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about us

OUR COACHES

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DAVID KNOWLES

I’ve loved sport and fitness ever since I can remember. I was forever playing one sport or another, with rugby being my main game.
 

After school life took me down the corporate route where, for many years, I worked in and ran marketing businesses. It was during this time I found CrossFit. I loved it from my very first session and roll on several years and qualifications later I am now the owner and lead coach of Vastus.

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Ruth KNOWLES

I haven't always loved sport. In fact, at school I did everything I could to try and get out of P.E!

 

In my early 20s I took up running, as a way of losing and maintaining weight, but soon realised that I loved running for runnings sake, and how moving made me feel. I now have years of marathons, triathlons, and Ironmen under my belt, and even a team channel swim.
 

In 2020 I introduced CrossFit into my training programme and haven’t looked back. The passion of wanting to share how CrossFit can benefit people's lives drove me to have a huge career change, and now I am part owner, with my husband David, of CrossFit Vastus. 

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BEN COOK

I was your typical ‘high school jock’ and I’ve done most sports you can think of, but Buckingham Rugby Club is in my roots, and thankfully, that’s where I had the pleasure of meeting and playing with David.

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After becoming a family man, I could no longer afford the time for rugby so I reached out to David when I first found out that he was opening Vastus. I can honestly say that CrossFit has been the perfect substitution for fitness and camaraderie, and I’ve been lucky enough to be here from day one to watch Vastus bloom.

Since joining, I’ve earned my CrossFit Level 1 Trainer credential and British Weightlifting’s Level 1 Award for Coaching.

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Érico de Melo 

I've always seen physical activity as a tool for transformation, and I've had the opportunity to develop sports with underprivileged children and people with disabilities in various countries. Because of this, I decided to write about "The Right to Play" in my master's dissertation.
 

I played high school basketball in the United States, college football in Brazil, and have hiked on 5 continents. I started doing crossfit in 2014 as a way to strengthen my knee. Since then, not only have I been free of knee pain, but I've also experienced daily physical and mental evolution.

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I've trained at more than 10 crossfit boxes in six different countries and am a proud member of the Vastus community since 2022.

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George Tucker

I’ve always been active and involved in sport, and after university and years spent in a normal gym I was looking for somewhere else to use and test my fitness.
 

Like most of us, I watched countless documentaries on Netflix before taking the plunge and walking into a local CrossFit box in 2017, and since that point haven’t looked back.


I’ve been fortunate enough to experience CrossFit in boxes across the UK and around the world and have always found a welcoming, healthy, community driven atmosphere which replaced what I was missing most from team sports.
 

I attended my CrossFit Level 1 in 2022 to further my knowledge, and the desire to coach took me from there. I joined Vastus in 2023 and can’t wait to share what CrossFit has brought to me with this community.

Josh Skillington

I’ve always been involved in sport, mainly football and rugby from a young age, which lead to doing a BSc in sports science and then an MSc in strength and conditioning at university.
 

I started gymming in 2010, beginning Olympic weightlifting in 2013 (competing 2013-2019) and have been coaching in the sport since 2014. In that time I’ve worked with Leeds City Weightlifting Club, British Weightlifting’s northern regional talent development squad, and was Head Coach at Leeds Uni weightlifting team until recently.


I’ve been a PT since 2015, working in person at a number of gyms (had a stint managing PureGym in Buckingham too) and more recently coaching weightlifting, and men's fat loss online.

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Mandy Dawson

I started CrossFit in 2011 in Northampton. Loved it straight away. After my husband died in 2014 I was left in the position to be able to make choices.
 

So I chose to take early retirement from teaching and get qualified as a coach. So I took my L1 in 2015. Then L2 in 2018. I also was lucky to be able to participate in a number of other face to face (rather than online) coaching certifications. Gymnastics L1/Masters (with Chuck Carswell in Miami). Competitors with Spencer Hendel. Burgener Weightlifting L1 with the great man himself, Mike Burgener at CrossFit Mayhem. And Aerobic Capacity with Chris Hinshaw.


In addition to coaching I’ve also judged at many competitions including SiD and Wodapalooza. I compete too as a Master and came 33rd in the world in the 2024 CrossFit Open in.

Toby Fullwood

I had been a fan of the ‘Sport of CrossFit’ for many years before joining Vastus in 2021. Before that I have been a keen rugby, cricket and hockey player as well as dabbling in triathlons and distance swimming/ cycling.
 

I have a BSc in Sports and Exercise Science with a PGCE in Physical Education. I’m a qualified coach in a number of sports including swimming, trampolining, rugby, cricket and football. Most recently I obtained my CrossFit Level 1 trainer and CrossFit Kids certificates.

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