Welcome to the last episode of the season!!

Natalie Reina is a dancer, psychologist, and podcast host born and raised in Palmdale, California. Natalie has always loved moving her body and began at a young age playing outside and dancing. Natalie danced throughout high school and college on various teams and companies. After graduating from UCSB in 2015, Natalie danced with a professional dance company and has performed across California at events such as VIBE dance competition, various corporate events. music videos and even a movie! Natalie holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and is currently working at a treatment facility in Malibu, CA. As a lover of music and dance (hip hop in particular), Natalie is working to combine her passions of mental health and movement to support her community. She is the host of "What Moves Us" and runs her business, Reina Movement.

Please feel free to connect with Natalie on Instagram @what_moves_us_podcast or @reinamovement. You can check out her website at reinamovement.com!

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Garrett Masumiya is a calisthenics and handstand practitioner who was born and raised on the West Side of Los Angeles. Because of his active environment, Garrett has always lived an active lifestyle, which varied from biking around, playing organized sports such as basketball, and going to the gym. After high school, Garrett attended UCI and upon his return to Los Angeles, discovered a huge love for calisthenics and the Venice calisthenics community. Currently, Garrett is working on a handstand a day for the year of 2023 among many other movement goals. Garrett is a dedicated athlete and one of the most mindful practitioners of calisthenics I know. He is inclusive, calm as a palm, and encourages those around him to practice at the level that they feel good about! 

You can find Garrett on Instagram @handstandingwithg!

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Mike Kitchell (he/him) is an experimental acrobat who lives and works in Oakland, California. After growing up in the Midwest and going through a period of life where he felt totally disconnected from his body, Mike discovered yoga after learning about his favorite philosophers’ ideas about achieving the impossible and was intrigued by the pursuit of his handstand. Eventually, Mike found his way to the athletic playground, where he was able to pursue not only his handstands but also elements of acrobatics and parkour, which led him to where he is today! He teaches group classes, workshops, and private classes focused on acrobatic movement for adults, primarily Handstands and Ground-Based Acrobatic Flow (the latter of which he often refers to as "Soft Acrobatics"). Mike is artistic, thoughtful and has a strong philosophy on movement and society as a whole, I can’t wait for you to hear!

Check out his website at vertigino.us and follow him on Instagram @vertiginousmike!

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Bruno Berastain is a parkour and acrobatics practitioner who was born and raised in San Ramon, California as a first-generation Peruvian American. Growing up, Bruno was heavily involved in sports such as soccer and basketball, before eventually falling in love with hip-hop and rapping (which we did not talk about at all on this episode at all!) Bruno attended UCSB and after graduating, moved back up the the Bay Area, where he found Parkour and acrobatics, which became the focus of his movement practice for the past few years. In addition to movement, Bruno has run his own tutoring company and recently completed a coding boot camp in order to become a software engineer. Bruno is the recent recipient of a San Ramon 30 under 30 award, and after recently moving to Los Angeles to pursue his newest passion, clowning and is already expected to receive his first clownee. 

You can find Bruno on Instagram @bberastain and listen to his mixtapes on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/bearbeats2020!

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Dr. Simon Howard is a dynamic professor, hip-hop artist, and capoeira practitioner based in Miami, Florida. Raised between the deserts of Southern California, and coastal Santa Cruz, he first connected to movement through high school football and track and field. During this time, Simon pushed himself not only physically, but mentally through his self-exploration of race and identity as a young black man. After high school, Simon attended San Jose State Univeristy, as a first generation college student, where he cheered for a year, before moving straight into his Social Psychology PhD program at Tufts University. Following his doctorate, Simon discovered capoeira and has been practicing ever since. Today, Simon serves as the Director of the Psychology of Racism, Identity, Diversity, and Equity (PRIDE) research lab and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami. Simon's purpose is to be the professor he wishes he had, while simultaneously utilizing his diverse talents to advocate for racial awareness and identity exploration.

Be sure to connect with Simon on Instagram @sihowthedoctor!

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Maria Simone Rivadeneira Espinosa is a soccer player and runner who began making moves in December 1992. She was born and raised in Long Beach, CA and is the eldest of her parents who immigrated from Ecuador. After an active childhood spent dancing, playing soccer, & running, she attended UCSB, where she had the joy of meeting our esteemed podcast host the fall of their first year and have been friends & working women ever since. She currently works in Language Access creating multilingual spaces where all voices can be respected regardless of the language they are communicated in. Currently, the motivation behind her movement is training for the upcoming Long Beach Marathon. Simone is passionate, determined and a lovely soul, so I can’t wait for you to learn her story! 

You can follow Simone on Instagram @simosirena!

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today we welcome Nicole Sanchez (she/her) a dancer and fitness enthusiast who was born and raised in Baguio City in the Philippines. Nicole began Filipino folk dancing at a young age but eventually found her way into other forms of dance such as pop, cheer, and eventually hip hop. At around age 19, when Nicole moved to the United States, she attended San Jose State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems engineering. While completing her degree, Nicole danced and performed with one of the most intense companies in the Bay Area (which is how we met!) and performed for VIBE dance competition, World of Dance on Stage among many others. Now, Nicole is currently working as an engineer in a Construction Management and project Management firm & is now pursuing her MBA at UC Davis. Though Nicole is not actively dancing, she participates in regular training sessions with F45 and prioritizes listening to what her body needs.

Be sure to follow her on Instagram @violanicole and her YouTube @violanicole_!

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Eliza Lopez is a queer, Mexican, non-binary artist, dancer, and therapist based in San Diego who grew up in Mexico and moved to a border town in Arizona at around 8 years old. Growing up, Eliza found themselves engaged in all kinds of movement ranging from baile folklorico, to sports such as tennis & karate, and eventually found their way to embodied movement. As Eliza got older, they decided to attend Arizona State University for their Master’s Degree in Social Work and now pride themself on supporting Queer, Trans, Black & Indigenous People of Color in their healing transformations. They love to hold space for people to connect to themselves and heal through movement, and drumming and are inspired to help others heal by connecting to their own indigenous roots and practices. They are a fierce advocate for helping people be themselves and so I am so excited to bring you Eliza!

Be sure to follow them on Instagram and TikTok @mariposxhealing and check out their offerings here: https://bio.site/mariposxhealing.

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Join as we talk to Samantha Matsuda (she/ they), a movement and visual artist currently practicing in Los Angeles, CA. She has a collection of 15 years of studio and competitive dance training &  ventured into a professional career at seventeen years old. Since then she’s competed as a semi-finalist on season 14 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, coached through Hip Hop International Las Vegas in 2013 and performed across the United States. Samantha has dedicated more than 10 years to teaching and mentorship; beginning as a teacher’s aid for Spark of Creation Dance Studio in South City, CA, to running her own youth dance program and leading groups of up to 60 dancers through live-stage performances and competitions.

Connect with Sam on Instagram at @s4mshort4s4ma4nth4 or her website https://www.samanthamatsuda.com/home! 

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Welcome to the first episode of season 2 of What Moves Us!!

We are starting this season off with the incredible Eric Aubrei (he/him). Eric is a multi-passionate, highly talented individual who grew up in the Midwest. At just 10 years old, Eric discovered skateboarding and within a few short years, became a sponsored athlete. After facing some challenges that drew him away from skating, he discovered a love for creating music and eventually found his way back to skating. Additionally, after moving to California, Eric began doing calisthenics as a way to keep in shape during the pandemic. Eric has since founded his own businesses in both real estate and nutritional supplements and maintains a solid movement routine to help him with his mental health. Be sure to follow Eric on Instagram @ericaubrei and check out his music on SoundCloud and Spotify. You can also check out his fitness brand at https://iconeliteofficial.com/.

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