Peri Zourides

Peri Zourides, MovNat Expert Trainer, is the owner of Seven Star Energy Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is a multi-disciplined training facility that offers Natural Movement, Kettlebells, calisthenics, martial arts, rehabilitation treatment and mindfulness training.

Peri has a background playing in competitive football and basketball as well as coaching both sports. He’s trained and taught traditional Kung Fu and Tai Chi, has been certified through StrongFirst as a Bodyweight and Level 2 Kettlebell instructor, and also facilitates corporate wellness programs.

Driven by an urge to learn more about human movement, Peri was drawn to MovNat initially through Erwan’s video on the Workout the World Forgot. He immediately began looking into ways to further his practice; even having been fit in other movement styles, he saw what was lacking in his own natural movement. Seeing the transformation in his own life, and then those of his clients, Peri has embarked on a journey to teach the practice of Natural Movement throughout the African continent…and beyond!

Credentials:

• FMS Level 1 Certified Trainer
• HFPA Exercise Science and Personal Training
• National First Aid Academy Certified
• SFG Certified Kettlebell Instructor, Level 1, trained by Pavel Tsatsouline
• SFG Certified Kettlebell Instructor, Level 2, trained by David Whitley and Fabio Zonin
• SFB Certified Bodyweight Instructor, trained by Karen Smith
• SFG Plan Strong Attendee, trained by Pavel Tsatsouline and Fabio Zonin
• Primal Move Certified Instructor, trained by Shaun Cairns
• MovNat Certified Instructor, Level 1 and 2, trained by Cameron Pratto
• MovNat Certified Instructor, Level 3, trained by Erwan Le Corre
• Original Strength Reset, trained by Piers Kwan
• GMB (Gold Medal Bodies) Elements, trained by Piers Kwan

Connect with Peri:

Website: www.7sec.co.za/

Facebook: MovNat Africa

Instagram: @movnat_africa

Alex Schenker

Alex’s dream has always been to understand the subtleties of what it means to move naturally and efficiently. He has devoted his life to understanding the meaning of freedom of movement and what it takes to maintain vibrant health. For nearly two decades, everything he has done with his life has been in concert with this ambition and deep interest. As the founder of Natural Mobility, and an active content creator on YouTube and other platforms, Alex strives to share his experience with anyone who is open to learning.

He was raised in a health-conscious household and introduced to meditation, yoga and healing energy work by his mother. He also had the influence of strength training from his father, a bodybuilder, and a deep passion for martial arts since early childhood. He started taking martial arts more seriously when he discovered Taijutsu in 2004, earning his 5th degree black belt in Japan and becoming an instructor in 2017.

This all worked together to influence his enrollment in a 2 year Shiatsu diploma program in 2005 that included meridian stretching and Sotai therapy. He has been practicing professionally ever since, along with teaching the self-treatment techniques that go with these therapeutic practices.

In 2015, Alex discovered MovNat, and by 2018, he had completed the Level 3, Combatives, and Aquatics certifications. Now as a team instructor, he leads trainer certifications, workshops, and classes. Alex believes in cultivating the MovNat community, and is passionate about maintaining a connection between local practitioners, so that everyone can learn from and support one another. Alex has taken numerous courses and certifications throughout the last decade, but nothing has impacted him quite as deeply as MovNat. He believes in the philosophy of “Each One Teach One”, and loves to find things to learn from teachers and students alike.

Most recently, Alex has been studying a 450-year-old tradition of Japanese swordsmanship called Hyoho Taisha Ryu Kenjutsu, which is largely about developing a very precise and natural efficiency in movement, particularly walking, shifting/transferring weight, manipulation, and whole-body coordination.

These modalities are all vital components of Alex’s approach. From his perspective, a balanced movement practice requires elements of self-treatment, mobility development, injury prevention, and athletics, in the appropriate proportions for each case. His approach to lifestyle is simple, and focused on the way we consume, breathe, move, think, and connect with our environment. His vision is to help guide people who are ready to devote themselves to making a change in their life and habits, and cultivating a community around the MovNat lifestyle.

Credentials:

• MovNat Expert Trainer (Level 3, Aquatics, Combatives)
• Bujinkan Shidoshi (Martial Arts Instructor)
• Licensed Shiatsu Therapist (LST)
• Kinseiryuhou Koshiki Kenbiki Basic Level Practitioner
• FRCms (Functional Range Conditioning mobility specialist)
• Agatsu Steel Mace & Club Certification
• ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide

Connect with Alex:

Website: https://NaturalMobility.net

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/naturalmobility

Instagram: @naturalmobility

Ryan McGowan

Ryan McGowan owns Laid-back Fitness in Warwick, RI where he inspires adults to move better and become more adventurous! LbF also offers services for kids, our models for Natural Movement, that include classes, birthday parties, mobile “ninja” parties, and backyard “ninja rigs.”

Ryan played team sports in high school and college before getting into triathlon. While working as an engineer/construction manager, he discovered the Primal Blueprint which led him to MovNat. Inspired by this way of living, combined with a growing disenchantment with the commercial construction industry, Ryan walked away from his career to pursue his passion in 2010!

Shortly after quitting his job, he attended a 1-day MovNat Workshop in Boston, one week before his first Tough Mudder. After utilizing so many newfound techniques on the course, Ryan decided MovNat would be the foundation of his and his clients’ programming. He has since completed dozens of Obstacle Course Races from 5k to 24-hour ultra events and has helped hundreds of his clients complete events of all distances.

Ryan is happily married and has 3 beautiful children. He is also the founder of the Frozen Clam Obstaplunge, the world’s only New Year’s Day Plunge that starts with an obstacle course and ends in the water!

Connect with Ryan:

Website: www.laidbackfitness.com

Facebook: Laid-back Fitness

Instagram: @laidbackfitness

Diana Matula

Diana loves using natural movement to explore the world and adventure through life. Her passion is helping others gain new skills and create natural movement-based lifestyles that lead to greater empowerment, capability, and resiliency.

Diana grew up as a barefoot hippie child living on an organic farm and was enrolled in gymnastics early on because she was cartwheeling everywhere. She loved that expression of movement until the rigid competition squashed the joy from it.

As a teenager, she experienced the typical disconnect from nature through the confines of competitive indoor sports, desk-bound academics, and culturally-induced body image issues, resulting in a shallow lifestyle and a painful sense of inauthenticity.

While studying anthropology she became fascinated with human evolution and the effects of domestication on our health and happiness. Thus began her journey to restore her mind/body/spirit. She started working on organic farms, practicing herbalism, and playing outdoors again, but her body lacked the freedom of movement it once had and felt fragile and incapable.

She was drawn to MovNat in 2014 through the rewilding community. Once she found natural movement, her whole life changed. She felt her strength capability return and her authentic self wake up again. 

She went all in with MovNat L1, L2, L3 and Combatives in 2019, and in 2021 she became the 6th woman to ever be Level 3 certified. Meanwhile, she became a trainer full-time in order to dedicate herself to helping others move better and feel more alive. 

Diana now works with clients one-on-one and teaches MovNat classes at Club Northwest in Grants Pass, Oregon. In her free time she can be found working barefoot on her small homestead or playing in the mountains with her husband and two dogs.

Credentials:

• MovNat Level 3 Trainer & Combatives Trainer
• NASM Certified Trainer
• Restorative Exercise Specialist via Nutritious Movement
• Clinical Herbalist

Connect with Diana:

Instagram: @dianagmatula

Nate Amado

Hey, humans! I’m Nate. A MovNat Expert Trainer & Team Instructor, Primal Health Coach, Wilderness Scout, BJJ Purple Belt, Gracie Jiu Jitsu Instructor, and much more.

Beyond all the certifications, I’m a student of life with a love for exploration and learning. The spark that ignited this journey was high school wrestling—I won my first match or two, and got my butt handed to me for the rest of the year—it was great.

I became hungry for more, physically and mentally. So I began studying and practicing many different disciplines: Boxing, MMA, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, Meditation, Capoeira, Art Du Déplacement/Parkour, and La Methode Naturelle to name a few. A path which led me right to MovNat in 2013.

When I found MovNat, I thought, “This is it!” This is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was the most complete system I’d found, and I knew it had the potential to change a lot of lives and the world around us.

And when I discovered Gracie Jiu Jitsu in 2015, I had the same experience—the fire was stoked. I dove all in and have been studying/training all day, every day, since. These are my two true passions in life—both highly effective, super fun, and life-changing disciplines.

For the past 8 years, I’ve been taking it one bare foot at a time—integrating and coaching people with all the best methods that I’ve discovered or created, in-person and online, and leading workshops & retreats around the world—growing organically with a community of awesome humans.

My mission is to help men explore, empower, and transform themselves, their tribe, and the world around us for the better.

Connect with Nate:

Website: www.nateamado.com

Instagram: @nate.amado