A 4700 sqft, world-class facility in SOMA, San Francisco

A Place for Every Body

Our vision for United Barbell is a CrossFit gym where everyone feels welcomed as part of our community.

United Barbell was founded in 2010 by owner Liv Graff. We are proud to have realized the dream of coaching a diverse group of people to reaching and exceeding their goals.

We continue to stand by our ethos of inclusivity - strength & fitness is for absolutely everybody.

Meet the Coaches

Featured

Live Graff

Liv (they/them) is the owner of United Barbell and has been a strength & conditioning coach since 2009.

In addition to CrossFit, Liv coaches bodybuilding, weightlifting, and functional strength. Liv is trained to work with a wide range of athletes including adaptive athletes, those with injuries, kids, teens, and people looking for gender-affirming training.

Dave Huynh

Dave (he/him) is a Product Manager by day but in the evenings he’s United Barbell’s Olympic Lifting expert.

Dave’s love of Oly took him on a journey from a competitve athlete to a coach who cares deeply about his athletes. Dave always goes above and beyond to help his athletes achieve their goals.

While Dave specializes in Oly, he’s accomplished strength & conditioning trainer for all levels.

Clarissa Koga

Clarissa (she/her) is a former University of Hawaii cheerleader. Driven by her lifelong passion for nutrition, she pursued a Ph.D. in Food Science and Nutrition.

By day, Clarissa excels as an Insights Manager, dedicated to unraveling trends and shaping corporate strategies, while by night, she is a CrossFit coach, guiding others towards their fitness goals.

Tuvale Polu

Tuvale (he/him) is a former powerlifter turned CrossFit enthusiast. Outside of CrossFit, he works to solve healthcare IT problems as his day job. Tuvale is passionate about cultivating a welcoming and inclusive community at United Barbell.

Kevin Lam

Kevin (he/him) runs a family business with his brothers in the Bay Area and when he’s not traveling abroad handling supplier relations, he is at the box working as a hype man and guiding others on their fitness journeys. He has been doing CrossFit since 2018 but got the itch coach in 2023.

When he is not outdoors camping, hiking or lifting up a beer, you can find him huffing and puffing up and down a rugby pitch. He is grateful for the community CrossFit brings and endeavors to help those around him reach their health goals.

Lilly Orozco

Lilly (she/her) is a former basketball player turned CrossFit enthusiast. She’s currently a student at San Francisco state where she’s in her last year of her undergraduate degree in kinesiology.

Lilly is super passionate about creating a welcoming environment for all types of athletes. She’s excited and passionate to help individuals reach their fitness goals.

Sunli Guo

Sunli Guo (he/him) joined United Barbell in 2012 as a member and recently started working as an intern coach. He’s a software engineer and a new cat dad who lives in the city. His favorite Crossfit movements are muscle ups and pistols, and he enjoys horror movies to increase his heart rate outside the gym.

Matthew Cong

Matthew (he/him) is a research scientist by trade, but you'll often see him starting the day off right with a morning workout.

Matthew started CrossFit in 2020 after swimming, powerlifting, and running for many years. He enjoys CrossFit because it bridges cardio and strength training while also providing an environment to learn and perfect new skills.

Outside of the gym and work, Matthew is an avid spirits collector -- ask him about whiskey recommendations!

Noaeh Pinare

Noaeh (he/him) is a martial artist with a brown belt in Brazilian jujitsu and a 3rd degree black belt in DanZanRyu jujitsu. He joined Crossfit as way to supplement his strength and conditioning for those sports and fell in love with how similar Crossfit is to Brazilian jujitsu.

He works as an I.T. Administrator for the SF District Attorney’s Office during the week. In his free time, he likes to take his dog to the beach or parks, and on some weekends he rides a Pedicab in the city to baseball games, concerts and events, so If you see him out there definitely say hi!

His favorite movements in Crossfit are the snatch and heavy cleans.