Meet the Team

Sam Brown – Director, Osteopath, Pilates Instructor, PT

Osteopathy has been Sam’s desired career since a knee injury at 14 years old. He graduated with a Masters of Osteopathy in New Zealand and has separate qualifications in Personal Training and Pilates rehabilitation. Sam has a long history of swimming, being a 2-time New Zealand representative and a recipient of a Sir Murray Halberg New Zealand Sports Award.

He also studied Goju Ryu Karate for 6 years, and still has a keen interest in martial arts. Sam is a Marvel superhero movie and Star Wars nerd and thinks of himself as an amateur single malt whisky connoisseur.

Sam has a keen interest in:

• Headaches and Migraines
• Hip and Shoulder Pain
• Intervertebral Disc Pain
• Nerve Pain
• Core and Posture
• Functional Strength/KLT Training

Sam is passionate about prevention and ongoing management of conditons and enjoys incorporating his experience and passion in Kinetic Link Training in his treatment plans.

Gary Choi – Osteopath

Gary has successfully practiced manual therapy in Sydney’s east for more than 20 years, initially in therapeutic massage and then followed by 16 years of Osteopathic practices. The outcome has been invaluable experience in treating a variety of illnesses, ranging from the most common back and neck complaints to more severe nerve problems and long term chronic diseases.

A father and fitness enthusiast – having spent much of his time pursuing fitness activities in his
personal life such as indoor rock climbing, cycling, scuba diving, bodybuilding and 10 years
Dragon boat racing and representing Australia at a National level, Gary finds it natural and
instinctive when it comes to treating sports and occupational related injuries. And yet, also has
the versatility to move easily from athletes to pregnancy patients who require more sympathetic
nurturing approach.

His interests include:

• Sports Injuries
• Headaches/Migraines
• Back/Shoulder/Neck Pain
• Joint/Nerve Pain
• Muscle Strains/RSI
• Pre and Post Pregnancy Issues

Gary’s genuine concern and interest in the welfare of each of his patients has lead him to perfect a subtle and persuasive treatment style. You are in the right hands.

Riley Dunn – Exercise Physiologist

Having grown up being involved in various sports such as mountain biking, touch football, AFL and tennis, it is no wonder Riley chose to pursue a career in health and fitness. As an Exercise Physiologist, she gets to marry her experience and love for movement with her desire to help and teach others that exercise is truly individualistic and differs according to each person’s needs, lifestyle and expectations. She has previous experience as a Remedial Massage Therapist, working in both sporting and clinical environments. She is also currently involved in exercise oncology research at QUT, with hopes to pursue further research in the oncology field as an academic later in her career. With her qualifications, Riley has the skills to assess, identify and implement tailored exercise prescriptions to assist with the management and prevention of a variety of health concerns, including:

• Aging Population – Including falls risk prevention, bone health, and strength maintenance
• Musculoskeletal Concerns – Including Osteoarthritis, chronic pain, injury & surgery rehabilitation
• Diabetes Mellitus Type I & II
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Exercise for Cancer – Including management of symptoms during chemotherapy treatment
• Neurological Conditions – Including Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury, Brain Injury, Alzheimer’s Disease and Hereditary/Congenital Conditions
• Mental Health – Including Anxiety & Depression, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Affective Disorder
• Chronic Fatigue
• Kidney Disease
• Bone Health
• Women’s Health

Phoebe Starling – Accredited Practising Dietitian

It was while working as a Radiation Therapist and treating patients with cancer, that Phoebe was inspired to move from treatment to prevention. She returned to university to study Nutrition.  Fast forward eight years and Phoebe is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, an Accredited Nutritionist and a member of the Dietitians Association of Australia with experience in a range of areas, including the following:

• Weight management
• Type 2 Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Food Intolerance, Food Allergy, Coeliac Disease
• Maternal & Infant Nutrition
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Management of reflux, gout or diverticular disease

Passionate about chronic disease prevention and management, Phoebe enjoys working with clients to make positive changes to improve their health. She also has a special interest in the dietary management of food allergies, intolerances and irritable bowel syndrome.

In Phoebe’s spare time, she is a mother to one year old Felix and loves bushwalks, picnics and trips to the beach!

Paul Prizbilla– Remedial Massage Therapist

Paul first began learning about the healing benefits of massage fifteen years ago through teaching martial arts and realising the importance of being able to assist students with injuries they sustained.   

Since studying Remedial Massage Therapy at Q Academy Newstead Paul continues to hone his skills incorporating all he has learned to assist clients in obtaining relief from pain and restricted movement.   By continually learning and researching Paul is able to educate and assist clients to experience comfort and reach their physical best. 

Paul has a love and appreciation of sport, especially AFL football and assists the AFL umpires of the QAFL and NEAFL on game days providing massage support.  This in addition to his twenty year passion for martial arts allows him to understand and appreciate the dedication his clients have for their sports and recreational pursuits and the need to stay in optimal physical health to achieve their goals.

Paul’s versatile massage style can help with:

• Neck/Shoulder Pain
• Back Pain
• Sports Injuries/Mainenance
• Deep Tissue Aches and Pains
• Relaxation

Shauna Brown – Pilates Instructor

Shauna has been teaching Pilates since 2005. She has a background in health and exercise and a love of sport which led her to Pilates for rehabilitation. She completed her clinical training with Polestar Pilates.  Shauna loves the way Pilates is so adaptable and versatile to bodies of all shapes and sizes. “With Pilates you can do well and get great results at any age and fitness level”

Her hobbies include interior design, crime solving novels, lots of coffee milkshakes, and spending time with Sam and their one-year old son Harry.

Sandra Nixon – Pilates Instructor

With a background in Medical Science, Health and Fitness, combined with a love of all things sports related, Sandra took up Pilates to help the rehabilitation process of a chronic injury. She fell in love immediately. After experiencing the results in her own body and seeing how the recovery process of her injuries excelled, she wanted to help others feel the amazing benefits of Pilates.

Sandra believes everyone can benefit from Pilates and you are never too young or old to start; from pain and stress management, to general health and fitness as well as sports specific training, Sandra loves to design programs and workouts that benefit her clients both physically and mentally. She also believes Pilates is meant to be fun and strives to make every session so; laughing is one of her favourite exercises to prescribe to clients.

Sandra is a qualified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and is also currently studying Osteopathy. In her (rare) spare time, you’ll find her at F45, the beach or watching House Hunters re runs.

Anouk Condie – Pilates Instructor

Anouk has always enjoyed Pilates, yoga and keeping fit. Despite suffering from long-term back pain, Pilates has always been her exercise of choice and even helped tremendously in her own rehabilitation.

In order to share the joy of movement with others, Anouk began her Certificate 4 in matwork and a Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction and hasn’t looked back since.

Anouk is married with 2 girls and encourages her household to fit some Pilates into their day. Anouk is a keen bush-walker and loves the outdoors.