About Us
Our Philosophy
At Brightside Barbell we are working to create a gym where folks can walk in and feel at home, like our space is a place where they can show up to train and be unapologetically themselves.
The fitness industry as we know it is problematic and even abusive at times. We are constantly bombarded with images and rhetoric that serve to tell people that they are not *enough* and that they need to change. We are committed to creating a more inclusive space where misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism, body shaming, and diet culture are not casually accepted as the norm.
Whether your aim is to learn a new skill, relieve joint pain, celebrate or improve your relationship with your body, PR your Clean and Jerk, or just show up and hang out with your friends, we aim to provide incredible coaching and programming to help you have a good experience and reach your goals.
We’re not perfect, but we’re committed to continuously questioning the status quo, pushing the fitness industry and community to be better, and unlearning the societal B.S. we’ve all been taught. We strive to build a community of people that share our values and want to get stronger physically and otherwise, without the toxicity that is often so ubiquitous in fitness spaces.
Will you join us?
Meet the Team
Coach Brooks, Founder & Head Coach
Coach Brooks (they/them) has over a decade of experience in fitness coaching including CrossFit, Olympic Weightlifting, Powerlifting, personal training, corrective exercise, and nutrition. Coach Brooks holds a CrossFit Level 2 certification and a USA Weightlifting Level 1 certification. In addition to coaching, Brooks has worked in PT clinics and adaptive athletics programs around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Coach Brooks graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Francisco State University with a B.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Therapeutic Exercise and Neuromuscular Science.
Coach Emily, Co-Founder & Business Manager
Emily (she/they) is a Bay Area native who has lived in and around Oakland for the last decade. She spent her youth as a competitive swimmer but spent most of her 20s living a sedentary life. In 2014, she joined a local CrossFit gym and met Coach Brooks. The variety, the camaraderie, and the friendly competition kept her motivated in a way no other "dry land" workout experience ever had before.
Emily holds her CrossFit Online Level 1 Trainer (CF-OL1) Credential, a BA in Physical Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz, and an MBA from Mills College.
Coach Jake
Jake (he/him) began CrossFit in 2008 as a strength and conditioning program for volleyball and quickly fell in love with it. He continued pursuing it throughout his collegiate volleyball career, got his level 1 certificate in 2014, and began coaching in 2015. Jake quickly discovered a passion for coaching and obtained his level 2 certificate just a few years later in 2017. Given his background with CrossFit as it relates to sport, he is always eager to chat about how the things we do in the gym can be applied to our favorite game, sport, or just life in general. Whether it's kicking into a handstand, hitting that weightlifting goal, or even just picking yourself up off the ground, Jake loves helping people achieve things they never thought their body would be capable of doing and wants to help you build a healthy, long lasting relationship with movement and fitness.
Coach Lilly
Coach Lilly (she/her) has been a long time athlete, with basketball taking a special place in her heart. Off-season cross-training for her basketball team initially brought her to CrossFit 6 years ago and she has since competed in CrossFit competitions and hopes to continue to build her skills to see where the competitive side of the sport takes her.
Before Brightside, Lilly worked as an EMT and climbed the ladder to a management position with the help of her clinical skills and natural leadership qualities. She funnels her passion for health and helping people into her practice as a CrossFit coach.
Lilly is pursuing higher education in exercise science and will earn a B.S. in Kinesiology from San Francisco State University in 2025. Lilly hopes to pursue further education to become a Registered Nurse.
Coach Olivia
Olivia (she/her) started developing a passion for athletics in middle school, playing practically every sport offered year round. In high school she started training and eventually teaching martial arts, while also developing a love for softball. It was her connection to team and community through athletics that first drew her to CrossFit- that and watching incredibly strong women sledgehammer a 115lb brick across the floor. She sent the video to Kristen, her gym wife (and fellow Brightside coach!) and they have both been hooked ever since. Olivia is passionate about helping people connect with their bodies, get stronger, and fighting every system that has ever told her (or anybody else) to be smaller. Olivia lives in Pleasant Hill with her wife and their Puppy Finley.
Coach Liv
Liv (they/them) has been coaching CrossFit since 2009 and is the owner of United Barbell in San Francisco. In addition to CrossFit, Liv coaches functional bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting. Liv is trained to work with a wide range of athletes including adaptive athletes, older athletes, kids, and people dealing with injuries. Liv’s goal is to help people find the joy in working out. Liv is CrossFit Level 2 certified.
Outside the gym Liv enjoys going on long walks, doing endless home projects, dancing all night in a dark warehouse, and learning new things.
Coach Isa
Isa (she/her/they/them) has been coaching CrossFit since 2017. She is passionate about helping people of all ages and abilities reach their fitness goals, whether those goals are general health, athletic performance, or just to have fun. As a teen, Isa discovered sports and fitness as a tool to help her overcome negative body image and improve her health, eventually becoming a nationally ranked junior tennis player and qualifying for USA Weightlifting’s National Under 25 Championships. While Isa spends most of her time these days working toward becoming a touring professional tennis player, the friendships and community she enjoys through CrossFit has always kept her coming back to the gym.
Isa is a CrossFit Level 1 Certified Trainer, and she holds a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences: Physiology and Metabolism, and a Master of Information and Data Science, both from UC Berkeley.
