+27 71 396 6635
ABOUT US
Crawl Labs is a bespoke boutique fitness and movement facility based in the heart of Cape Town's East City. We offer intimate group classes with personalised attention and individualised scaling and adjustments to ensure the progress of our students towards physical autonomy and intentional living.
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Created by Richard-Dean Sumares of Crawl Project, Crawl Labs offers group classes and personal training with dedicated, curated and intentional movement practices.
PROJECT
Crawl Labs offers semi-private group classes with individual focus and attention, personalised adaptation, and scaling of exercises and programs to meet the needs of each class attendee. Our focus is on skill development, strength, mobility and responsiveness.
Skill Development
The learned ability to execute technique with accurate proficiency and energy efficiency.
Mobility
When strength and flexibility work in harmony it provides us with greater degrees of physical freedom.
Strength
Strength implies the ability to absorb and redirect loads appropriately, with adequate tensional balance.
Responsiveness
The ability to perceive sudden changes and respond appropriately and timeously to changes.
PURPOSE
We aim to build and grow movement culture that is inspired by natural human movement and addresses strength, mobility, skill development, longevity, mindfulness, intention and conditioning. Our purpose is multifold:
to reshape the fitness and exercise industry by making movement training accessible to the general public
to enhance the lives and longevity of our students by teaching them to move with intention, skill and conviction, while gaining strength and physical freedom
to promote a culture of embodied, intentional movement practice that promotes longevity, vitality and playfulness
The classes at Crawl Labs are curated and designed to complement one another and provide students with a comprehensive and balanced movement practice.
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Browse our class offerings, including Gymnastic Elements, Handstands & Inversions, Organic Mobility and MOVE. We purposefully limit attendance numbers so that we may offer you a more personalised service.
Founder & Head Coach:
RICHARD-DEAN SUMARES
Richard-Dean (that's one name) began his journey as a trainer in 2007, and has shifted through countless practices in pursuit of the best way to optimise the physical capacities of individuals for functional and athletic performance.
Over the last 15 years, he has immersed himself in diverse strength, fitness and movement systems, including functional fitness, Crossfit, combat arts, Gymnastic Strength Training, dance, mobility training, yoga and meditation.
He has developed a fascination for human movement as a form of expression and as a gateway to physical freedom. This has led him to invest heavily in understanding the human body through an evolutionary lens and researching the anatomical and physiological systems of the body, while simultaneously exploring the intersection between spiritual or philosophical practices and human movement.
In 2013, he created Crawl Project as a container for his explorations and investigations.
In 2014, Richard-Dean completed his first yoga teacher training and began instructing yoga. In 2016, he became the first Functional Range Conditioning mobility specialist in South Africa, and applied this knowledge as part of anatomy modules in yoga teacher certification courses and specialist workshops.
He has worked with specialist movement teachers and coaches, as well as within international community collectives, dance and performance residencies, and intensive workshops. Within two years of becoming an FRC mobility specialist, he began working at a physiotherapy clinic as a 'movement specialist' where he worked alongside world class physiotherapists at the forefront of rehabilitation and treatment.
In 2021, he completed a course in contemporary dance at PERA School of Performing Arts.
On May 1, 2023, he opened Crawl Labs.