Théo Lavoie

I discovered calisthenics on YouTube at nineteen, tried a muscle-up in a park, and fell on my face. Three years later I could hold a planche for twelve seconds. I've been in the same Saint-Henri garage for five years—it's not pretty, but the bar is bolted to the ceiling and the neighbours have stopped calling about the chalk dust.

I start every session with the full routine, the one that looks impossible, then break it down. By the end everyone can hold a dead hang for thirty seconds and work toward a clean pull-up, even if they have never done one. The first rep is always the best moment.

I'm also weirdly good at chess, but nobody ever asks about that.