Rachelle Attends CONNECT 2025: Fascia in Sports & Movement in Munich, Germany

My extended stay in Europe culminated in the biggest European fascia research event of the year! CONNECT 2025: Connective Tissue in Sports Medicine has been a huge success with many top fascia research scientists presenting their most recent findings alongside the National Sports & Conditioning Association (NSCA) European Conference, this week, March 14-16. Organized by Technical University of Munich's (TUM) Associate Professorship of Conservative and Rehabilitative Orthopedics, this event is focused on Strength & Conditioning, Fascia, Science & Application, and Training & Physiotherapy. (Click HERE to see a video overview of the event.)

Held at the brand new lecture halls and sports facilities complex at TUM in Olympiapark, Munich, Germany. I stayed in a nearby hotel that was originally built as a part of the Olympic Village dormitory complex for the 1972 Summer Olympics. My headboard was a gorgeous black and white photograph of the whole area.

Despite learning about the tragedy of that Olympic Games, the spirit of the place was peaceful and percolated with enthusiasm. Reconnecting with many of my long-time friends and colleagues from the Fascia Research Society is always a joyful reunion for me. 

Arriving a few days before the event, I was able to share a meal with Dr. Robert Schleip and spend some quality time discussing all things fascia. For the past several years we have worked together on the Fascial Net Plastination Project and I continue to be amazed by his creative, curious, problem-solving mind. He is a treasure to the fascia research community and to all who know him. And he seems to know all the very best places to eat healthy food! Only my second time to Munich, but I'm loving it more and more.

The whole event kicked off with an elegant dinner followed by an awards ceremony at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, Munich. I loved the fact Leonardo (da Vinci) was somehow a part of this event. I also loved the photograph of a giant fig on the wall. I like to use figs to demonstrate how layers of fruit and of the human form echo each other in design and patterns. It felt appropriate to have them both in the room with us. 

Prof. Sergio Fonseca, PhD received the Connective Tissue In Sports Medicine Innovative Research Award and Prof. Dr. Dr. Jan Wilke (no, that's not a typo, those are all of his well earned titles) received the Fascia Science award in honor of his outstanding scientific contributions advancing fascia research and its impact on sports medicine. 

Left to right: Caterina Fede, Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, Prof. Dr. Thomas Horstmann, TUM School of Medicine and Health, and Rachelle Clauson, AnatomySCAPES.

Over the next three days I had interesting conversations with top fascia researchers including, Caterina Fede (Padua University), Katja Bartj (TUM), Werner Klingler (TUM), Jan Wilke (TUM), and PhD students Xiao Xiao Zhao (Padua University), and Anna Gabriel (TUM). I also shared hugs and hellos with trail-blazing fascia therapy and movement educators Johannes Freiberg (Brazil), Marcus Rossman (Germany), James Earls (England), Anna Maria Vitali (Italy), and Divo Mueller (Germany). I also connected with several newer acquaintances I had just met at winter school in Padua, Italy a few weeks before. 

We all enjoyed the many presentations and panel discussion as differing perspectives and research topics came together in one conversation.

Panel discussion Left to right: Robert Schleip, Irene Davis, Katja Bartsch, Jan Wilke, Arvid Neumann, and Werner Klingler.

Several joint plenary sessions offered a chance for all attendees to learn from both organizations, CONNECT 2025 and the NSCA. As Werner Klingler described it in my interview with him, this was a good opportunity for these groups to overlap and share knowledge with each other. Just as fascia is nothing without muscle, so are muscles useless without fascia. The power is in understanding how they work together. And so we were able to hear about research on both topics which was very informative and thought provoking. After the last session closed and we prepared to leave, we took some final celebratory photos together.

Left to right: Prof. Dr. Robert Schleip, Rachelle Clauson, Divo Mueller.

I will always be grateful for Robert Schleip and Divo Mueller for all they have taught me starting early on my fascia journey studying Fascial Fittness with them back in 2013. I've grown into a fascia educator myself, creating AnatomySCAPES with Nicole, as a direct effect of the ripple that started through meeting them. You never know where life is going to take you and all the people you will meet along the way!

The journey continues...

P. S. AnatomySCAPES is planning to create podcasts from the interviews I did with some of the researchers from this event. So keep your eye out for them!