About

No equipment. No experience. No electronics.

Our goal? To tear your eyes away from screens, and make you have so much fun that you never want to go back. Connect with family and friends in a fun and physical way!

Physical: 

• Get your whole body moving!
• Build strength, flexibility, and balance
• Hone gross motor skills

Emotional:

• Build confidence in yourself and your body
• Learn to trust in yourself AND your partner
• Practice perseverance and resilience as you fall and try again

Social: 

• Practice positive physical interactions with others
• Learn to communicate using your voice AND your body, even upside-down
• Use teamwork to decide how to approach each new Monkey Move

Hi, I’m Larissa! I'm so excited you made your way to this page.

I started working on Monkey Moves in the fall of 2017, in my senior year at the Rhode Island School of Design. I was in an entrepreneurship studio, faced with the task of starting a product-based business into which I was expected to pour my heart and soul (and time… and energy). Step 1: what to make? My professors approached the situation uniquely: everyone was to write down our passions on 6-10 sticky notes. Mine (after thinking, do any of these qualify as a passion? ) looked something like this: kids, coaching, acrobatics, family, friends, communicating. We saved these notes, and were to return to them whenever we were feeling lost. Whatever business we developed was to be tied to at least half of our passions. Fortunately for me, Monkey Moves hits all of mine!

What a strong foundation this approach made for me. My enthusiasm for every aspect of Monkey Moves has only grown. What started out as the daunting proposition of combining mixed interests turned into one simple product: the Monkey Moves card game. This product is the culmination of a childhood of competitive gymnastics, ballet, and partner acrobatics; years of coaching; a design education; and a drive to succeed. 

Monkey Moves is about using movement as a medium for connection. It is a way to hug your siblings. A way to pick people up, and to be lifted yourself. A way to hold your parents’ hands. A way to laugh and break down walls with new friends. 

Monkey Moves is about tearing your eyes away from a screen and having so much fun that you never want to go back. 

I made Monkey Moves to share my love of moving and being upside-down with anyone and everyone; to make moving your body not only approachable, but accessible. When I graduated in June of 2018, I decided to pursue Monkey Moves as a small business. It is the best experience I could have imagined. When I’m not working, I’m almost always practicing some Monkey Moves myself, baking pie, or reading! 

If you would like to suggest a new Monkey Move, sell Monkey Moves in your store, or partner with Monkey Moves, please reach out! Send me an email at larissa@monkeymovesgame.com or message me on my Facebook or Instagram.

I hope you love Monkey Moves as much as I do!