Who We Are

Megan Williamson BA, NASM CPT

Megan’s love and interest in human movement began young. She grew up on Vancouver Island as a classically trained competitive dancer, which eventually led to her teaching her own classes by the age of 14. Aiming to pursue a career as a choreographer, she enrolled at the University of California at Irvine and completed her BA in Dance.

Pursuing a Career in Fitness

After graduating from UC Irvine, she leveraged her professional dance training to transition into the extremely competitive fitness industry in Los Angeles, where she quickly became a personal trainer at Equinox. During her time there, she continued her education, focusing on Kinesiology, Anatomy, Physiology, and certifications for Functional Movement Screening (FMS), becoming a Post Rehab Fitness Specialist, Special Population Training, and Precision Nutrition. It was during this time that she started to recognize her passion for rehab and adaptive exercise coaching.

Discovering Her Passion for Rehabilitation & Adaptive Fitness

Megan left Equinox as a Tier 3+ trainer with seven years of experience, having worked with clients from 13 to 82 years old, although she was primarily focused on those who were middle aged or post-surgery/injury. Arthritis, osteoarthritis and Cerebral Palsy were some common challenges for the clients she was working with on a weekly basis. In addition to this, she also left Los Angeles with over 150 hours of hands-on work as a physical therapist’s aid at their clinic.

Why Do I Do What I Do?

I am grateful that every day I get be a part of people’s success stories: helping educate and show them that disabilities have no boundaries when it comes to fitness.

When she moved to Vancouver in 2014 to study Kinesiology at UBC, she ended up connecting with ICORD’s Physical Activity Research Center (PARC) through one of her professors. This was one of the most pivotal moments in her career because it led her to where she is now! Through volunteering at PARC, she was able to assist participants with their fitness programs and educate herself further on adaptive exercise.

She has since completed a number of courses, including Spinal Cord Injury and Training, hosted by Spinalis from Sweden and held at ICORD, and attended many specialized conferences, including the Functional Anatomy for Movement & Injuries Workshop at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Megan’s recently completed her Pilates for Neurological Conditions course which is recognized through Pilates Alliance.

Building an Adaptive Fitness Community

It has also been over these past few years during which she has been grateful for the opportunity to create Ocean Rehab and Fitness. Its mission statement, “Bridging the gap between rehab and fitness”, is what she strives to achieve on a daily basis, connecting and working with people living with neurological disabilities through their post-rehab or fitness journey. Now she primarily coaches and facilitates sessions for those that are living with a variety of neuromuscular dysfunctions, including MS and spinal cord injuries.

She’s very proud to be an active member of the adaptive fitness community, and can be found running adapted boot camps, training events for Spinal Cord Injury BC and dance classes through BC Wheelchair Basketball. She also creates one-on-one customized sport programs for adaptive athletes who are training in sports like wheelchair rugby, floorball, and wheelchair basketball. Megan loves putting her energy towards creating more fitness accessibility, such as teaming up with the cities of Greater Vancouver to help teach Inclusive Fitness Training to their parks and recreation staff.

Megan’s most recent venture has been the creation of the course Breaking Barriers: fundamentals of training clients with physical disabilities, which is a course providing other fitness professionals awareness and skills to successfully coach those with physical disabilities. You can also purchase the text book Breaking Barriers here.

Chris Sinclaire- R.Kin, BSc KIN, Canfitpro CPT

Chris’ passion for sport and fitness began at a very young age when he excelled in gymnastics and martial arts. This passion continues today, as Chris is an avid gym-goer and dancer. Chris’ experience with his own sport-related injuries inspired him to learn more about the biopsychosocial underpinnings of human movement and how this can be used as a tool to restore and improve functional well-being in others.

Chris has his Breaking Barriers: Fundamentals of Training Clients with Physical Disabilities certification and graduated from UBC’s Kinesiology program in 2022. He plans to eventually pursue a Masters of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. Chris has experience working with children and adults who have different types of physical disabilities, as well as emotional and cognitive challenges. In his downtime, Chris enjoys hiking, playing video games, and making funny TikToks. He also has an obsession with food and is even a professionally trained chef!

If you would like to train with Chris, specifically, contact us.

Julie Meier- CANFITPRO CPT

Julie is CanFitPro certified and has enjoyed instructing group fitness classes and working one-on-one with clients for over 15 years. She has had the opportunity to work with many diverse populations and, while she specializes in older adult fitness, balance and fall prevention, she loves encouraging the joy of movement for every body. 

Originally certified back in the days of bodysuits and intense high-impact choreography, she has been pleased to watch the fitness industry change and grow over the years, becoming far more inclusive and accessible for all. 

Julie holds her adaptive fitness certification through NACIF, having completed the course Breaking Barriers: Fundamentals of Training Clients with Physical Disabilities. She has taken numerous fitness courses on training with those who have diverse challenges such as MS, diabetes, and arthritis. 

When Julie is not teaching, she can be found working on her farm east of Calgary, caring for her sheep, ducks, bees, and dogs and writing about their antics. If you look closely, you’ll probably find tufts of wool stuck to her yoga pants, as she is also a fibre artist.  In her free time, she loves sneaking away to the Rocky Mountains for some quality time with her family.

If you would like to train with Julie, specifically, contact us.