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Ruben (Dez) is Active Duty Navy with 11 years in and counting. 8 years ago while stationed overseas he took an interest in CrossFit and fell in love. With multiple years as a Command Fitness Leader and supervising more than 50 sailors on a day-to-day basis, helping people achieve personal goals is nothing new to him. In 2019, he was diagnosed with a rare heart disease that required replacement of his aortic heart valve via open heart surgery. 3 months post-surgery he was back in the gym. He accredits his quick recovery to the disciplines / mental toughness instilled in him as a leader in the US Navy and CrossFit.

Growing up playing soccer my whole life, I was the kind of person who was driven by the push and challenge from the peers around me to drive me to be better. When living in Hawaii I was introduced to CrossFit in 2016, my whole perspective and outlook on what I thought fitness was became so much more than just wanting to be the best person on a team or just being better than everyone around you, it became an environment where I wanted to help others find their inspiration and reach their goals with whatever that may be, which led me to fall in love with coaching. I just recently moved to San Diego and have known that coaching is something that I wanted to continue. I love meeting new people, getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of my peers, and helping them achieve what they have set their minds to which helps me grow alongside them and teach me so much more about myself and fitness that I didn’t know existed.

Vanessa discovered a passion for health and fitness in college after beginning a kickboxing program. That passion further flourished into healthier eating, studying other forms of fitness, and becoming a certified personal trainer. Expanding on her love for working with kids and educating others, she enjoys leading group classes of all ages and backgrounds. She has recently received her M.S. in Kinesiology, Integrative Wellness, through PLNU, and has a well-rounded, holistic approach to health. She is very excited to grow with the Hillcrest Athletic Club community!

Started CrossFit sometime around 2015 during Coach Crystal’s class at CrossFit Hillcrest. Her energy and most of all her compassion to help people grow as athletes kept up the continuous motivation to keep coming in. Along with the support from the other amazing coaches built a new and unique community that one never experienced before. To no surprise I discovered an unknown passion for everything CrossFit. Then a few years later inspired to become a coach to possibly one day help someone else find the same kind of passion for CrossFit.

Favorite quote: “Life is a test of how well we can flirt with the edge of our capacities,” Katrin Davidsdotter.

At age four, I started my athletic journey in gymnastics, but switched over to diving at age eight. Throughout my junior career I qualified for over 10 national championships, and received an athletic scholarship to become a student-athlete at the University of Virginia. Go Wahoos! There, I earned my degree in psychology and minored in women, gender, and sexuality studies. In fall of 2021, I will be attending Alliant International University to pursue a psychology doctorate (Psy.D.) in clinical psychology with an emphasis in family and children.

Now I am training to compete in CrossFit for the first time. I couldn’t be more excited. My goal as a coach is of course keeping everyone safe and having fun, but also bringing an infectious energy to every training session and class. I hope to be that consistent, smiling face that people feel comfortable coming to me with something as deep as battles within their personal lives to wanting to talk about Megan Thee Stallion’s most recent single.

I recently moved to San Diego to finish my degree in Human Biology at UCSD, and have plans to continue my education in physical therapy and athletic training. My love for fitness started with running and competing in triathlons. I completed my first half Ironman at 14, qualified for Olympic distance World Championships at 16, and have raced dozens of more races since then. After an injury in 2019 prevented me from running I started CrossFit to stay in shape, but the community and changing daily workouts had me hooked. Since then I’ve completely fallen in love with the process of getting stronger, practicing new movements, and the people! Helping others work towards their own goals is inspiring and rewarding and why I wanted to get into the coaching side of CrossFit.

The Hillcrest Athletic Club, is a place without judgments, where we have the support and the incentive to do our best and try to find our best version!

I was born in Argentina and lived most of my life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Having lived my whole life practicing diverse sports like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, surfing, skating etc., I found in Crossfit the perfect combination to be as fit as possible for any activity.

I learned how sport can change lives, and since then my passion for training and helping others grow only increases.

After opening two gymnasiums in Argentina and working with the most diverse levels of athletes, I humbly hope to contribute to this community by helping it continue to grow and together be as great as we can be.”

Pierce has been CrossFitting since 2006 and coaching since 2020. After playing collegiate and semi-professional rugby, CrossFit was the perfect activity to satisfy the physical and competitive hole left after retiring from playing. He loves the sport, and is passionate about helping his athletes reach their goals.