Pavel Tsatsouline

Pavel Tsatsouline (born August 23, 1969 in Minsk, USSR (now part of Belarus)) is a fitness instructor from the former Soviet Union. He holds a degree in Sports Science from the Physical Culture Institute in Minsk. He is involved with the evolving field of martial arts fitness and is a major proponent of the traditional Russian fitness tool, the kettlebell, as an exercise and strengthening tool. In 1998, Tsatsouline introduced the kettlebell to the United States, and is credited with popularizing the kettlebell in the West. Dr. Randall J. Strossen, founder and president of IronMind Enterprises, Inc., stated, "In our eyes, Pavel Tsatsouline will always reign as the modern king of kettlebells since it was he who popularized them to the point where you could almost found a country filled with his converts…".

In the 1980s, Tsatsouline was a physical-training instructor for Spetnaz, the elite Soviet special-forces units. Tsatsouline is now a subject matter expert to the US Marine Corps, the US Secret Service, and the US Navy SEALs.

In 2001, Tsatsouline was voted a "Hot Trainer" by Rolling Stone, pictured with a kettlebell in hand. He has published articles in Milo magazine and Performance Press, as well as being the author of several books on stretching and strength training (see Bibilography).

Tsatsouline's publisher is Dragon Door, owned by John Du Cane. Dragon Door is a website and publishing company generally focused on martial arts and related sports, but also catering to general health, fitness, weight loss, and stress management. Pavel started the Russian Kettlebell Challenge ("RKC"), an advanced kettlebell training certification, with Dragon Door in 2001.

In 2012, Pavel left the RKC and formed a new company, StrongFirst. StrongFirst is dedicated to the pursuit, development, and acquisition of strength - a skill that, as stated on the homepage of StrongFirst, "has been compared to a glass that can be filled with other qualities; the larger the glass, the more endurance, sport skill, fat loss, etc. it can hold." StrongFirst offers several comprehensive user courses and certifications for the use of kettlebells, barbells, and bodyweight exercises, which are currently being offered in the United States, Europe, Korea, Australia, Canada, and South America.