KEY TEAM MEMBERS

Vancouver

Mike Leo - General Manager

Mike Leo is a sport enthusiast with an extensive background in health and fitness including personal training and fitness sales. A college-level athlete in both baseball and volleyball, Mike also served as assistant coach for the UBC baseball team, helping to establish the University's baseball program. He holds a Masters Degree in Human Kinetics from UBC. Mike has competed in several marathons in such cities as New York and Vancouver; he has also completed Victoria Half Ironman.

David Ward - Sales Manager

David has been involved in sport his whole life. With a long history of participation and achievement in sports such as tennis, rugby, basketball, golf and soccer, David decided to pursue a career in the sports industry. After attending college and acquiring a VCTC Level 3 Diploma in Sport Therapy & Rehabilitation, David went on to obtain a BSc Honours Degree in Sport Management from the University of Northumbria, England.  At age 24 and with experience in sports markets such as England, Norway and Canada, David is already fast becoming a wealth of experience in the fitness industry. In his spare time, David enjoys listening to music, playing sport, keeping fit, and consistently making steps towards self improvement. David's philosophy is “Work to Live, Don't Live to Work”.

Amber Theobald - Customer Care Specialist

Enrolled in competitive artistic gymnastics at the age of 4, Amber spent 12 years competing and later coaching at clubs in Richmond, Surrey and Calgary. Traveling the globe with an adventurous passion for snowboarding, surfing and scuba diving, she has managed to live her dream while experiencing the many different styles of culture and art.
BCIT and Kwantlen's Marketing Management Programs have prepared Amber for the rewarding yet unpredictable world of Business, Customer Relations, Management and Communications.
Her positive and enthusiastic personality allows her to set and achieve her goals while living an enjoyable, healthy lifestyle.

Lauren Hughes - Area Group X Program Manager

Lauren Hughes is a leader in the fitness industry who has helped countless people reach their true fitness potential. She is BCRPA certified and has years of experience doing one-on-one training, circuit training and high energy group training as well as marathon and triathlon training.
Lauren began her fitness career as a sports instructor and aerobics instructor at Club Med, Mexico where she implemented the Crunch Bosu Boot Camp, Smart Bells and Kick Box programs. In the years since, Lauren has gained her certification in personal training, group fitness, indoor cycling and the Zone nutrition program. She's a strong believer that fitness will not only transform your body but also your life.

Princess Labrador - Personal Training Manager

Princess hails from the Philippines where she is a licensed physical therapist and orthopedic advisor. She is finishing her practical and academic requirements to obtain her Canadian physiotherapist's license. She also has several years' experience working in health club management and administration. One of her goals is to implement youth exercise programming to help counter the increasing incidence of childhood inactivity and obesity.

Kristine Wall – Manager of Massage Services

Kristine is the owner / operator of Soulistic Massage Services, which she started in Whistler, BC more than 13 years ago. She has been a Shiatsu therapist and massage technician for over 15 years with diplomas/certifications in Reflexology, Shiatsu, Swedish and Touch for health. With her many years of experience in massaging the novice athletes to the extreme athletes, Kristine has combined all of her techniques into one amazing deep tissue massage that not only rejuvenates but also relaxes clients. Kristine believes that a complete workout routine includes not only the exercise itself, but also the caring for the wear and-tear and minor injuries that naturally occur with strenuous movement and that the benefits of massage combined with fitness and proper nutrition are the key to overall good health and well being.

Richmond

Lee Cassells - General Manager

With over 15 years in the Health & Fitness industry and experience in various countries such as the US, Saudi Arabia, UK and Canada it is easy to see that Lee has a real passion for this environment . Sporting achievements include running track & field plus cross country events for the Scottish School Boys team, District team and various other competitive teams throughout his teens. More recently Lee has completed numerous events including a 1 day 300km bike race from Seattle to Portland, Victoria Half Ironman, Canucks Place Adventure Race and multiple Marathons. Lee was educated through the University of Abertay in Scotland achieving a BSc in Sports Management and Sports Development along with tutor status coaching swimming, instructing life guarding courses, first aid courses and numerous other coaching awards including personal training. From the day Lee could walk he was walking towards a career in the health & fitness industry and here he is. Lee will be heading up our new Richmond site.

Ray Kwok - Sales Manager

Ray’s passion for sports, especially basketball and golf, has lead him to 12 successful years in the sports and recreation industry. Growing up with a basketball in hand, Ray played on the men’s basketball team at Trinity Western University (TWU) including 3 years as the team captain. Graduating with a degree in Human Kinetics from TWU Ray continued on with the men’s basketball team as an Assistant Coach for 2 years. Basketball also allowed Ray the opportunity to share his passion with athletes in various parts of Europe as well as the children in his own community through playing and coaching with the Athletes in Action organization. After a few years of coaching, Ray headed south to the San Diego Golf Academy where he completed a Golf Management program and graduated with an Associate of Business Degree. His successful career in the golf industry includes time as a CPGA Certified Golf Instructor, Junior Golf Academy Director and General Manager. In sports and in life, Ray lives by the motto “work hard, play harder”.

Neil Lonzon - Personal Training Manager

Neil has been in the industry for 7 years. He has a Bachelor's degree in Human Kinetics, Diploma in Sports Science. Neil has worked with a wide variety of individuals such as Triathletes, Marathoners, Adventure Racers, Mountain and Road Riders, Pre &Postnatal, Paraplegic, and NHL Players. Athletics has always been a part of Neil's life which has taught him how much it takes to reach that high level of excellence. He continues to participate competitively in both basketball and volleyball, and for leisure participates in Adventure Races, Mountain Bike Races, Triathlons, and Half Marathons.

Neil likes to make training a stimulating aspect of life rather than a chore that needs to be done. If you are not enjoying yourself while training, what makes you think that you will stick to it? In Neil's training style, he integrates an innovative balance of weights, cardiovascular, core and sports specific training in a circuit style format that makes training sessions more efficient, effective and elevating.

Bethany Yurkiw - Tennis Manager

With great passion, enthusiasm, and energy, Bethany brings a wealth of experience in the tennis industry to SNSC. She has worked extensively with Tennis BC tournaments as well as provincial-wide community programs including Inner City/Urban Youth, Groovy Girlz and Parks & Rec for both adults and juniors. She has coached all ages to reach their goals whether recreational or competitive and emphasizes tennis as a lifestyle that is fit for the whole family. Bethany's experience includes being the Director of Junior Development at the Jericho Tennis Club and the Assistant Tournament Director for the $175, 000 US Odlum Brown Vancouver Open professional world-ranking event held annually at the Hollyburn Country Club. She brings a wide-range of skills for organizing, event planning and running successful programs both on and off the court as well as her sales & promotional skills learned during her time with General Mills Canada Corporation.

As an Open level player, Bethany competed in Texas on a full-ride NCAA Division 1 tennis scholarship while graduating Magna Cum Laude in the Honors Program with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Management. She continues to enjoy the sport both competitively and socially and looks forward to cultivating that passion and enjoyment with all the SNSC staff & members.

Mizuka Nariya - Front Desk Manager

Mizuka is a certified Level 2 artistic woman's gymnastics coach and has been involved in gymnastics as a provincial level athlete and as a coach. She has worked for gymnastics clubs in the community for over 15 years as a recreational coach to a Program Director. With a passion for sports it was a natural choice to complete her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at SFU. After graduation she pursued world travels spending a summer in Greece, working in the cruise line industry, and working in the UK, for a fitness club as a  Children's Activities Coordinator with completion of an OCR Certificate in Teaching of Health Related Fitness to Children 5-12 years.