Meet the Coaches

Our world class coaches are highly trained & passionate about helping people achieve their health and fitness goals. Skilled in intuitive coaching, they can identify & understand individual needs.

Daniel Rankin

Coach

Dan has been involved in Functional Fitness for 10 years, first starting CrossFit when he was 15 and had just moved over to New Zealand from Samoa. He has competed locally and internationally in CrossFit, and loves the mental challenge of competition. Dan is a strong believer in the Propolis model, particularly the constant variation it offers that keeps every fitness session new and interesting. The accessibility of the functional fitness training model to a diverse range of people is something that he is truly passionate about. As a coach Dan particularly enjoys working with people new to training, and finds great reward in seeing their progress in physical ability and confidence.

David Mayeda

Coach

David relocated from Hawai‘i to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2011 and now lives locally with his wife, Maggie. He is a career researcher, working across quantitative and qualitative methods, with publications on racial inequalities, problematic masculinities, homelessness, and racism in sport - including professional fitness.

Athletically, David competed for the University of California, Irvine (Anteaters), and brings decades of training experience to his coaching. His sessions are evidence-informed and methodical, with particular attention to purposeful warm-ups, safe progression, and clear technical cues. While he is not Māori, David strives to honour te ao Māori appropriately in the gym, fostering an inclusive and respectful environment for all athletes.

Steve Goodfellow

Coach

Steve brings decades of experience in fitness and high-performance athletics, with a background as a professional hockey player. His time competing at an elite level gave him a firsthand appreciation for the demands of sport and the importance of functional fitness in reaching peak performance. After moving on from professional sport, Steve dedicated himself to coaching and studying functional fitness and rehabilitation.

He enjoys helping athletes and everyday individuals alike unlock their full potential—whether that means enhancing performance, moving better in daily life, or recovering from injury. As a coach, Steve focuses on optimizing movement, building strength, and preventing injuries, while making each session both challenging and rewarding. He believes in pushing past limits while keeping training safe, effective, and enjoyable.

Carissa Garcia

Coach

Former national powerlifter and the first junior female in NZ to hit a 400 Wilks, she also placed 2nd overall at Oceania’s and was crowned Best Junior Female two years running. Her deadlift record stood until just last year. Since 2019 she’s been immersed in CrossFit, learning from top Olympic lifting coaches like Bailey Lovett and Bernd Steinwender. With five years of coaching experience, her passion lies in helping women grow stronger in both weightlifting and gymnastics.

Ross Johnston

Coach

Ross is a passionate and energetic coach with years of experience both playing and coaching across a variety of sports. With a background in sports science and teaching, he brings an analytical yet encouraging approach to training that supports everyone from beginners to seasoned athletes.

For the past six years, Ross has been immersed in CrossFit and functional fitness, continuously developing his own skills while helping others reach their potential. His training philosophy focuses on building both raw strength and dynamic, functional movement, with the goal of creating well-rounded, powerful athletes. As a coach, Ross enjoys guiding people to achieve things they didn’t think were possible and making training an exciting and rewarding part of their day.

Kay Pawar

Coach

Kay originally came from Mumbai and has built a life that blends his career as a project engineer with his passion for fitness coaching. He brings a calm and playful energy into the gym, creating an atmosphere where members feel supported and enjoy themselves while working hard.

He loves the variety that functional fitness provides, from skill development to warm-up games, and keeps the sessions upbeat with music that motivates. Kay values the strong sense of community that functional fitness fosters, and as a coach, he enjoys seeing members achieve things they never thought possible. His aim is to make training both fun and rewarding, ensuring every session leaves people feeling better than when they walked in.