Meet Our Team

Joshua – Founder, Owner

Joshua was raised as a foster child who believed he was worth just 20$ a day. He had no full-time support team at home, he was a high school dropout, a booze hound, and a pill popping criminal who spent time in Innes Detention Centre. At his absolute lowest, he even contemplated suicide. He was lost and had no sense of purpose. Fast forward to 2009 when he found fitness. Yes, it’s corny, but in his personal experience, the combination of a healthy diet and healthy living, gave him the tools to transform himself from an unhealthy 210lb – 25% body fat, to a lean 175lbs and 13% body fat. No formal training, no education, just a simple mindset. 

“I now love myself enough, I love this life and I want to change.” 

Anything that is fueled by anger or hate usually doesn’t last. He had to change his mindset towards himself and his life. He had to change some of the life traps he was facing and develop discipline to match his new-found passion for fitness. In doing so, he discovered his purpose. 

What he found was Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) in particular the Spartan Race. 

“It’s funny, this fitness thing brought me places I never would have gone when I was on the sauce. Places all over the world like New York and Texas to attend OCR races, and because I never got to go to high school trips, now I can through my passion.” 

Joshua started off as a racer, then a volunteer, and eventually an employee for the Eastern Canadian Spartan Franchise. Traveling all over Eastern Canada building an obstacle course all while doing market research. After his time with the Spartan brand he developed discipline and he decided that the fitness game needed to change. People wanted a new way to get in shape. After every race he would speak to racers, asking how they liked it, almost all of their responses were “I love this race, but I really wish there was somewhere I could go train”. That’s when the OCRA dream began and not because he wanted to be a capitalist, but because he wanted to practice the principle of reciprocity, he wanted to be an educator. He wanted to take something like fitness and health which can be very difficult for most and make it so people can understand it and make it fun. He wanted to inspire change, he wanted to help those who are in their darkest days to learn that they too can overcome life’s challenges  “one obstacle at a time.”

He believes that we are all a reflection of those that we surround ourselves with and that we either win or learn, we never lose. 

If you want to hear more of Joshua’s story or would like him to speak at an event, you can request him to attend your seminar at info@painistemporary.net

Coach Graves sees health and fitness as an essential part of everyday life. 

Many people spend their days going from point a to point b without much thought about how they are moving. However, this can lead to dysfunction in a number of ways, putting people in a vicious cycle of poor movement patterns.  Poor movement leads to pain, fear of movement, disuse, and deconditioning. As a coach, it is my goal to teach you effective and efficient movement, to prepare you for the physical demands of everyday life. 

You and coach Graves achieve this goal by focusing primarily on skill acquisition, targeting poor movement patterns, and finding alternatives to suboptimal lifestyle choices. 

Throughout the coaching process, physical assessments and skill acquisition will give you measurable benchmarks to track your progress.

As a coach, Graves offers unique and tailored sessions to each client helping them achieve their personal physical goals. 

The process starts with a three step approach:

• Step one, CONSULTATION where you and coach Graves will go into detail about your relevant health and fitness history, as well as your wants and goals for the program. The consultation will act as the initial benchmark for both you and coach Graves to see if you are a good fit for the program. 

• Step two, will be the initial PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT, where we can get a framework of where you are physically, in terms of your mobility, strength and conditioning, as well as a set of basic measurements and metrics to monitor progress. 

• Step three, is a one on one TRAINING SESSION with coach Graves, where you will get a feel for the training approach.

This three step approach is offered complimentary to all new clients, with no obligation of future commitment to coaching. 

Now you may be asking yourself why coach Graves?

Who is coach Graves?

Coach Graves’ methodology is unique and built upon years of experience, education, and experimentation with different fitness models, sports, and philosophies.  As a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, having served as a light infantry soldier of the 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment, coach Graves is no stranger to adversity or pushing physical and mental limits. Graves has seen first hand how poor movement patterns destroy soldiers’ careers. However, you don’t need to be a soldier to destroy yourself with poor movement or unhealthy lifestyle choices. 

Coach Graves believes in an approach of humility and constant improvement.

With that in mind, coach Graves is always looking to refine his art with whatever tools and skills he can acquire, using scientific literature, books, films, and courses, among other things.

Coach Graves is a certified Level 1 MovNat instructor.

Feel free to reach out for a consultation at:

coachingwithgraves@gmail.com