MEET THE CORTEX TEAM

A muscular man with tattoos stands inside a fighting cage, crossing his arms, wearing a black t-shirt with graphic design and light-colored shorts, smiling at the camera.

sam bastin

Head Boxing & MMA Striking Coach
Sam's had 59 fights. Australian MMA titles, state boxing championships, 14 pro MMA bouts and an undefeated pro boxing record — 9 wins, no losses, one draw. That's 25 years on the mats and 16 coaching, here and overseas.

For 7 years he was Head Boxing Coach at Tiger Muay Thai — one of the most famous gyms in the world — where he helped build world champions across the UFC, ONE, Lethwei and boxing:

  • Alex Volkanovski — UFC Champion

  • Dricus du Plessis — UFC Champion

  • Fabricio Andrade — ONE Champion

  • Dave Leduc — Lethwei Champion

  • Ryan Ford — UBO World Boxing Champion

  • Mark Hunt — Australian UFC icon

He's worked corners at BKFC in Thailand, K1 in Japan, and pro fights all over. Back home now, he's building boxers who win — multiple state titles and two King of the Ring tournaments so far. Sam runs our boxing and MMA striking.

Two men standing in a gymnasium, one wearing a hoodie and the other in MMA shorts with a medal around his neck, surrounded by people and sports equipment.

Sina Farihizadeh

Jiu-Jitsu Instructor
Sina's been grappling for 19 years and coaching for over 10. He's a bit obsessed with how people get good — on the mats and everywhere else, from sport to Formula One — and he pulls all of it back into his coaching. He'd rather you figure things out than copy moves, and regulars will know his favourite reminder: "Give a man a fire and he's warm for an hour. Set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."

He started in Judo in 2008, switched to Jiu-Jitsu once he saw what it did on the ground, then picked up wrestling to sharpen his No-Gi game. He's been an active competitor for nearly 12 years, with around 150 matches, mostly No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu plus freestyle wrestling. Some highlights:

  • Silver — NSW Wrestling State Championships

  • Silver — Hungry Jack's Wrestling Cup

  • Bronze — Pan Pacific Championships

  • Gold & Silver — advanced divisions, Grappling Industries and Aus Sub Only

Judo, Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling all in one coach — exactly what our No-Gi program needs.

A group of people practicing martial arts in a gym, with some kneeling and others standing, engaging in a demonstration or training session.

Leonid Zaslavsky

Olympic Level Freestyle Wrestling Instructor

Len's an Olympian — he wrestled for Australia in men's freestyle 62kg at the 1996 Atlanta Games. You don't get many of those on a gym mat.

After a stint in pro MMA, he went all-in on the sport he loves: he coaches, he officiates, he sits on the NSW board, and he still prepares prospects for the top level.

And he's a born teacher — he's got a real gift for it, breaking down world-class wrestling so anyone can follow it. Rolling up to a normal gym and learning takedowns from someone who's wrestled at the Olympics is about as rare as it gets. That's the kind of thing you'd usually have to go a long way to find.

Woman standing inside a mixed martial arts cage wearing a T-shirt and leggings, with arms crossed and smiling.

Margarita Lariego

Traditional Muay Thai instructor and Strength&Conditioning coach

Over 25 years in martial arts. Marg fought as an amateur Muay Thai fighter in Australia, then fought professionally in Thailand before retiring.

She started as a kickboxer, moved into K-1 (Dutch kickboxing), then switched to full-rules Muay Thai. Marg’s style is traditional Muay Thai with K-1 kickboxing and Kung Fu flow mixed in. She’s also trained in boxing and Eskrima (Filipino stick fighting).

Trained under:

  • Sifu Mick Spinks: head trainer. K-1 kickboxing, Kung Fu, Jiu-Jitsu and conditioning.

  • Ali Atoui: second head trainer. Kickboxing and boxing.

  • William Soulos: head boxing coach. Australian boxing judge and referee.

  • Thailand: a few Thai names coaches. We won’t attempt the spelling.

Has prepped fighters in MMA, Muay Thai, Karate, Sambo and BJJ for competition:

  • Conditioning

  • Meal plans for cutting weight

  • Rehydration after weigh-ins

  • Recovery

Also trained in boxing, kickboxing, Kung Fu and Eskrima (Filipino stick fighting).

Classes are hands-on. Expect to work.

Two women engaged in a kickboxing match in a boxing ring, with one woman delivering a high kick to the other's head as spectators watch in the background.