RECLAIMING OUR BODIES

EMERGING TRIBES
REDEFINING MOVEMENT
IN THE MODERN URBAN LIFE

We define “tribe” loosely as an unofficial community of people who share a common interest, values and practices. This is seen from a post-demographic perspective, which moves beyond geography, race and age and is rather organised according to ‘interest’ and ‘favourites’ often also tied to the digital realm.

How can we reclaim our bodies and minds in the modern life?

It is no secret that we live in a hectic, distracting, hyper-technified world. With cities becoming more dense, technologies more omnipresent, notifications constantly diverting our attention, and performance pressure higher than ever, being aware and proactive on how we use our bodies and minds becomes crucial today to maintain balance in this modern mayhem. Most of us are working from nine to five in a concrete block, sitting on a chair behind a desk, staring at a computer screen under artificial light, then taking the elevator to the nearest gym so that we can move our limbs a bit. Although this mechanical behaviour has become normalised in our current working culture. Biologically this way of living is not sustainable and attuned with our human nature.

Following are three tribes that are emerging in the modern metropole. Their members are reclaiming an active lifestyle and a new way of being in touch with their body and mind. These are some of the frontrunners representing a new paradigm of a active life in today’s world.

Meet the tribes

01

PRIMAL RECONNECTORS

02

THE SELF TRACKERS

03

MODERN COMMUTERS

01

PRIMAL RECONNECTORS

The pace of modern life has become so unsustainable that the World Health Organization (WHO) has now officially identified burnout as an occupational phenomenon.

As an answer, a group of people are reconnecting with primal ways of physical movement. They are fighting against the quick fixes that proliferate in the mainstream wellness and sports industries, by reappropriating and reinventing ancient and traditional physical activities for the modern day.

Tribe members

Click to view

Richie BostockSkillful breathing

Erwan Le CorreRewilding movements

Katy BowmanTransforming the trivial

02

THE SELF TRACKERS

Motivated by how useful data has proven to be in measuring, monitoring and getting to know ourselves inside out, a few digital enthusiasts are tracking their bodies to improve their (sporting) performance, health and happiness.

Tribe members

Click to view

Ralph PethicaTraining with genes

Justin TimmerUnderstanding complex
body systems

03

MODERN COMMUTERS

Seeking the outdoor escape from urban life, or simply re-engaging with the city through new activities, a new wave of hikers, walkers and marathon runners are moving through life seeking a new challenge outside of their daily work hours.

Tribe members

Click to view

Greg MatthewsRunning towards the simple things

Jesse DangerIntegrating with the city

"The body is a habit-forming machine. If you are constantly stressed, your body learns how to breathe in a stressful way. If you remove that stress, even though the stress is gone, you’ll continue to breathe in a stressful way, and that will actually affect the way that you feel."

- Richie Bostock

Tribe member 1

Richie Bostock
- Skillful breathing

London-based Richie Bostock practises and teaches breath work, a breathing technique to consciously control the breath, as a counteraction to our learned ‘fight or flight’ behaviour.

He argues that skillful breathing has a direct effect on our physical, mental and emotional health and well-being. Therefore, understanding and employing the breath with intention is a skill that helps the modern citizen and high-performing individual enhance every aspect of their lives. It is Richie´s mission to get everyone to breath purposefully.

"Today nobody needs to run – in fact nobody needs to walk. If we continue like this maybe in 200 years time people will say: 'I heard my grandfather used to walk… and my father could stand up."

- Erwan Le Corre

Tribe member 2

Erwan Le Corre
- Rewilding movements

Erwan Le Corre (39), wants to re-wild physical activity. His goal is to reconnect to the human roots and revolutionise the way we use and understand our physiology and mind.

Erwan founded MovNat, a fitness movement believing that we are not meant to live in a confined environment. With that in mind, he defined a holistic approach to fitness, based on evolutionarily natural tenets, involving natural movement abilities which better fit the concerns and expectations of people today.

"Perhaps the only way out of our poor physical state, created by our culture of convenience, is a return to the behaviors of our ancestors."

- Katy Bowman

Tribe member 3

Katy Bowman
- Transforming the trivial

Katy Bowman is a bio-mechanist from the Sequin, Wisconsin, who incorporates natural movement into everyday life as a way of overcoming the guilt associated with exercising.

Katy, has adapted her home to help her integrate movement into the trivial daily routines. Her family uses low tables and sits on the floor instead of couches and chairs. When she is working, she has a dynamic workstation. While she is at home, she uses objects in and around her home to facilitate movement and break up the workday naturally. Katy believes through movement we can transform our bodies, families, communities and the planet.

"Knowing where your baseline is and knowing where you are today, turns out to be pretty useful for lots and lots of different things."

- Ralph Pethica

Tribe member 1

Ralph Pethica
- Training with genes

One aspect of personal data Ralph Pethica finds interesting is how it can reveal what is unique about you. Pethica has a PhD in genetics and is part of the quantified self movement. He is interested in what his DNA can tell him about how to train more effectively.

Through combining the genetic information derived from DNA testing kits - now a service available to everyone online - with the results of bio tracking devices such as the Polar watch, he tests how his gene specialized training is paying off. Allowing him to condition his body in the best possible way for his goals in sports and the everyday.

"Tracking myself raised my awareness of things, confronted me with facts, showed me the unexpected, and made me deeper investigate 'important things'."

- Justin Timmer

Tribe member 2

Justin Timmer
- Understanding complex body systems

Justin Timmer who lives in the Netherlands, has tracked his life on a daily basis since 2013. When he started with the Quantified Self practices he wanted to learn about himself - his happiness, health, stress, his overall behavior in the modern day chaos.

Over the years he performed many experiments employing wearable devices and apps that tracked around 40 variables per day. He says tracking himself and evaluating the complex data, raised his awareness of things, confronted him with facts, showed him the unexpected and most importantly made him deeper investigate and understand crucial things in his life - like the cause for his happiness.

- Name

Tribe member 1

Name
- The biochemist

Lorem

"Today, the simple act of running can connect us to ourselves, those we run with and the land we run on.""

- Greg Matthews

Tribe member 1

Greg Matthews
- Running towards the simple things

Gregor Matthews is a Scotsman who found refuge in running when he saw his busy life slowly falling apart. After moving away from the fast-paced urban and digital life, back to his parent's home, the mountains of Scotland, he started to take long slow runs in the Scottish Highlands. Reclaiming peace and communion with the body, mind and the landscape he was running on.

Today, besides being a thriving business consultant travelling around the world, he is facilitating long distance trail runs in open nature for the stressed city dweller looking to step away from the hum of civilisation, and reconnect with their body, community and the natural environment.

"I think physical creativity is a lacking necessity in most of peoples lives; we need to do more, learn more, always."

- Jesse Danger

Tribe member 2

Jesse Danger
- Integrating with the city

Being one of the first practitioners of parkour in the United States, finding the discipline in 2004, Jesse Danger, has since been integrating the city in almost every aspect of his life.

He teaches himself and others how to enjoy movement by exploring opportunities for play in the urban environment. For Jesse parkour’s usefulness lies in the physical preparation and mental fortitude to see any challenge as an opportunity to better oneself. He aims to create positive change and momentum in the lives of children and adults through the simple medium of movement and the skill of paying attention to the environment that happens to surround oneself.

person 3-3

RECLAIMING OUR BODIES

EMERGING TRIBESREDEFINING MOVEMENTIN THE MODERN URBAN LIFE

How can we reclaim our bodies and minds in the modern life?

Meet the tribes

01

PRIMAL RECONNECTORS

02

THE SELF TRACKERS

03

MODERN COMMUTERS

01

PRIMAL RECONNECTORS

Tribe members

02

THE SELF TRACKERS

Tribe members

03

MODERN COMMUTERS

Tribe members

Tribe member 1

Richie Bostock- Skillful breathing

Tribe member 2

Erwan Le Corre- Rewilding movements

Tribe member 3

Katy Bowman- Transforming the trivial

Tribe member 1

Ralph Pethica- Training with genes

Tribe member 2

Justin Timmer- Understanding complex body systems

Tribe member 1

Name- The biochemist

Tribe member 1

Greg Matthews- Running towards the simple things

Tribe member 2

Jesse Danger- Integrating with the city

EMERGING TRIBES
REDEFINING MOVEMENT
IN THE MODERN URBAN LIFE

Richie Bostock
- Skillful breathing

Erwan Le Corre
- Rewilding movements

Katy Bowman
- Transforming the trivial

Ralph Pethica
- Training with genes

Justin Timmer
- Understanding complex body systems

Name
- The biochemist

Greg Matthews
- Running towards the simple things

Jesse Danger
- Integrating with the city