About Us
OUR ORIGINS:
Strive was born in 2018. Its origins are in a not for profit training and events organisation, Try A Tri Guernsey. The work through Try A Tri to encourage and support more people, particularly women and children, to give swim, bike and run a go, clarified a desire to build a coaching brand that offered something truly unique to our Island;. high quality coaching, fun, friendly and inclusive environments in which to learn, discover and feel better, and flexible, affordable ways to join in
OUR BELIEFS:
Strive Co-Owners, Amy and Laura, have a life-long love for multi-sport (swim, bike, run and strength) and a belief that 'fitness' can be so much more than a chore to burn excess calories. With this, we knew that sports like triathlon, swimming, cycling and running, could offer up a number of barriers to participation - whether real or imagined - but also offered boundless opportunities to discover new skills, new environments, new friendships and life-long positive relationships with our minds and bodies.
Strive is a unique experiment to make swim, bike, run and strength part of our community's every day lives.
OUR JOURNEY:
As human beings, we've faced the ups and downs that life presents. We remember falling out of love with sport as teenage girls and the challenge of starting all over again. We've faced emotional turmoils and struggles with our mental health, confidence crises and various insecurities.
Through these experiences however, movement has been our constant comfort and shining light. Our own personal histories are firmly embedded into everything we do at Strive; from the design of our sessions to the flexibility of membership, from the way we listen and ask the right questions to the drive we have to help everyone feel their best; from our love for our environment and our unrelenting passion for learning and growth.
YOU ARE WELCOME:
Whatever your past experience of training, getting fit, staying fit or competing is, we hope you'll approach Strive with an open mind. We welcome all abilities and ages and have created a timetable of sessions that suits every need: learning a new skill, improving performance or training for a specific goal, meeting new people, building better health or simply wanting to feel better in yourself,
To read more about the things we live and love, check out our Happier Healthier Talk blog.
Laura Fry, Co-Owner & Head Coach
AS AN ATHLETE:
Laura came to multi sport through her love of the outdoors and her experience managing depression and anxiety, She loves to swim in the open water, run in the wilderness (mud is her favourite surface), ride her bike and most of all, lift weights! Through finding strength in her own body, Laura has found strength of mind too and she's keen to help others do the same.
AS A COACH:
Laura leads the junior section of Strive and is passionate about creating positive experiences in sport for young people. Her aim is to help more children build life-long relationships with the water through swimming, triathlon and lifesaving. Laura also runs Strive Strength sessions and Learn Front Crawl courses for adults, both of which combine her love for technique!
QUALIFICATIONS:
BTF Level 2 Coaching, Swim England Level 2 Teacher, Level 3 Personal Training, Kinetic Revolution Certified Run Coach, British Weightlifting Level 1 Coach
Amy Critchlow, Co-Owner & Head Coach
AS AN ATHLETE:
Amy is a triathlete, surfer and marine biologist. She loves the buzz of race days, the structure of a training plan but equally values ditching the interval session for a play in the surf. Amy recently won Team Gold and Individual Bronze in the Guernsey Island Games Triathlon in 2023. She has also competed at Age Group championships in Triathlon, travelling across the globe in her GB trisuit.
AS A COACH:
Amy leads the Adult section of Strive and is passionate about making training fun and effective for everyone. She coaches a number of athletes, 1-2-1, who are training for specific endurance goals - from Iron Man to ultra marathons - and uses her wealth of experience to design athlete-centred plans for each individual. During the Open Water season, Amy takes the lead in designing memorable and safe experiences for swimmers that build fitness, skill, confidence and new friendships.
QUALIFICATIONS:
BTF Level 2 Diploma, Swim England Level 2 Teacher, LSSM Soft Tissue Therapist, Kinetic Revolution Certified Run Coach
