Julia (Veka) Uutela

Julia started artistic gymnastics at the age of 7 and quickly made her way into the competitive team—and eventually the national youth team. But the super competitive world of gymnastics didn't quite vibe with her personality, so at 13, she switched to track and field, focusing on pole vault. She won the Finnish Championship in the 16-year-old's category and gained experience competing internationally.

After stepping away from competitive sports, Julia kept training just for the joy of it, exploring a wide range of bodyweight disciplines like partner acrobatics, dance, running, and calisthenics (aka street workout).

In summer 2023, she decided to give competing another shot and entered a few street workout competitions. With just a few months of prep, she ended up winning all three — including the Finnish Championship. Still, the competition scene didn't quite feel like her thing.

Julia's coaching style blends elements from gymnastics, street workout, and track & field, using creative and fun exercises. She's been coaching for about 10 years, and in her classes, you're guaranteed to learn and smile! ;-)

Hi there! I'm Julia – a relatively petite but mostly cheerful person! ;-) You can call me Veka!

My background is in educational sciences, physical education instruction, emotional and interaction guidance, and custom tailoring! Learning new things and continuously developing myself is a true passion of mine. I love gaining new perspectives on the world, and the best part of entrepreneurship is being able to make use of all the skills I've gathered – and of course, constantly learning more!

In terms of sports, my roots are in artistic gymnastics and track and field, especially pole vault and sprint training. From a young age, I've had the chance to learn all kinds of knowledge, skills, and techniques – and to observe different coaches, their styles, ways of being, teaching methods, and how they interact. That experience has definitely sparked the paths I've taken in my studies and interests.

Over the past ten years, I've worked in various teaching and physical education roles. Overall wellbeing and sustainable energy in life have become themes that I'm deeply drawn to and passionate about. That's why I'm so happy and excited about the creation of Calisthenics Lab! Its purpose is to offer a training environment that supports overall wellbeing, is suitably challenging, and, above all, warm and uplifting.

At Calisthenics Lab, everyone is welcome – from beginners to advanced athletes. That's one of our core values, and the whole system is built to support it. Together with Benkku and Jari, we have a super team with expertise for a wide range of levels and starting points. If I had to pick a personal motto, it'd probably be: "Even an old dog can learn new tricks!" – and I truly believe it! (P.S. I have two dogs and I'm a total animal lover!)

Oh, and on the shop side, you'll also find workout clothes and training accessories I've sewn myself – like straps for the high bar, heat packs for muscles, and wrist support bands. And be sure to check out the parallettes Benkku has built for self-training! Most importantly: you're warmly welcome to train with us! 😊 

Benjamin (Benkku) Lundberg

Benjamin discovered calisthenics in 2018–2019 and was instantly hooked. Childhood dreams of learning cool tricks and strength skills finally started becoming reality under the guidance of Jari Mönkkönen, a 29-time Finnish champion in artistic gymnastics. Since then, Benjamin has competed in street workout freestyle for several years, earning medals of all colors at the Finnish Championships. He's also performed exceptionally well internationally, performing rare and advanced dynamic moves on the world stage.

His journey into the sport began in unique circumstances: as a single father to his then two-year-old son. Fortunately, the Mönkkönen family gym, Games of Skills, offered a space where both father and son could train together under Jari's coaching. Inspired by his experience, Benjamin wants to encourage everyone to pursue their goals — no matter their life situation. Thanks to his story, Calisthenics Lab now also offers joint sessions for adults and kids, and we truly believe everyone can make progress!

Benjamin has been coaching in the sport for 5 years. His strengths as a coach include reliability, consistency, precise technical knowledge, and a safety-first approach to movement. He's great at spotting both strengths and weaknesses in individuals and tailoring exercises to fit each person's needs. Benjamin has helped many private clients break through their limits, build confidence, and find joy in movement through meaningful progress.

Hey, it's Benkku here. Have you ever thought to yourself, that it'd be awesome to know how to do something cool? Or maybe you've wanted to do gymnastics, even as an adult? Same here.

Well actually, I wanted to do gymnastics as a kid too, but I lived in a small town where it wasn't easy to get into gymnastics, so that never really happened. I wanted to learn flips and tricks, so my mom brought home some spring mats from the dumpster area and I started training on those. Time went on, and eventually I was doing flip combos on the grass. I think I was about 15 when I learned to do 10 handstand push-ups and a full-twist backflip on the ground – I still sometimes challenge top gymnasts with those, just for fun :D

I also got into other sports like track and field, with hurdles as my main event and high jump as my second. I also tried out some martial arts. But body control stuff was what really fascinated me, and my dad and I would always get excited whenever we saw "street gymnasts" somewhere. Eventually I ended up getting into the sport myself, when I found Jari and Sanna (Mönkkönen)'s old gym, Game of Skills, in January 2019!

I didn't even really know who Jari Mönkkönen was, since I was still on baby bottles when he was on TV.. But Jari spotted me at the gym pretty quickly and suggested coaching me. That was a real stroke of luck! We became good friends, and I started teaching classes at GOS too. I also began assisting Jari, since I'm a trained nurse. We ended up training 20–25 hours a week and hanging out during our free time too.

One of my goals was to compete someday, so we decided to aim for the 2020 Finnish Championships in Street Workout! We exceeded our goals and I won the Freestyle division! Parallel bars were – and still are – totally my thing, especially flips on them, they're just super cool and pretty rare too. The bar, on the other hand, was totally unfamiliar to me at first: loads of basics, frustration, blood and tears, but eventually that became fun too… Though part of the frustration was probably because I only wanted to try the moves no one else was doing except the Russian freestyle kings 😀..

I've now been in the sport for almost 5 years, nearly full-time, and I've also done partner acrobatics in circus and learned a lot about handstands from there. My specialty is definitely in handstands, presses and planche. Freestyle will always be close to my heart – it brings huge feelings of success! Ps. this is a sport you should start exactly when you feel like you're not ready!

I love helping people reach their goals, especially by planning workouts in a structured and smart way. Nothing feels better than hearing something like "Benkku, my shoulders don't hurt anymore!" or seeing that moment when a handstand isn't just luck anymore, but real skill, and the person is using the right muscles to hold it.

I also met my match, Veka, through street workout training, and together we've built Calisthenics Lab! I'm so happy to be doing this with my favorite people. Welcome to our community!

Jari Mönkkönen

Jari has had a long and successful career in artistic gymnastics. His top achievements include a silver medal on high bar at the European Championships in 1998, and becoming the first Finnish gymnast to win a World Cup event in 2000. Over the course of his career, Jari won a total of 29 individual Finnish Championships in the men's division.

After an injury in 2016, Jari's perspective on movement and training began to shift and expand. These days, he's passionate about sharing the joy of movement and learning with anyone who wants to train and improve. For the past four years, he's been coaching Benjamin Lundberg in Street Workout, supporting him on his journey to winning the Finnish Championship, among other successes.

As a coach and instructor, Jari's superpower lies in pinpointing the key things that need to be adjusted or corrected in a movement to make it work. He's positive, encouraging, and loves helping people have those "aha!" moments in their training.

At Calisthenics Lab, Jari works as a mentor and expert. You'll also spot him in training sessions as the sport is close to his heart and his coaching skills are second to none. Jari trains both beginners and more advanced athletes, always sharing his best tips. What he enjoys most is coaching people who are truly motivated to learn and grow!

I spent my youth in Jyväskylä and was one of the youngest kids on my street. From an early age—especially after learning to ride a bike—I tried to keep up with the older boys. We built tree forts in the Laajavuori forest and spent hours exploring the nearby woods. We'd sneak mustard and hairspray cans from home and blow them up against the wall of the water tower. We played slingshot wars on top of shed roofs. It's a miracle none of us ended up with an eye injury—those nail-bent projectiles hit hard and often brought tears when they struck. I loved swimming, climbing, and adventuring with my friends in nature. I wasn't afraid of heights and, to impress the older kids, I was probably a bit of a daredevil.

In primary school, I became increasingly interested in sports, especially during indoor PE classes. I loved fitness tests and gymnastics. By third grade, I could do 20 pull-ups and a kip on the bar came effortlessly. Climbing the drainpipe to the three-story school roof was easy—all it took was someone saying, "You won't make it."

At that age, I was into track and field, skiing, and gymnastics through extra PE classes. I even represented my school in the national "Jumppakärpänen" gymnastics competition, finishing fifth.

Skiing eventually gave way to freestyle jumps, and the school gymnastics bug led me to the Jyväskylä Gymnastics Club. At 14, I landed my first double backflip on skis in Laajavuori's competition slope. The jump was taller than me. I watched adults do laid-out double flips, and some even triple-flipped with twists. At the time, freestyle jumps fascinated me more than traditional gymnastics. It felt more relaxed, and I enjoyed being on the slopes. Gymnastics was strict and time-consuming. By seventh grade, I was training ten times a week. In winter, I also hit the slopes daily—usually after gymnastics practice, which ended late in the evening. I trained about 20 hours per week, biking everywhere, of course.

In 1990, at age 16, I made it to the Finnish men's national gymnastics team. The competition was in the Netherlands. That's when I realized I had to start making choices. Gymnastics felt mentally heavy—especially with the fear of certain high bar moves. Training hours kept increasing while free time shrank. I wanted to be on the slopes, not in the gym. But my dad wouldn't let me quit. Even a congenital back issue wasn't a valid excuse, despite the pain already limiting my training on certain events. The skills were getting harder, but the better I got, the more hooked I became. All the determined practice—despite back pain—paid off. In my first year of high school, 1991, I won the all-around national championship in both junior and senior categories. I won the national title every year after that, and things got even more serious after I graduated in 1993. Training became more intense. I was relentless and didn't cut myself any slack—something I now see as foolish.

1994 was a turning point. At the World Championships in Brisbane, Australia, I reached the high bar final and had a real shot at a medal. But the pressure and lack of experience got to me—I fell and faced my first major disappointment. It stung because I really could've medaled if things had gone well.

From 1994 to 1995, I served in the Finnish Defense Forces' Sports School in Lahti. After the army, I won five national golds in a single competition in 1995. By then, my training had become quite professional. Over the course of my career, I won a total of 28 Finnish championships and ruled the domestic scene for a decade. Other highlights from my 23-year athletic career include a silver medal at the 1998 European Championships and a World Cup victory on high bar in Glasgow in 2002. I even tried professional gymnastics in the Bundesliga in Oberhausen, Germany.

In 1993, I met my future wife Sanna. We have three kids together. After retiring from sports, I felt a strong pull toward firefighting. I worked as a firefighter for 12 years, until a 2016 accident left me completely paralyzed from the neck down. I now use a power wheelchair and live in Koskela with my 17-year-old son. These days, I enjoy photography, nature trips, and writing columns. I serve as a deputy city council member for the City of Helsinki and advocate for people with disabilities through the disability council.

I love working with kids, and despite my disability, I can handle even the wildest groups. My wife and I used to run a business offering gymnastics and physical training, where I was the head coach. I coached groups of all ages and skill levels. One of my trainees from our gym was Benjamin Lundberg. Together, we aimed for success in the Finnish Street Workout Championships—and Benkku ended up winning the national freestyle title in 2020. In 2023, Benkku, Veka, and I decided to walk away from the Street Workout scene due to unsolvable internal issues. Starting fresh now feels great.

As a coach, I'm flexible and give space when needed. I hope my athletes actively engage in the coaching process. The desire to learn has to come from within. A good coach focuses on the athlete's goals and helps them discover their strengths and intrinsic motivation. I believe in empathy, understanding, and skill as the foundation for good coaching. I treat everyone equally, regardless of background or ability, and my mission is to help each athlete find their strengths and grow toward their full potential.

Motto: You don't become a champion by training your weaknesses, but by mastering your strengths.

– Jari Mönkkönen