About
The natural fitness lab and the oxygen foundation are not-for-profit organizations created to make the world a better place.
OUR MOTIVATION AND ETHOS
We are dedicated to creating significant opportunities for healthy outdoor lifestyle, promoting natural fitness, physical literacy and inspiring long-term athlete development through direct grass-roots community involvement and global campaigns for gender and age equality in sport, multilingual, multiculturalism, accessibility, science education, leadership, and coaching.
VALUES
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Physical and mental health;
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Promote and practice inclusivity for all fitness levels and abilities;
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Ensure equality in gender, age and accessibility;
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Generate positive group dynamics;
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Provide a safe and secure exercise environment and program;
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Create opportunities in fitness and sport;
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Encourage personal growth and creative freedom;
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Engagement;
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Inclusivity;
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Accessibility;
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Human Rights;
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Fair Play and Drug Free Environment;
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Ecological sustainable practices;
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Advocating gender equality through sport;
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Inspire, challenge and foster a sense of wonder;
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Individual agency;
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Nurture the individual and team play;
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Ensure a sense of belonging and encouragement;
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Cultivate Supportive relationships;
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Maximize philanthropic efficacy;
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Enable knowledge transfer networks;
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Export Canadian values;
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Service to community and country;
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Generate innovation in training; and
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Create pathways to excellence.
OBJECTIVES
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Support personal goals in health and fitness;
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Build community;
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Foster long-term athlete development in the context of sport-for-life through participative coaching, imprinting and mentorship; and
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Attract, develop and retain talent in sport.
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Do good.

PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVES
Together, Dave and Lise produced multiple training systems in sports like trail running and skiing. They wrote the cross-country ski manual for Sports Canada; produced sport instructional curriculum for numerous sports and Long Term Athlete Development. The DVDs and videos were released publicly as free download. The team has built an independent film production company; produced several award winning films on outdoor sport; launched a sports channel viewership of two-million subscribers featuring hundreds of instructional and motivational xc ski videos; and mentored thousands of people to ski, trail run and snowshoeing through one of the largest programs in the country. They have been honored with the Ottawa athletic community builder award and are recognized in Who’s Who in Canadian Sport, Volume 3 1999 by Bob Ferguson ISBN 1-894282-00-0.
Dave and Lise produced a beautiful feature-length film about outdoor athleticism called OXYGEN, empowered by women living clean oxygen fed sport and natural fitness as part of a broader initiative for gender equality in sport.
The film:
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Set a higher standard for cinematography and media coverage of sports empowered by women by releasing in IMAX.
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Established positive body image and build self-confidence.
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Created and delivered a positive strategic messaging to counter mainstream media coverage, social influence and pop culture. We will deliver demonstrable results, resonance and impressions.
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Ran a targeted campaign to distribute the film to the widest audience, in theatres, television and over social media.
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Showed extraordinary role models that inspire girls to stay in sport-for-life and pursue professional success.
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Facilitated programs for women and girls.
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Provided educational materials and collateral free to schools.
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Continues to motivate female athletes of all ages and abilities.
Film was released 01 Nov 2015 to Theatres World Wide and Free download:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXhmUuXXOIXmUfPq_aPVWBu_Tlw3xVBsQ
The following is a sample of philanthropic initiatives and volunteer projects undertaken in the past three decades:
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Established a Centre of Excellence in outdoor sport and adventure for outdoor athletes and adventure built around core technical competencies of:trail running, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and venturing into winter triathlon, mountain running, adventure racing, cycling, ski mountaineering, obstacle racing, and ultra distance running;
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Invested in the National Capital Biathlon Program;
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Offered Free trail running, snowshoe and outdoor programs for 30 years;
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Coached all special needs athletes and students for free;
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Provided Paralympic and Special Olympics coaching support;
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Donated equipment to new athletes, and outfitted teams;
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Financially supported Olympic and National team athletes;
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Trail maintenance and building in the region;
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Authored and translated sports manuals for multiple sports;
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Offer bilingual instruction and coaching;
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Developed physiological countermeasures in support of Astronauts and long-term space missions. https://youtu.be/THXcvuN-e_Q
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Secured funding, co-designed, build, operated and maintained the national Biathlon and Ski Training Facilities at Camp Fortune for two decades;
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Helped initiate Cadet Biathlon Program Nationally including project managing facilities and resources;
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Introducing hundreds new Canadians to sports of cross-county skiing and snowshoeing;
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Soldier On – Supporting Veterans with Physical and Psychological Rehabilitation through Sport;
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Teach annual ski patrollers courses;
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Train ski instructors and coaches free of charge;
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Provide Search and Rescue support to authorities. Personally rescued dozens of lost and injured people, some from life threating situations requiring immediate extraction and evacuation;
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Ambassadors of the Gatineau Loppet and the Canadian Ski Marathon.
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Serve as executive Director of national capital Snowshoe association and trail running Canada
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Wrote the cross-country skiing technique and training manuals for sports Canada and produced multimedia kits for National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP);
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Lead project to integrate national coaching curriculum;
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Written numerous books and produced DVD, films, videos. Released for free online to grow sport in the country;
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Maintain online reach 2 million subscribers to video and social media platforms to persistently promote sport, fitness and health;
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Promote gender equality in sport including Women’s sports clinics and Women’s trail running festival;
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Funded, produced and released a feature-length IMAX film in theatres called “Oxygen” about outdoor athleticism, empowered by women;
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Aboriginal Sports initiatives in sports such as paddling and athletics;
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Fundraising and coaching support for Olympic athletes, Paralympic and Special Olympics;
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Low-income and student athletes coaching pro bono;
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Coached university and high school programs in track, cross-country, and skiing;
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Provided trail running and snowshoeing group training;
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Produced and delivered Public Service Announcement Programming and TV programming health and fitness to millions of Canadians;
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Operated Community based sports programs and clubs, health and fitness (over 15,000hrs volunteer hrs.}
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Co-Founded three Canadian Sporting Associations;
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Organize major outdoor sporting events with free admission;
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Arbitrating a unified approach to Skiing Technique with sports governing bodies;
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Served as Sports Club President (volunteer)
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Co-started Canadian Mountain Running Association;
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Produced Cross Country Canada Club promotional multimedia for sports Canada;
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Produced Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) video series and released for free;
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Produced Biathlon promotional films for Sports Canada;
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Produced Cross-Country Skiing Promotional films for Sports Canada;
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Operate the primary trail condition site for the Ottawa region;
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Established cancer support group for athletes;
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Provide for medical and first aid during practice and team events;
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Referral program for ongoing medical support through the group;
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Arrange for mental performance counselling and psychological care;
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Lead research into environmental sustainability in outdoor sports and recreation;
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Opened on-line special resource centre for sports science;
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Donated professional film resources and time to produce and air local, national and internal sports coverage for events happening locally;
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Provide regular marketing material for Tourism Canada and the national capital region;
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Deliver unique Canadian content to outdoor sports and adventure film community. Using Canadian athletes, talent, crew and artists;
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Created portfolios for Canadian national team members;
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Formed disaster recovery teams during flooding, tornados, and ice storm;
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Welcome the LGBT community, promote and openly supported rights in domestic and international sport; and
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Provided ongoing programmatic support, physical and psychological countermeasures for scientists in Antarctica, and deployed troops in theatres of war.
We are proud supporters of:
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i2P
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Fast and female
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Right to Play
GLOBAL INITIATIVES
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Made significant, unique and measureable contributions to the safety and security at the Olympics.Mitigated authenticate threats and helped to protect team Canada from harm;
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Diplomatic outreach that invited embassy staff representing dozens of countries to particulate in Canadian sports culture;
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Support an number of Human Rights initiatives through direct involvement;
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Train a number of foreign athletes in Winter Olympic Sports;
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Ambassadors through international sports competition;
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Export Canadian values through sport;
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Sponsor athletes seeking refugee status and those escaping repressive regimes. Support this athletes once they arrive in Canada;
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Raise awareness and funding for Fresh water in Africa;
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Committed to open Internet initiatives and global community building in sport culture;
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Develop and deliver counter narratives to violent extremism through sport; and
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Work tirelessly to uphold and protect the World anti-doping program including protecting the system from foreign influence and compromise, while promoting values at home by example.

ORIGIN STORY
Dave McMahon
B.Eng.
Scientist, Artist, Athlete, Leader and Coach
Lise Meloche
B.Sc. Kinesiology., B.Ed.
Educator, Athlete, Mentor, leader and Coach
Dave McMahon and Lise Meloche first met on the National Biathlon Team and formed a lasting personal and professional partnership centred around sport. Dave and Lise served with the Canadian Armed Forces and have represented our country in sport.
REPRESENTING CANADA IN MULTIPLE SPORTS
Lise Meloche
Lise raced two Olympic games and 200 World Cups; winning 7 medals, including four (4) Golds. She was ranked 3rd overall in the World Cup standings. Lise was the Canadian, USA and Swiss National Biathlon Champion, raced for Canada on the World Cup in cross-country Skiing and Biathlon. She was also a Junior National K2 Kayak Champion. Lise was named to the North Bay sports hall of fame and has an Ottawa high school gym named in her honor. Lise is an elite trail runner, snowshoer and winter triathlete. In 2019, she won the Quebec Winter Triathlon Championship. Lise finished on the podium in nine races out of eleven in 2019.
Dave McMahon
Dave competed for Canada in six sports. He was a Canadian National Biathlon Champion, and Winter Triathlon Champion, ranked 3rd in the World for summer biathlon, and represented Canada at the World Snowshoe Championships and Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon World Cup Circuit. Dave is an elite winter triathlete and trail runner competing internationally. He was a Canadian trail running champion and Eastern Canadian mountain running champion. In 2019, in placed 2nd at the Canadian Winter Triathlon Championship, Quebec Championship and 3rd in the Gatineau Loppet. Dave finished on the podium in ten races out of twelve in 2019.
COACHING, MENTORSHIP, LEADERSHIP
Dave and Lise have over 25 years coaching experience from grass-roots to organized club and high-performance programs at World Cup and Olympic levels. They lead regular group practices, instructional clinics and personal coaching throughout the week all year round – now having taught thousands of people to ski, run and play outdoors. The majority of these activities are offered free of charge to the community and certainly to anyone in need.
Dave and Lise co-founded a number of highly successful cross-country sports clubs including Chelsea, Ottawa and with Natural Fitness Lab where they served in head coach positions. Today they operate the largest adult outdoor sports club in North America.


