We are a group of swimmers dedicated to raising money for charity, having fun and swimming very long distances around the world. We're all based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have completed numerous ultra-distance swims each year to raise awareness and funds for our non-profit partners.

Pictured above, from left to right: John Mathews, Matthew Davie, Emily Young, Vito Bialla, JC Sheppard, Dave Holscher and Scott Stiteler. This photo was taken in August, 2008, a few weeks before Night Train's successful conquering of the English Channel. More on each team member below:

Vito Bialla is an ultraman. He is the pennultimate endurance athlete, having completed countless Ironman, Ultraman, ultra-distance running and biking events. Nothing scares him, so when John Mathews came to him with the idea of building a team to conquer the Engilsh Channel, he was immediately on board. He generously lets the team use his boat, Jaws, as home base for training swims.

Above water, Vito is a Bay Area landmark with over 35 years in executive search at Bialla & Associates. He is a member of the Olympic Club, San Francisco Yacht Club and serves on several private company boards. He even finds time to craft one of the world's best wines at Bialla Vineyards. Vito is married to ultra-distance legend Linda Bialla, is a father of three and resides in Tiburon.

Gordon Clute grew up racing sailboats on San Francisco Bay at a world-class level. After building a racing resume that included 40k miles of open ocean sailboat racing, 4 Trans-Pacific crossings and 7 World Championship competitions, Gordon headed on shore with the container shipping industry. But he couldn't keep himself far from the water, and soon found himself swimming with Team Night Train on the Bay.

Gordon is now Director of Sales for Maersk Line in San Francisco. He is happily married and resides in Tiburon with his wife and two children. If he's not waiting for Jaws to go out for a swim, you'll probably find him outside somewhere, running down one of the trails.

Matthew Davie is Night Train's resident PhD (every team needs one, right?). One day, he decided to try a relay run in San Francisco, where he met a man named Vito. Fast forward a few years and Matthew finds himself racing Ironman and swimming the English Channel. What happened? Night Train happened.

Out of the water, Matthew is an entrepreneur currently working on changing the travel industry through Whole Travel. He is a member of the Olympic Club and enjoys working with non-profit boards. Matthew resides in San Francisco, where you'll probably find him biking, running or throwing a frisbee.

Dave Holscher is a local legend in open-water swimming. From his sailing days, he developed a keen love for the open water, and has been with Night Train since the beginning. He's never been spotted with a wetsuit, no matter what the temperature might be in the Bay. After Night Train's succesful Engilsh Channel relay, he immediately registered for a solo crossing, which we are all looking forward to in 2010.

If you happen to find Dave more than 50 feet from a body of water, let us know. He conveniently located Holscher Architecture about a block from San Francisco Yacht Club (obviously for convenience to his training sessions), and is a member of the Saint Francis Yacht Club. Dave resides in Tiburon with his wife Phoebe and their 3 children.

Andy Lebuhn grew up in Connecticut, spending most of his life on and around the water, including multiple trips up and down the coast and large voyages through Scandinavia and the Caribbean. In 2008, Andy was initiated to Night Train as he kept a watchful eye and piloted the boat as we completed our swim from Sacramento to Tiburon, occasionally jumping in to join the swimmers for a leg or two.

When he's not pointing us in the right direction in or out of the water, you'll likely find Andy somewhere near his home of Tiburon, CA, or out sailing.

John Mathews was the original "man with the plan" who, after swimming for only 6 months, decided that he would register a relay team to cross the English Channel in September 2008. With 18 months to train, he made it his personal mission to build a team that would have fun, complete the crossing and raise money for a local charity.

Outside the water, John spent 25 years at Merrill Lynch, most recently as Director of Institutional Sales for the Western Region. Currently, he is an investment professional at Wells Fargo. He has coached over 30 youth sports teams over the past 15 years and served on several non-profit boards. John resides in Tiburon with his lovely wife Lisa and is a proud father of four.

Andy Schilling is a native Californian who usually enjoys swimming in warm pools and has an innate fear of cold water and aquatic life. However, he endured weekly Bay swims with the rest of Night Train. His real claim to fame is that he holds the Night Train record for the "beer swim" - out to the buoy with an open can of beer, pounding the beer, then swimming back holding the can.

Andy's other job is an investment manager in San Francisco, and if he's not there or on the boat, he's probably out biking or running the trails of the Peninsula.

JC Sheppard is a Tiburon native, currently on loan to Cornell University, where she is studying International Relations and competing for the varsity swim team. Each summer, she returns to the Bay Area to join Night Train for our Wednesday night swims and ultra-distance events. We're looking forward to here 2010 graduation from Cornell, when we can get her back full-time.

While most of the team is at least semi-local to the Bay Area, JC is currently embracing local cultures and traditions while studying abroad in Nepal. She has worked as an intern at the US Supreme Court where she'll one day undoubtedly hold a seat.

Scott Stiteler began open water swimming during a trip around the world with his family in 2003. After he landed back in Tiburon, he co-founded Night Train and began swimming more than weekly on Jaws and helped recruit the rest of the team for the English Channel crossing in 2008. One thing led to another, and Scott was helping the team plan ultra swims around the world to raise money for outstanding charities.

As much as he loves sitting in the cold water of the Bay in February, Scott also pours his heart and soul into Stellar Companies, a real estate development and finance firm. He lives in Tiburon with his wife Jane and their amazing three children. These days, you might find Scott spending time around Tuscon, warming up before the next cold plunge.

Emily Young began her open water swimming tenure over two decades ago, when she was still in daipers swimming in the lagoon in her Marin County backyard. From that warm oasis, she has progressively moved towards longer and colder swims, most recently joining Night Train for the swim from Sacramento to Tiburon. 

When she's done drying off after a Night Train swim, you'll find Emily cooking, gardening, fishing and running along Marina Green (and possibly hopping into the water!). Emily lives in San Francisco and has some of the most comfortable chairs you'll ever find.

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