Brad Pickett
A firm fan favourite, Brad 'one-punch' Pickett is a tough scrappy fighter from London's east end who has become known for his gameness and fearless style of fighting. With his famous trilby and braces, Brad will bounce down to the Octagon, newspaper in hand, to the sounds of Chaz and Dave's Wallop. This is followed by the 'art of manbeasting' as Brad calls it, which means refusing to take a backward step and dominating your opponent in any way possible. After picking up numerous belts on the domestic scene, Brad graduated to the WEC before becoming a top ten contender in the UFC's bantamweight division. With numerous 'fight of the night' honours, UFC president Dana White and commentator Mike Goldberg have both confessed to being huge fans of One Punch. In between his busy training schedule, Brad is a huge gamer and can often be found dominating World of Warcraft or Diablo in his spare time.
Victor Estima
BJJ World Champion and Team Monkey Athlete, Professor Victor Estima is charismatic and full of energy; with a constant smile that reveals an extremely dedicated and intelligent athlete. A Carlos Gracie, Jr. Black Belt who, along with his brother Braulio Estima, was coached under Ze Radiola in his native Brazil, he has competed and won at the highest level in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at European, Pan-American and World Championships. Victor is the current 'No-Gi' World Champion, European 'Gi' Champion and British 'Gi' Champion. Victor's ability to clamp on submissions quickly from any position makes him a dangerous opponent who will always be looking for the finish. Based in the Midlands, Victor alongside Braulio runs the successful Gracie Barra Academies and oversees the growth of BJJ in the region. In The UK, Victor has also worked with a few MMA fighters, helping their grappling development; fighters such as the famed Team Rough House crew.
Gavin Jones
Gavin Jones is a gifted bodybuilder from Plymouth who won the 80kg 1st place at the 2011 UKBFF Welsh Qualifier. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond his control; Gavin was unable to compete in the October finals this year and therefore could not claim his rightful place as the 80kg British Champion. However Gavin is determined to show his worth in 2013 where he is tipped to take the gold!
Leo Oppenheim
Miracle man Leo Oppenheim was told he would never skate again after a horrific skating accident in 2002, which resulted in a snapped ankle; the injuries left Leo with a plate and seven screws holding him together. Having faith in his abilities, Leo continues to push himself in order to excel at his sport and with 16 years skating experience under his belt is fast becoming a pivotal figure in the skating world. Leo went on to found Flowskate in 2007, quickly realising that qualified instruction can help massively with the progression of a skater's abilities. Realising the potential benefits to fitness that skating could offer, Leo then became a qualified ICP Instructor (Now Level 2) Shokk qualified Youth Fitness Instructor, Combat Instructor, Master Balance Board Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer. In 2012 Leo became part of the UK Seba Team. Monkey found it impossible not to invite Leo to join the esteemed 'Team Monkey' and the rest is history! When not skating, Leo can be found on a squash court, in the gym training hard or on some greenland area monkeying around on his Indo board and slacklines! Jamie Paxman
Jamie started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 4 years ago and instantly fell in love with the sport. His passion and dream is to become a world champion; to gain recognition amongst his peers in the BJJ community and ultimately to have his own academy where he can share his knowledge and experiences with a new generation of young enthusiasts. Jamie trains under World Champion and Team Monkey Athlete Victor Estima at Gracie Barra Nottingham. The dedication of this young champion is without question, as Jamie trains every day with an array of high level martial artists and even UFC fighters.Josh McManus
Young up and coming MMA star Josh McManus is a recent addition to Team Monkey and we are very pleased to have him on board, if not a little wary…this young star has been putting twenty-odd year old fellas on their arse since he was 15! Josh has one goal and one goal only; to be a UFC champion and judging by his confidence and sheer determination, this is a goal that someday he will reach! With an extremely regimented coach (Jamie McManus) by his side, Josh has also had the pleasure of training with the likes of Jimmy Wallhead, Paul Daley, Andre Winner and Team Monkey's Victor Estima, as well as Wanderlei Silva and Kenny Johnson.
Matthew McKinley – Fitness Model & General Gym Rat
There's not a great deal to tell you about Matt, other than his enthusiastic good nature and his smooth, yet somewhat quirky way, seem to keep us all in good spirits here at Monkey. Matthew has a true dedication to all things gym and fitness and he currently trains at IFBB Professional Bodybuilder John Hodgson's Evolution Gym in Rochdale, Lancs. To quote our quirky little friend: 'my old man's a dustman, he wears a dustman's hat. He has cor blimey trousers and lives in a council flat'.
Ozzy Haluk – Team Monkey Head MMA Coach
Ozzy is a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, director of the MMA Studio Manchester and head coach at Fight Factory in Heywood, Lancs. With over 19 years of martial arts experience, Ozzy has competed on the MMA circuit all over the UK and retired in late 2006 with a record of 6 – 4 – 0. Popular promotions include Ultimate Combat, Cage Rage and CWFC. In 2005 he won the UK Storm Featherweight Title alongside Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy and Marc Goddard (UFC Referee). 'Coach Ozzy' is an invaluable member of Team Monkey and his strong, positive attitude helps to keep everyone in check, whilst at the same time engaging us all with his uniquely jovial side. All who have trained with him will agree that Ozzy is a true and dedicated martial artist, whose passion for teaching ranks him amongst the best MMA coaches around!Craig Budgen - Nutritionist & Body Composition Specialist
Craig Budgen is an exclusive Celebrity Personal Trainer & Nutrition Consultant who worked around the world with a wide range of clients including; hollywood actors, professional athletes, fashion models and senior corporate executives. Now he is predominately based in the city centre of Manchester, in either his private Body Composition Clinic or a luxury Personal Training Studio, where he provides a discreet and confidential service for the vast majority of his clients, often with a signed confidentiality agreement. As a leading body composition expert and due to results of his work on hollywood movie sets, Craig's personalised programmes have been described as "Hollywood's best kept secret". With a list of credible testimonies and an enviable reputation of being known as the man to go to for rapid results, it's no wonder why Craig's specialist services are in such high demand.Chris Worsley – Personal Trainer/Sports Specific
Chris is an outgoing, enthusiastic and well respected personal trainer and nutrition enthusiast. His strengths lie in sports specific training, namely football; he plays as a semi-professional at Halifax Town Football Club and his achievements include winning the Blue Square Conference North League 2011/2012 whilst at Hyde United. As a level 3 Advanced Personal Trainer Chris has proven to be a sterling addition to Team Monkey; known for his good manner and patience, Chris has an unrelenting passion for coaching on a one-on-one basis, no matter what your goal may be!Oliver Macaulay – Strength & Conditioning Coach
Ex-Rugby player Oliver joined Team Monkey not long after our launch in 2011 and has been pushing us to our fitness limits ever since! As well as assisting in strength and conditioning here at Monkey, Oliver also runs his own roof top gym within easy reach of Manchester City centre; where he continues to offer exacting methods and innovative approaches, in order to help you achieve and maintain your desired level of fitness and ideal physique.Greg Johnson – Personal Trainer
Team Monkey would like to welcome on board one of our newest members, Greg Johnson. Greg is a black belt in karate and the founder of 'The FORCE Principles'. He has a young, vibrant and open-mind, which he uses to help lead a team of personal trainers at Cheshire Fitness, alongside his business partner Glenn Williams. Greg's attention to detail and his passion to innovate, promises to see him become one of the fitness industries leading names over the next few years!
Paul Mason – Personal Trainer
Paul is a long standing member of Team Monkey and has proven to be a real asset; with over 30 years' experience in sports and fitness, both as an active sportsman and in the Health and Fitness industry. Paul has a wealth of knowledge which he has utilized in order to create Cheshire Personal Training; through which he shares his vast knowledge in order to enrich and enhance the lives of others.
Louis Brogan - PT/Fitness and Bodybuilding Competitor
Louis has had a keen passion for fitness and bodybuilding ever since he was a
youngster and first set out to achieve his dreams five years ago when he joined a local gym. Since then his knowledge of training and capacity for healthy eating, has allowed him to understand the importance of nutrition and its role in achieving the ultimate physique. Louis's confidence started to grow and he then decided to enter his first competition - Fitness Britain (Louis is an all natural competitor). Coming second out of a category of seven was a great start, which reinforced his commitment to compete again until he reaches his goal of first place and ultimately Pro Status. Louis currently works as a personal trainer at DW Macclesfield and is a Team Monkey ambassador and PT adviser.
Sam Clarke - PT/Royal Marine
Sam Clarke is a very determined, motivated and enthusiastic personal trainer. He has years of experience within the fitness industry and also has three
ongoing years within the Royal Marines. His persistent dedication and drive to
improve and get better within the fitness industry has made him a very
reputable individual. His training focuses on crossfit, strength, high intensity interval training and circuit training; with his dedication and devotion to Crossfit and all around fitness. Sam 's main aim is to enter the Crossfit regionals next year.
Amy Rigby - Bikini Athlete/Competitor
Amy has been competing since October last year and has entered 3 comps so far. Her first was Miss Galaxy Universe Fall Classic 2012, where she placed 1st Beach Body and 2nd place Yummy Mummy. Next she competed in the NABBA Toned Figure Finals and placed 3rd. Amy's most recent comp was the Miami Pro World Championships (April 2013) , where she placed 2nd in Ms Bikini Tall class. Amy's other passion is dance and she has trained at The Royal Ballet School as a professional dancer.
