Our Staff
Call/text one of our trainers below to get started today!
Our Trainers
Brant Thomas - Head Trainer
Brant has been with us at Blacksburg Boxing and Fitness for 8+ years and has helped hundreds of clients reach both their health/fitness, and boxing goals! After graduating from VT in 2016 with a degree in Nutrition and Exercise, Brant joined the team here at BBF. To go alongside his degree, he is also certified as a personal trainer (NSCA CPT), certified strength and conditioning specialist (NSCA CSCS) and has a USA Boxing coaches certification. Brant is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and has experience in MMA, wrestling and Muay Thai. During his time at BBF, he has worked with individuals of all ages and skill levels, with different boxing and fitness goals. If you are looking for someone to work individually with you on your boxing technique, or if you want someone that can help you reach your health and fitness goals and get you in the best shape of your life, Brant is an excellent trainer for you!
Call or text Brant at 571-765-0560 or shoot him an email at BrantBBoxing@gmail.com to set up your first session!
Nick Cataldo, M.S., CSCS
Nick is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He earned a Master’s of Science in Applied Kinesiology and Physiology from the University of Florida. He grew up in south Florida where he played football and wrestled in High School. Nick also fought in amateur and collegiate boxing for the United States Air Force Academy from 2008-2011. He just finished up a 10 year career in the Air Force and recently moved to the area to raise his family in the beautiful Virginia mountains.
I developed a passion early on in my life for physical training and my time in the military served to sharpen that passion. The benefits I’ve gained from a life long pursuit of training have made a world of difference for me and my family and I hope to help develop that same passion in others so that they may reap the benefits in their own lives for years to come. Let’s get to work!
Call or text Nick at 334-322-9479 or shoot him an email at nicholascataldo@att.net to set up your first session!
DeAngelo Smith
I enjoy motivating people to push themselves to be the best they possibly can. With my combined experiences in wrestling, track & field, football, boxing, kickboxing, middle school coaching, as well as Upward coaching, I have a wide base of training techniques to fit any desired goal. Having earned my personal trainer certification through the ISSA, I am happy to say I am properly equipped to help anyone reach their fitness goals. Whether you are an average hard-working person like me, a young athlete looking to get an edge, or an ultimate competitor looking to stay above the competition, I am here to help you be better than your best!
Call or text DeAngelo at 540-449-6488 or send him an email at dsth18@gmail.com to set up your first session!
Sara Meredith
Hi! My name is Sara, I am from the New River Valley. I have enjoyed soccer and being active my whole life. Boxing has been a huge part of my life for over 3 years. I would love to work with anyone wanting to get into boxing or further advance in technique. I have experience with general fitness and weight training as well and can help you achieve any goal you want! I received my Personal Trainer Certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and also am a certified MMA Conditioning Specialist. I love working with individual clients and group classes too! I would love to help you meet YOUR fitness goals, whatever those goals are. As a huge believer that physical health and activity positively impacts your mental wellbeing I am more than willing to help you through your journey. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, see you at the gym!
Call or text Sara at 540-235-2597 or send her an email at stmeredith1202@gmail.com
Sydney McCormick
As a Clinical Neuroscience student at Virginia Tech and a certified USA Boxing Coach, I’m passionate about merging scientific insights with holistic health practices. My background in clinical healthcare has deepened my commitment to highlighting the transformative power of movement on overall wellness. To me, physical activity transcends mere exercise—it’s a profound way to honor our bodies and achieve optimal health. Rooted in Hokie pride, thanks to my dad’s wrestling days at Virginia Tech, it’s safe to say that Blacksburg and barbells have always been my love language!
Together, we will:
1. Set personalized fitness goals tailored to your needs and abilities
2. Cultivate a healthy relationship with movement, focusing on enjoyment and empowerment
3. Integrate wellness practices into your daily routine for enduring benefits
Ready to discover the rewards of an active lifestyle? Let’s embark on this journey together. Start your path to a healthier, more vibrant you—schedule your initial consultation today!
Contact Sydney McCormick:
Phone/Text: 571-577-7953
Email: sydneym04@vt.edu
Jake Dennis
Jake Dennis is always happy to lead a class and help others reach their fitness goals. Pulling on his knowledge as an instructor in Snowboarding and Climbing he’s led classes of various makeups to hone skills and acquire new ones. He always happy to encourage and push others to help achieve their goals. With his experience in wrestling, gymnastics, snowboarding, climbing, swimming, and running he has a fairly wide-range of fun exercises to pull from. Having been a long-time member of the gym he’s recently decided to use some of his free time to run classes and help others acquire those boxing skills and reach their fitness goals. When he’s not working out or leading a class you can usually find Jake buried under a pile of textbooks trying to solve a gnarly AI math problem.
Call or text Jake at 540-597-2987 or shoot him an email at jacob.dennis@gmail.com to schedule your first session!
Emily Taylor
I am originally from Indiana. I was involved in a variety of activities growing up- cross country, tennis, choir, and dance. After graduating from Purdue University, and becoming a classroom teacher for a couple of years, I moved to Virginia to continue teaching. I began training as a runner again, but needed something with more variety. I fell in love with BBF’s high intensity training style and amazing staff. I have my USA boxing coach certification and continue to work on my own strength and conditioning. Boxing makes me feel strong, athletic, and focused. A healthy relationship with work, life, and exercise are so important to me! I can’t wait to continue to grow here! I would love to come alongside you to do the same.
Coty Skaggs
Coty has been a long-time member here at the gym, he started training with us back in January 2017.Coty has done everything the gym has to offer. He still stops in for classes, works out during open gym and has done sparring too! More recently he’s gotten his USA Boxing Coaches Certification and joined the team! He’s been a huge help around the gym; Coty has led classes, helped members learn the basics of boxing and helped us countless times with projects around the gym! We’re grateful to have Coty on the team with us. Join Coty for any of his classes and get ready for a great workout!
Kathi Susano
Kathi considers herself a New River Valley native, having moved to Blacksburg when she was in the 3rd grade. Although she was always fairly active, she was an overweight child, teen, and young adult. Full-time work, marriage, and raising two kids made time for exercise very low on the priority ladder. When her son was 12, he and a friend decided they wanted to do karate but would only go if their moms joined. Although reluctant to sign up, Kathi didn’t want her son to miss out because of her, so they started attending Kempo karate classes and she was hooked! To increase her cardio endurance while preparing for her black belt test four years later, she started running – a sport she had always said she would rather take a beating than do, and once again fell in love with the positive benefits. Two years later she certified to teach a core strength class and added a yoga-style certification two years after that. Fast forward to today, she is a 4th degree black belt in Kempo karate, has run over 20 half-marathons (personal best 1:53:17), countless 5Ks, 10K, etc., and teaches karate and group fitness classes at three different facilities in the Blacksburg area. Kathi loves to share her passion for exercise and health with others and encourages everyone to find something they love and just do it!
Joshua Parker-Rivera
Hey, I'm Joshua! Whether you're looking to be the next world champion or take control of your own physical fitness, I'm your man! I started boxing here at Blacksburg Boxing And Fitness in the beginning of 2022 after a couple years of self-teaching. In my short time here, I have exponentially grown as a fighter, developing a true passion for the sport as well as the ability to help others navigate the layers of boxing. Along with an understanding of the physical fitness and conditioning aspects of the sport, I can help you reach any goals you may have and help make you a champion starting today!
Call or text Joshua at 304-994-2894 or shoot him an email at jparkerrivera@gmail.com to set up your first session!
Anthony Grafsky
While new to the CPT scene, Anthony has integrated health and fitness into his lifestyle for over 30 years. Add to that over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, he saw firsthand the effects of not making your health and wellbeing a priority. Anthony is committed to helping members create fun and sustainable ways to integrate fitness into their routines that allow them to live their best lives. Whether you are just getting started or are a seasoned enthusiast, Anthony can design a program that is adaptable and scalable to your goals and fitness level. Anthony has been a member at Blacksburg Boxing and Fitness for two years and was inspired to join the team of trainers here because of the strong sense of community and focus on helping all members reach their health and fitness goals.
Call or text 540-808-5535 for an evaluation and to get started today!
Chris Rivera
Hi, my name is Chris, and I am from Petersburg, Virginia. I am a student at Virginia Tech studying Business Information Technology. I initially got into boxing during high school to lose weight, but I quickly discovered a strong passion for boxing when I started going to BBNF and developing my skills. I was never really into many sports growing up, but I did play soccer for a good bit. My parents are fans of Canelo, so he was the boxer I grew up watching. I would love to help others achieve their boxing and fitness goals, so feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Call or text me at 804-479-9196 with any questions and we can get started training together!
Kaleigh Semones
Our Boxing Coaches
Jimmy Ivory
Jimmy Ivory is one of our awesome volunteer Coaches that we are so blessed to have here at Blacksburg Boxing! Ivory enjoyed in his words, “An uneventful, but modestly successful, novice amateur boxing career in the 1990s, with a 5-1 record in USA-ABF/USA Boxing sanctioned bouts.” Put humbly, he also won the Junior Olympic State Championships in his home state of Wyoming, and has retained an interest in the sport of boxing ever since. Jimmy still enjoys hopping in the ring with our younger boxers at the gym, and is able to work well with boxers of all experience and skill levels to work up, or tone it down, to make sure that each session is a positive learning experience for all. Jimmy is an extremely valuable asset to us here at Blacksburg Boxing as he can always be found volunteering his time for the betterment of our young boxers to succeed both in and out of the ring. We are extremely grateful to have him here as a Volunteer Coach where since joining us as a member back in 2016, he has been lending a helping hand at every turn to the success of our boxers and the gym as a whole.
Call or text Coach Jimmy at 540-808-9989 to set up your first session!
Craig Hauser
While living in NY, he started his combat/defensive
skills in 1972 with Kenpo Karate. This included earning several belts and participating in point spar competitions. In the late 1970’s Craig built a private gym in his NY home which included a large area for sparring, heavy bags, double end bags, speed bags, etc. Local martial artists and boxers frequented his gym, but mainly boxers. Here is where he learned his boxing skills training with several amateur and professional boxers which started in the late 1970’s and extended through the 1980’s. Sparring was performed on a daily basis in the gym (ouch!). In the mid 1980’s Craig trained and coached an amateur/professional featherweight boxer, Billy Hackmer. As an amateur Billy had 130 fights with only two “disputed” losses. We should also mention that Superfoot Bill Wallace, previous undefeated Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and legend is a good friend of Craig’s. Now that Craig has reached retirement his time is happily devoted to passing along the skills he has learned over the years to others!
Call or text Coach Craig at 540-239-0303 to set up your first session!
Coach Konstantin
Coach Konstantin is a volunteer Coach who has been helping at the gym here for several years now. He leads our Fundamentals of Competitive Boxing class and even when it isn’t class time, he is always helping out our younger boxers get ready for the ring. Before coming to America, Konstantin had many amateur fights and is happy to share his experience and drills with our current members!