MOVEMENTUM

We're the founders of Movementum, Billy and Frances, based in the UK and we believe that moving better is key to improving our quality of life; we don't need more exercise—we need more movement.

Billy is a movement coach and offers training for adults of all levels, from complete beginners to professional movers. He feels there's a normalisation of weakness in the modern world and natural fitness counters that; reminding us our bodies are not made to be fragile and, with lots of movement variety, we can become strong, resilient and adaptable again.

Frances offers treatment sessions using the Anatomy in Motion method as a way of relieving pain, correcting postural problems and reducing the likelihood of future injury. She uses whole body corrective exercises to restore lost movement patterns because, as Gray Cook says, 'moving isn’t important, until you can’t'.

We sometimes post to social media when we train parkour and acrobatics together, combining them to challenge ourselves mentally and physically. After all, actions speak louder than words!

BILLY MORGAN

Things I Love (always)
Video Games // Hiking // Podcasts // My Car // D&D

Things I Hate (always)
Planned Obsolescence // Slow Internet // Hanging Up Washing

Things I Want To Do (someday)
Own A Classic Beetle // Climb Chimborazo // Forge A Knife

Food (yes please)
Mint Imperials // Smoked Paprika // Shortbread // Gua Bao

Food (no thanks)
Olives // Spaghetti Bolognese // Porridge // Raisins

Aged 21 I quit my well paid engineering job, bought a 1992 Volvo 940 and moved 300 miles across the country to start a new life - all because I'd rediscovered my passion for movement.
As a child I'd always loved sports and, by a stroke of luck, I ended up at a secondary school with its own climbing wall. It wasn't long until climbing took over my life and I competed in my first national level competition less than a year after I started training.

I gave up climbing when I left school to start a full-time apprenticeship in electrical engineering; I didn't have the time or energy for anything else when I came home from work after a long commute. I began to feel out of breath walking up stairs, felt constantly tired and had pain in my back; by the time I got around to weighing myself I'd piled on 4 stone (25kg) in the two years since leaving school. I couldn't believe how easy it was to become unfit so the next day I joined a gym and began miserably calorie counting in an attempt to get back into shape.

Over time my motivation started waning as the gym workouts were so repetitive and boring, I had no luck searching online for climbing walls near me but came across a website advertising weekly parkour classes; it sounded so much more exciting than another dull gym session. That was the spark I needed to fall in love with movement again, it was the turning point that led me to acrobatics, tumbling, hand-balancing, calisthenics and Ninja Warrior.

I realised that, rather than living a daily grind, I could dedicate my life to my passion and do what I loved. So I did, and here I am!

FRANCES HUTCHENS

Things I Love (always)
Books // Podcasts // Hot Weather // Riding My Bicycle // FIP

Things I Hate (always)
Wilful Ignorance // Gentrification // Hipster Café Coffee

Things I Want To Do (someday)
Horseback Archery // Grow Food // Visit Mongolia

Food (yes please)
Gua Bao // Crackling // Chocolate Cake // Hoisin Duck

Food (no thanks)
Jelly // Sweetcorn // Cold Cooked Chicken // Cucumber

As a teenager I developed chronic back pain and, after the conventional route didn't help, I discovered the only way to keep pain at bay was to exercise. I tried yoga, kick-boxing, pole dancing, pilates to name a few and, in 2011, I saw a poster advertising a partner acrobatics workshop; I really wanted to go but didn't feel confident enough I could do it. I eventually attended a workshop and it was the first time a class was more than just about keeping fit; it was about trusting others, being playful and using constructive communication - all things I definitely needed to work on, and in 2013 I certified with Partner Acrobatics as a teacher.

In 2015 I stumbled across a parkour class and, even though I moved as gracefully as the Tin Man, I was hooked. It's helped me not only become a better mover but given me a way to learn to trust myself and develop confidence, bravery and courage. I was a slow learner to start with, so I understand the struggles a complete beginner faces, and now am doing things I would never have thought possible in part thanks to the tools parkour has given me.

I attended the Anatomy in Motion course in Jan 2017 and, and, as clichéd as it may sound, it really was a ‘game-changer’ for me. During my postural assessment I finally found the root cause of my 20 year back pain - as a teenager I had a severe overbite and my lower jaw was moved forwards with twin block braces resulting in it being ever so slightly misaligned; after doing the corrective exercises, I have been completely free of lower back pain ever since.I was a bit sceptical and wondered if it could've been a fluke however since then I no longer have recurring pain!

When I look back, something good always seems to come from something bad -strange as it may sound, I can thank my orthodontist for where I am today!