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"The friendly and flowing savage, who is he? Is he waiting for civilization, or past it and mastering it?" -Walt Whitman, Song of Myself, verse 39

Colin Pistell grew up playing in the woods and streams of New England; climbing trees, catching minnows, and making wooden swords out of every scrap of lumber he could find. He was fortunate to live in a household where the TV was rarely on, good food was highly valued, meals were eaten as a family, and nightly stories were read by his mother: myths, legends, and thrilling tales of adventure.

These experiences had a profound impact on Colin’s approach to health and fitness. As a teen, he was a Cross Country and Track athlete, because the training involved running through the woods, leaping over hurdles, and throwing heavy things. He also began a lifelong study of martial arts - a practice that deepened when he moved to Los Angeles to attend film school at the University of Southern California.  There, he was introduced to Muay Thai kickboxing and Jiujitsu and spent the next eight years in daily practice.

Colin’s martial arts training led to his first coaching experience. During his years in film school, he worked with hundreds of people, from children to elite marines. Colin found coaching to be extremely rewarding and continued to make time for it, even after he graduated and began a career in interactive media.

After several years of corporate success working for Disney and Sony Pictures, Colin decided to return to school to pursue an MBA with a focus on sustainability. He moved to Chapel Hill in the summer of 2008. Here, among North Carolina’s numerous forests and parks, Colin studied Parkour and began formulating his theories on the interconnectedness of play, fitness, public health, and environmental health/sustainability. He met many leaders in the emerging primal fitness movement, including Frank Forencich and Erwan Le Corre, both of whom became significant influences. In January of 2010, Colin started a blog that eventually evolved into a business.

Colin enjoys cooking, eating, and sharing traditional nourishing food. He hopes to share his passion for physical joy, cultural health, and environmental activism to create a happy, strong, and free community.

Colin is a NSCA certified trainer, a certified Functional Movement Specialist, a MovNat certified trainer, and holds a Crossfit level 1 certification. He is American Red Cross certified in CPR and First Aid for both adults and children. He has over 10 years of coaching experience working with groups and individuals of all backgrounds and experience levels.

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Eric DiMarzio is a North Carolina native, born and raised in Salisbury. In High School, he became a notable member of his high school's cross country and track teams. As a member of the Boy Scouts of America, Eric pursued skills in wilderness survival, watercraft, and climbing. After receiving the rank of Eagle scout, Eric became an instructor and leader within the Boy Scouts; he taught classes in climbing, rappelling, low and high ropes courses, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, waterskiing, fire building and shelter building.

Eric is a qualified professional rescuer, certified in performing CPR and Wilderness First Aid by the Red Cross. He has also been certified by the Boy Scouts of America as a lifeguard and aquatics instructor, and has been trained in Youth Protection.

Eric attended college at UNC Chapel Hill where he received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. During his free time, Eric began training in parkour, gymnastics, barefoot running, and the natural method. He has been with Fifth Ape since its conception. Eric is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Teaching at UNC. Upon graduation he plans to pursue a career music education.

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Sean Rogers earned his B.A. in Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina and is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and MovNat certified trainer.  He is also certified in First Aid and CPR by the American Red Cross.

Sean grew up playing baseball. In high school he became disinterested in competitive sports and began his training in the martial art of Ninjutsu which appealed due to its emphasis on efficiency and its non-competitive nature. Sean has continued in his martial arts training and is currently a brown belt. Mid-way through college he discovered Parkour. After researching it and finding the philosophy to mesh well with his own approach he began training and quickly became passionately involved with the discipline. Parkour contributed to Sean’s decision to switch to the study of Exercise and Sport Science from his original concentration in Information Systems. His discovery of Parkour also paralleled his growing interests in barefoot running and George Hebert’s Methode Naturalle (and its current incarnation as MovNat) style training... an interest which must have been there all along, because while living in Israel he would find abandoned things around town and carry them all the way back up to his house just for fun!

Sean and Colin met in 2009 and have been working and training together ever since.

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