The Team

Cassandra Gramozi - Administrative Co-ordinator

Joining in 2004, Cassandra saw first-hand the positive effects of sports massage and decided to take the course herself, graduating in 2008 and becoming a full member of the Sports Massage Association.Since qualifying with NLSSM, Cassandra has worked with people from all walks of life including the Saracens RFC, private clinics, participants in several London Marathons and on-site seated chair massage at events throughout England.She currently works with the Wasps RFC as their head soft tissue therapist, the England Women's Cricket Team and NLSSM, also treating a range of private clients that include both amateur and professional athletes ranging from dancers and martial artists to cyclists and tri-athletes.

Sue Trimmer - Finance Administrator

Sue started her career in banking many years ago dealing with all aspects of finance. She later moved to a private company as Finance Manager and then Finance Director. For 12 years prior to joining NLSSM in 2011, Sue was the Administrator and Finance Manager for a large Multi Disciplinary Clinic introducing her to the world of Complementary Health.Sue loves to escape from her world of figures into her garden where she can happily while away many an hour planting and pruning. When the garden is spruced Sue’s other hobbies are walking, reading, travelling and would you believe Festive Interiors (Christmas Tree decorating!!)

Steve Hunter- Exercise Physiology Lecturer

In addition to NLSSM, Steve is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Physiology at London South Bank University. His working life began in the Tyneside shipyards but after a few years he decided to change direction and applied to study at Leeds Polytechnic. They decided he was worth the risk and 3 years later he graduated with a degree in Human Movement Studies.He stayed on at Leeds Poly to teach undergraduate students and provide sports science support in Biomechanics to springboard divers. This was then followed by the opportunity to study for an MPhil in the area of exercise and health. His thesis focused on the role of exercise intensity on coronary risk profile of middle-aged sedentary men. After nearly 9 years he left Leeds for a brief stint at Lancaster University before moving to London and his current job.Outside of work he enjoys a good night out, suffering the sight of Newcastle United winning nothing year after year, and doing the odd triathlon in the summer.

Kirstie Cousins - Senior Tutor

Kirstie became interested in bodywork after receiving treatment for various injuries picked up through triathlon and kick-boxing. After completing a therapeutic massage course at London College of Massage, she came across sports massage, trigger point therapy and MET while studying in Arizona. Impressed by the effectiveness of these techniques and wanting to learn more, she completed the LSSM diploma and Remedial Massage Courses. This resulted in both a busy sports massage practice and an obsession with anatomy – so she then went on to qualify as an Osteopath from the British School of Osteopathy.She now works from several busy practices across East and North London (including the NLSSM clinic) and treats a wide range of patients, both athletes (particularly triathletes and cyclists) and those with work and life related symptoms. In her limited free time she still cycles, rides her motorbike, dives and takes photographs, trying to fit in as much travel as she can.

Paula Edwards - Senior Tutor

Paula moved from a career in Beauty Therapy and Aromatherapy when she qualified in 1997 as a Sport & Remedial Massage Therapist she immediately starting her own mobile practice. She is also the senior sports massage therapist in a multi-disciplinary physiotherapy clinic in North London. Her clients include everyone from the weekend gardener to the competitive tri-athlete and marathon runners. She has a keen interest in postural rehabilitation and the link to hypermobility syndrome. Paula has continued to develop her interest in massage by recently qualifying in Traditional Thai Yoga Massage. When she is not either teaching or on a course, she likes to spend her weekends gardening and travelling.

Chris Newton - Senior Tutor

Like many sports massage practitioners, Chris began life in the world of sport. From age 11 he played national standard squash, taking him all over the country, which continued for many years. But like many before him, the decision not to turn professional came down to his mounting list of injures. Just NMT his right adductor magnus and watch him jump off the couch for proof of this!These days Chris runs a successful clinic in Sussex offering an holistic approach to injury prevention, combining Sports Remedial Massage, Corrective Exercise and Healthy Lifestyle Coaching. If you call and get his answer phone he'll most probably be several thousand feet above the ground flying his paraglider, kayaking a river or climbing on the wall he made in his spare bedroom. Alas, not much squash these days though.

Amanda Anderson - Tutor

Having developed a passion for sport at a young age Amanda inevitably followed this with a degree in Sport Studies (Physiotherapy would have been preferable but back in the dark ages if you didn’t have chemistry or Physics O’ Level they would not accept you). This was then followed by a long career managing corporate gyms.After a change of direction in 2002 Amanda qualified in sports massage at the London School of Sports Massage, closely followed by further qualifications in reflexology and Reiki, as her interest in the holistic side of body work developed.Now working in the city as a sports massage therapist, Amanda also provides sports massage and complementary therapies for a charity and provides part time fitness cover work for her previous employers.In her free time Amanda enjoys cooking, craftwork, tending her allotment and escaping London as frequently as possible to walk in the countryside and mountains.

Esther Tang - Tutor

Esther became interested in bodywork after sustaining an injury training as a powerlifter. She became fascinated by the role soft tissue manipulation can play in the injury rehabilitation process.After qualifying at the NLSSM she has set up busy practices in Crouch End and Tower Hill. Her client base includes runners, triathletes, martial artists, rugby players, as well as office workers. She is interested in rehabilitation, injury prevention and performance enhancement.When she is not busy massaging she can be found on the mats training and competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo.

Jason Anderson - External Tutor

Jason has dedicated his life to the health and fitness industry and has over 25 years of UK and International experience working alongside some of the most renowned therapists and conditioning specialists in the world. His qualifications and experience span many disciplines including Rehabilitation, Nutrition, Bodybuilding, Functional training, Sports conditioning and Traditional Chinese Medicine.This underlying variety of knowledge and experience enables Jason to work on a truly bespoke basis with all of his clients, applying his unique and innovative approach to conditioning by addressing a combination of joint alignment, muscle weakness, nutrition and organ health. Before moving to London, Jason worked for the UK's leading fitness educational company, Premier Training as Course Director and was the inspiration behind their Personal Training Solutions department & the design of their revolutionary WEB & Flexibility training systems.Jason is now the Director of Movement3 where he specialises in movement dysfunction, joint and back pain, injury rehabilitation, performance conditioning and nutrition. He also acts as a spokesperson and consultant to the fitness industry and holds workshops for various training organisations and club chains around the world. In addition to this he is the Men's Fitness Exercise Expert and a regular contributor to other key industry publications.

Jimmy Michael - Tutor

After coming to terms with the fact that he was not going to become a professional footballer, Jimmy decided to do a degree in Sports Science, going on to work at Fitness First after graduating.He discovered sports massage while seeking to remedy a long-standing injury, and the rest, as they say, is history. After completing the diploma in sport and remedial massage he found the area in sport that he most enjoyed and went on to open his own clinic within a large health club.

Kate Barnard - Tutor

Kate has taken the long and winding route to where she is today. She qualified as a Physiotherapist in 1991, when bad perms and orange bleached fringes were perfectly acceptable. She worked for 3 years as a Junior Physiotherapist in Huntingdon before heading off to live in Geneva and produce babies. Whilst bringing 3 of the most amazingly handsome sons into this world, Kate has continued to work part-time both in the NHS and privately, gradually finding that her true passion lay in soft tissue work.After a year working in Accessorize, building up an amazing collection of earrings and a dedication to good customer service, Kate finally had the funds to train and an opportunity to work with a team of visually impaired athletes gave her the push she needed to investigate Sports Massage courses. Kate completed her PD course in July 2008 and liked it so much at the NLSSM, she has been unable to leave. She now has her own small business treating sports and other injuries in Bedford. And she loves to run.  Visit  www.katebarnard.com  for further information.

Louise Bateman - Tutor

Louise’s passion for exercise and movement began whilst training as a dancer 25 years ago. She progressed to teaching and choreography after expanding her knowledge of dance in many different genres including Contemporary and Classical Ballet, African, Flamenco, Modern, Latin and Ballroom. Eager to learn more about movement she studied Body Conditioning/Awareness, Body Alignment, Relaxation and breathing Techniques with the London Dance Federation. This has given her an increased understanding of the human body and its Biomechanics.During this time Louise became the Choreographer for a London gymnastic school. While coaching and teaching dance she choreographed a team of 25 that toured Berlin. This opportunity led to other works such as Surrey Opera’s production of 'Aida Verdi' that toured the South East of England.Louise qualified in Anatomy & Physiology and Massage with ITEC and then as a Sports Therapist in 2001 studying Diagnosis of Sports Injuries with the School of Body Basics in London. She has continued studying in many courses Advanced Techniques as well as being a tutor two colleges in London teaching Diplomas in Sports Therapy and Remedial and Sports Massage.

Maria Wright - Tutor

Maria originally qualified and pursued a career in hotel leisure. Did various courses in leadership and management, but all the while her passion was in sports performance and movement. She enhanced her knowledge by qualifying as a weights and fitness instructor and gymnastics coach back in the early 90s. Over the years, Maria's talents have matured through her experiences in running and gymnastics, as a competitor and coach, played badminton at county level, but then decided to make the transition and turned her passion for rehabilitation and movement into her livelihood.

The most natural progression was in assisting in the injury recovery stages, but better still promoting preventative measures, so in March 2005 Maria qualified as a Sports and Remedial Massage Practitioner at LSSM and now runs her own successful clinic in Central London and manages sports massage support events.. Her clients range from desk jockeys to sport competitors across the board covering pre or post injury / surgery rehabilitation clientele. The last three years Maria has spent her time learning about visceral manipulation, which has heighten her thirst for knowledge of the human state of being taking into consideration any underlying factors that can effect the behavior of tissue and treats accordingly.

Michael Collins - Tutor

Michael has been a Sports Massage Practitioner since 2004 with his own practice where he also practices Active Isolated Stretching (AIS), the Aaron Mattes method.After many years in sport at a very competitive level he turned his attention to triathlon and has competed in major races to national standard including Ironman distances. Currently a Member of East London Triathletes and Orion Harriers, he has worked with a significant number of athletes from East London Triathletes, Orion Harriers and the 'Tri and Run' Team as well as a wide range of other elite sports men and women, including:▪ West Ham United Football Club

▪  Lauren Shelly (Aus) - Athlete 21st Flora London Marathon

▪  Greg Bennet (Aus) - Triathlete, 4th at the Athens Olympics

▪  Laura Reback (USA) - Triathlete, 3rd at the World Championships in Madeira

▪  Fiona Ford (UK) - Triathlete, 5th at age group (30-34) World Championships in Madeira and 2nd at age group European Championships in Lucerne

▪ Vanessa Hogg (UK) - Triathlete, 7th at age group (30-34) World Championships in   Hawaii.

Nick Mooney - Tutor & Lead Mark

Nick originally qualified as a Biological Chemist and worked as a Development Chemist for the pharmaceutical company Wellcome. He spent 14 years in the City of London Commodity Markets. At University Nick competed as a trampolinist and qualified as a British Trampoline Federation coach. Still an active skier, in an ideal world Nick would be found up a mountain in Colorado for six months of the year! He qualified at London School of Sports Massage in 2005 and now works in the London and Hertfordshire area.

He is a Director on the Sports Massage Association board.

Nick was the Clinical Lead for Sports Massage at the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games.When not working he enjoys skiing, horse riding (& racing), walking his unruly Pointers (Harry & Cooper), tennis, scuba diving, yoga, rugby union, travelling and sailing.

Sue Thwaites - Tutor

Sue spent her youth bouncing a basketball around Europe with the national team. Inspired by a love of sport she became a Physical Education teacher working in inner London and heading up a large department. Having exhausted her patience in schools she moved onto working with adults in Further Education.She manages a sports and health department and lectures on a range of courses from physiology to fitness, helping students to progress to university. Her interest in the relationship between performance and the benefits of massage therapy led her to complete the LSSM remedial massage course. She is a Shotokan karate black belt, cycles like a demon, 20 miles, to and from work every day, runs and swims and collapses gratefully into bed at night!

Paul Butler - Tutor

Paul trained in musical theatre at The Arts Educational Schools London and after several years of traveling around London, the UK and the World, ‘retired’ from performing and began teaching dance and choreographing full time. After 6 years of this, he was also coaching All Star Cheerleading, which took him all over the UK and to Disneyland Florida where his Mary Hare Firecrackers became the UK’s first deaf cheerleading team to perform at the Cheerleading World Championships.

Meanwhile a major career change had been planned that saw him study at NLSSM and become a teacher of Dance at an Essex Secondary School. Not long after graduation from NLSSM Paul was back as an assistant tutor and is delighted to be a part of the team.

Paul currently splits his time between teaching Dance and Sports Massage at a secondary school in Essex and treating Massage patients in a busy Chiropractic Clinic in his home town of Chelmsford. He has worked at several professional sports clubs, including West Ham FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, London Wasps RFC along with numerous running events.

He is a keen runner and skier and likes to think he can make a mean cupcake.