Our Team
Our goal is to promote longevity, foster an exceptional community and make exercise fun. We are all committed to ensuring you have the best experience possible, and are constantly learning, researching and improving our knowledge to offer you the best approach to fitness, wellness and nutrition. If you are interested in coaching at Sanitas, learn more here.
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Dwight Upshaw
Head Coach
Dwight Upshaw is a seasoned CrossFit coach with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He spent three years starting in 2021 as the Head Coach and Programming Director for the PRVN Affiliate with world champion, Tia Claire-Toomey. During his time at PRVN he honed his skills in programming, leadership, and coaching CrossFit Games athletes. Dwight has now returned to CrossFit Sanitas, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to helping athletes reach their full potential. His passion for fitness and community continues to inspire those around him.
Growing up in Northern California, he started out in track, football, swimming, baseball, and soccer. In college, he was a D-1 rower on the UC Berkeley Crew Team. He later transitioned into triathlons and multi-sport racing and was part of the UC Berkeley Tri Team that won the Collegiate National Championship.
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 3 Trainer
CrossFit Weightlifting 1 & 2
CrossFit Gymnastics
CrossFit Endurance
CrossFit Kids
CrossFit Mobility
NASM Certified Personal Trainer -
Lori Cooper
Coach & Business Manager
Lori Cooper was raised in Buffalo NY and moved to Boulder for graduate school and more importantly, to play in the mountains. She met her husband at CU and they started an endurance lifestyle together. They started with marathons and then competed in their first mountain trail ultra marathon in 2003. After her two beautiful girls were born, the Cooper family moved to the East Coast and then on to Europe. Lori fell in love with CrossFit and coached in the Netherlands for over 3 years.
Lori's believes that the CrossFit methodology can help all achieve their fitness goals…from those looking to keep up with their grandkids to those athletes forging the competitive path. She is passionate about helping others on their fitness journey and believes that we are stronger together.
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer
Crossfit Gymnastics -
Sara-Marie Ellis
Coach
Growing up on the East Coast, Sara-Marie spent 15 years as a competitive gymnast. Her gymnastics journey was cut short by a career ending injury. However, that challenge opened the door to a new love—coaching. Sara-Marie found immense joy in helping others reach their potential, emphasizing the importance of good movement and technique for safety and injury prevention.
In September 2023, her cousins brought her to there “bring a friend” week at there CrossFit gym and within 15 minutes of taking her first CrossFit class, she knew this is exactly where she belonged. In October 2023, Sara-Marie moved to the West Coast seeking new adventures. She immediately signed up for the L1 course before becoming a member at the gym and earned it just two weeks after joining CrossFit Sanitas. Coaching is my passion. I’m dedicated to helping others achieve their goals, pushing them to be their best while ensuring they stay safe and strong
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer -
Zac Chavez
COACH & WEIGHTLIFTING SPECIALIST
Zac is from Lafayette, CO and has been coaching CrossFit for the past 9+ years (the last 2 were as Head Coach at Longmont CrossFit). He started wrestling at 5 and competed throughout high school, placing at state finals for Lafayette’s Centaurus High School team. He then found MMA fighting and started competing on a national level for 8 years (coaching MMA for 5).
Zac found CrossFit to be the perfect supplement to his MMA training program and at 26, he made the switch to competing and coaching in CrossFit. More recently, Zac won and broke the record for his age and weight class in the 2022 International Weightlifting Championships. He also won Nationals. Zac runs the Sanitas Strength program.
He is also a father and lives in Longmont with his fiance Ashley (whom he met at a CrossFit competition) and his three lovely girls Athena (12), Artemis (6) and Aries (4).
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer
USAW Level 1
CrossFit Gymnastics
Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt -
Sydney Rechtzigel
Coach
Sydney hails from Detroit, Michigan and has continued to up her game as an athlete since joining the Sanitas community last year. She works as a full-time nutritionist and is returning to school to become a registered dietician. Sydney enjoys surfing, travel, and watching movies with her kitties. She has her CrossFit L1 certificate and holds personal training and sports nutrition certifications from NASM.
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
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Quinn Hughes
COACH
Quinn was raised in six different countries - the daughter of two U.S. diplomats. This is why she is always open to new experiences and loves learning. She is especially energized by the way sport/ fitness/ movement brings people together across cultures. To connect with local communities, she has immersed herself in activities such as volleyball, rock climbing, salsa, and muay thai, but she fell in love with Crossfit in 2016.
Quinn became a coach to support others on their fitness journey and inspire them to say yes to as many experiences as possible beyond the gym.
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer -
Nashley Banister
NUTRITIONIST
Nashley has been an athlete all her life and has a masters in Nutrition Science. Before finding CrossFit, Nashley was a personal trainer and professional dancer performing with Concert Dance Inc. Now she is hooked on CrossFit and wants to help others improve their nutrition and lifestyle habits to reach their goals, whether those goals are better performance, leaning out, adding muscle, or just feeling better. She takes a holistic view of your overall health focusing on nutrition, exercise, sleep and hydration to help you build the best long-term habits. She has worked with 100+ active clients over the years.
CREDENTIALS:
MS Chemistry in Nutrition Sciences
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certification
Certified Personal Trainer and Weight Loss Specialist -
Melissa Roza
OWNER & OPERATOR
Melissa has been running CrossFit Sanitas since 2013. She discovered CrossFit while seeking a more well-rounded exercise program than trail running following the birth of her twins. With four kids, Melissa experiences the real-life time challenges mothers face every day. She has found CrossFit to be the most efficient form of exercise to fit into her busy lifestyle.
Melissa is a CU grad, reformed investment banker and silicon valley tech professional. CrossFit Sanitas is her second entrepreneurial venture after running a desination wedding planning company in France and Italy. Currently , she is the Executive Director for the Vertile Foundation focused on helping abandoned and orphaned children in Haiti. Her fitness journey has included running, mountain biking, swimming, triathlons, yoga and dance.
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer -
Eric Roza
OWNER & ADVISOR
A lifelong fitness nut, Eric discovered CrossFit in 2008 after a running injury and high-cholesterol diagnosis had him wondering if age had finally caught up with him. Within six months of CrossFit, he was in the best shape of his life, and both problems were a thing of the past!
He also serves on several boards related to health and wellness, and prior to his role at CrossFit, Inc. he was CEO of Datalogix (a data marketing company) which was acquired by Oracle. During his time as CEO, Datalogix/Oracle grew to 2k+ employees and emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing technology companies in Colorado. It was also named a top 100 company to work for by both Fortune and Outside Magazines.
CREDENTIALS:
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer