March Profile: Meet Coach Gunner

Please welcome, Coach Gunner, our brand new coach. You’ll find him coaching the early Thursday morning group classes and helping out with the kids’ programmes. He’s also available for PT. As well as being a Level 1 CrossFit Coach he’s also a certified personal trainer and has recently completed an ISSA Strength and Conditioning Course.

What brought you to Vancouver?

I’m from Ireland and always planned on living in Vancouver once I finished college. I finished my masters right before COVID though so it took a while before I got here. I’m a qualified high school Business Studies teacher and I worked in a few schools before coming here.

 

How did you get into Personal Training?

I’ve played team sports my whole life, I originally dropped out of college age 17 and became a life guard. I was always at the gym so it seemed the natural thing to become an instructor. I then got my Personal Training Certification a few years ago.

 

What do you enjoy about coaching?

I love helping people, which is also why I became a teacher. I really enjoy seeing people progress, moving better and starting to enjoy a better quality of life.

I enjoy coaching a wide range of people with different abilities but I have a background in soccer and really enjoy coaching people in strength and conditioning to help them with specific sports.

 

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at the gym?

I enjoy playing golf and soccer and hiking. I’m a huge soccer fan and support Arsenal (hence the name Gunner!) and my local team, Finn Harps. I also work as a sales manager at another gym and am setting up my own business offering online tutoring to high school students.

 

What were your first impressions of Empower?

Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Though then I joined a coaches workout that involved the Assault Bike and Burpees and I thought they were trying to kill me!!