His goal as a fitness coach is to inspire individuals to make long-term lifestyle changes, and he has found that CrossFit’s scalable intensity and commitment to functional movement makes it the perfect program for individuals of all ages and abilities.
C.J. believes that the psychology of sport and fitness training plays a vital role in the success of any program. He fosters a positive training environment to help clients overcome self-doubt or perceived limitations to achieve their full potential.
C.J. also specializes in helping athletes prepare for the CrossFit Games, coaching both teams and individuals at Invictus as well as athletes across the United States and United Kingdom through online coaching and program design.
C.J. enjoyed five years as a successful litigator at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP before dedicating his full attention to helping others achieve their fitness goals. His practice focused on securities fraud and complex commercial litigation.
He is also co-founder of Kids Helping Kids, a non-profit organization that has raised nearly $4 million for neo-natal intensive care and pediatric units throughout Oregon, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of San Diego Youth Services.
Michele earned a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, San Marcos, and spent much of her time there focusing on the study of youth gangs and foodways. The combination of her formal education in the cultural, social, and economic practices relating to the production and consumption of food and her experience as the owner of M Good Meals, a Paleo-friendly catering service, has helped her emphasize the importance of nutrition with her clients and work with them on healthy and creative meal planning and preparation ideas.
Michele is a lifelong athlete who played soccer at the collegiate level, was a competitive swimmer, and has competed a number of times as both an individual and on the Invictus team at the CrossFit Games. She recognizes the benefits a varied strength and conditioning program provides to both competitive athletes as well as everyday people looking to improve overall health and mental toughness. Her goal is to connect with each person she trains in a way that motivates and excites them to perform at their highest level.
Before pursuing a career in health and fitness, Michele spent five years as a Marketing & Development Officer for a non-profit agency.
Calvin has helped hundreds of clients succeed in achieving their health and fitness goals. He has coached athletes of all abilities to peak levels of performance in a variety of professional settings including fitness clubs, CrossFit affiliates, and the military.
Calvin has a diverse skill set that allows him to work with a wide variety of client populations. Injury prevention and optimized function of the body are a priority for athletes of all ages and abilities. As a coach, Calvin has produced a broad spectrum of successful athletes. His powerlifting team has earned nine podium finishes as well as three national titles. And his Performance Development Clinic–four week sessions focused on improving movement quality and functional performance–has become one of the most popular classes at Invictus as participating athletes continue to see enormous gains in both form and strength.
In addition to his extensive coaching experience, Calvin is also a talented athlete. In addition to competing in CrossFit, he is a national champion powerlifter as well as a national record holder. Calvin has also served in the United States Army for over six years.
George has a passion for helping others develop and achieve their goals and believes the most rewarding avenue to make this happen is through health and fitness.
As a strength and conditioning professional, George has a diverse background. He has worked with youth athletes, developed high school physical education programs, coached individuals and small groups, and trained Marines for combat–an arduous task requiring not only physical but mental preparedness as well. Working with clients ranging from housewives to Navy SEALs, he has created and implemented strategies yielding RESULTS.
Whether you are looking for improved athletic ability, enhanced fitness, or to change your body composition, George will get you there.
George earned a Bachelors of Science in Political Science from the United States Naval Academy. He proudly served seven years as a Marine Intelligence Officer before dedicating his attention to helping people improve their lives through health and fitness.
Nichole is an accomplished fitness professional with experience in managing and leading group, individual, and youth fitness programs. She has the uncanny ability to motivate diverse groups and to implement healthy and productive changes.
Nichole won 3rd place in the inaugural CrossFit Games in 2007, helped lead Team Invictus to a 4th place finish in 2010, and is currently a member of the 2011 Team Invictus that took first place in the region and is heading to the CrossFit Games for the third straight year.
Nuno played competitive soccer and volleyball growing up and was a NCAA Division I Track and Field athlete at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, competing in the 200M and 400M sprints. He began competing in triathlons in 2006, completing a 1/2 Ironman, numerous sprint distance races, and a few Olympic distance triathlons. He found CrossFit in the summer of 2008, and integrated it with his training regimen, helping him improve his performance by making him a more well-rounded athlete.
Nuno was a member of the Invictus CrossFit Games team that took 4th place in 2010 and is currently training for this year’s Games. Even though he is training for the CrossFit Games, he simultaniously competes in triathlons and running events and has had many recent PR’s.
Nuno began training clients in running and CrossFit full time at the beginning of 2008, and helped launch San Diego Anaerobic Endurance which is now Invictus Endurance. He has dedicated himself to sharing the knowledge and passion he has for running and fitness to anyone interested in living a healthier life.
Shane moved to San Diego to attend University of San Diego where he earned his bachelors degree in Business Administration and spent four years on the university’s rowing team. His love for the sport is evident in his passionate coaching of it. This led him to start the Invictus Rowing Club so that he may spread the knowledge he has gained on rowing technique and strategy through years of experience in the training room and competition.
Shane started CrossFitting in 2006 and competed on the 4th place Invictus team in the 2010 CrossFit Games and is training for this year’s Games.
Outside of the gym, Shane is the Co-Founder of Crossfit Story and People In Motion, two creative projects that examine athleticism, competition, and human success from a multitude of angles.
Shane loves competition, working with motivated individuals, and helping people achieve their health and fitness goals. His goal is to wake within people a passionate desire to achieve new heights every day. He lives by his personal mission statement: &quo;My life will be an experiment in growth guided by an unending belief in the power of accountability, love, respect, education, and elbow grease in an effort to inspire others to find their life’s potential.&quo;
Dave has coached lifters at the Junior Pan Am Games, USA National Teams, college teams, and more. He has also coached non-lifters like professional baseball, football, and hockey players; martial artists, track and field athletes, skiers, modern dancers, and Invictus members in the Invictus Olympic Lifting Club. His personal lifting accolades are too numerous to list but he has competed at a very high level and has won a number of American and National medals as well as coached, and judged athletes at that level.
A lifetime of sports plus over 26 years of Olympic Weightlifting competition and coaching have solidified his base knowledge for assisting athletes and other individuals build strong physiques. He specializes in strength training athletes and fitness enthusiasts interested in improving their sports performance and general health.
Dave believes very strongly that practicing some of the techniques used to train competitive Olympic Weightlifters, modified for an individuals’ ability, skill, experience, etc. will improve anyone’s fitness level and it is his mission is to maximize the athletic performance of each individual he works with.
While in high school, Katie learned the importance of becoming faster and stronger and soon began spending time in the weight room. Her time spent training paid off and she earned herself a NCAA Division I scholarship. She was, and still is, the only player in Boise State soccer history to start and play in every minute of every game during an entire season. She credits that accomplishment to her focus in the weight room and her constant ability to maintain “game” fitness.
Katie competed for Invictus in the 2009 CrossFit Games and helped the team take 5th place in the worldwide event. She was forced to take a year off in 2010 to give birth to her daughter but continued to train throughout her pregnancy–often outperforming most other athletes in the gym–and is preparing to compete for the team again this year. During the time she was pregnant, she had the opportunity to train a dozen other pregnant women and successfully led the group as they prepared their bodies and their babies to be strong and healthy.
Using what she learned during her high school and college careers, Katie’s interest and focus is now on helping young athletes achieve their dreams of playing both collegiately and professionally. It is her goal to help her athletes become faster, stronger, and more mobile. But she also recognizes the importance of helping them to achieve the confidence and mentality that they can do anything both in their sport and in all other facets of their lives.
Growing up in a family with a strong athletic background; one brother holding many American records in the sport of weightlifting, one brother actively serving in the military, and one brother playing baseball at the University of Sioux Falls, Sage is determined to add to the success of her family by using her keen eye for technique to help improve the Olympic weightlifting side of CrossFit.
Through her twelve years of competing in the sport, Sage has experienced the mental rigors of sport and feels that CrossFit is a great way to gain mental toughness. She loves pushing people to their physical limits to help them discover what they’re capable of, and feels that CrossFit’s wide range of functional training is the best way to do so.
Sage has traveled the nation shadowing her father, Mike Burgener, at CrossFit Certificat
Dani has always been active and held a passion for fitness. She spent most of her childhood and adolescence in dance. As a young woman she took up running and competed in half and full marathons.
Devoted to CrossFit for more than five years, she is convinced of not only the physical adaptations, but also the mental benefits that CrossFit produces.
Dani believes that individuals of all ages and athletic abilities can benefit greatly from CrossFit. She is passionate about helping others achieve results and accomplish feats far beyond what they thought possible.
Dani has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Oregon. She enjoyed a successful career as an account executive at an interactive agency before taking her current full time position as a marketing manager for a software development company.
Pops retired and took a fun job to pass the time in the Education Department at SeaWorld, using his sales and communication skills in teaching adults and children how they can impact our planet and protect the oceans and it’s creatures. Not only is he a wealth of knowledge on operations, but also on sea life–he is especially fond of sharks.
Pops was drafted by CJ (his son) to help at Invictus with some administrative tasks that he couldn’t do between the 25th an 28th hour of his day. This quickly became a bigger job than just part-time help and he resigned from SeaWorld to formally retire and play at Invictus.
Pops’ goal is to support the Invictus dream by building and maintaining an administrative support system for the business, allowing the staff to focus on the mission of delivering excellence in fitness coaching. Pops is the go-to man and can answer any of your questions on available programs, billing, and more
Jen’s previous position of Marketing Manager at Costco helped prepare her to ensure Invictus is well represented in the community and well stocked in green gear and community spirit.
