Our Team

The Team
At Warrior we have a team of  handpicked professionals with unique backgrounds & knowledge.They bring exceptional leadership, honesty, energy, personality and practical “know how “ Their mission is to deliver fun, challenging training that builds real physical fitness, teamwork and mental resilience.

Their collective knowledge ranges from Health and Fitness, Sports Coaching, Strength & Conditioning, Nutrition, Physical Therapy, Psychology, Corporate Coaching, Military Fitness, Diving, Free Fall,  Arctic Survival Training, Jungle Survival Training, Outdoor Pursuits, First Aid, Mountaineering, Leadership and Management.

CONOR

(The Big Boss from Penang)

Conor is an ex Irish Army Military Special Forces  physical training Instructor with over 20 years  of experience preparing the best soldiers to survive  and thrive in   high risk, dynamic and challenging environments.  

Known for his tough but effective trainings (don’t worry, he’s actually a soft gentle giant beneath it all), expect a lot of  military influenced circuits. He also knows all the tricks, especially if you’re trying to cheat by running across the field cutting the distance into half instead of full. Yes, he’d seen and heard it all; the excuses people give to get out of exercises.   

"Excuses are like asses – everybody has one."  "You can run but you can’t hide" 

There’s a reason behind the stern training; Conor believes that sometimes the direct is the best way. We all find way too many excuses not to exercise.

His objective when setting up WBC was to help you achieve what you think you CAN’T do.  ‘It’s all in the mind’ - is one of his favorite phrases. If you think you can, YOU CAN. The first step towards better health & fitness is actually making the effort to SHOW UP at training and from there on, leave it to the coaching team to ‘mould’ and ‘shape’ you towards your goals.  

When he's not coaching he is also active in Ultra running, Mountaineering, Leadership & Team building  and Dragon boat racing.

ROBERT
Coach

Also ex-military like Conor, Robert’s career was in British Airborne Forces. The one thing that Paras learn is that ‘nothing is impossible’. ‘Train Hard, Fight Easy’ is their motto, and many local trail runners know that Robert always applies this dictum to his own training.

Robert was a British Olympic Squad fencer in his younger days, and later played polo for Hong Kong. As a Jungle Warfare Instructor and Jungle Survival Instructor he has operated in most jungles, from South America, to Africa, to Asia. He is Winter Warfare Survival trained in the Arctic as well, just for the contrast. He commanded the Joint Services Parachute Centre, and was both a Free-Fall Parachute Instructor and a Relative Work Coach for more than 20 years. Robert was a dinghy instructor on Lasers, and also ran British Divisional and Army Ski Championships for several years. Robert is an FITM Certified Fitness Instructor.

He has been a life-long scuba diver, diving most of the best dives sites worldwide (well, the warm water ones, anyway!) – and now specialises in macro underwater photography. He is an enthusiastic Ultra Trail runner, and regularly competes in all the iconic Sabah races – TMBT, Climbathon, Borneo International Marathon, Ranauthlon etc., not to mention famous UK ones as well. Well known to most Sabah runners, he focuses on encouraging new runners, and proving to them that they can run the distance.

Robert was so impressed with Warrior Boot Camp in Penang, that he persuaded Conor to allow him to set up a branch here in KK. His aim is to bring health and fitness to those who have never had the opportunity before, and to encourage existing sportsmen/women in KK to go the extra mile!

IAN
Coach

Ian is a former soldier now residing in Kota Kinabalu. Ian served with the British Army on numerous deployments around the world. Coming from an Army family he is well travelled, never staying anywhere longer than two years until he came to Sabah.

Ian has been a full time diving coach for over twenty years and has been diving for 25 years. He has helped thousands of new divers master the basic and the advanced sides of diving, and has a passion for helping people achieve their goals. Ian is a Master Instructor and has helped many people get in to professional careers in the diving world, especially local Sabahans.

Ian is a familiar face on the Ultra trail races around Sabah, and has never failed to finish any race that he has started. He has 3 TMBTs (2x 50km 1x 100km), 1 Sabah Adventure Challenge, and 2x Beaufort 60km races under his belt, together of course with Ranauthlon and BIM. He is now entered for the Climbathon 2015.

Ian retired from managing a busy dive centre at the end of 2014, so that he could concentrate full-time on Warrior Bootcamp KK.

Ian says that he has a ‘will not quit attitude towards his running, and towards life in general.’

Ian is also a EFR Instructor (Emergency First Response) and a Oxygen Provider Instructor. He has taught many people the skills of First aid. He is also aiming to become an EFR Instructor Trainer by the end of 2015.

Ian's Personal aims for the near future are to extend the distance and quantity of his Ultra Trail runs, with an end goal of being faster around trails. But his main focus for 2015 is to get WBCKK up and running -  and helping as many people as possible with their personal fitness.

SAM
Coach

Sam is a recent arrival from UK, but has already made his mark in Sabah. He is coaching rugby at  Kinabalu International School, and is setting up an after-school club there to introduce students to rugby.  And he is already playing for our local team, the Sharks!

Before moving into fitness training in UK, he was part of both Leeds Carnegie and Worcester Warriors, but decided against taking the final step into professional rugby. Sam was a community coach for Harlequins, and is RFU level 2 qualified. He repre
sented Yorkshire as a junior player, and played for both Guisborough and Fairwater in Wales.

Moving into fitness training, Sam is a fully qualified personal trainer, with a passion for getting people fit and into shape the right way. He says he doesn’t believe in ‘quick fixes’ and ‘fad diets’ – only in hard work. He believes that health and fitness are lifestyle choices, and if a client is willing to make that choice, Sam is prepared to go all the way with him/her – and in his opinion, there is nothing better than the rewards that come with having made that lifestyle choice.

Beyond his personal training lessons, Sam is also a qualified instructor in Spin, Boxacise, circuits and Metafit. Sam says: “Whatever your goals and fitness aspirations I can help and guide you to reach them. I try to make my classes fun and enjoyable; but also work you hard to ensure you will be getting the best potential results for your body.”  He is a pretty big fellow at 110kg of muscle, but tells us: “I look forward to meeting you at Warrior sessions so you can realise that I am a big softie really”.

HAKIMI
Coach

Kimi, originally from Selangor, has been in KK for the past 6 years. Love for a balanced lifestyle made him and his wife him fall in love with living in Sabah. He is an engineer by profession, but most of the time introduces himself as a full time triathlete. He started doing triathlon when he decided to conquer his fear of water - from not knowing how to swim, he has now completed more than 7 triathlon races including the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya 2014. Now, he is focusing on improving his time by racing half iron distance triathlon, all around the world.

Sports and endurance has always been part of his Kimi’s life. Involved with the Selangor Youth Sepak Takraw Development Program (led by his late father) during his primary school years, he represented Malacca and Malaysia in Squash during his teen years, continuing on until now. He was part of the group of students who revived the Auckland University Squash Club while studying in New Zealand, with the goal of promoting squash and helping newcomers improve their game.

Now, he is very keen to help anyone who is interested in triathlon. He realises that fitness training is the basic key to all sports. By being part of the Warrior team, he aims to help improve the community’s health awareness and way of life.

To him, exercising is not just about getting fit. It’s all about allowing you to live healthily and having fun doing it. It’s a way of life. Nothing is more rewarding than to see a person improve his quality of life by being healthy, and being part of his journey achieving it.

Kimi looks forward to working with you all – beginners as well as athletes!

MENAGA
Assistant Coach

Menaga or known as Mena, is currently in her final months of completing her Masters degree at UMS, Sabah in Conservation studies.  She has been running in marathons and cycling since her school days, but it was during her undergraduate years in New Zealand that she developed her interest in sports and fitness. Her respect for animals is her reason for adopting a lacto-vegan lifestyle change, which has also helped her to stay fit. After years of working hard to get herself fit and healthy through proper exercise and nutrition, she has been helping close friends and family to achieve the same. She enjoys motivating others to achieve fitness, eat healthily and also to have lots of FUN throughout the process. “Seeing people find joy in exercise and seeing changes in their health motivates and satisfies me”. 

LENA
Assistant Coach

Lena is passionate about rugby, and about the fitness preparation that is crucial to it. A rugby player as well as a coach, she represented Malaysia in 2011 in the national 7s squad. Lena is currently coaching an under 18 girls team and women's open level. She is also starting to get involved in refereeing rugby matches.  Apart from getting involved in the practical side of the game, she is also the Honorary Secretary one of the local rugby clubs, the KK Sharks RFC, and the team manager for the men's open team. 

When not playing rugby, Lena would prefer to run half marathons. She is currently getting used to trail running and cycling – with a view someday to get involved in triathlon racing. Lena also learnt mixed martial arts for its fitness value.

She has a level 1 and level 2 rugby coaching certificate conferred by the International Rugby Board (now known as World Rugby) and sanctioned by the Malaysia Rugby Union. On top of that, Lena also has a Level 1 Strength & Conditioning coaching certificate by IRB as well.

Her ambition is to train Sabahan to a level of fitness that will enable them to enjoy taking part in other sports at all levels.

QEE QEE

Assistant Coach

Qee Qee is a  a self-taught  explorer and adventurer, someone who loves to challenge herself, a soul hungry for all the wonderful things that life has to throw at her. In her quest for conquering these majestic peaks she had to become friendly with the giants who gave her purpose.

She began her mountain expeditions with her home town favourite Mt.Kinabalu which she has now climbed twice. Then to acclimatize and prepare herself for the tougher trails, she climbed Mt. Papandayan in West Java which in turn gave her the guts to conquer Mt.Semeru in East Java, one of the hardest peaks to conquer. Mt.Merbabu from Central Java came last and she has never stopped from wanting more ever since.

She also got into trail running, starting with Ranauthlon in followed by the BTSultra 100 Mount Bromo Tengger Semeru Ultra Run, at  Probolinggo in East Java.

She claims that her unnerving zest for the great adventures have led her not only to the mountain ranges, but also to using her physical skills in running some of the best runs I could have in life.

A lot of people had doubts about her strength and determination, due to her small size.  She is even more determined to show them just how wrong they are! Qee Qee is keen to coach others to attain their goals through the same determination that she uses to conquer mountains, despite her small size and apparent lack of strength.

Qee Qee says: “life is one great journey. And I intend to finish what I have started…. believe it or not.”