Hi, I’m Gabi.

I’ve been involved in sport since I was 14 and coaching since I was 15; the two have always gone hand in hand.

My love of strength and resistance training began as an undergraduate sports science student. By the time I started my post-graduate research, I was teaching the undergrads in it. While my journey in teaching and coaching has evolved as my own sporting involvement has, my passion and appreciation for what the weights room can offer has remained a constant.

My familiarity with the snatch and clean & jerk grew from involvement in CrossFit. I made the switch to dedicated weightlifting in 2017, and spent the next five years learning from and working alongside many of the most highly skilled and knowledgeable coaches and athletes in New Zealand at Functional Strength Olympic in Auckland. Despite the fact that I had almost 15 years of coaching experience and a substantial amount of education under my belt beforehand, weightlifting has completely moved the needle for me in terms of my knowledge and understanding of movement and strength, and how to support athletes in their development of it.

In October 2022 I moved to Hamilton, where I started work in earnest to support my ambitions in both of my targeted areas of interest;

• Develop weightlifting athletes to perform at the highest possible level, and

• Support the development and understanding of strength and movement in adolescents (particularly females)

I left my fulltime job and went all-in on coaching in June 2024.

You can read more about who I am, what I’m up to and where I’m going via my BLOG. If you want the short sharp non-waffly version, an overview of my coaching approach and accomplishments to date is listed below.