Denis Kefallinos, CPT, CFSC

Denis Kefallinos is the co-owner and a coach of LIFT Training Collective, where he helps adults and athletes build real strength, resilience, and confidence through thoughtful, no-nonsense training.

After a few decades of experience in his own strength and fitness training, Denis decided to become a coach and help others pursue fitness.  His focus is on sound movement, progressive overload, and long-term consistency—helping members get stronger, move better, and build confidence that lasts. He works with both adults and teen athletes, and places equal emphasis on physical capacity and mental toughness. He is known for pushing athletes and members when it counts, adding weight to bars when members aren’t looking, and creating an environment that is fun, challenging, supportive, and community-driven.

Professionally, Denis has spent over 25 years in leadership roles within enterprise technology organizations. His career includes leadership positions at Talkdesk, Stripe and SAP, where he worked with customers to solve large-scale challenges in Customer Experience, Payments, ERP and Supply Chain. He currently serves as a Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at Talkdesk, leading a customer-focused team responsible for technical strategy and execution.

That professional background directly informs how Denis approaches coaching and running LIFT: structured programming, and a culture of accountability and support. He believes the same principles that drive success in business—preparation, discipline, and execution—are what produce meaningful, lasting results in training.

Whether coaching early-morning classes, taking classes himself, greeting new members or running the gym day-to-day, his mission at LIFT is simple: help people get stronger, move better, and stay in the game for life. Outside the gym, Denis enjoys working on cars, riding motorcycles, and spending time with his family. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Denis got into weightlifting in high school and was influenced by bodybuilding giants such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sergio Oliva, Lou Ferrigno, Lee Haney and others.