clients see it like majority of them see my stuff and that and they always like respond well to it and that but like yeah again if I wouldn’t want people from the gym stop training at the gym because they’re jumping ropes there’s also that balance between like just keeping it sweet I suppose

Dizzy Skips (16:04)
Yeah.

Right. Sure.

Yeah. So, so how long did you have the gym before you started jumping rope yourself?

Eddie Jumps (16:26)
Well, yeah, I started jumping

rope. I first picked up the rope in lockdown. It wasn’t because of lockdown though. Like in lockdown, I wouldn’t think, I wish I did, you know, I felt like I missed an opportunity not starting. It’s probably just probably the second lockdown, but like I feel like I missed an opportunity there to start even earlier.

So the gym was, so that was probably what? What are we now, 25? So yeah, probably about four, five years ago. But I did have a break, you like I practiced probably initially and practiced some footwork. I only did it for like fitness purposes and to improve my footwork and to add it into my, the gym gets cold, not now because we’ve got heat in and aircon, but at the time it was cold. It’s industrial unit, you know, even though we’ve glammed it up. So skipping I thought was a great way of sort of getting the heart rate up and like, you know, which obviously everybody knows that, know, as a warmup. And that’s what all I wanted, you know, just to incorporate

Dizzy Skips (17:05)
Yeah, yeah.

Warm it up.

Eddie Jumps (17:13)
my training

for 10 minutes or so. And I always say that to people when they first start skipping, just do it for fun, incorporate it, just work on footwork, nothing too heavy, and just enjoy it. And trust me, if you do that for a while, you’ll then be like, I wanna learn some more, I wanna try this, and that’s how I went. But initially, I did it for about six months, and obviously experienced a few aches and pains, because that’s all part of the game, especially, you can’t miss that. But then I stopped, I did stop for a while, and I was gonna put the rope in the bin, and I tell you what,

Dizzy Skips (17:32)
Yeah.

Yeah, totally.

Eddie Jumps (17:42)
because

I went to the gym one evening and I was practicing some tricks and skills and I was rubbish. I think I spent about 45 minutes to try and work out how to cross my arms and I couldn’t do a crossover and I literally couldn’t do it mate. None of this come easy like, you know. So afterwards I was like, I’ve just wasted like, I was meant to go to the gym to do some skipping to sort of work out and 45 minutes later I’ve done nothing. So apart from walk out feeling more stressed than when I walked in. So I did put it down for a bit.

Dizzy Skips (18:11)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (18:12)
And then my client went to me afterwards, which was a personal training client, said, how come you don’t skip anymore? And I said, oh well.

I just felt like I had a, you know, I just stopped, you know, and then she went, you were getting really good at that, you shouldn’t have done it. And then I thought to myself, that’s not who I, like, I didn’t like the fact I was quitting, if you know what I mean. So I was like, yeah, you’re right, I was doing it. So that really motivated me to pick the rope back up. And so then I decided to focus, when I practice, leave the tricks and skills and just keep building, just do it for fun, do it in a workout format, just do it to get that feel good factor. And I felt like that’s one thing

Dizzy Skips (18:38)
That’s cool.

Eddie Jumps (18:51)
but obviously with anybody who starts jumping rope, you can do tricks and skills whenever, you could do it on day one if you wanted. You don’t have to be at a certain level, but I do think having that foundation of sort of a good technique, fitness, and mentally, because I got to a stage where then I was like, okay, I’ve done enough footwork now, I wanna just start learning some tricks and skills, so I separated the two. Jump rope, it’d form a workout for maybe 10 minutes, but then was spending, when I had the time, like 45 minutes to an hour,

Dizzy Skips (18:52)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (19:21)
actually almost like a learning session, I don’t know why I that, but learning session like, know, just practicing the techniques and schooling myself. So then when I did practice them in another situation, I was getting more success. it like, again, it’s all just part of learning, but like that’s how I try and.

Dizzy Skips (19:27)
Yeah. Yep.

Eddie Jumps (19:39)
encourage people when they’re learning is to sort of one do it for fun, do it in short spells and when you are practicing you know just try and you know dedicate that’s it it’s time isn’t it as well you know like when you’re learning the tricks and skills you know that you can spend a little bit of time but they you’ve got to have that time some people aren’t bothered about learning tricks and skills because if they’re only using it for 10, 15 minutes or 20 minutes they just want to use it in the cardio so so yeah but yeah that’s the way that’s

Dizzy Skips (19:54)
Mm-hmm.

Sure. Yeah.

Yeah, I like that. I have had the same experience where, over the course of the summer, you I live in Minnesota where it gets really cold in the winter. And so now I’m jumping indoors a little bit more. I jumped outside yesterday and I like to go out and jump in the cold too, but.

But over the course of the summer, when I’d get off work, I would go to the park and I would skip for a few hours and goof around. It wasn’t always straight skipping, I did not make a concerted effort to say, I’m gonna learn the EB and I’m gonna learn releases and stuff like that. I goofed around with some of that stuff, but I really spent a lot of time trying to find my flow, kind of find my footwork flow, and I love footwork.

Eddie Jumps (20:42)
I saw that on your, yeah, exactly. You got

some good moves, man. can see that your footwork lights you up and that you like that type of, that’s how you like to your jump rope, don’t you?

Dizzy Skips (20:53)
thank you very much. Yeah, yeah. I like to think that I’m a rope dancer in a way, you know, like I just…

Eddie Jumps (20:55)
You’ve got a massive mat in your living room man, that’s like

a catwalk.

Dizzy Skips (21:00)
I know. Yeah, it’s fun. I had to do that because one of the things I decided to do at the beginning of the year is I’m gonna take two tricks and just work on them. You know, like as I go…

I do my footwork flow stuff, but I try and spend like 10 or 15 minutes working on one trick and then 10 or 15 minutes working on another. And I was trying to practice releases and those handles were just slapping into the floor. And I think, you know, @aaronjumps.365 He gave me a comment once like, you’re going to have to replace those floors, dude. All right. I’m going to put down some mats here. Yeah. But, anyway, yeah, just finding my own sort of footwork voice.

Eddie Jumps (21:28)
Yeah, definitely I feel that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I completely get that.

Dizzy Skips (21:39)
over the course of the summer was important to me. And we were kinda talking about that earlier, like finding your own style and not, you know, and.

Eddie Jumps (21:42)
Mmm.

Yeah, that’s good. think I,

for me, like, I learned what even the, like, for me, I call them basic footwork, like, you know, basic bounce, boxer skip, alternate step, run skip, side straddle, front straddle, all work in different movements, you know, and coordinate and, and first of all, I found that really tough. And actually I just put all five or six back to back for like 40 seconds on rest for 20, 40 seconds on, and I’d do like 20, 20, maybe even half an hour, but it was a really good workout. And I enjoyed that.

Dizzy Skips (22:03)
Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (22:14)
One thing, like I can do the running man, but one thing I want to push myself to do more is improve by different types of shuffling footwork. I look at that as obviously jump rope, but I also see it as entertainment and a skill. You know, like me and my brother back in the day, slightly embarrassed about it in a way, but we used to like try and shuffle, you know, at like clubs and around the pool on holiday – We’re them guys. And people say, I hate these guys shuffling. So the running man’s quite,

Dizzy Skips (22:37)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (22:39)
easy but I’ve actually, but that’s one of my goals this year. haven’t actually, I’ve signed up to a few coaching programs online to sort of self teach. So that’s it, incorporate a different aspects of jumping rope and improving my footwork. So it’s probably not my weakness, but that’s probably one area where I do feel like I sort of hide away a little bit because I know I can’t do it. But at the same time, learning how to sort of shuffle and cut shapes on its own.

Dizzy Skips (22:40)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (23:06)
with all you even think about jumping rope, it’s just finding the time to sort of like, because I like to separate it. So for example, I always think now, okay, in the evenings as a routine between eight and nine, a couple of days a week, I’m just gonna do a bit of footwork, but actually just focusing it more on cutting shapes. And then eventually like then try when I’m using it in the gym, say, give this a go. But in terms of my style, like I struggled a lot with.

Dizzy Skips (23:29)
Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (23:30)
sometimes I do I create a lot of content to help people with good form and I try not to bang on too much about it because I don’t want people to be too conscious it’s a bit like when I used to deadlift in the gym I’d look at my brother and be like how was that like I need recognition like you know like or you’re jumping you like look really stiff like just relax a little bit don’t matter if your arms drift wide a little bit don’t matter if you use your arms just just do it and the more you do it it get better but when I was jumping initially

Dizzy Skips (23:48)
Hahaha

Eddie Jumps (23:56)
Obviously my most dominant arm would used to be crazy. I had my left arm by my side, but my right arm would be literally like like this and I used to be so I I messaged at the time early days I message I’m not gonna name them but but not in a bad way But I would message a lot of people in the junk rope game saying please just tell me how to fix this You know, like I was desperate to sort of do it And I I just messed around with a few different techniques. I had one

Dizzy Skips (24:07)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (24:25)
one session with Coach Chris at the start of my journey who taught me a drill where you sort of, when you jump rope you bring your arms out and then you bring them in and just get an awareness of how far you can bring your arms out without messing up and how you can get them closer to your side and what I was doing when I was looking in the mirror was just trying to get the symmetry of moving my arms but it didn’t matter how much I tried, I still had it. So I literally, I really focused on that point so much at the beginning

of

me doing the basic bounce like I was comparing them to try and improve and I was using a beaded rope I was doing all sorts of single arm swings. Eventually it got better, so there’s a lot of people probably listening to this who do have that because I’ve even created videos on it because I knew if I’m having this issue, there’s gotta be loads of people having the same. But one thing that helped me, now I might have it a little bit as I push for harder skills but it gets, don’t focus, I would say to anyone who does it and then I’ll talk about the style.

Dizzy Skips (25:00)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (25:23)
Don’t focus too much on it because it will get better and by pushing learning different types of footwork tricks skills and just constantly always try to level up and that’s something I learned off Coach Nate that Naturally your technique will improve because the stuff that used to feel hard would feel a bit easier So don’t feel like be so like it has to look textbook but used to look at like a lot of and this is Obviously rush was one of the first guys I looked at rush and the jump rope dudes. I like

Dizzy Skips (25:45)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (25:52)
their content, who they are, their story, and I found their content really useful. Especially when I was learning little things like how to keep the arms close to the side, or how to spin the rope, and I’ve done loads of different coaching forms. But what I used to record, quite a lot of his, his style’s different though, and I love it, and it’s unique, and obviously you look at a lot of his athletes, they all have the same style, and I like that because obviously they represent the brand of what he’s about.

Dizzy Skips (25:53)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (26:17)
He has a slightly longer rope I’ve analysed a lot of different styles, he has a slightly longer rope, he’s very athletic in terms of the skills that he does, and obviously arms have got lot higher.

So when I, I would say that’s more of a sporty style, although it’s jump rope. When I started then, so I was obsessed with that. So I would record quite a lot of his videos. There was another guy, he’s, can’t pronounce that, probably from Israel and that, but like his style, even his footwork was so good. So I used to record it and then literally just try and copy it in my garden to see how can I move my arms and keep them high? How can I do the footwork and just try and see if I can mimic it.

Dizzy Skips (26:30)
Interesting.

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (26:57)
So I used quite a lot of a bit of them, but then when I started going more, realising that jump rope was a sport, working alongside with some sessions with Coach Nate as well, who’s a jump rope freestyler, I actually found it unbelievable and a top guy, top motivator, good coach, and I found that because…

Dizzy Skips (27:13)
He’s great, by the way. I love Nate.

Eddie Jumps (27:19)
So there’s skimming for style, which obviously we all want to have our own style. But then actually the jump rope is about using less effort, being as efficient as you can and not really sort of like whipping your arms and making it look like it’s actually doing it with smoother, more precision, get it right? So I almost adopted to somewhere in between where like, you know, I use a beaded rope more, I start doing more freestyle tricks, my rope’s quite short. So I suppose

Dizzy Skips (27:36)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (27:47)
I

like the idea that mine’s somewhere in between them both and that sometimes I might just get my ropes PVC rope and I might be boxing and I think you know what my ropes a bit longer today I’m gonna thrash this out a little bit and sort of get a bit You know whippy with it and then there’s other times where I’m using a beaded rope and I’m practicing stuff like toads or mics or or stuff where I think okay now I’m going more down the freestyle route, which it’s crazy really because I never thought I would be I find myself gravitating more to the jump

Dizzy Skips (28:05)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (28:17)
sport stuff, the athletic skills, especially this year. I think because jump rope is, I know I keep banging on about it, obviously you know this anyway, but it is a sport. Because of my background, think naturally I like to keep learning more about the sport and the freestyle stuff, rather than just do it more for, not entertainment, but like.

That’s how I’ve been staying even more motivated with it all. So yeah, I’d like to think that my picking little bits of everyone, and that’s why I feel like it’d be cool to learn how to cut shapes to see if, you know, try and add that into a bit of the both styles really. Yeah, but it’s fun creating that own style. That’s why sometimes, you know, you’re watching other jumpers, seeing how, you know, what type, you know, how long their rope is, what type of rope, what kind of things they’re doing. And there’s no harm in sort

Dizzy Skips (28:40)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (29:06)
of like just experimenting, trying it yourself just because like if you can pinch little bits of everybody then it makes you better. That’s it, no one is exactly the same are they? So yeah, it’s nice that everyone’s different. mean, there’s another guy I call Jimmy Relax. Do you know what, I don’t watch a lot of people. You think Jimmy says relax, is it Jimmy? Have you seen him?

Dizzy Skips (29:10)
Yeah.

Right.

Okay. I don’t recall. I may have, but.

Eddie Jumps (29:29)
I might be saying it wrong, but he,

I don’t watch a lot of his videos, but his style is like really like next level, it’s like lots of releases, lots of footwork, a bit like Chris Skipps, is Chris Skipps? I don’t know if met him. Anyway, yeah, like, yeah, it’s just intriguing really, yeah.

Dizzy Skips (29:47)
fun. Yeah, I love that there are so many different styles out there and and I am inspired by so many people. I will say that there there are people that have styles that are not for me, you know, like I’m never going to be the toad guy that does tons of leg wraps and stuff because that’s just I mean, I think it’s cool. I love that other people can do it, but I just don’t foresee that being what floats my boat. But but it’s so cool that there’s you know that. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (30:08)
Yeah, Do you know what though mate? Like seriously, right? I used look at the toads, yeah? And even now I don’t, I used to think,

like for me, like one that looks weird, right? That’s what I used to think. And it doesn’t look cool. And I don’t want to do it, right? Once I started doing it, I tell you mate, it’s really addicting, know? Like I don’t know what it is, but like once I started, I even say like, I never thought I’d like.

Dizzy Skips (30:20)
Right.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (30:33)
Yeah, I think again, like, I think that’s cool though, like sometimes looking at stuff and yeah, that’s not me. not quite, but that I would say that I was like a bit had that mindset too . Then when I actually started doing it, I was like, why am I getting so addicted to this? didn’t know. like, you know, I want to take it another further and stuff. So that’s why I sort of said, like, sort of gravitated more in a way to the jump, you know, in terms of the freestyle, you know, in terms of unlocking them sort of doors. because I felt like before, I didn’t,

Dizzy Skips (30:49)
Right, right.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (31:01)
then I, not that I wasn’t progressing, but you know what mean? I sort of felt like I wanna, okay, like one of my goals is to do a TJ.

which is gonna involve doing a toad, obviously the triple under in the air, which is gonna take, getting there, but like for me, so that’s why like, again, that’s why for me, I will do a toad because I look at, when I think, okay, I wanna do that, how do I do that? You know what I mean? So when I start dissecting it to what I need to do, I’m like, okay, let’s get this fucking toad done, man. Anyway, yeah.

Dizzy Skips (31:28)
Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

That’s great. as far as your coaching goes now, you you mentioned like a handful or a few students that you work with in person, but do you do remote coaching? What other sort of?

Eddie Jumps (31:45)
So my coaching,

I’ve run various different challenges since I created Eddie Jumps. Initially, for the first year or so, was creating just content really.

And then I decided to, I was getting a lot of obviously messages asking, you know, what type of ropes I use, what mats and stuff. And I was approached by, you know, like a few different, you know, jump ropers brands to sort of rep their gear. But I always felt like I was on my own. I wanted to always just to be on my own path, my own journey. So at times when I was, whatever ropes I was using, I was always open about pushing whatever I had, you know, being honest, giving people that advice, but it really motivated me to sort of think, you know what I want to create

my

own products that I’m proud of and that I use. And then part of coaching in terms of how many people I work out, I coach some at the gym. I don’t do online coaching. Again, I know I sound like I’m Mr. Busy, but just because of time. I have two, I’m gonna be releasing one soon, online coaching programs. These are for beginners. And again, the way I learn, I know there’s apps out there.

Dizzy Skips (32:48)
Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (32:53)
me.

my courses, yeah like the courses really, the episodes that link in, that people can watch. They start with learning like the foundations and then they progress over to once you can do this, we can then learn the next skill, we can then push them together in order of difficulties, starting with the easier skills, progressing. But the beauty of the courses are like people can just go through the learn, like watch it the night before, dissect parts, then when they practice like you know already, having that bit more

Dizzy Skips (33:07)
Right.

Eddie Jumps (33:20)
structure

to what I not too like too structured but knowing the techniques of how to you know drill a certain skill then progress it makes practicing a bit more enjoyable knowing you’ve got a bit more of a focus and then the completion of it so for me I run quite a lot of courses giving people a taste for that and for me like I want and I’ve had like I think you know a few of them through the jump rope community like Becky, Patty there’s been loads others

Dizzy Skips (33:27)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (33:47)
who have progressed through my courses. I’m proud to play a part in their journey and the fact that they do say nice things about me and the coaching, which is great. In the future, for me, I want to continue pushing these programs because I know there’s a lot of value there. And to see more people…

Dizzy Skips (33:47)
Yeah, Sarah.

Eddie Jumps (34:04)
progress through that and help them improve will give me that fulfillment. just designed a, I’ll give you a little, I’ve been putting quite a lot of hard work into a new challenge. It’s for boxers actually, believe it or not. So yeah, I’ll be launching that soon. yeah, excited. I was always thinking of.

Dizzy Skips (34:08)
Right.

Yeah.

Is that another course that people will be able to buy through your site?

Eddie Jumps (34:25)
Yeah

but this one’s gonna be more tailored at for boxers or people who enjoy that style of training. The other two courses, like one’s a beginner’s footwork and fitness course where again, teaching people the 10 basic footworks that I learned, but actually just go into a bit more detail how to practice, doing it in different types of sets, how I’d put it into workout, how often, and then your goal would be to do complete

Dizzy Skips (34:34)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (34:51)
I feel like the two programs that I have created, if I found them at the start of my journey, I feel like it would have really helped me just sort of build more confidence. Same with the Beginners and Tricks and Skills program, having that sort foundation program where you sort of can just learn more about the techniques and work out how to practice. And I think I resonate through that feeling of what I got when I went into the gym, sort of trying to do it on my own where I just found myself failing a lot and it actually left me a bit more deflated. And I know that’s all part of anything, but.

Dizzy Skips (35:04)
Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (35:19)
but having that bit more guidance just makes it bit more enjoyable. yeah, so that’s the…

Dizzy Skips (35:24)
Yeah, totally.

Just having a plan, kind of, or at least a roadmap or a path that you can go down. I know one of the questions that I got from Becky and I think Patty was, ask him when he’s gonna come out with an intermediate program.

Eddie Jumps (35:30)
Yes.

I know, yeah, I know, I know.

Well, that definitely is on the agenda in the future. know they’ve smashed it in terms of learning all the foundation skills. Even now, when I I call them foundation skills, know, side swings, crossovers, swing cross swing open or swing cross open, EBs, EB swings, turns.

I still practice them daily, like all the time when I’m jumping. you can, there’s no, getting more efficient at them is always just never ending. So like initially it’s, and this is one thing I learned, and I think this is key really, is focus on completion first, like being able to complete the skill. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but just because naturally you’re like, I wanna do it amazing, I wanna look like Evan.

Don’t overlook the fact that just complete it. Doesn’t matter how you do it. And then you can get that real good feeling of, wow, I’ve just done it. And then it celebrates them small wins. Then doing it more efficient and getting it improving is that’s part of the fun of keep developing it. But yeah, so.

Dizzy Skips (36:40)
Yeah,

yeah, that’s so true. I was just talking to a friend about that the other day about how, like going back and rewatching some of my videos, I see, I can keep that rope more parallel. You know, like I pulled it off, but it was a little messy, so here’s what I work on next is keeping that rope tighter in and not having my arms flail around like a muppet.

Eddie Jumps (36:57)
Yeah, and I’ve kept quite

a lot of my videos from you know, I keep a lot especially my early days because even when I first started I was like, you know, I’m gonna keep these because I know again looking back on them videos It’s a bit like similar when I go in the gym and look back on my deadlift that was like three years ago three years ago I think wow, I had an amazing deadlift and now I’m like, my god

Dizzy Skips (37:20)
Right, right.

Eddie Jumps (37:21)
I

remember doing crossovers in the garden thinking I was like Muhammad Ali or something and now I want to look at that.

I will try and bring out an intermediate one initially when I first started creating content.

Dizzy Skips (37:27)
I know exactly what you mean.

Eddie Jumps (37:31)
I was really, and I am still probably, I’m still learning, obviously still massively learning myself, we all are, but I sort of wanted to make sure there was a good pathway and I think that’s what really inspired me to create Eddie Jumps is because I wanted to create a pathway for beginners or people who are new to it. Again, I know I repeated it, but because I know how it feels like you do when you first start and it can be a bit overwhelming initially, obviously you can buy any skipping rope to get started and start jumping or

whatever, but having that structure, know, because when you do ask yourself some questions like, how do I get the correct rope length or how do I buy a good skipping rope? What is a beaded rope? I mean, I didn’t even know what a beaded rope was until I started using one. How does it perform? So sometimes it’s just keeping it simple, you know, like obviously there’s certain ropes like cable ropes, which probably do get slagged off a bit. know, only because they’re not for beginners, but obviously advanced jump ropers, you know,

Dizzy Skips (38:08)
Right.

Eddie Jumps (38:26)
be using them all the time in their training, so there’s a time and a place for them. But separating that for a beginner makes it easier, you know, just saying, look, that’s for me, that’s why I try and, you PVC and beaded ropes are my two go-to’s, they’re the ones that I use, and I use a jump rope mat as well. And then it just keeps it bit similar, because obviously you’ve got weighted ropes, Bluetooth ropes, and they all come with that. Which is good though, like they all come with a different experience and more…

Dizzy Skips (38:48)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (38:51)
Yeah, just different, like even weighted ropes, for example. Why would you use a, like a proper weighted rope would be at that step? And I bought one at the start of my journey and I like using it more. Well, you know, when I was at that, and you’ll know through the boxing gym, a boxing gym, maybe, yeah, you know, when you use it as a workout, you want to just feel a little bit harder, like you’re doing more work.

But when people say you can build muscle with it and stuff, I know that you can’t. So I don’t like it when people try and sell some, I know it’s part of it, but know, like, misform people because you don’t want people thinking, oh yeah, I’m using this weighted rope because I want to build muscle. It’s like, no, it’s just going to become a more challenging way of jumping rope, you know? So again, just trying to simplify it for people.

Dizzy Skips (39:29)
I’m gonna get buff, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. You know, one thing I’ve found, and I wonder if this is the same for you, is that for me in learning tricks, having a heavier rope, not necessarily like a half pound, but you know, having a heavier, like the beaded ropes that I’ve made are all heavier. And that extra feedback really helps me in learning tricks. And some of the tricks that I’ve learned, if I started with PVC, it just, it wouldn’t quite work the same. I just didn’t quite have the same feedback. But once I got that,

muscle memory of feeling the feedback from the heavier rope, then I could transition to something else and pull it off, you know.

Eddie Jumps (40:07)
using the beaded or the

PVC.

Dizzy Skips (40:11)
I’m a beaded guy, man. I have PVC and I love jumping with PVC, but I jump with beaded probably 80 to 90 % of the time.

Eddie Jumps (40:18)
even when you’re doing quite a lot of footwork.

Dizzy Skips (40:20)
Yeah, yeah, part of it here is I love jumping outside and in Minnesota when it gets to be cold, PVC just is no good. Like I’ve broken PVC ropes because it’s been too cold or I was out skipping yesterday and it was just below freezing and I pulled my six mil PVC out of the bag and it’s all kind of, you you have to warm it up. I’ve wrapped them around my middle under my shirt just to warm them up enough so that they’re flexible so that I could jump for a little bit.

Eddie Jumps (40:39)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I do that thing where I put it underneath

my foot and like, you know, like trying to straighten it out all around my waist like this. But yeah, I think, yeah, that’s interesting though. But yeah, I always try. I’ve created a video recently about dipping it into hot water just to try and, you know, because they just need a little bit extra care. And obviously, you know, where you are, even in Manchester, the last few months, it’s been really cold and it does make a massive difference. You know, like even, even if you’re trying to look after them and they become a little bit stiff and stuff, they can be a little bit more delicate.

Dizzy Skips (40:52)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (41:17)
and that’s why thought the beaded rope is just indestructible really, you can use it whenever, you don’t have to be so dependent on it.

Dizzy Skips (41:22)
Yeah, yeah, it’s a workhorse.

So when you’re starting with a new, like when you get the question from somebody like, all right, I wanna start, I need to do what you do, what do I start with? Like, are you?

Eddie Jumps (41:33)
You know what? Like, I…

My advice would be, I would actually say, because I would always say focus on footwork and put it into a workout form first. So I’d actually advise a PVC rope because I think it’s less heavy to, even though you want that feedback and there’ll be people who will prefer that for footwork initially, I think sometimes the fact that you don’t have to work too hard to spin the rope, you can adjust it to find your rope length a lot easier.

you tend to just focus on footwork. You just want to feel like it just feels a bit zippy. So I’d always recommend probably starting with a PVC rope initially. Then what I would do, and this is, that’s what I did initially. I think that’s probably why I did that. Then when I invested in a beaded rope, I found that it was really nice feeling the difference between them both. You know, having a light one and then suddenly having a slightly heavier one was like, okay, this feels different, you know, and

Dizzy Skips (42:28)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (42:28)
and maybe you can handle the

Dizzy Skips (42:29)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (42:30)
whips a little bit better as well.

then it was again adjusting the rope length just a few times to find it right because if you’re still new you do want it not too long but you don’t want it too short but eventually with a beaded rope once you get that sweet spot of it being a little bit short and the perfect size for you it flows well. I literally just bounce between the two all the time now. I always like the beaded rope. I do think beaded rope’s my favourite especially more for the freestyle stuff.

Dizzy Skips (42:57)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (42:58)
need

that feedback. I like the fact it doesn’t get wrinkled, know, especially you do it, like even stuff like toads. But sometimes if I’m doing, again, I can do them with my beaded rope and I will do double unders at the minute and push myself to do more triples. And naturally you’re gonna want to try it with a PVC because it’s lighter. So there’s so many pros and cons. always think, I always think it’s good to have a favourer. And sometimes you’ll go through stages of like, I’m going through a stage where I really like using my beaded one and then my PVC.

Dizzy Skips (42:59)
Yeah. Yeah.

Totally.

Eddie Jumps (43:27)
I would say, I’d always say this to people, because people, it’s a mess, you’re saying, which one do I get? And I’m like, just get both. You can do the same with either, it’s just which one do you prefer. So sometimes just finding your way and feeling both is better than just going, okay, I need to make the decision, you know, which one? Having both is a great option.

Dizzy Skips (43:36)
Yeah, right.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (43:48)
Especially for mic releases, mean you can do them with a PVC but you’ll know, you’re gonna really struggle. as soon as you start learning more tricks, you realise that having that extra weight and feedback really does help. It just takes a bit of getting used to. I think if I’m going for more footwork, tend to use my PVC. As soon as I’d start putting combos together, I tend to use my beaded rope. Unless it’s like a boxing style where I then like, with loads of sideswipes.

Dizzy Skips (43:49)
Yeah, I totally agree.

Eddie Jumps (44:12)
and crosses and I want it to be fast and furious then I’ll jump to what people say.

Dizzy Skips (44:18)
Yeah, Yeah, I’ve said this before, but I love starting with a heavier rope and working on footwork and you get so that you’re happy with what you’re doing or whatever and then switch to a PVC and just feel like Superman. You can just move that thing so freaking fast. It’s fun.

Eddie Jumps (44:34)
I know, I know. Yeah, that’s it. And

that’s why it’s good to sort of experiment by just having a feel of both of them. I found that when I, sorry go on.

Dizzy Skips (44:41)
Yeah.

Can you… I was just gonna ask, could you comment on how you advise people to size their ropes? Like, you mentioned like when you’re starting out a little longer might be helpful, but how do you coach people to do that?

Eddie Jumps (44:52)
A rough

guideline is always to stand on the rope and hold the handles up and you want it to come up around your chest and your armpit area.

Dizzy Skips (44:59)
And so when you say stand, you one foot or two foot?

Eddie Jumps (45:00)
I tend to go one foot,

so one foot and then hold the handles up like this, like a loop. Because initially when you get the rope out of your bag, you need to shorten it. I think when I first started skipping, I don’t even think I shortened my rope, I think I just got it straight out and was like wrapping it around my hands, know, like to sort of, which, so I know that if I did that, I know everyone’s doing it and you see it all the time in boxing gyms. It’s one of the things I said to the boxers when I went to the gym was,

Dizzy Skips (45:03)
Yeah, me too.

I know, I did the same thing.

Eddie Jumps (45:26)
get like, either have your own ropes where you’ve sized it correctly or in the gym have like short, medium and long so then you’re giving yourself that better chance. But it is always down to sort of like, that’s a rough guideline. It’s a lot of it’s trial and error. know, like how does it feel? Because you’ll probably be the same. I have so many different ropes, different sizes, different colours. You know, sometimes I like, yeah, I know that I have like my multi-coloured, I call it the EJ classic.

Dizzy Skips (45:41)
Sure. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (45:53)
That’s

it. They’re always really short ropes, but then my white one that I use the majority of the time is slightly longer. So like sometimes it just depends what I’m working on. So you’ll find that yourself. So I always just think, judge it on how’s it feel and are you getting success? I do think there’s an element, especially with the beaded rope, that you don’t want it too big where it just feels like it’s lagging and your arms are just drifting a bit too wide. just again, experiment, make it shorter, not final.

you know, start cutting things off and stuff and just see how’s it feel. Are you getting more success? I’m always pretty open though, know, like people send me DMs or, you know, videos and that I’m always trying to push them even with the YouTube content that I create as well, you know, like in terms of finding the better, the most rope length, how to untangle your PVC, just stuff, you know, like to push people in the right position. One of the reasons why I made my rope slightly shorter initially with my beaded rope, because

Dizzy Skips (46:25)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (46:47)
Because my arm, I told you before, used to drift out a lot, it actually made me really be more efficient by trying to keep my arms closer to the side. So, did you do the same?

Dizzy Skips (46:57)
I totally did the same

thing.

Yeah, just, I knew I wanted to be good. You know, like I want to be good and I watch people who, like Lauren was one of the people I was watching and you know, her rope comes up to her waist and her hands are nice and tight and I was, and I was having trouble tripping. I mean, I remember, you know, probably the first month of me jumping, I posted some video and said, hey, skippers out there, can you tell me, like, is my rope too long? Cause it, I just cannot stop tripping and, and,

you know, some people were like, it’s okay or whatever. And this friend of mine, Leslee, was like, shorten that bitch up. And I did, and it made all the difference.

Eddie Jumps (47:32)
Yeah, yeah. So that’s it,

yeah. Initially, when people are just feeling it the way into it, you do want to shorten it a little bit, but I think once you get through that period, you can be a bit braver.

Okay, let me shorten it a bit more and see how it feels. And it will move a little bit quicker, but it will just feel a bit smoother. One thing here in terms of the form that I’ve picked up on a lot initially when I first started was trying to keep, it’s not about just keeping your arms by your side, but actually flexing your elbow back so they’re behind the body more.

and unboxers you’ll see, I was gonna demo but I’ll do it slightly, but like they’ll have a massive bend in the arm and they’ll be doing a lot of pushing down with the rope, you know, they’re working hard, but then they’re not bothered about jumbo, they’re doing it for you know, maybe a little bit more upper body, athleticism, but with jumbo, we’re doing this, but we’re doing it such a small motion where it’s like with less effort. So again, if you’re somebody who has a slightly longer rope,

Dizzy Skips (48:06)
Right, right, right.

Right, right.

Eddie Jumps (48:35)
noticed when I was studying people’s form was they have a little bit more elbow bend they look more, know, more, their ropes longer, their arms they’ve got it but actually I went the opposite where I had a shorter rope but my arms were actually down here using my wrist so that’s quite, so basically, you know when I say if I’m using a PVC rope it’s a bit longer and I think I’ve gotten a bit boxier today I’ll just try and keep my elbows a bit higher and just use, a bit more over dramatic but if I send that video to like Nate he’ll be like

Dizzy Skips (48:49)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (49:03)
You know, need to come up and you need to fix back up and bring them arms back down. You’re going too crazy. Because the issue is sometimes when you, it’s cool though, it’s no right or wrong, but sometimes when you’re doing that, it does have a bit of a knock on effect because when you start then trying to practise other skills that require a bit more precision, you’ve sort of just been draining a bit more muscle memory in terms of being a little bit sloppy. But it all depends on your goals, doesn’t it?

Dizzy Skips (49:11)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So when you when you started skipping, like you said, you picked up a rope. But what was what was the thing that made you pick up a rope? Like.

Eddie Jumps (49:38)
Yeah, well the one

thing that made it, I…

I played football. I just got back off holiday actually. was in Barbados, which was nice for the missus for a couple of weeks. And so I was at day’s rest and then I played football match against a good team and I got injured and I never really get injured. But it was my Achilles. I didn’t tear my Achilles, but I’d definitely done some. I didn’t wrap later. I wasn’t like I was on crutches, but enough where it felt painful. Then lockdown literally happened a week, you know, COVID here. So we were going for loads of walks and stuff, but I was, you know, it was killing me. was

Dizzy Skips (50:04)
Sure.

Eddie Jumps (50:10)
and I was thinking, I’m glad, well not glad that we’re in London, but one is that I needed this extended break from football because it’s quite bad. So then I thought, I want to build up my confidence in jumping again. And that’s when I thought, you know what, I’m gonna buy a skim rope and just do a little bit of skipping with the past experiences about being really bad at the gym. But what a perfect opportunity to sort of just practice and maybe just put that one to bed. And like I say mate, yeah, literally,

Dizzy Skips (50:39)
Right.

Eddie Jumps (50:40)
I wasn’t very good at it at all, which is completely normal if anyone who picks up the rope, you’re not gonna be a genius at it. But I probably underestimated it, know. I thought because I go to the gym, I’ve been in fitness, I just thought I would pick it up really quickly and be good at it. And the fact that I wasn’t actually, then I YouTube’d it straight away afterwards. And like I say to you, mate, I was so naive to think, I couldn’t believe how big the world, how big the jump rope community and the jump rope is a thing. So again, I just become a bit of a student to it.

Dizzy Skips (50:56)
Sure. Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (51:10)
and literally I was waking up early, practicing five to 10 minutes, put it in a workout form. But even like, I really struggled with everything to be honest with you. Like the boxer skip, didn’t feel natural, so I really tried dissecting it in ways where I could get better. But yeah, but that was it. Literally just thinking I wanna build up my confidence and stuff. I do say that message sometimes in some of my videos, but I don’t want people with loads of Achilles issues sort of jumping because a little bit of that might be all

Dizzy Skips (51:25)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (51:39)
but know, physios probably won’t say, that’s Well, that’s it. And even now, to be fair, as I’ve progressed, I still got aches and pains in my shins, like you probably do as well. Even my achilles, sometimes it feels, okay, I feel that. I just manage it better, but it wouldn’t be enough to make me stop.

Dizzy Skips (51:42)
Yeah, right. You don’t want to exacerbate the problem.

Yeah. Yeah.

So when you manage it, I’m curious, is it more just recognizing when you’re in pain and stopping? do you have, like, one guy I know on Instagram said, hey, I got a tip for you. If you’re over 40 and you’re jumping rope, ibuprofen. And I thought that was great. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (52:12)
That is, yeah, that’s good. It is, I think,

it’s so hard.

Depends how long you’re practicing for, like even myself, I probably sometimes practice too long. There are spells where I walk myself through some of the stuff that I’ve been working in a relaxed way, but sometimes if I’m practicing a combo where I’m pointing together, I could be doing it for 45 minutes, even to an hour, and the next day I will feel exhausted from it and feel slightly fatigued. So I just think it’s sometimes just when I do feel like that, just literally just having a couple of days where you don’t pick the rope up, just rest, maybe just

Dizzy Skips (52:39)
Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (52:49)
Switch the learning to something else like you know watching the tutorial or watching your videos back, but definitely listening to you to your body because You don’t want to it’s so easy to burn out that you don’t need to I think naturally because we all want to get better We all enjoy it and it’s so addictive. It’s just so hot like sometimes right if I I you know when I said to you that I Wanted to use it to skip before my gym session now, right? I can’t pick them. I’m I tried the hardest study if I skip

Dizzy Skips (52:54)
Sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (53:17)
before my gym session I’m not training mate 45 minutes later I’m like I now have to separate the two because if I pick that rope up I just can’t put it down

Dizzy Skips (53:21)
You’re not doing your, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, no, I totally get it, yeah. Are you a, do you skip to music?

Eddie Jumps (53:31)
No, I

don’t you know, sometimes sometimes I’ll be music on in the gym often I practice a lot since we’ve had the reef of the family self and the weather’s been really cold So I found myself practicing a lot in the gym I also like mixing up a bit because my garden is a bit of a state at the minute and the gym background is quite cool to Film content and stuff. It’s a bit more consistent. But Normally if I’m jumping in the garden, I’ll just have silence sometimes back but not to like, know BPM or you know, like really quite synchronized I suppose

Dizzy Skips (53:50)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (54:01)
again, like as I progress and get into maybe more the the shuffling and dance routines, well, I say that I push myself to do that maybe in the next few months, then I think music will be more, I used to listen to a lot of music initially, you know, like, on headphones and stuff. the reason why I wear headphones, I know you’ve got, I should probably invest in some pods, but one, I like the sound of the rope. I feel like sometimes having the head, even though it’s you probably obviously do a lot more footwork than me.

Dizzy Skips (54:12)
Yeah, yeah.

Eddie Jumps (54:28)
me so having that sort of I don’t know do you listen to music when you shop okay right because I was just assuming you did that and I thought you were gonna go no that isn’t me okay well I suppose I just don’t like my headphones are like you know yeah exactly so one the rope will hit the top of my head and I like that yeah

Dizzy Skips (54:34)
Always.

Yeah, always.

The big cans, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah,

I do that. I do that to catch it like when I’ve got the over the ear headphones on, I’ll get sloppy and catch it on the back of the headphones. I’ve launched those suckers off my head, you know, 100 miles an hour before.

Eddie Jumps (55:03)
Worst one, I was wearing my

shades on holiday, skipping on the beach. And I’ve worn them loads of times when I was skipping, but this one, the rope, I think I did a mic I can’t remember what did, but I let go of the rope and it hit my shades off and they just smashed into the smithy. Yeah, completely, mate. It cost me an expensive skipping session. I was like, no.

Dizzy Skips (55:08)
Yeah.

really, they just broke?

Eddie Jumps (55:28)
Patty actually messaged me and said I need to get somebody, they’re quite common in America, know, like the proper, like the snowboard-wool ones. I’m not as cool as her though, so don’t think I could pull them off.

Dizzy Skips (55:34)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s funny.

Yeah, that’s funny. I saw Kathy Jumps to a video the other day where she had her son’s like lab goggles on, you know, like those big clear goggles, like if you’re gonna or gonna go work with a band saw in the garage or something. But that was pretty good.

Eddie Jumps (55:51)
That’s it, yeah, yeah, yeah, you need to be well protected. yeah, so, you know, I tend,

yeah, just, yeah, I probably don’t listen to as much music as other people do, to be honest, but I can see why they do though, because having that sort of breakaway, it’s like when you’re training in the gym, having them have that, just good release, isn’t it?

Dizzy Skips (56:03)
Sure.

Yeah, yeah. I’m curious when you are working with people, well, for yourself, what does your warm-up look like and how do you advise people warm-up before they jump?

Eddie Jumps (56:14)
You know what, I’m gonna.

I’ll be completely

real, right? When I actually don’t have much of a, my warmup routine is always just, I just start doing some light skipping with my PVC rope, just practicing footwork. I don’t actually have, I don’t do, I do a lot of I say a lot of strength training. I train, I strength train probably three, four times a week. I play football the weekend and I’m pretty active. So I find that movement in terms of just being physically active and training, I don’t spend too much time stretching. Definitely not pre

Dizzy Skips (56:26)
Sure.

Okay.

Eddie Jumps (56:43)
I think if people aren’t doing as much and then they might find the benefit in terms of stretching after the session, but warm up I’ll just pick my PVC rope and just do a little bit of a Little bit of footwork. Maybe practice. I I have like a set routine. I’ll you put in my videos like I like to do swing cross swing open on both sides Then I’ll put an EB in there and then maybe a turn and just try and have like a small combo that I just I like to practice regularly just to keep

Dizzy Skips (56:52)
sure.

Yep.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (57:11)
keep

it nice and tight. Then once I do that, literally five minutes or so, I’ll then pick my beaded rope up and then whatever I’ve been focusing on, I’ll practice it individually, like just walk myself through what I’m doing, just to sort of remind myself how to do it. And then I’ll be like, okay, now I’m gonna make this harder and I’m gonna add a mic release before and I’m gonna add this skill after and naturally create that combo of sort of putting maybe five or six skills together. And it, like I say, could take me about 40 minutes to sort of

Dizzy Skips (57:15)
Sure.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Right.

Eddie Jumps (57:41)
actually do it to complete it. then once, and that for me, that’s how I probably train a lot for jump rope at the minute. That’s so that’s how like, that’s how I sort of operate really. In terms of advice for other people though, I would, yeah, definitely, you know, just you can’t, it’s like going into the gym. If I was going in the gym, the best warmup is actually hitting just some light warmup sets, you know, just starting something with light. If someone’s really new to jump rope, then actually just some

Dizzy Skips (57:45)
Yeah. Right.

Okay.

Sure.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (58:11)
some bounces without the rope, like practicing the footwork that you’re doing where you’ve not got the stress of knee jumping the rope. Just see how things are feeling. You can experiment. You could even throw some bodyweight exercises in there, some dynamic stretches, and then just get into it, but just keep it short. I do think one thing, I don’t have it often now, but do if I’m really, especially my early days. People tend not to maybe do this as often because it’s expensive, but actually getting a soft tissue massage, like reaching out to someone

Dizzy Skips (58:15)
Mm-hmm.

Yep.

Right.

Hmm.

Eddie Jumps (58:39)
because

the amount of tension is building up in your calves and your shins and your hamstrings even just once every other month honestly if people get in shin spins I’m like look rest build it in the small bits but just go get a soft tissue massage right and it will literally just feel its way out but you know sometimes the recovery in terms of just looking after yourself and it all depends

Dizzy Skips (58:44)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I’ve done that soft tissue massage thing too after, you know, constantly overdoing it and then, you know, going in and then they work on like your shins and like, holy moly, you know, like everything is like, right, right. Yeah. Exactly. Takes your breath away.

Eddie Jumps (59:11)
or they just touch your Achilles like this and you’re like, oh, you like squeal like a pig. And then they’re like, so what have you been doing? Been jumping rope for about

three hours every single day for the last six weeks, you know what mean? And they’re like, no, what you doing? So unlike we said, right, I’ve done a few recording but right before like.

Dizzy Skips (59:27)
Right?

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (59:33)
Even when I talk about people like, oh, I do some skipping or whatever, unless you sort of know jump rope, lot of people probably like me when before I started is they probably don’t understand how big it actually is and what it actually involves. I’ve recently signed up with a strength coach and I’ve always worked with loads of different coaches right now to help me with my training side to stay a little bit more accountable, a bit more structured, a lot of big wedding. I’m getting married in June next year.

Dizzy Skips (59:51)
Right.

Eddie Jumps (1:00:03)
because I’ve been slipping out of, I’ve always trained, but like, obviously train at the minute, but I find myself like, getting the balance between training because I need to, and then not fucking it off because I’m doing jump rope, you know? So I think if I have a little bit more accountability on that side, I will stay a bit more structured and manage things a bit better. Yeah, so.

Dizzy Skips (1:00:17)
Right.

Yeah.

Sure.

One question I have for you is, I mean, like you’ve been in fitness for so long, one of the benefits that I’ve got a lot from jump rope is better mental health, you know, and I’d say more balanced mood kind of stuff. And I’m wondering, like with you having been in fitness and working out and bodybuilding and that sort of thing, did you realize any different sort of mental health benefits when you started skipping rope?

Eddie Jumps (1:00:50)
I

found, I like that feeling of, initially when I was working on more footwork, I keep banging on about initially, but like when I was doing it more in a workout format.

that feeling of just being hot, sweaty and that endorphin feeling was really, I was gonna say euphoric, but like it was really a good feeling, know, like some weight training will always give you a good pump and lift your mood, just like, you know, with your mental health and stuff, but skipping getting that heart pumping and getting a good sweat on and stuff, yeah, it really did open my, you know, open like how I felt, you know, compared to sort of like weight training and stuff.

Dizzy Skips (1:01:01)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah.

Sure.

Eddie Jumps (1:01:30)
But even now like now I’m focusing on more tricks and skills and stuff. It definitely Yeah, like I like the headspace of practicing. I love the feeling I get afterwards I find it really rewarding and I think again, that’s probably one of the main reasons why I’ve been doing it for so long and I love it so much And I think with any type of training, but definitely jump rope that shouldn’t be overlooked You know, like I say to people in the gym, you know, like sometimes being consistent with your training training

Dizzy Skips (1:01:32)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:01:57)
two, three times a week and actually sticking at it is a massive achievement. Same with the jump rope. You’ve been jumping ropes six months, six weeks, or even six years. That’s amazing. You add it into a routine. That’s a big achievement. It shouldn’t be overlooked as much as we all wanna push it and make progress. Sometimes you’d think I’m competing in the Olympics tomorrow, the amount of pressure I put on myself.

Dizzy Skips (1:02:13)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. I think that’s one of the things that I’ve learned from Jump Rope too is, well, certainly when I started, you know, the first couple of times I was jumping again, I was like, my God, as a kid, I could do this on the playground forever, it felt like. And now as an adult, this is fricking hard. And by sticking with it and showing up, even though it is hard and not putting it down,

There are days where it feels like I have two left feet and even on those days, I believe I’m making progress by showing up and skipping, you know, because then the next day I go back, you know, maybe both of them aren’t quite left feet or…

Eddie Jumps (1:02:54)
Mate, I completely get it.

I like the fact you said that because, yeah, mate, even like, I’m sure everyone gets days and I think people would want to hear that, but like, sometimes you think to yourself, after a bad day, you’re tripping up, you can’t do the most basic skills, right, and you think to yourself, oh my god, like, I’ve lost my motor, what’s going on, you know, like, literally, yeah, yeah, you’re like, whoa, like.

Dizzy Skips (1:03:10)
Yeah.

I know, I wanted to throw the rope.

Eddie Jumps (1:03:16)
Like I don’t no matter who you are. I’m sure everybody obviously everyone gets them days, but like I agree You know sometimes on the flip sides to that have a little break because I sometimes think it not is not maybe it’s not your Your jump rope skills. It’s sometimes it can be your mindset, you know in terms of maybe how you’re approaching it Maybe what you’ve had on have you been overdoing it a bit? Yeah, I’ve become a bit obsessed with the stuff that you’re practicing Sometimes taking a little break. I always then fuck I always say folks or maybe some stuff

Dizzy Skips (1:03:28)
Yes.

Eddie Jumps (1:03:45)
that you can do or that’s a bit more easier or something that gives you bit more enjoyment, then revisit that in a couple of days and you’ll have such a different mindset that you’ll actually find that you’ve been able to do it. And one thing I love about the jump rope is the fact that, and it’s like most things, consistency gets banged about a lot, but what I do love about it is…

Dizzy Skips (1:03:58)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:04:05)
You can’t get amazing overnight. And I love that because if you did, I said the same to one of my clients this week. She did the crossover, but she wanted to do it a more consistently. I just said like…

Dizzy Skips (1:04:09)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:04:18)
Just relax, you you’re gonna get it. You’ve already got it today. You’re gonna get better at it as you practice. like, if everyone could, like, if you could get really good at jump rope overnight, then where would the fun be? And if it was easy, everyone would do it, but not everyone can do it. And that’s what makes it good, because if you’re consistent, you and like, maybe for like, you know, even now, I can do jumping just over five years. I can’t believe I’ve been jumping just over five years. Like that time just like really does add up, you know what I mean? So.

is yeah you just got to play the long game with it but definitely the more times you pick that rope up you’re making progress you know like that’s that’s the simple you’re learning more aren’t you and i think the key for it all which i’m sure everyone does and you even yourself like is just make it like

Dizzy Skips (1:04:49)
Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

Eddie Jumps (1:05:03)
Just enjoy it. even I sometimes, I naturally put more, when I’m practicing anything, whether it’s in the gym or gym, I tend to put pressure on myself because I feel like sometimes that’s how I perform at my best. know, like, sort of like, I don’t know, making it into a bigger thing in my head. But actually, you know, just sometimes, just relax.

Dizzy Skips (1:05:05)
Yeah.

Yeah, I wonder if some of that is like some of your origin too, because like I know from going to gyms and I had a friend who was a bodybuilder or yeah, a power lifter actually. And I used to go to the gym with him and those power lifter guys were all like, you know, and there was this competition and I got to do it and whatever. And if you carry that to jump rope, it could be.

It can be discouraging, right? Like if you’re like, I gotta do it and you can’t do it, then it’s like, hell with this. I’m gonna put the jump rope down, but.

Eddie Jumps (1:05:51)
That’s really right, man. That’s it. I

used to, you know, like if I was going for a heavy set or a heavy rep, you know, like I’d be like, yeah, I’d zoning out like that fight or flight, you the adrenaline, like, yeah, I’d have to create, you know, I’d put, and I think so, I’m just squatting in my gym on a Monday afternoon, but I’m pretending that here that I’m squatting for like my life, you know, like, I’m like, but.

Dizzy Skips (1:06:04)
Yeah.

Right, yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:06:15)
In a way, I do love

that side of it, but in terms of jump rope, yeah, like if anything, to be honest, I naturally use quite a lot of horsepower. So actually, like I try and coach myself to not use as much power, because one, I don’t need to, to try and go slower, smoother, don’t need to work as hard, but naturally I just want to be like, that’s one thing I try and work on.

Dizzy Skips (1:06:37)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:06:40)
So do you get, I know you’re doing your podcast, but do you meet other jump ropers? Do you get out and about?

Dizzy Skips (1:06:41)
Yeah, absolutely.

that’s interesting that you asked that, because I had a similar question for you. But no, as a matter of fact, I know one guy in town that goes to a kickboxing gym, and they’re not really, it’s more of a fitness kickboxing than actual kickboxing. And so I think they do some basic jump rope for warmups there. So I gave him a jump rope and I give jump ropes away trying to encourage people like, come jump rope with me, man.

Eddie Jumps (1:06:46)
Okay, alright, alright.

Dizzy Skips (1:07:08)
and people are like, yeah, that’s cool, that’s great. And they go jump a little bit. They don’t have the love that I do for it. But I saw, just was it like Thursday or something, that Peta and Coach Chris announced that they’re gonna do a meetup in London on the 5th of July. And God, I would love to do that.

Eddie Jumps (1:07:09)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah,

think that’s one thing I’ve loved so far every part of my journey, know, and I like putting in lot of practice, I was gonna say on my own, like, you know, just going through my own journey really. One thing I want to try and push myself more to is definitely try and link up, go to more meets, meet up with more jumpers and just meet people in person who share, who maybe who I’ve coached or played a part in, or people who,

Dizzy Skips (1:07:37)
Sure.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:07:50)
who

I look up to in the game, one, to learn and to just share that passion. You want to surround yourself with people who do get it because it’s similar to when I was doing my powerlifting days. I used to go to powerlifting meets and we were all there in that same bubble. And I feel like I’m there with a jump rope where you talk to your friends, maybe like my friends at footy and stuff. like, how’s your skipping going on? Obviously they show that they care, but they don’t get it. So you want to be proud of people who do.

Dizzy Skips (1:07:51)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:08:18)
I probably need to get a little bit more organized and push myself to sort of commit to these events. I don’t know how to double dutch, I’ve never done double dutch and I think sometimes when I see that that’s part of it I naturally am like, okay I’m gonna swerve this one. It reminds me being really bad back in the first time I bit the jump rope again.

Dizzy Skips (1:08:19)
Right.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

all right. That’s endearing though. I mean, even if you were to go and do double Dutch and suck at it, people would be like, that’s great. He’s a human, you know?

Eddie Jumps (1:08:41)
Yeah, I think that’s where like,

that’s…

any you know like going to their meetups it would be like walking away learning so much more of others picking up some new skills and just generally having a really good time and I feel like for me like I do what you know it’s all I have you know up a good following connecting people but nothing beats you know social media is good because like especially we’re using it like we are now in a good way but sometimes it’s nice to sort of get that real that real feeling because that’s why for me like coaching and

of like you know real life coaching meeting people getting amongst it nothing that’s a good experience nothing will beat that so i definitely want to push but i’m quite lucky really that there’s quite a lot going on in the uk you know in terms of the meetups whether it’s coach chris and i think there’s a few others and stuff so we need to yeah

Dizzy Skips (1:09:25)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I think Dope Ropes has done some as well.

That was one of the questions that I got from, I think, Becky or Sarah Marshall was like, ask him when he’s gonna do meetups. When is he gonna organize meetups?

Eddie Jumps (1:09:42)
I know, should, again,

I should know what, I’m worried if I didn’t meet up, that would come.

Dizzy Skips (1:09:47)
Yeah, I organized some nerd meetups for, you know, web stuff and I used to worry about that a little bit, but if it’s only three people, you you get to know them better and you get more one-on-one time.

Eddie Jumps (1:09:55)
Yeah, definitely, yeah, nah.

It’s something, know, like since I created Eddie Jumps, you know, I started creating content. I started skipping. I started creating content and initially I started, I used to document a lot of my journey and just post videos of my progress. And it just got to a point where I thought, you know, I don’t want to just use mine as a highlight reel to show people how good I am. To be honest with you, when I first started creating content, obviously wasn’t nowhere near as half as obviously what I can do now. That’s why I was like, you know,

Dizzy Skips (1:10:20)
Right.

Eddie Jumps (1:10:29)
I want to just change my channel and actually put out content to help others rather than sort of just make it about me. And that’s what I started doing. when my videos started getting massive reaches, I was like, okay, this, I feel really good about this. I want to carry on doing it. And that’s how I’ve always pushed my channel. I think recently I’ve started posting a few more videos of my skills, but it’s always been to try and inspire others really. But yeah, I would like to, you know, in terms of building a community,

Dizzy Skips (1:10:52)
Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:10:55)
of Eddie Jumps know that I’ve got, obviously, probably like yourself in terms of having products for people to buy. People not only buying your ropes, but they’re sort of representing you, whether you’re coaching and being part of a growing community really. I would like to say that I definitely feel like I’ve got a good following in the jump rope game. And I want to continue building that. For me, it’s always, it’s like, it’s…

You know what, it’s just time and balance, you know? And just making sure that I never want to over commit to something and then pull it back. So I like the fact that everything I’ve done and built has just been organic, where it’s just like, okay, and I feel like that’s the best way. I look at it again, a lot of people who’ve been in the game who I look up to, yeah, definitely, they’ve been in the game as long as I’ve been in the gym game, you know, in terms of like maybe 15, 20 years.

So for me, I know as long as I feel as passionate as I am, then it’s just gonna continue growing. I do would love to definitely hold, should maybe push myself to do that in terms of having an Eddie Jumps meet up because it would be cool. I have got a community where I’ve run loads of different courses and challenges in the past and they’ve always been really successful and it’s always been proud to see people jumping.

and wearing the logo and wearing my brand on the videos. Even now seeing Patty and Becky sometimes using my mats and saying good things, it’s good. That’s all I want really in terms of people just having a good experience. Even if I just have to play a small part, whether that’s help them with a good rope or teach them a trick or they watch my tutorial, that satisfaction it gives me is a big one.

Dizzy Skips (1:12:31)
Yeah, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, absolutely. So a couple other product related questions for you real quick. Becky had a very important question, which I think I sent you over Instagram, which is, when do we get pink ropes?

Eddie Jumps (1:12:47)
You know what, the pinks

have been a high request actually since I’ve dropped a few different types of ropes. I haven’t lined a pink one up just yet, but mate, if there’s a demand for a type of colour, then I’ll bring it out. Initially, I stuck with colours that represented the brand’s logos really, red, blue, black, white. So recently, I’ve been definitely pushing myself more now to bring out more exciting and different ropes. And they’re like my babies, know.

Dizzy Skips (1:13:07)
Sure. Yeah.

Yeah,

yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:13:17)
Sometimes I look at them all like I’ve seen the back like I’ve converted it into how I operate in a store or my ropes now. Sometimes I don’t want to sell them because I just like looking at them everywhere.

Dizzy Skips (1:13:18)
I

I know what you mean. I’ve got a coat rack downstairs that’s full of them and it’s just my little pride and joy. And I name them all and talk to them like a crazy person, you know.

Eddie Jumps (1:13:33)
That’s it.

I’ve kept it quite safe in terms of giving them a slight name. But yeah, I could maybe get a little bit more creative, but maybe that will come. I’ve actually got one here actually. This is my latest one that I’ve been dropping, which is a nice color. Yeah, nice thing.

Dizzy Skips (1:13:49)
Nice.

So what is different or like how would you describe your ropes as different than other brands?

Eddie Jumps (1:13:58)
would say that

I wanted, especially my PVC ropes, the handles are comfortable. I like the PVC cord to just be a little bit tougher than soft. I think sometimes you can buy ropes at sports stores and stuff and they just seem a little bit looser and they don’t feel like they have any sort of feedback. So a little bit, yeah, definitely. And you know that when you’re using a PVC rope of how it feels. And initially, when I was creating

Dizzy Skips (1:14:17)
Yeah, they’re floppy.

Eddie Jumps (1:14:24)
different types of products there was times where I used ropes initially in the build up where I felt no they’re not right but once I found that the perfect type I know that they’re the ropes that I use in my videos and my tutorials and something I’m proud of and again for me rather than have loads of different types of ropes because again it becomes at this stage anyway the simplicity of just having a really good PVC rope with nice handles can easily be adjusted and

Dizzy Skips (1:14:46)
Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (1:14:50)
good quality cord. For me the beaded rope is making sure that the handles are a little bit tougher because I think if you’re using a beaded rope, I won’t show you but basically like the handles on a PVC rope are obviously thinner, they’re slightly thinner plastic aren’t they? So when you’re doing mic releases with a beaded rope they don’t go. You want a tougher handle that’s built, that’s a bit more durable, you can handle the battering it’s gonna get. And the cord on the ropes that I

Dizzy Skips (1:15:15)
Right, right.

Eddie Jumps (1:15:17)
I tend to have it little bit thicker so just a slightly thicker cord because I feel like that just gives it a little bit more feedback I think there’s obviously loads of positives to having a slightly thinner cord it’ll feel a little bit lighter but I just know that we’re using the slightly thicker cord it just felt like I had a little bit more feedback and I’ve sort of been hooked on that now so that’s again how I design them. So yeah

Dizzy Skips (1:15:31)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I’ve actually heard that about your ropes from like Becky and a few other people was that they had a thicker cable and that that’s exactly like the ropes that I like the most have thicker cables or the ones that I built have thicker cables and it’s because of that feedback and that weight.

Eddie Jumps (1:15:55)
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, nice.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it seems like we have the same sort of mindset, but it comes through like just like practicing, doesn’t it experience loads of different types of ropes, ones that you like ones that you’ve used. Yeah, and then just sort of molding it into one that you know, delivers a good result, a good experience and that you’re sort of proud to say that it works. So yeah, so yeah, so it’s nice. know Becky and Patty, I keep mentioning them, but

Dizzy Skips (1:16:08)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:16:21)
hardcore, Eddie Jumps, they’ve been there since day one, so yeah.

Dizzy Skips (1:16:27)
Yeah, that’s

lovely. I know one of the other questions one of them asked me was, ask him when he’s coming out with an ambassador program.

Eddie Jumps (1:16:32)
Yeah, yeah, I know, and

do you know what though?

having been asked to other companies, know, like think Crossropes got in touch a while, probably a step earlier in my journey. There’s a couple other brands, even Swissropes initially, this was before, I think it’s Dayan, isn’t it? He’s got a body like Greek god, a bit like me. But before he went, Drop was like saying, would I like to become an ambassador? And I was like, I always felt like I never wanted as much

as

I loved all the flattered and it was obviously nice to be sort of recognised, I didn’t want to, I’m happy just going on my own sort of path and just finding my own journey, know, rather than sort of representing somebody else as much as I, some people want that and if they’re associated with that type of coach that they sort of back and they like their style and they’ve gone through that sort of nurturing then I think they’ll do it. So what I’m sort of saying is I definitely will look at ambassadors but I feel like I

I sort of don’t just want to go, okay, if anyone wants to be an ambassador, let’s do it. I feel like I want to create more of a team that one, have been schooled by myself so they represent the values of how I coach and how they learn. And I want to make sure that they, yeah, like.

they fit in with the way I see jump rope. And the styles, I want them to all be consistent. I don’t want it to be too sporadic. I definitely feel like, know Becky’s probably pushing that, but someone like Becky and Patty definitely have gone through that school. the same, because at the minute, I feel like I’m still…

finding my own path in terms of what I practice, where I’m going. So I want to make sure that, know, once Eddie Jump, I’ve got to a position where I’m like,

This is this is this is like this is where I am and this is where I want you guys to be part of this journey and this is where we’re gonna go to and then I’d like to always like once I have that team a bit like I do with the gym coaches it like not just be like, okay, you you just slap a logo and sorry 20 % like, you know in your in your bio I wanted to feel a bit more than that, know, like as if like, you know, if I’m going on this journey you’re part of it so maybe like, you know, you can progress you guys as

as

jumpers, maybe as coaches, can you play a part in building my community with me? You know, like just so we can enjoy it together, you know? So I feel like because for me, in my head, it could be easy to go, yeah, okay, I’m doing a massive, but I want it to sort of feel like it’s the right decision and have the right people because once you sort of like open that door, I wouldn’t want to then take it away. So like I just want to just take my time with it. But yeah, it’s definitely, I mean, it’s

Dizzy Skips (1:18:52)
Right.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Well, that’s respectable. I mean, it’s really easy to just create an affiliate program, but it sounds like you just don’t want a bunch of affiliates. You want people who do it the Eddie way and that are really passionate about it and that represent you well.

Eddie Jumps (1:19:30)
that’s how I see it already and I think well I want I want obviously Eddie Jumps to sort of continue growing I want to feel that my coaching team feels that that same level of consistency so but obviously with a Eddie Jumps twist in terms of having that balance

Dizzy Skips (1:19:33)
Right,

Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of like physical branding in a way too, right? It’s not just your logo, but it’s the way you represent and the way people represent you.

Eddie Jumps (1:19:53)
Yeah, and having like having

people on board, you know, like to sort of like really push in a different direction and connect with more people maybe in a slightly different way is like is exciting, isn’t it? I think I’m so getting the balance between like pushing my jump rope business because I love it as a passion, but keeping that fire burning, but also balancing it with like the gym and other stuff. like, again, it’s a lot of people who are in the game. Maybe jump rope is just there.

they’re only one thing, you know, but because I’ve got like a bit more, again, it’s just structuring and managing it in a way where I think I’m, keeps the fire burning and like I say, that I’m always feel like I’m evolving and moving forward, not cutting back, because I wouldn’t want to be like, okay, I’m gonna do this. And then suddenly it’s like, okay, I’m now gonna reverse. It’s all about progression, isn’t it? So.

Dizzy Skips (1:20:42)
Yeah, and it’s clear you want to have fun with it. You don’t want it to be a slog like, ugh, gotta get up and do jump rope videos.

Eddie Jumps (1:20:48)
No, exactly mate.

you know, I have, I enjoy filming content. I enjoy it. I enjoy putting out good content. I like seeing the reaction it gets. Mainly I like being recognized for not just being, not being good at something because like, but actually like being a good educator, you know, a good coach. The coaches like my friend says my superpowers is the fact I’m a good coach and I love it. I love working with people.

Dizzy Skips (1:21:13)
Well, you’ve taken so much time with me and I really appreciate it. I have two other quick questions for you. So one is, can you talk a little bit about what the jump rope community has meant to you? we talked about how there’s all these different communities or whatever and how the jump rope community is really positive, but how has it affected you either when you started or now?

Eddie Jumps (1:21:30)
and

Yeah, I would say that I feel like it’s become I don’t Obviously, I think because obviously like anything I can see that the jump community is growing bigger and bigger by the day like when I first created Eddie Jumps It felt like I was just to post some videos on my personal page and then I was like actually I’m gonna create an Eddie Jumps account, you know, and like I think everybody naturally has done that, know, like there’s so many I know so-and-so skips or so-and-so jumps

Dizzy Skips (1:21:54)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:22:00)
But yeah for me I find it really inspiring following lots of different people from all around the world jumping in different environments and that’s probably one thing I’ve not touched on is like which I’ll just briefly mention is

like when I started putting out content, jump rope, I can’t believe how wide like the level of reach and that it is, how big it is, the community, like how far it can go and I think it’s because it’s so versatile that if you had a jump rope and you had 20 people in the room everyone would just give it a go but if you had a barbell not everyone would want to do it so actually the fact it’s so accessible easy to do in terms of just to get started it is incredible and I feel like for me I probably

Could should probably push myself more like I said to you in terms of meeting up with more people from the community I don’t would say I’m a lone wolf, but like just just to connect really But I always feel really inspired in terms of people that I’ve worked with and people who are in my Eddie Jumps community seeing them jump Yeah, it’s a good feeling it’s just that it’s crazy how Yeah, how supportive than that? think we spoke about it before

Dizzy Skips (1:22:53)
Yeah, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Eddie Jumps (1:23:11)
But you know like everyone wants people to do well and shows a lot of love, know even in your videos and stuff and I think like that does go a long way, know Like sometimes when people do comment on your video and like say I look like not just obviously just the token just but good job looking good or like wow that you know You’ve really improved or keep sticking at it or even days where you like you might post one way you do loads of crap and that like whips and fails and people like keep going Yeah, you’re doing it. It definitely it helps keep motivated and like I said sometimes, you know, it’s hard to

Dizzy Skips (1:23:13)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:23:40)
you know, if you’re in an area like yourself where maybe you don’t, you’re not around people that are as supportive, who don’t really get jump rope. The more you surround yourself with people who motivate you, that you sort of inspire you and are good influences, it just brings out the best in you. it’s using social media in a good way, rather than sort of just portraying it in a way where it’s just like a highlight reel of what you want people to see. So I think, yeah, the jump rope community is that I can see it growing all the time.

Dizzy Skips (1:23:49)
Right.

Yeah, absolutely.

Eddie Jumps (1:24:09)
And yeah, I’m actually proud to actually just be part of it. And even the fact that people, know, sort of like playing part in people’s journey and stuff, even now, I think to myself, wow, that’s a good feeling.

Dizzy Skips (1:24:09)
Yeah.

Yeah.

It is a good feeling. So my last question for you is someone’s listening on this podcast and they’re not jumping rope or they’re thinking about it and thinking, these guys are too good. I’ll never do that. Whatever. What advice do you have for someone who’s considering it like or just getting started?

Eddie Jumps (1:24:36)
Mudflats.

Yeah, my advice to

anyone who’s considering it would be just get a rope and just give it a go and just don’t worry if you’re bad because you will be but just try and have a bit of fun with it whether it’s getting 10 jumps, 20 jumps, can you do the basic bounce for 60 seconds and just find a simple way of setting a small challenge, right? And just stick at it two, three days a week and what you’ll find is you’ll find yourself picking up that rope all the time to improve

Okay, I now want to up my skills. Yeah, yeah. you’ll connect with others who share the same passion and it again is similar to when I jumped on YouTube and it was like, oh my God, there’s people out of this world doing this. yeah, it all starts with just picking up the rope and going for it. And if you’re feeling like that, know, ourselves who’ve been doing it for a while, you you’ve only got to look at our highlight

Dizzy Skips (1:25:11)
Yeah, you fall in love, like.

Eddie Jumps (1:25:36)
able to realise that in five years time you won’t be like you are on the first, you’ll be a lot better. So enjoy the ride.

Dizzy Skips (1:25:45)
Yeah,

yeah, that’s great advice. I’ve said before, especially in the beginning, looking at some of the jump rope videos I saw on YouTube, it just all looked like magic to me, like insanely cool, dancey magic. And I was like, I’d love to do that, but it felt so far away. But I think that that advice of, know, pick up a rope, just start and be okay with failing, you know, be okay with tripping up. That’s part of the journey, you know, and.

Eddie Jumps (1:26:10)
I had a client come down

to the gym who was jumping rope and she was like, were you ever this bad? was like, I saw her like, you just, I pull out my phone, was like, look at these, yeah. I was like, and she was like, you should post more videos like that. I think it would be really inspiring to people who are starting the journey just to see the struggles that you had. And I was like, yeah, you’re right. again, using our platforms and obviously your podcasts, our Instagrams and stuff, to sort of show people that I think sometimes when people,

Dizzy Skips (1:26:20)
That was worse.

Eddie Jumps (1:26:40)
show people your session. owe 45 seconds of me doing a combo and like this at the end, like boom. But what you probably didn’t see was half an hour of me like, throwing my ropes. So like, again, it’s sometimes showing, obviously showing your good side, but also showing that side that whatever you, you know, when we first started, you start focusing on basic stuff, right, which feels tough. But like, that feeling of like messing up and tripping up, that never goes away. You know, if anything, you just get over the fact that even now when you

Dizzy Skips (1:26:48)
Yeah.

and throw in the rope, yeah.

Eddie Jumps (1:27:10)
trip over you’re not as embarrassed or not embarrassed but you know like it’s not such a big thing as you know that that’s just part of it like but initially you’re like if you trip up it you’re skipping in the gym and you trip over your own you think everyone’s watching me and they’re laughing at me you know like it’s not the case is it i think if you’re skipping in a public environment where people are watching you i think one big respect and the reason why people are watching you is because you’re doing something that’s just a bit different then if anything they’ve got admiration that you are skipping in a public place and they wish that they could do it and half the time they’ll come

over and go, fucking hell man, you’re good. I always, if I see someone skipping in the gym, I haven’t gone over yet. I sometimes think, do I go over and say, man, your skipping skills are good, but I always feel like it sounds like a good thing to say to you now, but when you actually say it in the gym, you come across a bit creepy.

Dizzy Skips (1:27:43)
Yeah, right.

Hahaha

Eddie Jumps (1:27:58)
Hey did you jump rope? my god your skills look amazing. You’re like okay maybe I should just wind it in a little bit.

Dizzy Skips (1:28:02)
Yeah. Yeah. That’s funny.

Well, Eddie, I really appreciate you coming on to talk to me. This has been so much fun and it’s just a pleasure to get to know you a little bit more and learn more about your origin story. And I hope we get to do this again soon. And my goal is to come over to the UK at some time in the next year and attend some of those meetups. So maybe we can run into each other and I can.

Eddie Jumps (1:28:27)
Well, yeah, that would be

amazing, mate. Yeah, like, say, I’m sure our paths will meet again, whether it’s on another podcast or in the person. Yeah, that’d be good. Yeah, or maybe Eddie Jumps me up. Maybe he can come down, show me some of your footwork. Yeah, I’m going to take a quick screenshot of us here. just give me a smile. you ready? Three, two, one, go.

Dizzy Skips (1:28:40)
Yeah, that sounds awesome.

Eddie Jumps (1:28:46)
Okay, nice, good, that’s good. Well, I’ve enjoyed it, so it’s been my first time I’ve sort of jumped on a pod. think it’s nice to sort of obviously speak to you about Jump Rope and sort of my story and stuff and hopefully inspire others and give people a little bit more info about myself really, about my story and stuff. So yeah, no, I’ve enjoyed it, mate, thank you. And it’s been good.

Dizzy Skips (1:28:48)
There we go.

Yeah? Yeah.

Cool. Yeah.