Mike Shepherd
Head Coach
Mike Shepherd is the Head Coach at eFIT and someone our members come to know closely throughout the Evolve Therapy Program. His approach to movement begins with something deceptively simple: meeting people exactly where they are.
Sometimes that means exercising. Sometimes it does not.
For a member who feels anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected from their body, or uncomfortable in fitness environments, a first step might simply be spending some one-on-one time with Mike on the couches in eFIT's community space. Another day might involve lying on the turf and breathing together to help settle an activated nervous system. And when a member feels stronger, more regulated, and ready for greater stimulus, Mike is there to encourage them to challenge themselves and discover what they are capable of.
There is no expectation that someone needs to arrive at eFIT already feeling comfortable with exercise. Mike understands that people enter the Evolve Therapy Program with very different histories and very different relationships with their bodies. For some, movement has been a source of confidence and joy. For others, it may have become associated with shame, body dissatisfaction, punishment, perfectionism, fear, or simply a feeling that fitness spaces were never designed for them.
Mike's job is not to force people through those barriers. It is to build enough trust that movement can gradually become something different.
As Head Coach, Mike works directly with the integrated Evolve Therapy Team to understand the broader context each member brings into the Mental Health Gym. This helps him recognize when someone may need encouragement, when they may need greater choice and flexibility, when regulation needs to come before exercise, and when they may be ready to challenge themselves. His approach is respectful and trauma-informed, recognizing that sustainable movement begins with the person rather than the program.
Mike also works closely with Director of Physical Training and physiotherapist Colin Oczkowski to translate members' physical and rehabilitative needs into their ongoing programming. Colin provides the physiotherapy assessment and rehabilitation direction, while Mike and the coaching team help carry that work forward through members' regular training. This collaboration allows physical limitations, injuries, mobility needs, and rehabilitation goals to remain central as members build strength and confidence over time.
Mike completed his Personal Trainer certification through the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), but some of what makes him distinctive as a coach cannot be captured by a certification. Mike has a big heart. He models the same self-respect and care that he encourages members to practice themselves. He views time spent caring for the body not as something that needs to be earned, but as one way of replenishing ourselves so that we have greater capacity to meet the demands, relationships, responsibilities, and challenges waiting for us outside the gym.
His skillset also extends somewhere you might not expect from a Head Coach: into the kitchen.
Mike is a certified chef and leads Epicure, the hands-on food preparation and cooking component of the Evolve Therapy Program. Epicure complements the balanced approach to eating taught through the Eat! Nutrition seminars by helping members translate nutrition concepts into everyday life. Through practical food preparation and cooking experiences, Mike helps make nourishing ourselves feel more approachable, enjoyable, and achievable. Food becomes something members can engage with, prepare, share, and enjoy rather than simply another area of life governed by rules about what they should or should not be doing.
Across these roles, Mike brings the same philosophy: start with the person.
Whether he is sitting beside someone who is not yet ready to exercise, breathing with a member on the turf, modifying a workout around rehabilitation needs, encouraging someone who is ready to push themselves, or teaching a group how to prepare a meal, Mike brings warmth, patience, humour, and genuine care to each interaction.
Within the Evolve Therapy Program, that relationship matters. Movement is not simply another intervention added to psychotherapy. It can become a place where members practice listening to themselves, respecting their limits, discovering their strength, tolerating challenges, and learning that caring for themselves deserves a regular place in their lives.
Under Mike's leadership, the Mental Health Gym is built around that idea: we meet you where you are, and we move forward from there.