Interview with Lee Su-hwan Leader of Team BarCrows

"We are a street workout team based in Cheongju. 'BarCrows' stands for 'Bar' (pull-up bar) and 'Crows.' The team was founded in March 2015, and as the leader, I work with several members, including the teammates who joined this shoot. Many people are curious about the name. We chose it after combining various words because it sounded cool, but we later found out that crows are actually the smartest birds. So, we added a strategic meaning: to fly freely over the bars with intelligence."

"The common foundation of our exercise is bodyweight training. We mainly focus on street workouts performed on pull-up bars. Additionally, we practice 'Animal Flow,' which involves moving on the ground like an animal."

"Animal Flow is an exercise designed to improve human function and communication as biological animals. Think about it—humans used to crawl when they were babies, right? Natural movements like crawling on all fours are functionally excellent for the body. For modern people who spend a lot of time sitting, Animal Flow helps recover lost physical functions and spirit. Since it uses only the body, it can be practiced anywhere without equipment. Furthermore, as you express movements from your mind into your body, constantly changing directions—front, back, left, right—it stimulates the vestibular organ and increases brain activity."

"I once suffered a muscle tear injury while training on the bars. At that time, I felt there was a 'gap' in the way I was exercising. I started Animal Flow to fill that gap and supplement my training."

"It can be tough at first, but since you can slowly adjust the intensity when you feel your limits, it's hard to pick just one 'difficult' movement. In Animal Flow, you must follow 'Call-Outs' (instructions). For example, when a specific move is called, you have to visualize and execute it. Sometimes the body doesn't follow the mind as expected, but the process of overcoming that is what makes it fun. Personally, I like the 'Tuck Balance' movement, which involves holding a handstand position."

"My wrists often feel a lot of strain when I do Animal Flow. However, WaveWear supports were light and thin, so it felt like I wasn't wearing anything, yet they firmly held the necessary parts. For my wrists, I felt that the extensor retinaculum was securely supported, which slightly reduced the pain. It also gave me a sense of psychological stability. Usually, I worry about getting injured during certain moves, but those concerns were lessened."

"I liked the comfortable compression of the L20 Leggings, and the H1 Wrist Wrap and K2 Knee Sleeve were also very helpful."