Parkour group calls Nye Frankie Newman an ‘incredible human being’, but says he was not train surfing when he died

Tributes have been paid to a British free runner who died on the Paris Métro on New Year’s Day.

Nye Frankie Newman, from Guildford in Surrey, was involved in a “train accident” , his parkour group said on Facebook, although they emphasised he had not been train surfing – riding on the outside of a moving train.

Members of the same group sparked controversy last month when videos emerged showing young men running on the top of carriages in Paris.

Luke Stones, who was part of Newman’s free running group, known as Brewman, announced his friend’s death in a post on 1 January.

“So some of you might have heard, one of our team members Nye Newman passed away today in Paris after a train accident on the metro,” he wrote on Facebook. “He wasn’t train surfing, as many of you may assume, many of you may think it’s a joke and we really wish it was, but it isn’t.”

He paid tribute to his friend saying: “Nye was one of the members who thought of the idea of a parkour team with his friends and was always the biggest key figure in pushing the team and its athletes.

“Nye was an incredible human being who was always up for anything, he experienced things in his short life, that many won’t experience in their life times.

“He was always up for anything, and he always gave a positive outlook to any situation. He inspired so many people through his enthusiastic lifestyle and the assisted creation of Brewman.

“He was the type of guy who had no regrets in his life and lived every day like it was his last. He loved travelling the world and meeting new people, he loved spending time with his friends and he loved training with such a passion. He always had such a great sense of humour and made everybody he knew have a top laugh.”

Photographs on Nyeman’s social media accounts show him leaping between buildings in Hong Kong and somersaulting on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.



In his last Facebook post, on New Year’s Eve, Nyeman listed the countries he visited last year: Greece, Morocco, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Finland, China, Philippines, Hong Kong and the Netherlands.

He added: “It’s been a hectic year full of lots of mental memories and some unfortunate things like leaving the EU, but hopefully it will all only lead to a better future.”

A member of Brewman, Rikke Brewer, appeared on French and British news websites last month when he uploaded footage he had filmed on top of a Métro train in the French capital.

Brewer shared footage of himself and others “surfing” a train as it moved across the Seine river.

Others paid tribute to Newman on Facebook.

Joe Groombridge, from Aldershot, wrote: “Devastated to hear this. Had the pleasure of knowing Nye Frankie Newman for a number of years and from a young age he was always wild and eccentric with so much to give.

“Stories I’ve heard of his travels tell me he lived his life in the exact same way inspiring people across the world doing what he loved most. Taken too soon, RIP.”

James Dickson wrote: “Such an inspirational guy has just lost his life, it’s such a shock and just shows us that life is delicate, Nye lived his life to the fullest and will be missed by many, rest in peace man.”