Check Out Michael Ferris’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Ferris

Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I can say with confidence that creative expression and physical activity are themes that define my childhood. I’m ecstatic to say that I continue to nurture those themes in my adulthood, well into my 30’s.

Reading Bruce Lee’s writings, practicing martial arts and skateboarding filled my hours during the day, followed by drawing for hours in sketchbooks at night. I enjoyed anything that challenged my physical and creative capacities.

I enjoyed the arts so much so that I received two BFA’s from University of Central Missouri, in both Printmaking and Illustration, back in 2012. Four years later, in one night, I stopped creating visual art altogether. From there, I began the tedious grind of going to work and coming home, with little to no extracurricular activities to fulfill my creative needs.

At 27, I decided to begin practicing martial arts after several years off. While teaching at a local boxing club, I met a fellow trainer who introduced me to gymnastics inspired fitness training and calisthenics. Several of the bodyweight skills required skill and precision in hand balancing, and that was absolutely fascinating to me! From there, born was the obsessive and consistent practice of handstands and other hand balancing skills.

Handstand training became my strict focus for several years. I began practicing two to three hours per day, five to six days per week! It was the most fulfilling and joyful experiences to finally make such difficult skills consistent. It would be a huge understatement to say that I made sacrifices while chasing and eventually making consistent one of the hardest physical skills any human can achieve; the one arm handstand.

To make a very long and convoluted story short, I began practicing oldetime strongman feats like steel bending, horseshoe bending and card tearing, along with a small focus on physical development. This practice has become integrated into my hand balancing skills training, and what I now practice and share with the public is a rare combination of strength, balance, precision and body awareness.

Over the last eight years, this training in physical activity has taught me a lot about myself, and I began sharing my skills as a way to inspire and motivate others to find activities that fulfill them! I share my hand balancing and strength skills at festivals, private events and most recently, with library programs around the area with MCPL.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a smooth road. Adversity of some capacity is a lifelong experience some way or another.

Currently, juggling the many obligations required of me can be quite physically and mentally taxing. On top of the library programs I do, I work other side gigs in teaching hand balancing, some personal training and modeling. And, surprise, I have a full time job as well! I’m also a full time devoted father and husband at home. Needless to say, I have a full schedule that can sap my energy if I’m not careful. This doesn’t mention the time I need to commit in practicing my craft.

All of that said, showing up can be difficult at times, but I shudder at the thought of not showing up at all.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a multifaceted athlete who shares feats on balance on hands and oldetime feats of strength at festivals, private events and most recently, libraries around the region. I practice and share a very rare combination of skills that require strength, balance, coordination and body awareness. Most hand balancers don’t bend steel, and most steel benders don’t hand balance. Physical culturists of the early 20th century were much more inclined to practice several skills like this, but it is extremely rare today.

The library programs I facilitate provide a great space to share my passion for hand balancing, oldetime strength feats and general acrobatics. But what I love about these programs is that I’m able to pair these skills with positive messaging and tools that help children and folks find and explore challenging, fulfilling and fun activities. If I didn’t use the tools I share today, I wouldn’t have managed to reach and go beyond the goals of my physical journey. I love sharing my journey of overcoming tough challenges in both my practice and in life. Bending nails and horseshoes, tearing nearly two decks of cards at once, and standing on one hand make great illustrations of overcoming difficult odds.

We live in an age in which our attention and focus are increasingly challenged. I believe this fact contributes to a decline in our ability to really, truly explore our creative side and all that it offers us. My practice in physical culture has been my way of fighting the myriad distractions in the world, a way for me to nurture my creativity and focus. I hope that what I share with others will inspire them to find activities that help them nurture their creativity as well. I’m proud to be able to have worked on these “impossible” skills starting in adulthood. To me, it proves that the only thing stopping us is ourselves, we are certainly more capable than we realize.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I don’t have an exact favorite memory I can think of, but, I always remember the invigorating feeling of learning a new skill on the skateboard, or in my martial arts training! My childhood was very activity driven, I was always doing something, and rarely watched TV or played video games.

Pricing:

• $250 per hour for private or corporate events

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_eximious_mike?igsh=MTNxaHdwMWVqcmtpeQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr