Snake Man. Alex Kalashnikov's unique flexibility. Phenomenon

Alex Kalashnikov is a film stuntman, choreographer, fitness instructor in body plasticity and the creator of the Alex`stretch body program. In addition, he has phenomenal flexibility, because of which he was nicknamed the Snake Man. It is not easy to find people with such plasticity in the world.

Very soon anyone will be able to see Alex’s live performance and ask him all the questions. Snake Man plans to visit a large-scale festival of music and technology Alfa Future People, which will be held from August 10 to 12.

Watch on the official YouTube channel.

– Alex, how long have you been doing sports?

– I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. It all started in kindergarten: there, at the age of six, I first sat on the twine. The background was as follows: a boy who practiced some kind of martial arts was in the same group with me. He periodically showed us boys different tricks. One day he sat on the twine and suggested that we try it too. I agreed. At that time there was still an era of movies with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude van Damme. It influenced me a lot, especially van Damme, he is my biggest idol and inspires me to this day. Thanks to the movies with van Damme, I started karate from the age of seven and became a candidate master of sports. I also enrolled in capoeira at the age of eight. I discovered it after the movie “Only the Strongest” starring Mark Dacascos and achieved significant success in it. In 2005 I passed the certification of the master from Brazil and received a yellow belt.

– You are also a stuntman. How did you start doing it?

– One of my idols is Jackie Chan. He is world famous not only as an actor but also as a stuntman. When I was a kid, I learned that there was a stuntmen’s association in Moscow, and I even planned to join it. Later I learned that we also have our own local company in Nizhny Novgorod, which shoots regional stunt movies, movies with action scenes. One of the guys I was doing capoeira with invited me there. And so since 2003 I started doing movies in parallel. My specialty is staging action scenes: beautiful hand-to-hand fights, various falls, acrobatics.

– Do you continue to act in movies?

– Yes, I can take part in filming if I like the story and the role.

– You are also a clichéd performer – tell us more about that.

– I am a performing artist, but not a circus performer. The genre I work in is called cliché in the circus, and the performers of this genre are called clichés. Klishniki are mostly men who demonstrate male plasticity of the body, flexibility. The term appeared back in the 1930-40s. This is one of the rarest genres, today there are almost no klishniki left even in circuses.

There is another rare circus genre – “rubber”. The difference between these two genres (“rubber” and clichéd) is that in the first one all the tricks are built on the back: these are various back bends, double and triple folds. In cliché, there is very complex joint work, the hip and shoulder joints are involved. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, watch the video of my performance.

Watch it on the official YouTube channel.

– How did you come up with the idea to perform?

– There is such a person – Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev, the most flexible man on the planet, Guinness Book of Records record holder. Once I accidentally saw a video of his performance on the Internet. Under one of the videos there was a link to his website. There I learned that he was going to have a seminar in Moscow, so I decided to go there. I was struck by the way he mastered the body. When I arrived from the seminar, I started working on flexibility.

Stretching and flexibility are inseparable things, one complements the other. If a person can do a twine, it doesn’t mean that he is flexible.

– How long have you been training and how did you manage to achieve such results?

– Everything I have achieved has happened thanks to very long and hard training. I train on average 2-3 hours every day. During the workout I work the whole body: from my head to the tips of my toes.

– Why is it important to do stretching exercises?

– If a person will do stretching, then, undoubtedly, he will feel better, will become more mobile. In addition, it helps to keep the figure in tone. Even if you do not lose weight, you will be able to tighten the whole body.

Watch on the official YouTube channel.

– At what age can I start doing stretching exercises?

– You can do simple exercises with your child from a very young age. The optimal age to start is 3-4 years old.

– You said that you watched a lot of movies about sports as a child. Please name three movies that inspired you.

“Bloodsport” (1986) with Jean-Claude van Damme;
“Kickboxer” (1989) with Jean-Claude van Damme;
“Police Story” (1985) with Jackie Chan.

– When did your nickname, Snake Man, come about?

– The nickname came about after I started performing. Some audience members started calling me Snake Man after the show. Then it caught on.

– When did you come into the fitness industry?

– I came into the fitness industry in 2015. I conduct seminars and workshops on stretching and flexibility at the Etant en tete pol-dance studio and at the fitness club. I also do personal training. I have my own author’s training program “Alex`stretch body”. It is aimed at the development of a person’s physical data.

– Do men come to the classes?

– More, of course, girls sign up for classes. I have trained men only a few times. Now they mostly work out in gyms.

– Do you watch your diet?

– Since June 2013, I changed my diet and I don’t eat a lot of things. For example, I do not consume meat and dairy products. According to my body, I can tell you that meat makes my ligaments tight, which affects the flexibility and elasticity of ligaments, muscles and tendons. Dairy products make the body swell, and this affects flexibility. Of course, I am not urging anyone to give up these and many other products, but personally they affect me. I eat mostly plant foods: honey, nuts and dried fruits. My favorite food is buckwheat, I can eat it always, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also eat cereals (buckwheat, pearl, millet, oats), porridge cooked exclusively on water, rice, fruits and vegetables, herbs, boiled food. I do not eat fried foods, sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup), various convenience foods, sodas, all kinds of lemonades, white bread, pies and doughnuts, gingerbread, cakes and pastries, candies, chocolate, marmalade and other sweets. Very rarely I can afford to eat something unhealthy.

– How do beginners start doing stretching exercises?

– You should start with simple exercises, then move on to more complex ones. My principle is from simple to complex: less words – more deeds. Beginners should train 2-3 times a week for 1 hour, of course, if you have time, you can do more. If you want great results, 1 hour is not enough. You need to listen to your body, your body. The main thing is not to be lazy! It is also important to be patient. At first you may not notice progress, but in time it will definitely be. And, of course, it is important to find a good coach who will see your potential! Flexibility is not just genetics, it’s a lot of hard work.

Watch on the official YouTube channel.