our story

Despite being a frequent gym-goer throughout her teenage years and early 20's, Katherine's training journey truly began when she joined a local Rowing Club in her mid-20's. Being Coached by passionate professionals and training as part of a team inspired her to enter competitions and aspire to join the more elite teams. Unfortunately, a wrist injury whilst training for We brought that journey to an abrupt halt, and she looked for another Coach. This time, to learn how to get strong, and be resilient. Inspired by what she learned and disappointed by the lack of gyms that had a high standard of Coaching and inspiring values, she did her own Level 3 Qualification, did her time at a largely unspiring commercial gym, and later honed her Coaching skills at a more niche private S&C gym in Hackney Downs.

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Here the passion for using training to improve overall lifestyle and build resilience took hold and she and Matt decided to build their own community of people who wanted be Coached, to learn, progress, and push themselves in the safety of the gym environment to build the resilience to tackle life and ambitions outside of the gym. After ignoring the naysayers and opening the OG GW gym in the middle of Summer, on the top floor of the now demolished Swan Wharf on Dace Road back in Summer of 2018, the community grew, and 4 gym locations (thank you Hackney Wick developers), a second dog and a baby later, she is working with with Matt and the incredible GW team to continue to build the GW community to support and inspire members to be the knowledgeable, strong, and resilient.

Jamie has been a Coach at GroundWork since 2021, following a career change the previous year to switch from a job in marketing to join the fitness industry. Since then, he has built up experience coaching large groups and semi-private sessions, as well as his own Personal Training clients. He now heads up our Semi-Private programme, and is responsible for the full-circle training journey and results of our Semi-Private members.

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Jamie is the in-house Nutritionist here at GroundWork. In 2024, he became an MNU Certified Nutritionist, completing his Level 5 Diploma in Advanced Nutrition Science with Distinction. One look at his Instagram will tell you he's a big fan of food. And he's made it his mission to help people cut through the nutrition noise and eat the foods they love while achieving their body composition or performance goals.

After a career as a Ballet Dancer, Carolyn moved into the world of fitness, and found CrossFit in 2011 and became a CrossFit coach in 2013.
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Carolyn is a Level 3 CrossFit Coach and has a BWL Level 1. She returned to university in 2015 to study Sports Therapy and Dance, and after graduating she opened her Sports Therapy clinic alongside her coaching work in East London, specialising in return to sport, CrossFit and general body mechanics, alongside working pitch side with Rugby teams and an American Football teams.
She has been working with GroundWork Training since May 2024 coaching both the semi private and group training classes and stepped up to take on the role as the Group Training Lead in January 2025.

Ophelie started early, competing in gymnastics and travelling with the circus alongside coaches from Cirque Du Soleil. She had to overcome many corrective surgeries and years of recovery due to several disabilities. She now teaches her community to develop an appreciation for their bodies, learn about them, how they work, how they move and how they can unlock their potential, whether it being able to live pain-free or reach levels of performance they didn't expect to achieve.

Her mission is to get people curious and interested in functional anatomy of movement, neuroscience and the mind/body connection. Ophelie is now a registered FRC Practitioner and Mobility Specialist.

Karim believes you only have one body, and taking care of it is essential. At the core of life is health, both mental and physical, and without it, nothing is truly enjoyable. He emphasises that you can’t fully take care of what you do or the people you love without prioritising your wellbeing. Coming from a sports background and having dealt with challenging injuries, Karim has always trained and found joy in helping his clients become better, happier, and more confident. He believes there’s no magic to it—whether you’re a beginner or an experienced athlete, he helps set realistic targets, measure progress, and adapt training to suit your needs. With his support and motivation, clients often push further than they thought possible. While Karim provides the tools and guidance, he firmly believes lasting change ultimately comes down to you.

Being physically active has always been part of my life since childhood and a primary source of my wellbeing, and as a working professional, I struggled to devote as much time as I wanted to my passion, which really affected my mental health. After many years of working as a Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach, I have learnt that approaching fitness, health and wellbeing in a holistic way, is the key to long term improvements and a balanced lifestyle.

Through my experience of living with ADHD, and continuous education around how to live a fulfilling and balanced life with it, I have helped many clients to build a great foundation for their fitness, health and mental wellbeing. I am passionate about Coaching you to overcome your psychological and practical barriers, to build a healthy and balanced lifestyle that works for you and is sustainable.