Meet Milton Keynes' real life Ninja warrior - a dad-of-three from Fishermead

Ruel DaCosta, known as ‘Bulldog’, is busy toughening up for his role in ITV’s popular Ninja Warrior UK programme, which returns to our screens on September 3.

He has spent the summer working with MK Gallery, running Street Art workshops in Parkour, the art of freerunning through a town, using skilful movements to jump over walls and other objects.

Young people who have taken part in his workshops will perform their skills for free on Thursday September 1 in Margaret Powell Square outside MK Gallery and MK Theatre.

They will be joined by members of the Ruel’s local Paramount Parkour elite squad and children from the audience will be invited to learn a parkour move after the performance.

Ruel has built up more than 20 years’ experience as an international Parkour athlete, actor, stuntman, obstacle consultant for TV

and film, choreographer, personal trainer, Pilates instructor and Parkour coach.

He taught his own children to be mini Ninja Warriors and has a mini Parkour course at his gym. His son Callum became one of the country’s youngest Ninja warriors at the age of three and his daughter Jade was expert in the art of Parkour by the age of eight, when she was leaping over obstacles all over MK with her dad.

Ruel said: “For over 15 years I have been teaching parkour in and around Milton Keynes. Parkour has given me a platform to work with 1000s of young people and engage with them on a completely different level, earning their trust and respect. Then using this opportunity to teach them to have respect for fellow humans, themselves, and property.

"To be brought on to this project means a lot to me. Young people are the future of this city and many of them do not have the best of starts, so giving them these opportunities could be life changing.”

The Street Arts performance is ticketed, and free tickets are available from the Gallery box office online here.

Street Arts is funded by Safer MK and promotes and anti- knife crime message.