About Handstand Factory
Welcome to Handstand Factory! Join us at the assembly line, we are currently building the most comprehensive, in depth handbalancing tuition syllabus to be found online. The Handstand Factory courses combine the long tradition of handbalancing training from a circus perspective with a modern understanding of biomechanics, contemporary sport science and modern research into flexibility development for adults. Each handbalancing program achieves this with hours of high quality in depth videos, complimented by a thorough manual that covers all further theory on both handbalancing and flexibility training, sample programs and important insights into building an autonomous handbalancing practice.
About the Handstand Factory
Welcome to Handstand Factory! Join us at the assembly line, we are currently building the most comprehensive, in depth handbalancing tuition syllabus to be found online. The Handstand Factory courses combine the long tradition of handbalancing training from a circus perspective with a modern understanding of biomechanics, contemporary sport science and modern research into flexibility development for adults. Each handbalancing program achieves this with hours of high quality in depth videos, complimented by a thorough manual that covers all further theory on both handbalancing and flexibility training, sample programs and important insights into building an autonomous handbalancing practice.
Who’s Teaching?
Mikael Kristiansen and Emmet Louis are both international teachers of handbalancing and flexibility and have spent big chunks of their lives studying and understanding all aspects of these skills professionally both as performers and teachers. With the Handstand Factory, they now want to demystify and simplify the process of learning handstands and the relevant flexibility, and make it accessible to anyone wanting to learn to stand on their hands.
The Handstand Factory came into being off the back of a conversation Emmet Louis and Mikael Kristiansen had one time. They were discussing their training history and its similarities. The good old days, pre youtube, of trawling the depths of the internet forums to find hints and clues as to how to learn this and that technique. So, ten years later, they decided to make the course that they, back in the day, were looking for, and went on to publish their first program for advanced handbalancing: The Handstand Factory – Push Harder.
We began Handstand Factory in 2018 with our first program “Push Harder”, which aimed to fill a void in the market: a clear roadmap for achieving a one arm handstand.
On the back of the success of Push Harder, we produced three more entry level online courses for handstands throughout 2019: Push (beginners handbalancing), Keep Pushing (intermediate handbalancing) and Press (Press to Handstand), as well as a free forearm conditioning program called Grip. We have since produced a variety of additional programs that cover the wide breadth of handbalancing as a discipline, updated our existing programs with new content, and launched the Handstandcast podcast.
Mikael Kristiansen is a contemporary circus artist specializing in handbalancing. He has a background as a bboy and has a Bachelor in Circus Arts from DOCH, Stockholm. Mikael specialised in the discipline of handbalancing at the age of 23 after being a breakdancer for several years. Since completing his education at DOCH, he has toured around the world performing, as well as teaching workshops targeted towards a range of skill levels, from absolute beginners to those trying to learn the most advanced handbalancing skills.
Emmet Louis is a renowned flexibility and mobility coach. Over the last ten years he has been working on and developing his “Modern Methods of Mobility” syllabus, which he teaches in seminars worldwide. He’s equally at home teaching people who can’t touch their toes all the way to contortion levels of flexibility. His main focus with his adult students is to teach and develop skills that are normally considered things that can be acquired only as children, and to show that these can be achieved in a safe and efficient manner. This includes advanced acrobatics, flexibility and high levels of bodyweight strength.
Production
Producer
Elise is the founder and co-owner of Motion Impulse, the company producing Handstand Factory with Emmet and Mikael. As well as producing, Elise shows up as a model in the Push, Keep Pushing and Press programs, edits the program manuals and runs the social media channels. She’s also involved in organising and coordinating workshops, retreats and conventions in the acrobatics and movement scene, working with a large and diverse group of teachers. She has also been co-presenting the Modern Methods of Mobility seminar with Emmet since 2014.
Video Production
Ross & Adam are a branding and film production studio based in Belfast. With a particular interest in movement and handbalancing, they were delighted to be asked by Motion Impulse to work on the Handstand Factory series, and have been involved since the Push Harder program in 2018. Ross & Adam are also the founders of the Ardour clothing brand that features in the Handstand Factory courses and is specifically engineered for gymnastic, handbalance and movement training.
Models and Creative Work
Isaac started training handstands as an adult during university, starting training with Emmet in 2016. After dipping his toes in several physical practices such as capoeira, olympic weightlifting and rock climbing, he found handbalancing the most rewarding practice and has been consistently training handbalancing for 3 years now. You will not only find Isaac as a model in the Push, Keep Pushing and Press programs, but he also works with Emmet Louis as an assistant coach, and is part of the admin team behind Handstand Factory.
Seve started training handbalance with Emmet in 2014, and has also trained with Mikael since. With a lot of hard work and dedication she has now transitioned to working as a professional handbalancer, teaching and performing around Ireland and Europe. She’s not only featured as a model in the Push and Keep Pushing courses, but is also our photographer for a lot of the stunning shots you see across our channels.
Josh originally started training with calisthenics and street workout, training solo before starting online training with Emmet. Initially handbalance was not a main focus on his training but after a chance meeting with a handbalance artist on a family cruise the fire was lit and his focus shifted to handbalance. He’s one of our models in the Push Harder course as well as doing the online marketing, and some social media for Handstand Factory.
Morgan started training with Emmet shortly after his brother Josh, and has since gone over 9000. He is one of the models of the Push Harder course. Currently, he is based and training in Kiev, where he is working towards becoming a full time handbalance performer.
Sophie has been working as a graphic designer for Motion Impulse since 2016, and has been part of many exciting projects since. She’s currently studying communication design in Berlin, but that never seems to stop her traveling the world. We are excited to have her on board to continue the design of Handstand Factory.
Jake MacPhail is a copy editor for the Handstand Factory. He began his professional career as a classicist, editing ancient Greek papyri and medieval manuscripts. After becoming disenchanted with the ivory tower, he switched to freelance editing five years ago. He became interested in handstands via yoga and bodyweight training. He’s been using the Handstand Factory’s training manuals for a year and a half with steady progress.
Andrés, our Social Media Manager and Content Creator, discovered his passion for handbalancing after exploring various physical practices. Based in Rotterdam, he expertly combines his background in Sports Science, Nutrition, and Visual Communication with his experience as a circus artist and coach to manage Handstand Factory’s social media presence. You’ll also find Andrés participating in events and occasionally modeling for our programs. When he’s not creating content or coaching, Andrés enjoys nurturing his plants and spending quality time with friends.