Michael Eckert Joins the Battle Bunker Team
Michael Eckert is officially joining the Battle Bunker team. Michael is a U.S. Marine, an American Ninja Warrior competitor and a two-time Guinness World Record breaker, and starting now he is helping lead product development and education at Battle Bunker.
If you have watched our videos or trained with our gear over the last few years, you have probably already seen Michael. He has been part of the Battle Bunker story for a long time. This just makes it official. Here is how we met, a little about where each of us came from, and what Michael is going to be working on.
How Michael and I Met
About five years ago I was in Florida shooting a video for my YouTube channel. Michael happened to be in the area on reserve duty with the Marines, so we met up.
Over the next few years that meeting turned into a real friendship, and we kept finding new reasons to work together.
Five Years of Building Together
Before Michael was ever officially on the team, we had already made a lot together. We have filmed videos together, built training programs together and worked on products together. Every time we collaborated, the result was better than what either of us would have made alone.
Michael brings a level of detail to training that is rare. He does not just know that an exercise works, he knows why it works and how to teach it to someone who is starting from zero. That is exactly what Battle Bunker needs as we keep building gear and education for people who want to get stronger and more capable.
Michael's Story
A Marine Who Trains Like It
Michael is a U.S. Marine. The Marine Corps does not leave much room for weakness, and the discipline it builds shows up in everything Michael does. He trains with purpose, he keeps things simple, and he holds himself to a standard most people would find exhausting.
American Ninja Warrior and Two Guinness World Records
Michael has competed on American Ninja Warrior, a show that rewards exactly the kind of strength he is known for: grip, pulling power and total control of your own bodyweight. He has also broken Guinness World Records twice. Records like that are not luck. They come from years of structured, boring, consistent work on the basics.
The Wrist Injury That Changed How He Coaches
The part of Michael's story that matters most to me is not a record. It is his wrist.
Michael broke his wrist and was told his grip would never be the same. For someone whose strength lives in his hands, that is about as bad as news gets. Instead of accepting it, he went to work. He studied the anatomy of the hand and forearm, figured out which grip styles to train and built a simple structure he could follow every week.
It worked. In Michael's words, after training it the right way, his left hand is now stronger than his dominant hand was before the injury.
That experience is a big reason Michael coaches the way he does. He knows what it is like to start over. He knows that rebuilding strength is not about one magic exercise, it is about understanding your body and stacking the right work, week after week. He put that whole process into his Grip Strength Fundamentals course inside the Battle Bunker Academy.
Why He Teaches the Basics First
Michael built our Pull-Up Fundamentals course from the ground up. If you have never done a pull-up, or you are stuck at a few reps, it is the course I point people to first. It breaks the movement down so you understand what is happening, and then it gives you a plan you can actually follow.
My Story
Seven Years in the Navy
I grew up in Florence, Alabama, and I joined the U.S. Navy. I served for seven years, went on deployments and took every military fitness test that came my way. I passed every one of them. In the military, fitness is not a hobby. It is part of the job.
While I was still serving, I started filming. In 2018 I uploaded my first YouTube video, sharing what life and training looked like on deployment, my fitness routines and challenge videos. I had no idea where it would go. I just knew I wanted to help people get stronger and I loved making the content.
Getting Out and Going All In
In 2020, after seven years of service, I left active duty and went full time on content and Battle Bunker. It was a big leap. I went from a steady military paycheck to building something from scratch.
We built the Battle Bunker obstacle course as a place for athletes, military members and everyday people to test themselves. In 2022 we hosted the first Hybricon Games, a hybrid fitness competition that has grown every year since. In 2023 we launched the Battle Bus, a series that put everyday people in the spotlight and has been seen more than 3 billion times across platforms.
Along the way, Battle Bunker grew into a gear brand. Today we make training gear like our hanging ab straps and wrist wraps, made in the USA, and more than 12,000 customers train with our gear.
Still Training
I still compete. I have raced 10 HYROX events, 7 of them in the pro division, and I have run a marathon and an ultramarathon. I have also helped more than 10,000 people get their first pull-up. What I care about most now is teaching people to optimize the whole picture: their training, their sleep, their nutrition and their lifestyle.
You can read more of that story in Who Is Austen Alexander?
What Michael Will Do at Battle Bunker
Michael is joining Battle Bunker to help with two things: product development and education.
Product Development
Michael will help us develop and test our gear. He has spent years training grip and pulling strength, and he knows exactly where gear fails and what makes it great. Having a pull-up and grip specialist involved from the first prototype means the gear you buy from us is built around how strength is actually trained.
Education
Michael is also one of the two coaches inside the Battle Bunker Academy, our new training app. Together we built 17 courses: 16 training courses plus a product demos course that shows you exactly how to set up and use your gear.
Michael's courses include:
- Pull Up Fundamentals
- First Pull Up Blueprint
- Pull Up Mastery
- Breaking Plateaus
- Grip Strength Fundamentals
- Grip and Finger Strength Mastery
- Athletic Strength Mastery
- Suspended Core Mastery
Mine include Foundations of Training, Running for Lifters, Eating for Performance, the Sleep, Recovery and Longevity Protocol, Body Composition Playbook, Keeping Strength Without Getting Slow and Forged for Selection. On top of the courses, we host live webinars twice a month and run a private community for members.
What This Means for You
If you train with Battle Bunker gear, Michael joining the team means two things for you. Your gear gets better, because a world-class pull-up and grip coach is now helping design it. And you get better coaching, because the person who rebuilt his own grip after being told it would never come back is now teaching you how to train yours.
The Battle Bunker Academy opens Friday, October 16 at 12:00 PT. You can start free with Michael's Pull-Up Fundamentals and my Foundations of Training course, plus our gear tutorials. No card required. If you want everything, founding members get all 17 courses for $27 a month, and that rate stays locked for as long as you are a member. Every membership starts with a 7-day free trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Michael Eckert?
Michael Eckert is a U.S. Marine, an American Ninja Warrior competitor and a two-time Guinness World Record breaker. He specializes in pull-ups and grip strength, and he is now part of the Battle Bunker team.
What will Michael do at Battle Bunker?
Michael is helping lead product development and education. He will help develop and test Battle Bunker gear, and he coaches inside the Battle Bunker Academy.
How can I train with Michael Eckert?
Join the Battle Bunker Academy. You can start free with his Pull-Up Fundamentals course. A full membership unlocks all of his courses, including Pull Up Mastery and Grip Strength Fundamentals.
How did Michael Eckert and Austen Alexander meet?
They met about five years ago in Florida, when Michael was on reserve duty with the Marines and Austen was in the area filming a YouTube video. They became close friends and have been making videos, programs and products together ever since.
Welcome to the team, Michael. Let's get to work.
Austen Alexander
Founder, Battle Bunker
