Meet the Coaching Team!
Heaps of experience? Extreme knowledge? Fab personalities?
Yep, our coaches have got it all.
We care about how you feel in the gym and when you leave. So, our coaches and team work together to create a nurturing community for our babes. Each coach adding their unique understanding and journey to the community.
Rochene Hawley
Nickname: Ro
Head Coach and The Boss
Hi, I’m Ro, the Kiwi born founder of Barbell Babes Brigade.
I lead this crazy team, I’m a mum to Lexie, my wild child, and I own Women In Strength, a mentoring business for fitness and health coaches.
I believe that every woman deserves to know what it feels like to explore her strength. So, I created BBB because I wanted a space and community that was purpose built for our ladies. A place where we could be unapologetically us every damn day.
Working in the fitness industry since 2013, I’m also a Powerlifting Australia Coach and I had the thrill of performing as an International Athlete in 2015.
Sharing my knowledge and empowering women to find confidence in their bodies and minds is so fulfilling. Along with earning my post graduate degree in Science, I’m always reading and learning about fitness and health to continually educate myself, my team and my clients.
Along with running two businesses, I host the podcast Women in Strength <link to podcast on Spotify>. If you want a peek into what it’s like working as a coach, head on over and listen to the latest episode.
When I’m not ripping my hair out over Lexie’s latest antics, you’ll find me curled up with a Harry Potter book, lifting weights or using my creativity to make things. (Seriously though, I love my little girl beyond compare.)
Specialities:
Powerlifting
Comp coaching
Business Mentoring
Strength in body and mind Speaking her mind
Victoria Bishop
Nickname: Tori
Level 2 Coach and Powerlifting Coach
Our awkward turtle, Tori, loves Lego, walking amongst the trees and listening to personal development podcasts. Becoming a member of the Brigade in 2017, Tori embraced her goofy side and she spent the year growing her physical strength, giving her so much more than stronger muscles. Her mentality was no longer a hindrance but a force to lift her up, and she overcame obstacles in every area of life.
Halfway through her year of training, she realised this was what she wanted to do as a career. So, she began studying personal training and became Ro’s sidekick, shadowing Ro in the gym. They chatted about everything, from troubleshooting a client’s deadlift to how every life event relates to a Harry Potter scene.
In 2018, Tori started training our babes. She knew how strength training creates an internal compass, guiding you in the right direction, and wanted to help our babes see it too. Growing and learning along the way, she faced her challenges and found that the bar doesn’t lie. When you lift, you must confront your self-doubt.
Tori devours pasta and garlic bread, but even greater than her love for Italian food is her delight at being on the journey with her clients. Seeing each woman as her own combination of strength and struggles, she enjoys using training to help them navigate life. The moment when a babe suddenly realises that she can achieve something she never thought possible is like watching the sun rise.
Specialities:
Technical trainer
Devouring pasta and garlic bread
Rachel Keily
Nickname: Rach
Level 1 Coach and Headstand enthusiast
Our whacky Rach started in the fitness industry in 2010 when she was gaining her certificate III and VI qualifications. She loves an adventure and laughs at epic wins and fails alike.
She’s not just here for the food (but hello caramel slice!), she also thrives on the ever-growing opportunities, the life lessons and the gal’s pets. Rach loves how strength training complements all other areas of her life, like hiking in the rain, snow or sunshine.
Rach completed her degree in Exercise and Sport Science at the start of 2019 and enjoys sharing her knowledge with our babes. She’s got a special knack for troubleshooting, plus she easily spots and corrects imbalances that could have led to injury.
When she’s not fly-fishing with her partner, you’ll find her camping, four-wheel driving or visiting the beach. She winds down from adventuring by hanging out with her two dogs Whiskey, a German Shepherd, and Pork, a German Shorthaired Pointer.
Specialties:
Troubleshooting lifting techniques
Pain management
Searching for the WHY behind everything and passing her knowledge onto her clients
Brochelle Higgins
Nickname: Bro
Gym General Manager
Bro’s extensive experience in the corporate world (she survived the neck ties and high heels for 12 years!) means she knows how to be organised. After 6 years of running her own business, then managing another gym, she brought her bubbly personality to the team at the start of 2020. Using her natural creativity for solving problems, she’s the Brigade’s master of admin and numbers.
The babes love chatting with Bro because they know she’ll always be real with them. Plus, she’s compassionate, understanding and easily relates to where they’re at.
Bro’s always loved lifting weights and she reached her best squat of 120kg before injuring her back. She then started training with Ro during her rehabilitation, slowly gaining more strength in her back and core. Working together they steadily increased the weight she could squat. Surpassing her previous record, Bro competed in the Nationals in 2019 where she hit 155kg and won 3rd place. Along with loving a good joke, (what did the Blonde say to the Brunette when she swung the kettlebell?) Bro’s favourite place to be is chilling with her two cats. When she’s not snuggling with her pets, you’ll find her at a Mexican or Greek restaurant, chowing down on delicious food with her husband.
Silvester Tan
Nickname: Sly
Personal Assistant to Ro, Administrator and Tech Wiz
Part nerd and part superhero, Sly takes care of the systems and technical set up for BBB. Like Thor wielding his hammer, he saves the day when the tech doesn’t want to cooperate.
Working in gyms since he was 11 years old, his experience covers a variety of modalities including:
– Gymnastics
– Bodybuilding
– CrossFit
– Olympic lifting
– Tumbling
– Rock climbing
He’s learnt a heck of a lot and made a few mistakes along the way (so he’ll help you avoid making them too).
A gym junkie and huge foodie, his love of French cuisine is rivalled by his extensive background working in a nursing home, on two cruise ships, a casino, three hotels, a call centre, nightclubs and multiple gyms. He’s also waited, bartended and managed pubs, bars and restaurants in London and Melbourne.
This led to consulting for restaurants and bars, helping open a private whisky/rum/cigar club and assisting with the running a private gym in Canberra. The chocolate chip on Sly’s cake of experience was owning a Personal Training business. But nothing beats the fulfilment he gets from being a part of the team.
Sly enjoys being creative with problem solving and analytical environments, combining his technical minded nature with his unusual sense of innovation.
Specialties:
Being Asian yet not a master at computer games and having only average mathematics skills
Making cocktails superior to what you get in bars
Loving every exercise that everyone else hates (pull ups, front squats…)
We’re committed to helping you conquer life’s hurdles
Our devotion to our community goes beyond making each other laugh and serving up delicious snacks at morning tea. We work hard to ensure we’re providing exceptional strength training for women every day on the gym floor. Our caring team nurtures the wellbeing of our babes, creating an environment you’ll feel safe and comfortable in.
For us, our gym is more than just a place to work. It’s where we change women’s experience of the fitness industry. We want you to feel like our gym is your second home. A place where you go to burn off frustration and honour your body. The place where you find friends and build your support crew.
We will only send you awesome stuff
