Meet our team!
Paragym was founded in 2005 by ex-gymnast Drew Rivers Joffre with the objective of making gymnastics and acrobatics safe and accessible to adults, which even today may seem far-fetched as a possibility for most people.
Today we are a united team of positive, energetic and inspired individuals, each with their own specializations, teaching style and unique personalities.
Drew Rivers Joffre
From an early age, before Marvel became a thing, the ideal of the “super-human” always fascinated me. As I see it, so much of the outer boundaries of human...
Meet Drew Rivers Joffre
Rafael Hardy
Parkour, acrobatics and movement have always been a big part of my life from as early as I can remember. Having started training Parkour at the age of 14… I’ve...
Meet Rafael Hardy
Elton Nika
Elton started his training at Paragym in 2009, very diligently and every day. Having no acrobatic base but showing perseverance and determination out of the...
Meet Elton Nika
Francis Demers
Francis began his journey at Paragym as a student in our adult programs. Passionate about acrobatics, he quickly stood out for his dedication, determination, and...
Meet Francis Demers
Béatrice Nusink
My name is Béa and I’m a circus performer, director and teacher, specializing in clown and dance trapeze among other aerials. I’ve been in theatre my whole...
Meet Béatrice Nusink
Judy Salloum
Judy is a Lebanese-Canadian multidisciplinary circus and movement artist based in Montréal. She began her artistic journey through dance in 2011 before expanding...
Meet Judy Salloum
Paragym ambassadors
Paragym ambassadors are generally independent professional movement/circus/acrobatics coaches with specialized training that use our space to operate their own business.
Sekou Camara
Our values
- We are a family. We got each other's backs.
- Honor system - We keep track of what we take and give in return. Our word is our contract. If we say it, we do our best to follow through and on-time (occasional exceptions apply ;-).
- Professionalism, reliability and punctuality.
- Voluntary attitude - we’re here to help!
- The client comes first.
- Humility. No egos. "More the knowledge lesser the ego… more the ego lesser the knowledge" - Albert Einstein.
- No recklessness.
- Collective consideration. We are all representatives of the larger organization, and consider everyone’s well-being in our individual decisions.
- Integrity, honesty, transparency.
- No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. We own up to our faults... Forgive. Forget. Reset. We are all doing the best we can with the knowledge and understanding we have at the moment. - Louise Hay.
- Have a sense of humor.
- Be a professional and a friend.
