the teamest. amsterdam, 2015
Guides.not gurus.
Two people, one practice, a decade of refining it on real bodies. Thomas builds from Lisbon, Michael runs the floor in Amsterdam. The practice belongs to everyone — they just hold the door open.
thomas tukker — founder · lisbon
founderlisbon · building since 2015
Thomas Tukker.
“For a long time, I thought I was the broken piece.”
Back when his ADHD went unnoticed, Thomas felt constantly out of sync — and threw himself into movement practices and training systems hoping each would hold the missing spark. Eventually the realization landed: the problem wasn't him. Many methods simply weren't built on clear, essential principles. They felt fragmented, like something important was always left out.
So he started from the ground up: exploring how body and mind connect, then building a practice designed to sit beneath other disciplines — a root system any mover or athlete can draw from. The why behind each movement, genuine curiosity, and a space that celebrates the uniqueness of every participant.
Today he's based in Lisbon, sharing CMP's blend of movement problems, sensory attention, physical practice and play. The best part, he says, is watching students realize their body isn't a liability — it's their way into more awareness and more freedom. If you've ever felt like you don't fit the standard fitness mold: this practice was built by someone who didn't either.
From Ido Portal to Crazy Monkey Practice
Thomas began studying with Ido Portal in 2015. What followed was not a handful of workshops but roughly five years of intensive study: European Movement Meetings, training camps in Phuket, an internship in Berlin and, from 2017 to 2020, Ido Portal's mentorship.
During those years, Crazy Monkey became one of the places where Ido's work was taught in Amsterdam. Between 2017 and 2019, Crazy Monkey hosted four of his events in Amsterdam: Motion, taught by Shai Faran, and The Corset, Latest Rumors and Juggernaut, all taught by Ido Portal.
Thomas left the mentorship in 2020. Away from that structure, he had to work things out for himself. That meant questioning ideas he had previously taken for granted: what counts as movement skill, how skills are categorised, what actually transfers between practices, and whether being able to perform an impressive range of physical skills necessarily amounts to a deeper understanding of human movement.
Crazy Monkey Practice grew out of that process. It is an independent framework built around Embodiment, Dexterity and Synergy. Rather than asking how many movement forms someone can accumulate, it looks underneath them: how we perceive ourselves and our surroundings, how we adapt solutions as problems change, and how we coordinate with other people, objects and the world.
We don't hide that lineage, and we don't mistake lineage for where the practice has to end.
Crazy Monkey is not affiliated with Ido Portal or the Ido Portal Method.
read the longer story of movement culture, and where Amsterdam fits in →
training log — 2015–202548 entries
lisbonthe lazy rabbit
In Lisbon, Thomas practices under his own flag: The Lazy Rabbit — private sessions, in-person events, and slower, deeper work for people who want more than a class.
In the works: a six-month movement expedition for a small, committed group — three sessions a week, with field trips and small retreats woven through the trajectory. By application, when it opens.
“The best facilitator is one whose practitioners eventually outgrow them.”
the cmp overview — on facilitation
head coachamsterdam · teaching daily since 2017
Michael Holleman.
“Movement to me isn't just physical — it is a way of being.”
Born in Leiden, Michael's path started with football and ran through Sport Studies in Amsterdam — team sports, martial arts, endurance training. Then he met Movement Culture, and threw himself into every opportunity to learn about the phenomenon that inspired him most.
He joined Crazy Monkey as an intern in 2017 and, together with Thomas, developed the Crazy Monkey Philosophy — everything they learned from years of training and experimenting, distilled into one practice. What started as an idea now reaches people in the studio and online.
For eight years he has taught daily classes and given workshops for companies like Nike and Jumbo — but mostly for people who want to deepen their practice. He commutes from Leiden to Amsterdam every day to run the floor. His goal is simple: make this practice available to more people, because it has something unique to offer.
training log — 2017–202517 entries
michael holleman — head coach · amsterdam
Come meet us on the floor.
Bios are nice. Moving together is better. Westerstraat 158, Amsterdam — open all day, whole week.
the practice belongs to everyone who practices it, and to no one in particular
Crazy Monkey
this practice belongs to everyone who practices it, and to no one in particular.
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© 2026 Crazy Monkey · Amsterdam
still monkeying around since 2015.