Brussels · ASBL · Since 2020
WHO WE ARE
Be Strong — Stay Human
2020Founded
2021ASBL Registered
BCFAffiliated
EUErasmus+
Sport. Solidarity. Sustainable practices.
B-Sthenos is a Brussels-based calisthenics association born from a shared passion for movement, community, and purpose. Founded in 2020 and registered as an ASBL in 2021, we bring together athletes and coaches around structured training, mutual growth, and European-scale social projects.
Our spirit animal is the Nahual — the shapeshifter of Mesoamerican tradition. It guides our philosophy: strength that transforms, discipline that liberates.
Our spirit animal is the Nahual — the shapeshifter of Mesoamerican tradition. It guides our philosophy: strength that transforms, discipline that liberates.
Calisthenics
Structured progression from beginner to elite, certified through CaliPass.
Community
Inclusive, welcoming, rooted in respect, solidarity, and the love of effort.
Impact
EU-funded projects — Erasmus+Sport, AXES SUD, Key2 — driving real change.
Founding Board
Benji Ureña
Founder · President
GC
Gustavo Cardona
Co-Founder · VP
RH
René
Secretary
FG
Fiona Galande
Treasurer
BL
Blanche
Project Manager
FR
Francesco
Treasurer · IT
My Story
This isn’t a highlight reel. For every grant that came through, another was turned down. B-Sthenos grew out of one athlete’s decade on the bars before it ever became a club — and it’s kept growing the same way since: one yes, one no, one try again.
2012
First Steps, Parla
Benji joins Bastardos Workout as an athlete — the start of a calisthenics journey that would carry him across three countries over the next decade.
2013–2014
BarBarrio Workout, Leganés
Joins the organizing team behind Spain’s 2nd National Championship (Sub-18 & International), then helps run Mulasfest: Battle of the Bars (WCO) in Madrid. A first attempt to move to Belgium doesn’t stick — not yet.
2015
A Park, Rejected
A proposal for a street workout park at Parla’s Casa de la Juventud is turned down. The answer: pop-up workshops with BarBarrio’s portable bars instead.
Rejected
2016
Second Try, Approved
The same contest approves a portable street-workout bar for Parla — fairs, local workshops, and a national qualifier where Benji finishes 3rd in Mallorca. He also completes his first Erasmus (Youth in Action) training, in Germany.
Approved
Summer 2016
An Accident, and a Second Move to Brussels
A rough accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not long after, Benji moves to Brussels — this time for good.
2017
Arnold Classic Europe
As a volunteer delegate for BarBarrio, Benji helps lay the groundwork for what becomes Spain’s national street workout association.
2018
A Rejected Exchange, Two Certifications
A youth-exchange project (Erasmus Youth in Action) that Benji organized is rejected. The same year, he earns his Calisthenics Coach and Judge experience.
Rejected
2019
Shoulder Surgery, and University
A Latarjet shoulder surgery, then the start of a Physical Education degree in Belgium.
AXES SUD
2020
Morocco; B-Sthenos Is Born
Benji also begins supporting Belgian calisthenics teams and, through an AXES SUD grant with a Belgian partner association, travels to Morocco — the first international project that proves this is bigger than Brussels.
Benji Ureña and Gustavo Cardona found B-Sthenos in Brussels with 5 founding athletes, built around calisthenics, solidarity, and the Nahual spirit.
Founded
2021
Two No’s, One Yes
A competition subsidy is turned down by the Commune of Ixelles. But a grant from the Bureau International de la Jeunesse funds the ASBL’s official registration — B-Sthenos becomes a legal Belgian non-profit. That same year, the club’s first athlete competes internationally, at Gods Battles.
RejectedASBL Registered
April 2022
A Freestyle Bar, Approved — VUB Spectacle
A subsidy for a portable freestyle bar is accepted, and B-Sthenos takes the stage at VUB with a full calisthenics show.
Approved
September 2022
Bar Wars V — Four Athletes
Four B-Sthenos athletes compete at Bar Wars V by Merlo Workout — the club’s first multi-athlete competition appearance.
October 2023
Federation President, and Senegal
Benji becomes President of Spain’s Street Workout & Calisthenics Federation (FESWC). Around the same time, B-Sthenos travels to Senegal — its first project outside Europe.
Spring 2024
Tunisia, During Ramadan
Another AXES SUD exchange — sport and solidarity across a meaningful season.
AXES SUD
2024
CaliPass Takes Shape — and a String of No’s
The idea for CaliPass, a structured certification system for calisthenics athletes, starts to form. A Mobility Staff grant funds a trip to Málaga in May; a matching request to bring Málaga’s coaches to Belgium is rejected, and a subsidy request sent to the Commune of Ixelles in November goes unanswered.
Mobility Staff ApprovedRejected
June 2025
Approved by the EU, Blocked at Home
An Erasmus+Sport Mobility Staff project to Portugal gets EU approval — then gets turned down by FESWC’s own board, over the budget for a proper judge-training program.
Rejected
August 2025
Ambassador Kardo
World-class calisthenics athlete Kardo joins B-Sthenos as ambassador — a milestone that connects the club to the global elite of the discipline.
Ambassador
September 2025
Four Countries, One Rejection — Then a Yes
An Erasmus+Sport project to build a park from recycled weapon metal — spanning Equatorial Guinea, Spain, Belgium and the UK — is rejected once Brexit rules out UK–EU agreements. That November, though, a subsidy from the Commune of Ixelles funds free memberships for under-24s and a certified coaching course — B-Sthenos signs its first volunteer coaching contract, with Eva Muñoz.
RejectedApproved
2026 — Now
CaliPass Goes Digital — Algeria
The paper CaliPass booklet, launched in 2025, goes fully digital — real-time athlete certification, coach validation, and integration with the Belgian Calisthenics Federation. In February, an AXES SUD trip to Algeria continues the cross-Mediterranean exchange.
AXES SUD · Algeria
August 2026
A Verified Beginners Ranking
B-Sthenos launches its verified beginners ranking, joined by coaches from Ecuador (Franklin), Senegal (Lemzo), Spain (Raúl) and Tunisia (Lotfi).
September 2026
Two Doors Closed, One Cracks Open
Two Erasmus+Sport proposals — a Street Workout Championship for Peace in Turkey, and a prison sport program in North Macedonia — are both rejected. A Mobility Staff trip to Córdoba is provisionally approved, with B-Sthenos as a collaborator, pending confirmation from Finland.
Rejected ×2Provisionally Approved
B–STHENOS | ASBL
BRUSSELS · ASBL 2021 · WWW.BSTHENOS.COM
CaliPass · By The Numbers
150Athletes
11Coaches
25Nationalities
14Diplomas Validated
12–46Age Range
Updated every Saturday at midnight · Last refresh: 18 Sep 2026