Few things in life follow a straightforward path. The routes we take can be full of unexpected turns, challenging times and occasional new starts. This spirit of starting anew and scaling new heights is at the heart of ZigZag Alive.
How we came about:
The company first started out as ZigZag Cycling Limited, set up by two friends: Nick Finch and Mike Porteous. We offered a range of great mountain bike experiences, including tuition and introductory skills for beginners and weekend breaks and tours. When Nick stepped down from the day to day running, the decision was made to broaden the scope of ZigZag - taking the most popular elements of the off-road cycling and offering them alongside swim, run and triathlon coaching.
With growing interest in triathlon, swim, bike and run ZigZag Alive took shape and has been growing steadily - thanks to the wonderful clients who come with their different challenges and ambitions.
ZigZag Alive is also the the home of a resource for an expanding community of coaches from across all sports: Confidence Centred Coaching.
This seeks to put confidence at the centre of sports coaching by capturing, exploring and sharing great coaching practice.
Qualifications and experience
Mike is a qualified level 3 Triathlon England coach - the highest available qualification in triathlon coaching - and a British Triathlon mentor to coaches on the Level 3 High Performing Coach Programme. He was the Head Coach at Brighton Tri Club from 2014 to 2017 - awarded England Triathlon Club of the Year 2015 - leading a team of 25 coaches.
He was Swim Coach In Residence for the Outdoor Swimming Society, contributing articles on preparing for big swims and other challenges. As well as coaching adults and juniors at Brighton Tri Club he has also been swim coach at Horsham Amphibians Triathlon Club. He is also a level 2 Swim Teacher (through Swim England, formerly the ASA: Amateur Swimming Association) and teaches children with disabilities to swim through the charity Level Water.
Mike has been competing in triathlons and other endurance challenges for around twenty five years, from sprints all the way up to Ironman, and has represented Great Britain in his age group. He has also taken part in XTerra and other off-road triathlons and adventure races (with his son forming team ‘Madness Runs in the Family’). He continues to be active, doing long distance events - in the last few years including the challenging Ötillö Isles of Scilly SwimRun and several hairy scary big river swims.
Nick continues to be available to support mountain bike rides and offer his rich experience in long distance endurance events, such as the ABSA Cape Epic mountain bike stage race, considered to be the toughest stage race in the world.
As ZigZag Alive continues to grow and develop we hope to recruit other like-minded coaches.
ZigZag Alive philosophy
The ZigZag Alive approach is always to start by understanding what the individual wants and their circumstances so that any advice and support can be tailored to meet their needs. Everything is rooted in a strong belief in what people can achieve with just the right degree of challenge, expert care and encouragement.
Location
ZigZag Alive is based in Shoreham-by-sea and initially drew clients mainly from the Brighton area and across Sussex and the South East of England.
As we have grown we have supported athletes from much further afield, maintaining our close coaching support remotely.
Our base for swimming is at a wonderful, purpose built, private pool near Shoreham-by-sea.
