Coaches

Quint Fischer

Founder & Head Coach – He / Him

My journey into physical improvement began as a sophomore in high school when my oldest brother brought me to the gym to prepare for the upcoming lacrosse season. From there, weight training and fitness enhancement have become focal points of my life. I discovered CrossFit in December of 2007 and began coaching in August of 2008 at Primal Fitness in Washington, DC. I would later serve as an Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit coach at Balance Gym from July 2010 to June 2012. Most of my time in DC was split between coaching and working as an intelligence analyst at INTERPOL Washington. I have coached a variety of people ranging in age, skill level, and sport — from weightlifters to CrossFitters and roller derby jammers to Members of Congress. I had the honor of coaching Christy Phillips (née Adkins) at the 2009 CrossFit Games, where she placed 6th overall. Since 2015, I have served as the strength & conditioning coach for the Rose City Rollers Wheels of Justice, four-time WFTDA World Champions (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019). I am a firm believer in strength development, mobility, structural balance, movement quality, and the Utah Jazz.

Certifications & Seminars

CrossFit Level 1 – October 2008
USAW Level 1 Sports Performance – October 2010
USAW Level 2 Advanced Sports Performance – June 2016
Functional Movement Screen – April 2012
CrossFit Football – August 2014
OPT CCP Assessment (in progress)
OPT CCP Program Design (in progress)
Kelly Starrett’s Movement & Mobility – January 2010
Robb Wolf’s Paleolithic Nutrition – January 2010
Greg Everett’s Olympic Weightlifting – January 2009

Jay Mendoza

Head Coach – He / Him

Jay has been a professional in the health, fitness, strength & conditioning and Olympic weightlifting realm for nearly a decade and a half, with his earliest coaching experiences coming from his days as a CrossFit Level 1 trainer in Southern California. It was in this time frame that Jay was heavily involved in the competitive aspect of CrossFit and served as a team member for an affiliate team that competed in the now-defunct Southern California Regionals.

Over time, Jay’s interests and expertise shifted to prioritizing strength through resistance training and barbell-based strength training with a large emphasis on Olympic-style weightlifting. He began actively coaching and competing in the sport of weightlifting and achieved national-level qualification in 2015 as a competitor in the 77kg weight category. Since then, he has coached a significant number of weightlifting athletes to the national level as well as masters-aged athletes to the international level.

Jay has significant experience in Olympic weightlifting, barbell-based strength training, strength & conditioning, and hypertrophy-focused bodybuilding-style training as the primary vehicle for helping people and athletes achieve high levels of performance and get healthier and fitter. He has worked with a broad spectrum of athlete populations; from your everyday general fitness enthusiasts to highly experienced national-level weightlifters and prides himself in his ability to coach through a lens of empathy, inclusivity, and trauma-sensitivity.

When he isn’t pouring his heart and soul into helping others refine their Olympic weightlifting skills, he can be found studying in order to complete his Master of Public Health degree, attending various live music events, spending time outdoors, and generally enjoying the many amazing things the city of Portland has to offer with his incredibly cute corgi/Aussie shepherd mix named Vader.

Certifications & Seminars

Master of Public Health – Health Promotion
OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (In-progress)
Bachelor of Science in Public Health- Community Health Promotion
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sport Performance Coach
USA Weightlifting Level 2 Advanced Weightlifting Coach

Emma Krnacik

Coach – She / Her

As a former rugby player, I transitioned to CrossFit in 2018 as a more sustainable option for my body. In this space, I’ve found life-long friends and a local community that I value very deeply. I’ve been fortunate enough to channel this love into coaching, where I’m able to encourage others to find confidence in their own bodies through the barbell. You can also find me playing board games with my friends, making DIY furniture (equipped with very little knowledge, ample YouTube videos, and an unwavering belief in myself), or hiking with my dog, Rey.

Certifications & Seminars

First Aid/CPR/AED
ACE Group Fitness Instructor Certification – 2023
ACE Personal Trainer Certification – 2023
USAW L1 – 2024

Olivia Dudo

Coach – She / They

I found coaching thanks to the coaches I’ve had throughout my life. Good coaches have made me a stronger, more capable athlete, adding new layers to my physical fitness through high school sports, college lacrosse, distance running, and most recently CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting. But it has been the great coaches, like our founder Quint–the listeners, teachers, the ones that show up every day for their athletes– that inspire me and my coaching practices most. As a coach at Portland Strength Collective, I will make sure you feel strong, capable, and listened to every time you enter our space. I’ll use all the tools in my tool belt, passed down from my coaches, to make sure you learn new things and you love doing it! Everyone deserves to learn what their body can do–whether it’s your first squat or your latest PR. I believe caring for our bodies–learning our bodies, knowing our bodies–is the first step in caring for others and caring for our communities.

Certifications & Seminars

First Aid/CPR/AED
ACE Group Fitness Instructor Certification – 2021
ACE Personal Trainer Certification – 2021

Steph Brownstein

Coach – They / Them

Movement and team sports have been a big part of my life from a very young age, starting in elementary school and progressing to D1 collegiate field hockey. CrossFit entered my life shortly after moving to central Illinois in 2010 where adult sport opportunities were few and far between. I instantly found community, as well as a fresh humbling in all the ways a person could be “fit”.  

I’ve seen strength training provide a sense of achievement and resilience that carries over into so many other areas of life. I started coaching CrossFit in 2019 in hopes of helping others experience personal growth and haven’t looked back since. Joy through fitness looks different for everyone, and I’m deeply passionate about supporting each person’s journey.

Outside of the gym, I’m your typical PNW outdoorsy queer who loves hiking, biking, skiing, bouldering, and making homemade kombucha. You can find me around Portland drinking fancy lattes, getting way too excited about birds, and nerding out about environmental engineering.

Certifications & Seminars

CrossFit Level 1 – April 2019
CrossFit Level 2 – January 2024
First Aid/CPR/AED

Nick Kuzma

Coach – He / Him

Nick brings a pragmatic yet passionate approach to fitness, shaped by his concurrent roles as CEO of Stesso (a learning platform for home projects, currently in beta) and VP of Growth at Chptr (an emerging memorialization platform). Balancing the demands of leadership in the startup world with a steadfast commitment to personal health, Nick views fitness as an indispensable part of his routine. His deep involvement in the fitness community reflects his belief in the power of physical well-being to enhance every aspect of life.

With over a decade of experience in CrossFit, strength conditioning, and Olympic lifting, Nick sees the gym as a vital counterbalance to the pressures of professional life. This connection between mind and body wellness is a principle he lives by, grounding his work with the discipline and focus drawn from his fitness practice.

Certifications & Seminars

First Aid/CPR/AED
ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor (in-progress)