Kristi Dowler

Certifications:

• ACE & NASM certified personal trainer
• NESTA certified boot-camp instructor
• AFAA certified
• CPR certified
• YogaWorks 200 hour teacher training (Yoga Alliance Recognized)
• Institute for Integrated Nutrition Holitic Health Counselor (completion date 07/09)

Her favorite race is the perilous Dipsea. She came in 2nd among women in the Headlands Marathon in 2007. She’s cycled the 130-mile Death Ride. For her 35th birthday, she ran 35 miles, and her 30th birthday present to herself was doing Ironman Canada. You could say Kristi Dowler is hard core.

Kristi has been into fitness since she was 14, when she asked her mom for a membership at the local gym. By 17, she knew she wanted to own her own fitness company. Most of us eventually forget what we once wanted to do with our lives. Instead, Kristi created one of San Francisco’s first boot camps for women. “Time spent wishing is time wasted,” Kristi says. That’s how she feels about fitness goals, too: “Take action now, or you’ll never get what you want.”

Kristi grew up in Springfield, Mo. She graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1994 with a degree in psychology and communication, and she worked her way up to become a store planner at Gap. Her career there brought her to the Bay Area in 2000. But she found herself spending more time with inventory data than with people. And she was letting her workouts slip.

For a kick in the butt, Kristi took a part-time job at Gorilla Sports, where friends encouraged her to teach a spinning class. That did it. In October 2002, at age 31, she quit corporate life and became certified as a personal trainer. A year later, she co-founded Bay Area Boot Camp. VyAyr Fitness was born in 2006.

VyAyr — from “vitality” and “air” — combines Kristi’s love of the outdoors and her belief that fitness gives people the energy to live their lives. Kristi’s main goal? To positively impact people’s lives by teaching them that fitness is an essential part of one’s lifestyle. Kristi has coached hundreds of people of all ages, many of whom return because of her upbeat energy, fun coaching style and personal attention. “I’m honored that so many people trust me to guide them through their fitness journey,” she says.

Part of Kristi’s skill is to synthesize for her clients the daunting amount of information about exercise and nutrition. “When I started in this business, I was looking for balance in my life, and I began to realize that my clients really need that, too,” Kristi says. She is continually educating herself, whether it’s an anatomy class, nutrition studies or training to teach yoga, integrating the knowledge into her boot camp and personal-training programs.

Favorite thing besides fitness: Great concerts
Baby: Sky-blue VW Bug convertible, top down
Swears she’s giving up: SUGAR!!!
On a sunny day, she’s: At The Grove with a Berkeley Bowl salad

Nikki

Nikki joined VyAyr in the summer of 2010 after coaching collegiate women’s basketball for 10 years. Her first two years coaching were spent at Chico State while earning her graduate degree in Physical Education. Upon completion of her degree, Nikki moved to San Francisco where she first began working in the fitness industry while interning with the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team.

After completing her internship with Stanford, Nikki moved on to San Jose State before taking the Head Coach and Assistant Athletic Director position at UC Santa Cruz. Following UCSC, Nikki moved on to Cal State East Bay before deciding to step away from the college coaching level and move back into the fitness industry.

Now Nikki is not only stepping back into coaching, but she is helping take VyAyr to new places. While coaching women’s basketball at Hawaii Pacific University, Nikki will be expanding VyAyr to its new Oahu location.

Whether coaching basketball or coaching in fitness, Nikki’s passion has always been to help people find a love in staying active and fit and hopefully touching peoples lives in some small way.

Favorite passion besides fitness: Coaching and playing basketball
Newest hobby: Paddle boarding
Most important thing to her is: Family
Favorite color: Pink