Gymnastic ninjas: seniors part time job teaches respect through discipline

There are over 7 billion people in the world, and no two people are the same. But, seniors Spiro and Evan Natsis, twins, seem to come pretty close. They go to school together, work together, and even plan on going to the same college. They even share similar personalities.

“They’re both considerate [and] they both appear to be pretty laid back. They both have a good sarcastic personality, so we get along well in that manner. They are similar, but Evan is a little bit quieter than Spiro. […] Spiro is probably just a little bit more in your face than Evan is,” said Susan Drake, LZHS parent who works with the twins at Libertyville Gymnastics Academy.

Spiro and his brother have good relationships with coaches and teachers, which they say they want to maintain. So when Drake also described the twins as “troublemakers,”  the twins denied it to an extent.

“I mean—probably yes,” the twins said. “It’s just like friendly stuff between all the coaches where we just poke around and be mean to each other so that’s what I think [Drakes] trying to get at. I wouldn’t call us trouble though,” said Spiro.

Their sarcastic and teasing behavior may be the reasoning behind their tight bond. The pair said that that their relationship with each other is “different than having a regular sibling.” They believe that they’re closer than just a normal sibling relationship and really stand out.

“We have a sister who’s in eighth grade and we just don’t see her as much during the day,” Evan said. “It’s just that you’re always with that person all the time. It’s a relationship you have.   […] You’re always with them,” said Spiro.

The twins have been working at the Academy for a little over two years, and according to Evan, “It’s better than your typical high school job like McDonalds or Marianos or something.” At the Academy, the twins started off by running birthday parties, and they now teach gymnastic and ninja classes.

Libertyville Gymnastics Academy is place that takes six months old kids all the way to highschool kids and me and Spiro teach ninja classes there,” said Evan. “You get to interact with people and kids and […] you get to see how they improve, which is why I feel like its more exciting than a normal job.”

Spiro added, “[Ninja Classes are] parkour, basically, but it also acts like a discipline class where we teach kids respecting other people, and knowing what’s right vs what’s wrong. […] I feel like that’s the coolest part, seeing how your work and your teachings reflect on those kids, and how you’re used as a role model.”