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 handstand grail: 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 9th issue of my ALL ABOUT HANDSTANDS Interview series, which I have started to share the many beautiful souls out there who dedicate their time on one or two hands instead of their feet.

SASCHA BACHMANN aka THE GERMINATOR

Sascha's performances are breath taking. You can see him at the moment in New York with Cirque Du Soleil's Luzia which incorporates a certain kind of light show. If you're not in NYC you can find cool routines and workout inspiration online or get coached via FaceTime and videos.

13 QUESTIONS

1. Tell me something about yourself: Who are you now, what did you do in the past and what are you passionate about?

My name is Sascha Bachmann and I am a professional acrobatic performer and coach. I travel the world together with my wife doing all kinds of shows. Currently I am working with Cirque Du Soleil in a show called Luzia. Together with my wife and the support of other people I am in the progress of creating an online teaching program for acrobatic performing arts, such as hand balancing, contortion and aerial straps.

What I am passionate about is definitely a question that I ask myself frequently and the answer has changed drastically over time. I believe being able to every day do something that excites you and at the same time being able to afford a comfortable living is the true meaning of living a rich life.

In the past, the only thing that really mattered to me was learning new tricks, getting stronger and improving my technical level. Not too long ago this started to get boring and I had to re-evaluate what I actually love about going on stage. After lots of self searching and countless questioning performances, I realized what really excites me about going on stage is grabbing people's attention. Being able to make them feel something. It is an absolutely magical feeling to perform and hold a huge crowd of people on the palm of your hand. Getting the opportunity to decide what and how they're feeling and having them forget about their everyday lives and everything around them, even just for a second is what truly thrills me.

Falling in love and starting a family has taught me that there is more than just selfish performing. When I'm performing on stage I forget everything around me and live only in the moment. I've come to realize that it is the same when I am teaching. The opportunity to put my personal interests aside and being fully focused on the success of a student turns out is something that I absolutely love as well. I've found the joy and obsession in helping people become better.

Using my own experience and having learned from countless mistakes gives me the opportunity to help others achieve their full physical capabilities. And that is something truly unique and fascinating for me.

2. How does a ‚normal‘ day in your life look like? How much time do you spend on your hands per day?

A normal day depends quite a bit on where I am at and what kind of show I am performing in at the moment. These days while traveling with Cirque Du Soleil I am fortunate enough to have a huge gym/warm-up area backstage where I can do all my training. Here is a rough outline of my current days:

Before Shows:

• Wake up as late as possible since I get to bed pretty late

• Day often