JON BULA
MSC.
Owner Personal Trainer, Athlete Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Jon Bula entered the field of strength and conditioning with the goal of being the best. To fulfill his goal he dedicated himself to achieving the highest standard of education, certifications, and practices of the newest and best techniques in the field of strength and conditioning. Jon has worked with many different athletes of varying experience and ability including NHL, WHL, and Junior A hockey players in both a strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation setting. He has worked with professional, national, and provincial level soccer and rugby players. He has also worked with professional baseball players. Jon enjoys working with all types of people as long as they are passionate and want to improve at what they do. He is a highly motivated person who demands a lot from his clients, but never any more than he would be willing to do himself. Jon feels that everyone can be an athlete with the only difference being their respective level of competition. Working with him you will quickly realize this; his training style is movement based with the focus on improved athleticism and the ability to perform.
Jon was educated at the University of British Columbia. During his nine year tenure he earned two degrees. First a Bachelor of Human Kinetics, and second a Masters of Science Degree specializing in Exercise Physiology. For six years Jon was an integral member of the Vancouver Canucks preseason physiological testing team. He served in this same capacity for the Vancouver Grizzlies for three years. Jon wrote his graduate thesis on running economy and twice has had the opportunity to present some of his work at the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference. During his graduate work Jon tested collegiate and nationally ranked runners. He really enjoys educating others and loves presenting and discussing new and innovative ideas in the field of strength and conditioning, fitness, health and wellness.
Jon considers himself to be an all-around athlete. He is an avid cyclist, triathlete, and adventure racer. He also still plays soccer, hockey, and squash when he can fit them into his busy schedule. Jon competed in two epic mountain bike stage races this past year, the Garmin Trans Portugal and the BC Bike Race. Jon is currently contemplating a few different stage races, but is really keen on getting to France to ride some of the Tour stages. Jon really enjoys educating his athletes and watching as they attain performance levels they never thought possible.
TROY DALTON
B. COMM
Owner Personal Trainer, Athlete Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Growing up in Prince George BC with his parents and two sisters, Troy enjoyed many sports and activities including baseball, golf, hiking, and fishing. Hockey was his passion. Playing on a powerful minor hockey team that included many soon to be pro’s pushed him to excel. He eventually captained the hometown junior PG Spruce Kings to the league championship in 1996. After his junior career Troy received a scholarship to play at the University of British Columbia
and spent three years completing his Bachelor of Commerce degree and captaining the hockey team.
Upon graduating Troy hung up his skates for a year to pursue a career in the brokerage business with CIBC Wood Gundy. Realizing the desire to compete was still burning inside him Troy left the business world, laced up his skates, and signed a pro contract to play in Germany. He then spent two years playing and enjoying Europe. Troy came home and stepped into a job running Elements Magazine, an outdoor adventure lifestyle magazine, for close to a year.
In 2004 Troy co-founded Groundwork Athletics with lifelong friend and training partner Jon Bula. This was the culmination of two years of planning setting out to become a top training platform for athletes: elite and recreational. As a former professional hockey player, Troy knows what it takes to set and achieve strength and conditioning goals. He now has adjusted his training converting himself into an endurance athlete focusing on Ironman. Troy is a natural leader who through Groundwork Athletics combines his three passions: people, fitness, and business. “See you on the training floor.”
ALAN WINTERFLOOD
BCRPA
Personal Trainer
Alan’s passion for health and fitness goes back 17 years when he began training himself in his high school gym and has been hooked ever since. Although training in the gym is very important and highly enjoyable for Alan his real passion is sports. It began with playing for his high school baseball team and helping his team the regional finals for the first time in team and school history. Alan attended Seneca College in Ontario following high school and during that time he began training to be Firefighter. After 1 year of intense training and schooling sessions Alan was hired as a professional Firefighter where he stayed on as a volunteer for 3 years. In The fall of 2000 Alan made the move to Whistler where he taught snowboarding as a certified snowboard instructor for 3 seasons. Alan has a strong passion for snowboarding and continues to ride the mountains as many times as possible every year. Once arriving in Vancouver Alan became certified as a Personal Trainer and has not looked back since, countless sessions later Alan has helped a number of clients reach their goals.
ALAN HORKOFF
CHEK HLCL1 , BCRPA
Personal Trainer Athlete Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Al grew up in the Okanagan where he discovered his passion for sport, health and fitness. Playing sports such as hockey, baseball and golf from a young age, he knew this was the industry for him. In 2006 he started to pursue his dream in the fitness field. While attending OUC in Kelowna, he took many classes and courses on Personal Training, sport and conditioning, health and wellness. In 2007 he became certified as a Personal Trainer and started working at an athletic center. There he trained and shadowed elite NHL, WHL and BCHL athletes. This is when he discovered that sport and conditioning was the job for him. After moving to Burnaby in 2009, Al’s passion and drive led him to Groundwork Athletics where he is building a successful career. He is very energetic and enthusiastic when is comes to training. He feels that there is nothing more rewarding when a client is reaching and achieving their fitness goals.
STELLA PURAC
BSc. BCRPA
Personal Trainer
Stella fell in love with long distance running at 13 years old and has been running and competing ever since. She also loves mountain biking, trail running, kayaking, kickboxing. Stella never started off as the best athlete in school, but she was the one that gave everything she had, came to every practice early and always tried to improve her game. This is still the attitude that she has today. Her positive, infectious enthusiasm encourages individuals of all levels of fitness and athleticism to try their best and push them to their potential. Her personality and drive convinced Groundwork Athletics to train her throughout her Personal Trainer training and certification studies. She shadowed them for over 6 months intensively. She has been with them for over 3 1/2 years. She loves being a part of the GWA team.
Initially Stella began her career with researching cancer therapeutics within the biotechnology industry after her B.Sc in Microbiology/ Biology. After many years, it became apparent that her personality was more suited to bossing people around and whipping them into shape…or rather motivating, encouraging and guiding individuals to achive their fitness goals in a safe and nurturing environment! She changed her focus from treating illness to preventing it.
SHAWN MACKENZIE
CSEP - CPT, NSCA, NCCP
Personal Trainer Athlete Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Shawn grew up in Edmonton Alberta where his passion for Alpine Ski Racing blossomed. He quickly climbed the ranks throughout the different levels of competition as one of the best. At the age of fifteen he started racing internationally as a FIS level athlete. He quickly established himself as a skier to beat and made his way up the ranks of FIS where he raced all over the world representing Canada. He raced off and on at the FIS level while being sidelined with numerous injuries. He used the injury time off of skiing to further his education; he first graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology with a diploma as a Personal Fitness Trainer. He then continued on to a University education at the University of Alberta in Physical Education. While skiing in the winters and playing baseball, golfing, mountain biking, running track, dirt biking and working out in the summers Shawn has been a gifted athlete training hard his entire life. He has been able to apply his work ethic and personal knowledge of sports into personal training for both himself and clients. He has worked with numerous professional athletes in sports such as Hockey, Baseball, Football, Soccer, Skiing, Curling, Lacrosse and Golf. He feels everyone is an athlete and can be trained in such a way with the proper direction and goal set. He has helped many achieve goals and looks forward to helping as many like-minded individuals as possible.
ANDREW BUSKARD
BHK CSEP CPT
Personal Trainer Athlete Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Andrew grew up in Point Grey, and entered the UBC Kinesiology program after high school. He played most team sports as a kid, with soccer, rugby and basketball being his favourites. In 2006 he spent year in Australia where he both played and coached rugby. Upon his return, Andrew focused his attention on school and coaching minor hockey, where his teams won three championship banners in three years. In addition to working at Groundwork Athletics, Andrew serves as a student trainer for the UBC Thunderbirds Men’s rugby team, which gives him a great understanding of sports injuries. He also has a strong understanding of lifespan exercise and health through his time spent as an instructor and personal trainer in the UBC Changing Aging program. When he isn’t at work or school, Andrew loves playing hockey and exploring the city with friends on his track bike. Andrew is an easy-going trainer who prides himself on being friendly and personable. His training philosophy is centered around understanding clients’ goals and delivering a program that not only improves fitness, durability, and functional capacity, but reduces risk of injury in the process. Andrew plans on continuing his studies with a Masters of Exercise Science degree, and his ultimate goal is to work with professional hockey teams as a strength and conditioning specialist. Not everyone aspires to bench press 200 pounds or run a 5 minute mile, but regardless of why clients come to Groundwork Athletics, Andrew can help them reach their goals!
DOUGY WILSON
BSc CSCS
Personal Trainer, Athlete Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Dougy grew up in Trail BC where his family encouraged to try his hand in every sport he could get into - hockey, baseball, basketball, track, rugby, soccer, golf, and the list goes on. Athletics has been a part of his life from a young age and continue to be to this day. His passion for competition lead him to Kelowna where he was a member of the UBCO mens varsity soccer team. After a couple years of soccer Dougy moved to the coast to finish his degree from UBC. Training has always been apart of his life and when school came to an end, the transition into personal training was a easy decision for him to make. 3 years of training now under his belt, Dougy continues to keep learning to improve upon his knowledge of fitness and recently became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Since moving down to Vancouver, he completed the BMO Vancouver Marathon, and is always on the look out for a new challenge. His goal as a trainer is to help people towards their goals related to Health and Fitness. Through his years Dougy has worked with a wide range of clients from power lifters, athletes from baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, to the everyday person looking to improve upon themselves.
