Sean Hargis Jumping Rope from COVID to Community (Ep. 9)

Dizzy Skips (00:34)
Sean Hargis, thank you so much for joining me on Skip Squad Chronicles. This is, I guess, episode eight. Yeah, it’s a pleasure to have you.

Sean Hargis (00:38)
Thanks for having me. All right.

I’m excited to be here.

Dizzy Skips (00:43)
me ask you to tell us a little bit about where you’re at.

Sean Hargis (00:48)
So I’m in a suburb of Atlanta. been down here about 10 years. The weather is better than what you have. It’s been pretty good, but it does get cold in the morning, because usually when I jump. sometimes it’s some pretty rough jump sessions, particularly in the wintertime.

Dizzy Skips (00:54)
You

Yeah, so do you always jump in the morning?

Sean Hargis (01:06)
Not always, you know, in the morning I get my daughter on the bus and get her to school. So the only time I really got is to do it right after I get her on there. So I’ll go and it’ll still be dark usually. And I’ll try to get some exercise in and on the weekends, you sometimes I can push it off to the afternoon maybe. It just depends. So I just try to fit it wherever I can. It’s just, you know, I’ve got two kids and a wife, so I’m really busy. So I just, you know, I never know when I get the opportunity.

Dizzy Skips (01:23)
Mm-hmm.

Right. So when did you start jumping?

Sean Hargis (01:38)
So I started in 2020 during COVID like a lot of folks. When I originally didn’t even plan on jumping, what I was trying to do was go running again. I used to run a little bit. But then I realized it’s COVID, I got two small kids at home. could either, if I’m gonna run, I’m gonna run in a weird circle and it’s gonna look a lot, it’s gonna look strange. Sean just running in this weird circle with neighborhood. So I found an old rope. I did taekwondo and karate years and years ago.

Dizzy Skips (01:57)
Hahaha

Sean Hargis (02:05)
And we would warm up with the rope. So I thought, well, let’s pick up the rope and try that again. And I picked it up and I was like, you know, I really like this. This is a lot of fun. So I started looking online. I didn’t have Instagram or anything at the time. So I was looking at YouTube. So I was looking at people like like Mira and Rush Athletics and Coach Nate, those guys and trying to see some of the moves that they did. And I’ll be honest, man, I think between

watching those YouTubes and trying to learn some of those moves and the fact that my wife got a dog in 2020, I think it pulled me out of a COVID funk, to be honest with you. I never really considered myself an extrovert, but apparently I was more of one than I thought. And I really did struggle kind of being in isolation, like a lot of folks. So that’s when I started.

Dizzy Skips (02:40)
Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

Cool. Was it, was there anyone in particular that inspired you to start or was it just the fact that you had kind of done the warmups in the past and

Sean Hargis (02:57)
You know, it wasn’t any particular person. Honestly, I’m not even sure how it kind of happened. I jump alone. There’s not many skippers around here. There’s not any that I’m aware of around. There is one girl who I haven’t met yet, Kelly Griffin. She’s got some great footwork. I would like to meet up with her one someday. you know, it’s…

Dizzy Skips (03:04)
Hahaha

Mm-hmm.

She’s amazing. Yeah.

Sean Hargis (03:21)
You go outside, you jump, and people look at you kind of strange. So it’s just not a normal mainstream kind of thing, at least not here. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (03:24)
Yeah, right.

Yeah. Do you jump outside all the time?

Sean Hargis (03:32)
most of the time. I will say I’ve tried a couple of times to jump at the gym. Same thing, I get weird looks. I’m a little put off, a little intimidated by that. I’m getting over it. So I think I’m going to jump at the gym more, but mostly I jump outside. I jump in my backyard a lot. I jump at the tennis courts here. there’s quite a few town centers close by where we live in Swannee and Sugar Hill and Buford. And they’re kind of nice spots. And I thought, man, that might be a good place to go.

Dizzy Skips (03:42)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (03:57)
get some skipping in early in morning or something. So I think I’m try that out, see how it goes. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (04:00)
Yeah. Cool. Cool.

So, when you started jumping, how did you learn? like, how did you progress? I had that same experience, by the way, with doing martial arts and boxing and using the rope for warmup, but not really doing anything more than a cross here or there.

Sean Hargis (04:13)
Right.

I don’t know. These guys I watched on YouTube, all, something unique they brought to the table that I found interesting, like Rush Athletics, man, he does amazing boxer moves. And I was like, I want to try that double under. I’m not, double skipping, we all start out trying to do that. And I knew that was wrong. So I wanted to try to do that double under. And I’ll be honest, it took me about two, three months to figure that out. So I just really just kept hammering it.

Dizzy Skips (04:38)
Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (04:42)
I really didn’t have, know, there was no unique approach to trying to learn something. I would just see something and try to emulate it best I could. And it seems to have worked out.

Dizzy Skips (04:52)
Yeah. So you’re, so you’re just seeing things like on Instagram, other people are doing, and then trying to learn that way. Okay.

Sean Hargis (04:57)
There’s all YouTube really. I didn’t even know what Instagram was. I guess if I’m 49, a lot of people consider me a boomer, which I’m not a boomer, I’m an X-er but you know, it’s like, you you can’t use technology. So it was all YouTube for me. I didn’t have Instagram or TikTok or anything like that. So that’s kind of, that’s where I started.

Dizzy Skips (05:06)
Right, right.

Hahaha.

Yeah, yeah. That’s actually the way I stumbled. That was the first time I saw Lauren was on YouTube. think I was watching other videos.

Sean Hargis (05:22)
I saw her on a BBC news article. They had a big write up on her and she was talking about starting at the same time. This girl’s no different than me. We all have the same kind motivation, being stuck at home and not being able to get out. It was kind the new thing we found to help us pull out of a funk.

Dizzy Skips (05:27)
Really?

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah, no kidding. She does have a little bouncier hair than you do. will say Sean. She has very bouncy. I know me too. Right.

Sean Hargis (05:45)
She does, she has hair, I don’t really have much hair. Yeah, she’s very good, yeah, she’s great.

Dizzy Skips (05:52)
Yeah. Yeah. She, I think the first video I remember seeing of her was that mashup of, AC DC back in black with the, Bee Gees Saturday night. my gosh. Just like I w I must’ve watched that thing 15 times in a row. Just like this lady … how does she move like that? Yeah. Quite impressive. So,

Sean Hargis (06:03)
yeah.

You it, you found it, yeah.

Dizzy Skips (06:18)
So you’re a husband and a father, you’ve got two kids, is that right?

Sean Hargis (06:21)
Yeah, I’ve got a son in college and I got a daughter that’s in high school and then my wife is home, she works. So between all that, you know, stay pretty busy. So I try to fit it in wherever I can. So I work for a consulting company here in Atlanta. Actually it was my boss actually is the one who kind of came up with the idea. We were talking about it somewhere and she’s like, you should.

Dizzy Skips (06:31)
Yeah. And what do you do for work?

Okay.

Sean Hargis (06:47)
go on Instagram or was it TikTok? I don’t remember which one she said. So I thought, you know, I might be fun, just kind of a stress reliever, make some videos of, learning these moves. And, it’s actually my wife’s cousin, who, who got, who showed me how to set up an Instagram account and do it. So thanks to her. Asha.

Dizzy Skips (06:51)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

That’s cool. So how would you describe like your skipping style or the kind of skipping that you’d like to do?

Sean Hargis (07:10)
So I don’t know. My favorite moves would be like a mic release, just general releases. I really enjoy those. I have been trying to improve my shuffle work. And so I joined that same group that Aaron joined when he talked to you. I joined that same group to try to improve my footwork and it’s getting better, but it’s not to the caliber that some of these folks are doing. So I’m trying to improve that. I’m also trying to improve my wraps.

Dizzy Skips (07:25)
Mm-hmm. Good.

Sean Hargis (07:35)
The wraps are, I struggle with those. I’ll be honest, I kind of get confused with where that rope is. So a lot of times what I do is I’ll screen grab the, if somebody’s doing something really cool and I’ll just slow it down to see where that rope is to see if I can figure it out. And it takes me a while. It does take me some time to get those, but I’m getting better with those as well.

Dizzy Skips (07:41)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

That’s cool. Janie was talking about that. That’s something that just never occurred to me, like recording my screen and then slowing it down. It makes perfect sense, but.

Sean Hargis (08:06)
I have to, because otherwise I don’t know where it is. Those guys move so fast. yeah, trying to catch that move and get that. And I’ll be honest, I get bent out of shape sometimes. I can’t get something. I’m throwing the rope a lot. People have joked and they’ve made comments, I’m the rope thrower. And I don’t even realize I’m doing it, man. It’s just a habit. And then I go back and look at it, and I threw the damn thing again. So it’s just something that I do.

Dizzy Skips (08:09)
Right? Yeah. my gosh. Yeah.

Hahaha.

It always makes me laugh, always.

Sean Hargis (08:35)
Yeah, I always throw it. But you know, we get there, we just got to take our time and not get bent out of shape and it’ll come. I’m constantly working on five or six different things. At any moment, there’s a there’s a dozen or more moves I want to learn how to do combinations I want to learn how to do. Not really. I usually when I’m getting ready, I’ll do I’ll do like a shuffle warm up to try to get my joints working, you know, at

Dizzy Skips (08:45)
Mm-hmm.

Do you plan them out?

Sean Hargis (08:58)
At my age it takes a little bit to get those wheels greased and going. So I’ll do that and then there’s usually like I said five or six different moves I want to work on. So I’ll spend about 10 minutes on each. If I can combine them together that’s great and it just depends. Sometimes I’m lucky and I can get something. Other times it takes more work like switch crosses took me months. My brain just couldn’t do it.

Dizzy Skips (09:24)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Sean Hargis (09:25)
And that’s what I’ve discovered about the rope is it’s as much of a mental thing that it is a physical thing. And I didn’t know that. I learned the hard way. So.

Dizzy Skips (09:31)
Right? Yeah.

Yeah. When, when did that start to occur to you or like, what was it that made you think, wow, this is a lot more mental than I thought.

Sean Hargis (09:43)
I would say it was about three weeks to a month in. I’d already identified, I’ve been watching Coach Nate and Rush Athletics and yeah, and you you’re seeing what I thought would be just a physical timing thing. But once I got into it, I realized it was so much more of a mental thing to keep the rope flowing, knowing where the rope is, not hitting the head and getting the motor skills to

Dizzy Skips (09:49)
He’s great, by the way, I love him.

Sean Hargis (10:09)
to do a certain move because these are things that we don’t do every day. So it takes some work to get those muscles to react the way you want them. And I still struggle with it. I still struggle with some moves that I know purely is a mental thing. And eventually I’ll get there.

Dizzy Skips (10:19)
Yeah. yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. think, well, my jump rope coach said to me early on, I said to his students early on, I think you should be practicing single arm swings every time you go out. You know, just practice in both sides, practice in both sides. And at first I thought, well, you you’ll get that down pretty easy, right? But I do it and I have noticed that

it does kind of help bring the different hemispheres of my brain. It’s like training both sides of my body and I feel lot more ambidextrous now because of it.

Sean Hargis (10:57)
Yep. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve noticed the same thing. I, cause I’ve not had a coach, so I’m just kind of been flailing out there on my own really, but I’ve noticed the exact same thing, man. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a brain train as much as a physical event. So.

Dizzy Skips (11:06)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Do you find like I’ve had it happen where I’m trying to learn something and it’s like I’m thinking about it too much. I try it until, you know, it’s 10 or 15 minutes and then I’m sort of frustrated and then I just drop it. And then like the next day I go back and then it’s weirdly easy or maybe not easy, but it’s like my progress by just thinking about it or letting it stew. Just, you know, I’m making progress while I’m not actually thinking about it. My brain’s kind of chewing on it and then.

Sean Hargis (11:25)
yeah.

Yep. you know, by that happens to me and you know, my wife, she’s always she said something to the center at some point, you just got to jump in and try it out. And in no truer words than that, even with a rope, sometimes you just got to you got to take it to the face, or to the back of the head. So you get it, you know, it’s just how it is.

Dizzy Skips (11:42)
Do you have that happen?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. Totally. You got to be willing to make it hurt so good to nail it down. Yeah. That’s right. Yeah. So how has the jump rope community affected you? You said you weren’t really cognizant of people on Instagram doing this, but once you did set up your Instagram account, did that change how you jumped or how you approach things?

Sean Hargis (12:04)
That’s it, that’s all part of it. That’s the learning curve, it’s the badge of honor.

yeah, it did change how I approach things. So, one, I, know, social media in, in the negative connotations that we know and the damage it can do, but this is a weird pocket of, motivation and support that I’ve not really seen anywhere. Everyone wants everyone to succeed. we want to see someone be able to land something new and you try to help them out.

I’ve helped a few folks, different folks have helped me with things I’ve struggled with. Most recently, the TS, I just couldn’t do it. But Aaron, you know, he did a tutorial for me and showed me how he does it, because he does it like he’s just changing socks, man. I don’t know how he does it. It’s just, it’s nothing for him. And I’ve been, I’d say for years, I’ve struggled with that move. And I’ve been able to land it, you know, in part because of the help he’s provided. you know, the folks have been just great in helping me.

Dizzy Skips (12:58)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Sean Hargis (13:11)
really elevate my jump game quickly. So it’s been good.

Dizzy Skips (13:15)
Cool. So for those of us who are not down with all of the different terms or trick names, what is a TS?

Sean Hargis (13:25)
So TS is where your hands go behind your back and across and you spin the rope and it comes over you and you jump over it. it’s, yes you can. And then you also have the other thing about like that is the AS where you go under the legs kind of under your butt and the rope will spin over you as well. So there’s a couple of different variations of taking that approach and.

Dizzy Skips (13:32)
Right, okay, I’ve seen Skippy Immy do that as well.

Okay.

Sean Hargis (13:48)
And I’ve struggled with them, through the help of the online community, I’ve been able to land some of these moves and kind of integrate them into some different combinations. And it feels great when you get it. It feels really good when you get it.

Dizzy Skips (14:00)
Yeah, that’s amazing. You do releases so well, Sean. I just, love watching your releases and I’m curious, like how long did it take you to nail that?

Sean Hargis (14:04)
No thanks.

It took like a year. It took a long time. And part of it is exactly what you talked about. I just have to just do it. I’m overthinking it. I just need to try it out. So now, know, it’s a matter of I know where the rope should be. Now, whether or my hand’s gonna be there is a different story. But, you know, that’s kind of the approach I take now.

Dizzy Skips (14:12)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Was there any specific help you found or was there anybody that you found online that gave you a tutorial that made it easier for you?

Sean Hargis (14:38)
I don’t know if it made it easier, but what sparked the whole thing, know, coach Mira, her tricky Tuesdays that she did on YouTube, I don’t know if she still doesn’t, but you know, was watching her YouTube and just so much energy and such skill of how she’s able to do a lot of things without even really looking at it. And so I, that kind of set that spark for me in 2020. So that was actually one of the first moves I tried to do was the mic And now, you know, I really like

Dizzy Skips (15:03)
Really?

Sean Hargis (15:05)
I really like doing the mix and different kinds of releases now.

Dizzy Skips (15:09)
Yeah. Isn’t Mira about the smiliest jumper out there? She has just got a radiant smile, right?

Sean Hargis (15:14)
She is, yep. She’s very supportive as well. She’s a great, great person.

Dizzy Skips (15:18)
Yeah, she is. Yeah, I was just talking to Skippy Immy about her because both of us got the bead. Mira has a weighted beaded rope from weight Rope and it’s supposed to be the heaviest beaded rope out there and both Immy and I got the same rope and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s fun to jump with a heavier rope and then scale down to a normal beaded rope and then scale down to a speed rope. You feel like Superman, you know. Yeah.

Sean Hargis (15:45)
It’s weird. It is weird. My family find it kind of weird and obsessive that I do this. But at the same time, they’re very supportive. So a lot of my ropes, my family have gotten me, and my brother-in-law got me a one and a half pounder one time. And I wore that thing out. I ended up breaking it because I just used it so much. But it was a beast.

Dizzy Skips (15:54)
Hahaha.

One and a half pounds is a heavy rope.

Sean Hargis (16:10)
It was it was tough and I got to the point where I could do a couple of crosses but not much more than that and my shoulders were just wrecked. Body was wrecked. I ended up breaking it I guess about eight months in but I’ve been jumping with beaded ropes for years. I did start with four millimeter and five millimeter PVC but I just I found them so light I just

Dizzy Skips (16:18)
Yeah, right.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (16:35)
I just didn’t, I didn’t get the feedback I was wanting. You know, so I switched to a beaded rope and I’ve been a beaded rope forever, but just in the last two weeks, I’ve switched to the six millimeter PVC and I, and I liked that. It’s got heft. It’s got some weight like a beaded rope, but it’s got the forgiveness of a PVC, you know, you can, can, I can take a mistake and kind of pull it in that I can’t do with a beaded rope. So.

Dizzy Skips (16:38)
Right?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (17:05)
I’m going to try that for a while and how goes.

Dizzy Skips (17:05)
Yeah.

So where do you get your ropes? Or are you obsessive like me and get them from a bunch of different places?

Sean Hargis (17:14)
I tried different places. I’ve gotten a couple from Elevate in the past. I really like those Elite SRS folks up in Washington. They’ve got some nice stuff. That’s where I’ve recently been getting my ropes from. And I’ve got a Dope Rope as well that I’ve had for quite a while.

Dizzy Skips (17:19)
Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Do you name your ropes like I do, Sean?

Sean Hargis (17:36)
I don’t, but I will say this one, my beaded rope, so I like green a lot. So I call it kind of the Hulk rope. You I know you’ve got yours, the Kermit, right? So I call it my Hulk rope because it’s like, you know, the Hulk Hogan, or not Hulk Hogan, the Hulk green. And I think it shows up pretty well in a reel. So I like that one. Even the PVC I got is green. So I’m partial to the neon green myself.

Dizzy Skips (17:42)
Yeah.

Nice. Right Kermit.

Yeah, right, Bruce Banner. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I like green as well. I noticed like URope has, I have a speed rope from URope that is orange and it’s called a Sunset Duo So it’s got two different orange colors in the rope and they have a green one that’s like that where it’s got like a lighter green and a darker green and it gives it this cool effect. And I think they show up pretty well on well when you’ve got decent light. Yeah.

Sean Hargis (18:26)
I’ll have to check that out. Yeah, I’ll have to check it.

Dizzy Skips (18:29)
I sometimes when I’m doing some of the night jump stuff, the speed ropes just don’t show up. I’ve wondered, watching a few videos, I wonder if people think I’m just out there moving my hands and not really jumping, you know?

Sean Hargis (18:41)
I thought something similar, you know, and I know what folks are going through. Even if it’s a four millimeter, five millimeter, they’re not showing, but those people still put in the work. I know what they’re doing, but it’s not showing up in the reel quite right. So maybe, know, your light placement, something like that.

Dizzy Skips (18:47)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Right, right. I need to find a good quality light up one.

Sean Hargis (19:01)
So I’ve seen a few folks with some pretty wicked LED ones. I’ve never actually jumped with those myself, but it looks kind of cool. So maybe in the future. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (19:07)
Yeah, yeah, it does look kind of Yeah.

So you mentioned you were trying to kind of figure out what’s next or like what is your next goal? What are you working on now?

Sean Hargis (19:20)
It’s a mix man. So, wraps I’m really trying to get but you know it’s the brain hemisphere thing. I struggle mentally with some of that. So I’m really trying to get that. I’ve seen folks out there that just look so effortless. It’s gonna take more effort from me. So I’m trying to get there. So I’m working on that. And then my shuffles man, like people like Angelina out there, you see her man and it’s just, she’s so good with her feet.

Dizzy Skips (19:32)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (19:43)
So I’m trying to learn some of the footwork. And I’ve got this weird left hand thing. I don’t know what it does, but it just kind of floats up. So I’m like trying to force that hand down. It doesn’t want to play nice sometimes. Yeah, I don’t know what it’s doing. So I’m trying to work on keeping that hand in check. And I everybody’s got the thing, right? There’s a weird, everybody’s got some kind of weirdness about them. To me, it’s the left hand. It just kind of floats. So yeah, I’m working on those kind of things.

Dizzy Skips (19:47)
Mm-hmm.

You think you’ve got a ghost hand?

That’s funny, Sean and his demon hand. It’s doing its own thing. What’s been some of the hardest stuff for you to learn? Like you mentioned wraps.

Sean Hargis (20:19)
you know, I, not a particular move, but I will say something I’ve always kind of struggled with. And, even today is, building out combinations, you know, trying to, trying to stitch different moves together. I just struggle with that sometimes. And, occasionally, you know, I’ll be doing something. I’ll accidentally fall into a connection to another move just by mistake. And I go, wow, you have that, that Eureka moment.

Dizzy Skips (20:28)
sure.

Sean Hargis (20:44)
I think I can do that. Mix those together. That would be kind cool. But combos, figuring out what to string together can be tough. I’m more of a freestyle person. I’m not regimented double unders, double under crosses, switch crosses, double under switch crosses. I do all those things, but I don’t do those all the time and I want to change things up and try new stuff.

Dizzy Skips (20:52)
Sure. Yeah.

So do you you ever choreograph stuff or do you find that you overthink it sometimes when you’re trying to string things together? Yeah.

Sean Hargis (21:15)
yeah, yeah. Part of what’s helped me is I’ll find somebody who’s done something really cool that I like and most of time I can’t repeat what they’ve done through the whole thing but you know a segment of it I want to recreate those three or four moves because they’re all tough moves that I need to try to learn how to do so that’s what I do. I’ll play with that for a week or two sometimes just try to learn that and I’ll drill that over and over and over again until I get it right.

Dizzy Skips (21:22)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Do you have this experience where you go back and watch a video of yourself jumping and see something that you maybe didn’t realize in the moment that you did where you’re like, wow, that’s cool. I like that.

Sean Hargis (21:57)
I’ve had that happen. I’ve also happened where I’ve whacked myself in the head a couple times and go, I don’t understand how that happened. What did I do wrong? And then I look at the video and my left hand’s supposed to be behind my back all the way over and it’s like at the middle of my back. So the rope had nowhere to go. So other than to my head. So yeah, I’ve had those moments as well. So I do record them for that to figure out where I can improve.

Dizzy Skips (22:02)
Hahaha!

Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, that’s sure. Yeah, I’ve totally had that happen too. Like, I can’t understand why I keep launching my headphones off my head with my rope and then, it’s because my arms are way out here. There’s no clearance. Yeah. So, do you laugh at yourself at all while you’re jumping?

Sean Hargis (22:30)
Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. Yep, same thing.

I do, it’s an array of emotion. I laugh, sometimes I cry, I get angry, I throw the rope, which somehow that’s the one that makes it into the reels, I don’t know. Me throwing the rope, but it’s, I go through the whole gamut, man. It’s just, it’s a roller coaster ride, I love it.

Dizzy Skips (22:44)
Yeah. You throw the rope. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Do you listen to music while you jump?

Sean Hargis (23:04)
I do. Not all the time. I would say I listen to music probably 75 % of the time. But sometimes particularly with double unders and double under crosses and switch crosses, and double under switch crosses, I like to hear the rope. So something about that rhythm helps me figure out space and time with it. So for those moves, I don’t listen to music. But if it’s just freestyle stuff, yeah, I listen to all kinds of stuff. Just a

Dizzy Skips (23:06)
Okay.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (23:30)
I mean, I grew up in the 80s, you know, hair metal, 80s hair metal I liked, 90s rap, EDM I liked, even classical music, I listened to classical. I’m not a refined or culture person by any means, but for some reason it helps me concentrate. I don’t know what it is, but I do listen to it as well.

Dizzy Skips (23:35)
Yeah. Yep. Yep.

Right.

I mean, so whether, I’m sorry, what decides whether or not you’re listening to music is whether or not you’re working on something where you need to hear.

Sean Hargis (23:55)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it depends on what I’m doing. Yeah. If it’s just freestyle stuff, you know, it’s it’s fair game for almost anything. some some some some moves, I just don’t listen to music or I listen to specific kinds of music.

Dizzy Skips (24:08)
Yeah.

When you’re listening to music, are you syncing your jumping with the music or are you just kind of listening to music and jumping?

Sean Hargis (24:17)
No, if it’s got a regular beat that I can pull out in my head, yeah, I’ll do it to try to match it, but in general I don’t.

Dizzy Skips (24:21)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Do you have a warmup routine or a cool down routine that you use when you’re jumping?

Sean Hargis (24:33)
Footwork is my warm-up. really like the I like to just keep light feet footwork And that’s they seems to get all the the joints going. Sometimes I’ll do jumping jacks or squat to try to warm up and And I’ve had some strange looks from folks on a tennis court at 6:30 in the morning. Like was this guy started doing it’s just him Yeah but

Dizzy Skips (24:35)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

when you’re squatting. What is he doing over there? Yeah.

Sean Hargis (25:01)
Yeah, so I do some of that too, because preparation is key, right? So I do that.

Dizzy Skips (25:08)
Yeah, yeah, I’ve had those funny looks as well. And of course I put on these workout pants that are those like tight pants. I’m out there doing squats and people walk by. I’ve got the flaming red shoes on. I do get a few funny looks, but it’s their business, I guess.

Sean Hargis (25:18)
Thanks Jeff.

Yeah.

I get all kinds of strange, not that I’m in a very public area, but my tennis court and our little HOA, sometimes people stop and play in video me, which is kind of weird. I’ve had that happen a few times. At like 6.30 in the morning, their car circles and they stop and they get out and they’ll just be filming me for a while. I don’t mind it, but it just seems kind of weird.

Dizzy Skips (25:37)
Yeah.

Isn’t that weird? It is kind of weird. I’ve had that happen too. I’ve had it happen where kids are driving downtown and I’m like walking the dog and I’m shuffling and kids will hold their phones out the window as they drive by slowly and like, okay, cool, I guess. I’ve never seen it turn up. I’m sure it turns up on social somewhere like, look at this nut job.

Sean Hargis (25:59)
Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (26:09)
what skill are you most proud of? Like, of the stuff that you’ve learned, what are you most proud of?

Sean Hargis (26:16)
I struggle with the mamba quite a bit and I’ve gotten that down. So maybe that. I had give an answer I’d say mamba.

Dizzy Skips (26:20)
Yeah.

How hard was it for you to go from release to Mamba? So can you describe the Mamba for people who may not understand what that is?

Sean Hargis (26:31)
So a mamba is a mic just on the other side of the body in the opposite direction. So it’s a rotation figure eight of the rope pretty much. It’s a mic one direction, a mic the other, and it’s making like a figure eight.

Dizzy Skips (26:45)
So, and when you say one direction and the other, it’s passing in front of your body going from like left to right, back. Okay.

Sean Hargis (26:49)
passing in front of your body, yeah, spinning one way and then spinning the other on the other side. That probably I would say. And then you’ve got your 360 mambas where you spin completely around with the rope. And then you’ve got, you’ve got, there are other types where you’re going backwards in the other direction. And then there’s the mambas where it’s like, it’s a mamba, but then you catch the rope, maybe behind your head. You kind of let it go and it comes back. So, you know,

Dizzy Skips (27:02)
Yeah.

Sean Hargis (27:15)
just variations of Mambas I’ve really enjoyed. So probably most proud of that is, would say.

Dizzy Skips (27:18)
Yeah, that one is so impressive. The catch like right behind your shoulder or behind your head. So I’m curious, that is not something that I can currently do. I’m sure I will get it at some point, but when you are doing a trick like that,

Sean Hargis (27:23)
Yeah, yeah

yeah, I’m sure you will.

Dizzy Skips (27:34)
The catch looks like magic to me. Like when I watch people do that, like how in the world did you know the handle was gonna be there at the time? Like is it a timing thing that you just, you’ve done it so much that your like muscle memory knows, hey, it’s gonna be there or?

Sean Hargis (27:47)
I don’t know if I had to an answer. I’m not sure I would say timing, but it’s understanding your reach where your arm is. How long is your arm? Where are you letting the rope go? And how much are you bringing that hand in to put that rope where you want it to be keeping in mind the length of the rope. So, you know, if I’m spinning it and I bring it in too close, then it’s going to come way out there and I, you know, be harder to catch.

So it’s just a matter of understanding and space where you’ve got to put that hand when you let it go. I would say more than anything. And it just comes with practice. It’s the same thing with the mitt. mean, eventually you get to the point where you don’t have to look at where the rope is. You just know where it’s going to be. And you just put your hand there and handle appears. And it’s no different with others.

Dizzy Skips (28:19)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I’m still not smooth with the mic by any stretch, but I have found that at some points, if I don’t look, I’m better off. It’s like if I’m looking, I’m overthinking it sometimes. It’s like if I can feel it, yeah. Do you have times where you feel like you need to go out and jump, but you’re having trouble getting motivated, or are you always raring to go?

Sean Hargis (28:46)
Yeah, I’ve had that happen quite a bit.

you know, it’s strange, but I’ve been doing this over four years and I it’s it’s as much part of me as today as it was then. I, just want to go, I want to go bounce. I, just, I don’t have to video anything. I just want to go and practice some things. And I’m always looking for an opportunity to go, you know, and my wife has already put something planned in a couple of weeks. I’m like, why don’t you go do that? You know, I’ll go get some skipping in and she’s like, you and your skipping.

Dizzy Skips (29:09)
Yeah. That’s awesome. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. You and your skipping.

Sean Hargis (29:28)
And yeah, so I always try to fit it in where I can. I really enjoy it. So I’ll do it as long as my body lets me do it. So we’ll see how it goes.

Dizzy Skips (29:34)
Yeah.

Yeah.

so can you talk about the benefits that you’ve got personally from jumping rope? Like once you kind of switch from the, I’m going to start running or start running again to like skipping rope. How did it affect you?

Sean Hargis (29:49)
I would say, well physically, I’ve got more stamina. I don’t get winded as often. I don’t know what my oxygen intake is, but it’s pretty good, I’d imagine. And I used to have foot pain. I used to have a lot of foot pain. I went to a foot doctor years ago and he said, well, you’re losing the fat in your feet. That’s why I’ve got all this pain. You’ve got to wear these special.

Dizzy Skips (30:06)
Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (30:11)
You know, the thing that the contraption that pulls a heel bag and post a sleep in it, you know, and, I did it and it was, it was just awful. And I think was like 90 bucks for this plastic boot. But since I’ve been skipping rope, I don’t have that pain anymore. It’s gone. And I, you know, I’ve, I’ve built up the muscles and the ankles and the calf area and I don’t have any of that pain anymore. I used to have kind of hip pain a little bit and lower back pain. I don’t have it anymore. It’s gone.

Dizzy Skips (30:15)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Sean Hargis (30:39)
I can delve, you know, physically, I’m in a lot better shape than what I used to be. At 49, man, I’ve got a, I’ve got a, you know, I’m, I’m facing all kinds of health issues, right? I’m coming up on that door. So, you know, you only gotta watch your diet and get more exercise. And, you know, my heart rate’s pretty low. I mean, it’s in the low sixties and sometimes I hit the upper fifties, you know, and I know, I know people that, you know, it’s seventies at eighties. So, you know, I think that’s been a big improvement for me.

Dizzy Skips (30:43)
Sure.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

Yeah.

Sean Hargis (31:07)
so many physical benefits. I don’t even begin to understand all of them. I know that I’ve read somewhere that the bouncing itself is supposed to have some benefit to the body. don’t, I don’t know what that is, but it seems to be working. mentally though was the biggest surprise. Yeah, it was a bit, that was a surprise. The mental health, pulled me out of a funk man for, in COVID. I really did struggle with that. And, I feel like I have a brighter outlook. I feel like I have a.

Dizzy Skips (31:12)
Right.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

How about men?

Yeah.

Sean Hargis (31:34)
better demeanor. It’s really improved things for me. I really look forward to it. So, you know, I’m always excited to kind of get out there and do that. And I think that carries throughout the day.

Dizzy Skips (31:36)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

That’s so great. Yeah, so.

Sean Hargis (31:48)
Don’t ask my kids, they’ll probably think I’m a grump. If you ask my kids, they’ll think I’m probably just a grumpy old man. But I think I’ve noticed the difference. And whether it’s in my imagination, I guess it doesn’t matter, but I think so.

Dizzy Skips (31:51)
Ha ha.

Yeah. So they never send you out to skip like, dad, you’re going to be go out and skip a bit.

Sean Hargis (32:03)
They’ve not actually said that, but that could be what they’re thinking. They do think that it’s a bit obsessive and weird maybe.

Dizzy Skips (32:09)
Yeah. Well, I think it’s great. mean, I’ve had the same sort of mental health benefits and physical health benefits as well. Like the balance thing I joked before. It’s not really a joke, but like just being able to like stand on one foot in the shower and bend over and pick up the soap and not have to worry about face planting, you know.

Sean Hargis (32:19)
Good one. Yeah.

I didn’t think of that. Yes, that’s a good one. Reaction time is improved. I’ve noticed that in a few weird situations and I have to attribute it to jumping rope because you’ve got to know where that rope is and you’ve got to grab it. So I think that’s improvement as well.

Dizzy Skips (32:32)
Insane,

Yeah.

Yeah, Andrea mentioned that on the first episode was like her reaction time and I’ve noticed the same thing too. Like scoot something off the table and just grab it real quick without even thinking, you know.

Sean Hargis (32:55)
I’ve had a few moments like that and it’s kind of surprised me. So I attribute it to jumping rope

Dizzy Skips (32:59)
Yeah.

Yeah. So, what would you, what would you tell somebody who is thinking about, you know, maybe around our age, thinking about getting into jump rope, but thinking, maybe, I don’t know if this is for me or I’m not sure I can do it.

Sean Hargis (33:15)
Well, I’ve told a lot of people this, anybody can do it. It’s low impact. I don’t care if you’re, you know, 40 or 70, you can do it. The benefits for your body are gonna be huge. And you don’t have to go out there and push hard to do it. You know, six, seven minutes total, you know, a day. I think you’d see improvement, right? 10 seconds, take a break. 20 seconds, take a break. If you can do that for a total of,

Seven minutes, eight minutes, something like that. I think it would be very beneficial to a lot of folks. Just get out there and try it. You don’t have to be, start with basic bounce, move on to boxer step, and next thing you know, you’re stacking skills and you’re learning a lot of really cool things.

Dizzy Skips (33:50)
Sure. Yeah.

Yeah. So like if people thinking about getting into jumping or thinking and learning, what sort of rope would you recommend for them?

Sean Hargis (34:10)
I would recommend the beaded ropes because they’ve got a little bit of weight to them. So you know where they’re going to be. You’ve got the feedback. You know if what you’re doing is right. Because the rope will tell you if you don’t. Also, your beaded ropes tend to last a lot longer. So if you’re out there with a beaded rope and you do a few minutes a day, you don’t have to reinvest in a new rope every three or four months like you have to sometimes with PVC’s. You can just

Dizzy Skips (34:12)
Bye.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Sean Hargis (34:36)
have that same rope sometimes a year and a half, two years. I mean, this one, I’ve taken this thing, I’ve had it to Morocco, I’ve had it to England, I’ve had it to Hawaii, and it’s the same rope. It’s the same beaded, same handles, but it’s lasted me for years. So I would say a beaded rope.

Dizzy Skips (34:38)
Mm-hmm.

Wow! Nice!

That’s so cool. You know, Peta mentioned something last week when I talked to her about how she was pissed off that she had to check baggage now because of traveling with a jump rope. And that never occurred to me. Do you have to?

Sean Hargis (35:02)
I saw that. So I saw that I saw the interview too. And you know, my moment was like, well, then I got lucky because I just put it in a backpack and carried it through. So I didn’t get caught with it and they would have taken it. And that would make me sad. So so it’s a lesson for me. Put it in my check luggage. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (35:17)
Yeah, no kidding. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I am totally with you on the beaded rope thing. Like I love all sorts of ropes, but beaded is definitely my favorite. And I think it is the feedback. It’s also it makes such a cool noise, you know, like it’s just fun. Yeah. Do you?

Sean Hargis (35:37)
yeah, yeah it does. Yeah, like I said, I’ve switched to the 6mm for now, but you know, we’ll see. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it or maybe I’ll go back to the beat it soon. I don’t know.

Dizzy Skips (35:45)
Yeah.

Yeah. So, so when you say you switch, you actually are just jumping with that only. You don’t like switch up while you’re jumping.

Sean Hargis (35:53)
Yeah, yeah, I’ve got yeah, it’s a six It’s a six millimeter. So it’s pretty thick. So, you know, like I said, it’s got the weight and the feedback of a beater rope not quite Yeah, eight eight inches And and I’ve just gotten so used to these kind of handles that’s what I use but But it’s also forgiving like a PVC. So I’ve been pretty happy with it. So I’m gonna try it out for a while and see how it goes

Dizzy Skips (35:59)
Mm-hmm.

Does it have long handles too?

Okay, wow.

Cool. I do have some favorite ropes, but I have a backpack sitting right next to me that probably has 10 ropes in it, and that’s what I travel around with. And so I switch it up every few minutes sometimes, but it does depend on where I’m jumping. And I found that heavy rope from Mira Wate is terrific in high wind because it’s just got so much mass. I can get it swinging and it cuts right through it.

Sean Hargis (36:32)
Yeah.

yeah, know, the wind will not be able to compete with the rope that way.

Dizzy Skips (36:50)
Yeah. You mentioned jumping on tennis court. Do you jump on a mat when you jump?

Sean Hargis (36:56)
Now on the tennis court, the tennis court is asphalt, not concrete. I’m okay with that. Concrete, I don’t jump on there because concrete doesn’t have any give. But I do have a concrete patio, kind of in the backyard. That’s where I do quite a few of my reels. And I put a mat there. I do have, I guess it’s maybe a quarter of it. No, I’ve got, don’t, my wife found me this mat somewhere. I don’t know.

Dizzy Skips (37:00)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Don’t you have an Elevate map?

Okay.

Sean Hargis (37:23)
I do want to get a different one that’s a little thicker. So, know, Christmas wish list, maybe, my family out there, maybe.

Dizzy Skips (37:26)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. My, yeah, My, if any of Sean’s loved ones are listening, my sister got me an Amazon gift card and I got a Rush Athletics mat from there. And it’s a little thicker and a little sturdier than the other mat that I have. And it’s got a nice travel bag too. So if you’re taking it, know, if you like taking stuff on the go or jumping outside, it’s got a nice, travel bag.

Sean Hargis (37:42)
yeah.

Yeah, he’s got some life.

Alright, I’ll check it out.

Dizzy Skips (37:58)
Yeah. Cool. Well, any, anything else you’d like to say to the jump rope community or any other advice you’ve got for all of us out there who are trying to learn.

Sean Hargis (38:07)
You know, I just want to say thank you guys for everything. I’ve learned so much. I’ve certainly grown as a jumper. And even as a person, with all the positivity that I’ve seen, a debt of gratitude for all of you out there. I really appreciate it. And you helped me more than you’ll ever know.

Dizzy Skips (38:25)
Yeah, I’m right there with you. I just can’t believe how lucky I am to be part of this community. like you said, it’s this corner of the internet where things are positive and we’re patting each other on the back and you wanna see people succeed. You wanna see them progress.

Sean Hargis (38:41)
There’s no negativity even even my mom she’s she’s following me on there. She’s looked at some stuff She’s everybody’s just so nice. I’m like, yeah, everybody’s cool Everybody’s very nice

Dizzy Skips (38:49)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s awesome. Well, Sean, you’re quite an inspiration to me. I always love seeing your skipping and I appreciate your support as well. I just, yeah, I think the world of you. Thank you so much for coming on to talk to me.

Sean Hargis (39:02)
Thank you.

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.