Name: Sean
Instagram: @silverback_spartan
Role: Co-founder and Coach of Team Grit OCR
About Me: 10 years ago I was overweight, didn’t exercise and spent my night eating fast food and drinking beer. 8 years ago I decided to make a change and started swimming and lifting weights in a half arsed attempt to feel better, it didn’t work. 3 years ago I found Spartan and it changed how I viewed fitness and my relationship with exercise. Since then I’ve embraced functional training and running, adjusted my diet for performance, became a certified PT and SGX coach and started training athletes at all levels of the sport. I’m now one of the head SGX coaches in Singapore and a Spartan Ambassador. I’ve helped athletes achieve goals ranging from finishing their first Sprint to competing, coming top 10 and, winning elite races at all distances. I also race myself but my true passion for OCR lies in coaching and helping others to increase fitness and performance.
The startline to my last event of 2019: the 51km Elite Ultra where I placed 7th after a small injury around 13km from the end.
Race History: Since first trying a Spartan Race in 2017 I’ve taken part in more than 20 Spartan Races, and branched out into taking part in other OCR events, stair races, and other fitness competitions. In December 2018 I achieved my first AG podium taking 2nd place at a Sprint. Shortly after I placed 3rd in AG at the 2019 Singapore Stadion event and a 2nd place AG later in the year. In the second half of 2019 I took part in 2 Spartan Ultras in the space of 4 weeks placing 6th place in Elite at the first and 7th at the second.
Biggest achievement in OCR: My biggest achievement has been in coaching, after taking on the role as Jessie’s coach (as well as husband) at the end of the 2018 season as she made the switch over to Elite for 2019 we had one goal for her, to achieve top 10 in her first race and a top 5 finish by the end of the year. She smashed this and has achieved way more than we had planned for in OCR (click here to read more of Jessie’s story) but my biggest achievement and proudest moment as a coach and partner was seeing her complete the year injury free and with her love of the sport intact.
My First Age-group race
After racing a year in Elite I decided to jump into the AG Sprint in December 2018, a strong run with no burpees earnt me a 2nd place finish and my first podium.