Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Matrejek.
Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I didn’t grow up knowing that I wanted to become a slackliner and festival producer. Today, I can proudly say that I help run the day-to-day operations for the Chicago Slackliners Associations (CSA) and BREATHE: A Slackline & Discovery Festival. The destiny of these two ventures in my life were intertwined the moment I purchased my first slackline and started the Chicago Slackliners Association (CSA). The creation of the BREATHE Festival didn’t come until a few years later.
Where I’m from, slacklining didn’t exist growing up. I wasn’t able to witness slackline until I was well out of college and into my mid 20’s. My life before the slackline, prepared me for what was to come. I was an avid student of eastern modalities, yoga, music festivals and most importantly, seated meditation. I spent years in search of finding deeper and deeper layers of myself that I knew were there, but hadn’t fully realized yet.
Back in early 2013, I purchased my 1st slackline and started practicing. I was immediately hooked. It was the first thing I ever found that was eerily similar to a seated meditation. I knew that I’d be in the parks of Chicago practicing this on a regular basis so I figured, hey why not just start a group of some sort. This led into the creation of the CSA and it’s meetup page on meetup.com. Myself and other CSA organizers have been running free, open to the public weekly meetups in the parks of Chicago ever since. Our meetup.com page just told me we have over 550 members who have signed up and have held almost 500 meetups in our history. The people I’ve met through the CSA along with the ability to facilitate slacklining to the Chicago community has provided me with countless memories in a life that has been truly blessed..
My life became defined and directed by the day to day operations of the CSA. It was a passion and purpose that grew more and more, day by day, year by year. All of this set the stage for the reason I was put on this earth. That reason, as it is being funneled through me at this stage in my life is to be the creative force and ring leader for the BREATHE Festival.
The mission goes like this: BREATHE is a discovery platform that offers physical, mental & spiritual experiences that bring people together for the purpose of exploring the limits of consciousness, experiencing collective growth and finding greater purpose.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Great question. I pride myself on trying to make every aspect and every experience of my life as smooth as possible. My background in yogic philosophy, meditation and the slackline has helped make the obstacles be more manageable. For the most part, the Chicago Parks have been extremely open and loving to us. At every meetup since our inception we’ve taught at least 1 member of the community who just happened to be walking by. Just yesterday, we showed a group of 6 kids and their babysitter how to walk on a slackline. Slacklining provides a medium for focus, mindfulness and balance. Being able to teach these life-changing principles through the avenue of slacklining in the parks of Chicago is what it’s all about. Seeing the twinkle in the eye, and the ear-to-ear grin in a 6-year old who walks a slackline for the first time is enough to bring tears to my eyes now just thinking about it.
The only major struggles we’ve encountered is having the Chicago Parks Department ask us to take down our lines. A few parks in the city are definitely off limits while other parks have been more open to having us there. We hope that one day the parks department will work side by side with us to provide the amazing benefits of the slackline to farther reaches of Chicago community.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Chicago Slackliners Association & BREATHE: A Slackline & Discovery Festival – what should we know?
The Chicago Slackliners Association (CSA) main outlet is through holding open free public meetups in the parks of Chicago. We periodically teach slacklining & hold demonstrations at different festivals and events throughout the city.
We are known for being in the parks for hours on a nice and not so nice day. Spending most of your day barefoot in the park focusing on your slackline practice while communing with other members of the CSA and the whole community of Chicago is extremely grounding. Hours in the park can make the chaos and mess of the work week fade away into a distant memory.
What sets us apart is where we call home. Between any two trees in the city of Chicago, you have the potential to find the heart of the CSA. After holding hundreds of meetups in the park, I’ve learned that you cannot categorize the type of people that are drawn to the slackline. Young, old, black, white, brown, the list goes on: all come to the slackline for their own personal reasons. Providing an open loving supportive community to experience slacklining, is what we are most proud of.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I’m not sure you have enough server space here for me to elaborate on everyone that deserves a shout-out here. Dr. Dan Murauski has been my partner in conscious crime since the very beginning. He has helped shaped and build the CSA & BREATHE right alongside me. All the CSA crew deservers a shout-out, like no other. The CSA crew knows who they are. A standing ovation is also in order for Dakota Collins and all the Rocky Mountain Slackline Crew. The RMS Crew knows who they are, too.
Pricing:
- $175 – Full Event Pass to the BREATHE Festival
Contact Info:
- Address: Michael Matrejek
938 N. Elston Ave. #1
Chicago, IL 60642 - Website: http://www.discoverbreathe.com/
- Phone: 630-815-1719
- Email: mikechicagoslackliners@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverbreathe/
- Other: https://www.meetup.com/ChicagoSlacklinersAssociation
Image Credit:
Tyler Muir and GlitterGutz
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