MEET THE TEAM
JOHN HALLIS
FOUNDER & COACH
My first ocean swim was in February 2010 when I was encouraged to swim to raise money for a mate’s wife who had breast cancer. At the time I was over 120kg, extremely unfit and wasn’t confident swimming a lap in the pool let alone a kilometre from Shelley Beach to Manly. My 14yo daughter was so worried I would drown that she swam alongside me.
My wife says I came out of the water a changed man. I signed up for every ocean swim that summer and then started running to work via the local pool. That September I got my first road bike.
In 2012 I was diagnosed with adult ADHD. It was a relief to finally understand what was going on in my head and how it was impacting every aspect of my life. Regular exercise became a lifeline in bringing structure and calm to an otherwise disordered existence.
My first triathlon in 2011 was a sprint. Not far into the 5k run, I swore I would never ever do anything longer! But I had caught the triathlon bug and in 2012 took on an Olympic distance event. My first IM70.3 at Busso in May 2015 took 5 hours 52 minutes. After getting a coach I returned to Busso the following year and crossed the line in 4:53. It no doubt helped that I was in training for the Cairns Ironman six weeks later but the feeling of knocking an hour off my time was no less euphoric. I completed Cairns in a time of 11:38.57. It was the furthest I had ever swam, cycled or run and to this day I have never run a solo marathon.
I qualified for the IM70.3 World Championships in 2016 at Mooloolaba and again in 2017 at Tennessee. Then I set my sights on Kona. Determined to leave nothing behind in my preparation, I gave up alcohol on 1 January 2018. Travelling through the red wine countryside of Bordeaux in July without tasting a drop took some steely resolve, but I bought a couple of nice reds to take home ready to enjoy after the race was done. It was worth it – In December 2018 I qualified for Kona and in October 2019 competed in the Ironman World Championships. It was the culmination of a ten-year, life changing journey.
In 2021, I completed a solo Rottnest Channel Swim, which is a 19.7k ocean crossing from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island.
Today I continue to set new goals for myself no matter what life throws at me.
GRANT GILES
JOHN’S COACH
Born and raised in the working-class town of Wollongong, enveloped by mountains and the ocean, Grant 'Gilesy' Giles, himself a former pro triathlete, blended his love for psychology and triathlon into a fruitful coaching career that generated numerous national and world-class champions from 2006 to 2015.
Today, Grant extends his expertise as a qualified Triathlon Australia High-Performance Coach and mental health practitioner to his athletes. His grounded, no-nonsense coaching style is balanced by an easy-going demeanour that masks his exceptional knack for bringing out the best in those he coaches and mentors.
Grant is also an ardent writer, frequently sharing insights on sport, mental health, and sports psychology. In addition. Grant continues to inspire, educate, and promote embodied, physical and mental resilience among the athletes he works for.
JAMES BAKER
BIOMECHANIST
James Baker is a PhD candidate in Biomechanics at the University of Western Australia, dedicated to advancing human performance through precise biomechanical testing and innovative methodologies. At TTSL, James specialises in leveraging advanced motion capture, machine learning, and physiological analysis to support athletes in optimising their performance.
A former NCAA Champion and All-American swimmer, James's athletic background fuels his passion for biomechanics. His formative years at Denison University, a close-knit academic community, instilled a profound dedication to research and athlete development. At Denison, James explored neuromechanics through collaborative studies, focusing on functional movement and performance enhancement.
James is currently a biomechanist within Australia's National Pole Vault centre of excellence at the Western Australian Institute of Sport. His mission is to refine and perfect athlete technique along with coaching staff.
James’s journey also includes significant contributions to the University of Pittsburgh’s Neuromuscular Research Lab, conducting cutting-edge studies on resilience and performance under stress.
His work blends scientific rigor with a deep understanding of athletic demands, making him a vital part of TTSL's mission to empower athletes.