Mike Oleon

Mike is an award-winning puppet artist as well as a designer of kinetic anatomy models. He is the founder of Minimo Kinetics, which creates hands-on tools that demonstrate biomechanics with uncanny realism through tensegrity-informed engineering. His work is currently on display at the BodyWorlds Museum in Berlin. He has co-taught tensegrity alongside Anatomy Trains Author, Tom Myers, and is a fellow of the Stephen M. Levin Biotensegrity Archive. Instagram: @minimokinetics Website: https://www.minimokinetics.com

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Mike Olean builds what most people can’t yet see.

His work in tensegrity sits at the intersection of art, structure, and biology. Not as parts stacked on top of each other, but as a continuous tension system, where every line matters. This conversation felt like speaking the same language from two different directions. We explored how tensegrity models reveal the hidden architecture of stability. Why compression is secondary to tension. And how small changes in one area of a system can reorganize the whole structure. His sculptures don’t just represent this—they teach it. Fascia, load distribution, resilience—it’s all there, if you know how to look. This episode is about perception. About learning to see the body as a living structure of relationships. If you’re trying to understand how force actually moves through the system—this will expand how you think.

We discussed:

- Understanding Tensegrity and Biotensegrity - The Hollow Body Hold and Its Significance - Uncanny Motion: The Essence of Life in Movement - Tension in Communication and Performance - The Importance of Tension in Life and Movement - Strength and Integration in the Body - Misunderstandings About Tensegrity - The Vibrational Connection: Sound and Emotion - Tensegrity and Relationships: Interconnectedness in Life - Navigating Grief: The Grounding Power of Connection For those who prefer a visual experience, the conversation is available on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I sincerely hope you enjoyed our talk. Be mighty!

“
"Tension is a relationship of connection; it's vital and beautiful."
”

Mike Oleon

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I spend a lot of time with my nose in books. But my favorite place to be is outside: tending to my bees, planting native trees, worm farming, experimenting with electroculture, saving dragonflies, composting, dancing, playing, being.

I sincerely hope your list is at least as long as mine.