I have been called a ginger ninja since I was a wee lad. I first walked into a gym in 2011 at seventeen, motivated purely by aesthetics. Over time something shifted. The feeling of getting fitter and stronger became more compelling than the mirror, and when a loved one's ill health entered the picture, my outlook shifted severely. I quit the gym but I trained harder, focusing on health and performance. At the same time, a fascination with movement itself began to take hold - how the body works, how it connects, how it can be developed far beyond what most people ever explore. That dual obsession sent me down a rabbit hole that I’m still (bear)crawling through. To name a few, I’ve explored various martial arts, gymnastics, Classical Pilates, flow arts, endurance challenges, breathwork, fasting. Each one a new lens, and each one pointing to the same thing - good movement feels good!

For a brief and misguided period, I had ambitions of becoming an investment banker. By the time I graduated from my Economics degree, I already knew the City was not calling my name. I packed up and headed to the Himalayan foothills of China, to a residential kung fu school for what was initially four months. A scholarship followed, then a place on the team, and four months approached two years. It was an experience that deepened my understanding of the body, the nervous system, and the relationship between physical and mental discipline in ways no gym ever could. I trained like a maniac and quite frankly, I broke my body to build my mind. The rehab has been long, humbling, and at times deeply frustrating. But it has made me a more careful, more empathetic, and ultimately more informed coach. There is no better education than direct experience. Some of my proudest accomplishments from my time in China are bearcrawling 5 miles (twice),  a 14 day water fast, and throwing a needle through glass! 😎