Who we are
Since 2024 we have combined our styles to create Motus. We wanted a place where we could be free to practice in a more explorative and comprehensive way. Our approaches and training styles are different and complimentary, but we both strive for the same thing, resilient bodies and open minds. This approach means that students are more likely to find the key that unlocks movement for them. All bodies are different but addressing each person's bodies through the movement lens can help anyone flourish.
We use calisthenics because it requires strength that works in conjunction with the entirety of the body. Handstands are an incredible way to master your body, it requires not just strength but great amounts of proprioception and, for sure, a dedicated mind to achieve. Ground Movement and mobility to condition the body to fold, bend and honour our evolutionary past but also prepare us for more advanced skills, for example, acrobatics.
These are hard skills to master, which is part of the point, it is because they are hard that they build mental fortitude alongside the physical. We believe in being comprehensive, we want to expand the range of movement within the body as well as the understanding of the limits of your body and problem solving to find a solution that works for each individual.
Passionate about movement and practice, Mattaes is dedicated to helping others transform their lives through movement practice. With a strong belief in the exploring movement as a lifelong discipline. He teaches people to understand themselves through exploring and challenging their body and mind, and helps guide them to reach their full movement potential.
A lifelong mover, he brings a diverse background in various disciplines like Athletics, Olympic weightlifting, Crossfit, Skateboarding, Dance, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Bouldering, Calisthenics and Gymnastics, etc. Experienced in teaching both group and one-on-one settings, he values the community of group classes and the focus of individual coaching, drawing on thousands of hours of teaching experience across many ages and training levels, from toddlers to the elderly, and has never trained amateur pro athletes in gyms, schools, and community facilities around Auckland.
Mattaes is dedicated to learning and growing his personal movement practice and his teaching abilities. He has a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science/Coaching and is always updating his current knowledge base. He continues his educational development through workshops and courses in the areas he is interested in that guide him to be a better practitioner and teacher. He has studied online for 3+ years with movement teacher Ido Portal’s Method and continues to push his own physical boundaries with many varying teachers of Movement.
Mattaes Chapman @_mattaes_
Ivan Essin @zooofmovement
Ivan lives for movement. Movement work has transformed his life and he absolutely loves to share the freedom this work provides. His priority is building strong joints, slowly developing a deeper range of movement in every direction that he can and strengthening along the way.
For close to two decades he has been a dancer, acrobat, stunty and actor. He is a multi-award winning burlesque dancer, professional fire dancer, he has performed in film and theater, choreographed and taught stunt work for Unitec. In circus he has trained at most of the studios in Auckland, New Zealand, including under Cirque du Soliel front man Ebon Grayman doing adagio acrobatics, handstands, aerial hoop, rope, silks, stilts and fire dancing. In training for stunt work he has trained several martial arts including kick boxing, ju jitsu, wu shu, systema. As a dancer he started in belly dance before falling in love with contemporary dance, but also doing ballet, jazz ballet, flamenco and classic Cossack dancing with swords.
As a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer, he has been teaching for over five years at various functional strength gyms, including the Training Ground, Flow Academy, Hauora, Knoxfit and Ludus Magnus. In his classes he uses a combination of mobility, animal crawls, handstands, calisthenics. He is a specialist in prehabilitation work and active flexibility. To make his style he happily steals from every other form that he has learned. Training for performance means that he has had a vast amount of injuries but he has learned how to take care of his body now and uses that experience to make sure his students avoid the mistakes he made.
