Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, your stats: Bench/Deadlift/Backsquat.

I myself got into training fresh out of high school at 17. Once I left school I pursued a bachelor of education at USC. I was doing part time personal training at home/boot camp style sessions to help exist through the struggles of broke uni-student life. Things picked up progressively more and more and by the time I finished my degree I decided to go down the route to focus purely on my career in fitness. My biggest numbers in competition are a 360kg wrapped squat/200kg bench press/310kg deadlift. I have/had the APL australian sleeved squat record for the u125s @ 312.5kg as well.

What made you choose this path. 

I've always loved sport through my childhood, and I was always relatively strong for my size during schooling (most likely out of a purely competitive nature) but I weighed in at a measly 53kg @ 6ft something. I got quite sick of being so small and frail looking so that passion and hunger purely started out of breaking that shell of not liking what was in the mirror/feeling like it did not match up with my mentality. Knowing when there's a will there's a way with all things in regards to body transformation or getting stronger it was a natural choice to want to share my experiences and education with all those willing and wanting to learn.

Do you have any preferences/what do you enjoy more? Coaching, competing, training?

After suffering two major injuries/surgeries (bicep detach/reattach + pec detach/reattach), it was a massive realisation to how much I just genuinely enjoy training and being around like minded individuals. When you become restricted to do the things you love you including work & training realise how much it positively impacts your life. I'd have to say I equally love training and training with others, you learn a lot you can apply with your own training that become huge lightbulb moments whilst coaching and vice versa.

What prompted you to transition from being a powerlifter to focusing on helping women and people in general become stronger?

It was never really a conscious decision, it just really started to happen as a huge snowball of client intake. I work with all ranges of clients from kids, teens, to masters, to NDIS clients. We deliver great results and pride ourselves with the experience we deliver either in-person/online with our clients and the way social media trends - females tend to be a lot more active on social media and a lot more inclined to ask for help with training and nutrition then the male population. Word of mouth of what we're able to deliver with clients spread pretty quickly which presented the opportunity to work with so many pretty amazing women!

Could you share a specific moment that has significantly impacted your journey in this field?

I have thousands of incredible moments with clients progress or achievements or competition performances but I'd say the coolest moment we've had is opening the doors to our physical gym - Platform Strong. It's pretty special to have a place where all our local clients can come in, in a safe environment with like minded people to challenge themselves with the best gear and the most supportive crew. Every member is your number one fan and willing to back you and support you.

You seem to have a massive clientele of women getting very strong. Tell us about this shift in focus.

Strength training is the most simple and easiest to track form of progression. Its a nice change away from staring into the mirror or scale every day asking yourself do I look better? Have I lost weight?

It's logical. Are you lifting more weight? Yes - ok cool you've progressed, no? Well let's break down why. Technique? Adequate nutrition to suit goals? Rest? Hydration? Sleep?

Gone are the days where women were pushed away from lifting heavy in fear of becoming "manly". The reality is in the results that all our girls put out. Strength training doesn't just make you pick up more weight off the floor, it comes along with the most desirable physical changes that all girls are chasing in the gym too! Plus picking up a weight that scares the likes of the boys at a commercial gym is pretty empowering. 

We also started an activewear line Pltfrm Active to help women feel comfortable and strong inside and out of the gym.

Why VERVE?

Every piece of equipment I've tried in the past before opening our physical location has been spot on. From the way the deadlift bars flex, the knurling, the aesthetics of the calibrated plates, the way the machines move feels very natural and fluent. The price point is excellent too. With a lot of our members competing at high level competition within powerlifting or simply just moving massive weights. The equipment holds its own against even the strength brands that have been in the game for 50+ years.

What’s your favourite piece of gym equipment?

The V Squat/Hack squat machine. Its the most natural squat mechanic possible in the reverse hack stance. Its a way we can load up massive amounts of weight and perform a nice squat pattern without the sense of failing like a barbell squat. It destroys all of your legs & glutes. We've had 600kg loaded and there was no compromise in its integrity.

At Platform Strong, is there a VERVE piece of equipment that your clients and gym members love the most?

We all love our big compounds - the deadlift bars and power bars get slaughtered here but I'm 100% sure, a big chunk of our members purely come for the Reverse hack & Hip Abductor. Many of our clients are programmed these and get great results.

In your opinion, what are the key qualities that make a successful athlete/coach/trainer?

I definitely think about experience with clients and with one's own training. If you haven't seen it or experienced it yourself it's very hard to understand what a client is experiencing in different training stages. 

Ability to communicate in a way that's simple and understandable by all - whether it's in person or online. If you can't explain it to a child and get results - you probably dont understand the topic well enough yourself to be teaching it confidently.

Don't overcomplicate the process to keep your clients accountable. It's not one size fits all but a system and routine needs to be in play in which clients can communicate any concerns with you or find out the next plan of attack.

How do you envision the future of this industry evolving, and what role do you see yourself playing in that evolution?

With the way social media allows people to communicate and express themselves/share content within the fitness world it's only going to grow whilst opening up to bigger and bigger audiences. It'd be great to see more events that are fitness related outside of bodybuilding/powerlifting/strongman/crossfit or potentially crossovers between the sports. To see people build careers out of dedication and hard work as sportsmen is amazing. We're just going to keep doing what we do well, get people strong as hell, keep investing into our brand. Expand and grow!