As you might have guessed from my photos and posts, I am totally obsessed with everything there is to learn and know about handstands. During my quest of the holy grail of handstands: gathering as many repetitions, information and hours spent on my hands I have come across many wonderful practitioners and incredibly talented performers and teachers. This is the third issue of my ALL ABOUT HANDSTANDS Interview series, to share the many beautiful souls out there who dedicate their time on one or two hands instead of their feet.

ULRIK ON HANDS

There is people who are very serious about what they do, which is great, don't get me wrong, BUT, they live without ANY notion of humor or a good laugh. When I started following this amazing self taught Handbalancer on Instagram called Ulrik I was intrigued because he IS serious about his passion but he does not lack the occasional pun, joke or funny video. If you've followed me for a while, you know I like to make fun of myself by comparing me to animals in compromising positions and so on. And this kind of lightness of being is what I'm trying to fill my own Instagram feed with: watching people do amazing things and loving life at the same time. Now, let's find out more about Ulrik.

1. Tell me something about yourself: Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Ulrik, I am 27 years old and I currently live in Oslo. I have been a personal trainer for about 6 years and I also trained handstands for about the same time. In the last few years I have done more and more coaching for handstands: both online, 1on1 and in workshops.

2. Your IG name is @ulrikonhands How long have you been „hand standing“?

I have been on my hands for a bit more than 6 years. I remember first trying a handstand falling and falling without knowing how or what to do. I started because I needed a thing to become good at. I tried normal strength training and marathon running, but for me it turned out unhealthy. So I discovered handstands when I saw a picture of Yuval Ayalon and I got so amazed that it was possible.

3. On IG it says in your profile that you are a self taught handbalancer. How exactly did you do that?

With self taught I mean that I have not been to school. I have learned a lot from Mikael Kristiansen who coached me for about 3 years. I still consider him as my mentor.

Before I met him I read and tried to understand from sites online. It almost made me more confused because there were so many different contradicting opinions. But it got me to a somewhat OK handstand, and when I met Mikael he showed my the ropes to further developing my handstand towards one arm.

4. What are your current goals?

My handbalance goals have always been to become as good as I have the possibility to get. No matter how far that is or how long it will take. I don’t have more specific goals than that. I would like to do more performances on stage, so I need to