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Our Team

Our Team

Built around athlete development.

At the heart of Exercise Institute is a multidisciplinary team of coaches and performance specialists dedicated to athlete development.

Combining formal education with real-world sporting experience, our team provides the expertise, guidance and support that help athletes progress from their first training goals through to their highest sporting ambitions.

Brad Hall - Exercise Institute Coach and Trainer
Coach and Trainer

Brad Hall

BPsychSc (1st Hons, Sport Psych), Assoc MAPS, AusCycling Advanced Coach

Brad is the Managing Director of Exercise Institute.

He has a long-standing history in elite sport, competing as a professional cyclist and winning races throughout Australia, Asia and Europe.

Following his racing career, Brad completed degrees in Sports Science and Psychology, before undertaking honours-level research in Sports Psychology within high-performance coaching environments.

With more than 15 years of coaching and training experience, Brad has worked with professional athletes across cycling and triathlon, supporting national titles and elite-level performances.

His coaching philosophy combines sport psychology, personalised coaching and evidence-based training systems to help athletes achieve continual self-improvement and long-term development.

Brad is passionate about creating an environment where athletes, coaches and practitioners can work collaboratively toward meaningful goals. Building a team of experts and fostering a supportive culture remains central to Exercise Institute's approach to athlete development, coaching excellence and service delivery.

Serene Lee - Exercise Institute Coach and Trainer
Coach and Trainer

Serene Lee

PhD (ExSc)

Serene completed her doctoral research investigating female cyclists, with a particular focus on hormone-related influences on training and performance.

Her work has led to published research in fatigue resistance, carbohydrate supplementation and menstrual manipulation in female athletes, helping advance understanding of female performance physiology.

Following her competitive racing career, Serene has focused on combining academic expertise, professional experience and lived sporting knowledge to support athletes through evidence-based coaching and education.

At Exercise Institute, she enjoys translating scientific research into practical strategies while empowering athletes through a balance of knowledge, experience and humour.

Alongside her role at EI, Serene works as an Orthopaedic Research Officer specialising in robot-assisted hip and knee replacement surgery.

Away from work, she continues to spend countless hours riding her bike with her partner. Once an ambitious racer aspiring to become a cyclo-tourist, she now proudly identifies as a cyclo-tourist who occasionally races her daily commute.

Sabine Bird - Exercise Institute Coach and Trainer
Coach and Trainer

Sabine Bird

PhD (Sc), Adv Coach (AusCycling)

Sabine's lifelong passion for cycling has led to a diverse involvement in the sport as an athlete, trainer, coach and development leader.

Over more than a decade with Exercise Institute, she progressed from a coached athlete to a qualified coach and was appointed to the 2025 AusCycling Road Development Academy coaching program.

Her work spans women-specific programs, junior athlete development and community initiatives, where she applies an athlete-first philosophy and a strong commitment to helping individuals achieve their goals.

As an AusCycling Development Coach, Sabine coaches athletes of all ages and abilities, leads Women's Cycling Perth and contributes to high-performance and junior development programs.

She also serves as a Board Member of the Cycling Development Foundation and coordinates the Laverton Cycling Project, supporting youth health, education and cycling participation across remote Western Australian communities.

Sabine combines a passion for science, people and athlete development to create positive long-term outcomes both in sport and beyond.

Paul Merkes - Exercise Institute Coach and Trainer
Coach and Trainer

Paul Merkes

PhD (SportSc), MSc (SportSc), BEd (PE), Adv Coach (AusCycling)

Paul is originally from the Netherlands, where a childhood spent on two wheels developed into a lifelong passion for cycling and performance.

His academic pathway reflects that passion, with both his Master's degree and PhD focused on road cycling. Paul moved to Australia in 2016 to complete doctoral research investigating sprint performance through aerodynamics, physiology and coaching interventions, producing multiple scientific publications.

Since beginning his coaching career in 2013, Paul has worked across professional cycling as a coach, sport scientist and performance analyst.

His experience includes roles with the Dutch Cycling Association national track and road programs, GreenEDGE Cycling and Team Jumbo-Visma.

Combining scientific expertise with practical coaching experience, Paul specialises in applying evidence-based performance strategies to help athletes maximise their potential.

His background across research, coaching and elite sport provides athletes with a unique blend of scientific understanding and real-world performance insight.

Lindo Nkwana - Exercise Institute Strength and Conditioning Trainer
Strength & Conditioning Trainer

Lindo Nkwana

BSpSc(Hons), BSpDev

Born and raised in South Africa, Lindo's coaching journey began as a competitive 400-metre athlete before expanding into sprint triathlon and duathlon.

His fascination with human performance, biomechanics and adaptation led him toward a career in high-performance coaching and athlete development.

With more than a decade of experience as a running specialist coach, Lindo has helped junior triathletes and provincial-level athletes develop their abilities and achieve meaningful performance gains.

Much of his experience comes from the education sector, where he has coached athletes across a wide variety of sports and developmental pathways.

Holding a Bachelor's degree in Sports Development and an Honours degree in Sports Science, Lindo combines academic knowledge with practical coaching expertise.

His coaching philosophy is built around his "Three P's" principle: Potential + Purposeful Stimulation = Progress.

Through evidence-based training, personal accountability and a commitment to continual growth, Lindo helps athletes unlock their potential and achieve sustainable long-term progress.

Coaching, science and development under one roof.

Exercise Institute brings together qualified coaches, sport scientists, strength and conditioning expertise, and lived sporting experience to support athletes across every stage of their development.