Steve and I have been training clients collaboratively for nearly 14 years and before that we were cutting our teeth together as junior trainers alongside one another for five years before that.

I can’t believe it’s been almost 20 years of working alongside one another in some shape or fashion! Statistically speaking, most trainers quit after less than two years in the industry, and those lucky enough to make it further along to start their own businesses often succumb to the entrepreneurial curse of failure within the first 5 years. 

We’re a great team - we have absolutely complementary strengths. Steve is the ultimate athlete and fitness inspiration; he’s an exercise programming savant and has unparalleled ability to take any project, goal or assignment from A-Z. To say that he gets things done is an understatement. He applies the same self discipline and drive for excellence from his workout and sport performance arena, to his work. When I say that Steve is an exercise programming savant, what I mean is that he combines his creative vision with his mastery of knowledge of human performance and cultivates exercise plans that take people's personal achievement beyond what they thought possible. He is the innovator of the internationally acclaimed DVRT Flow, designer of Envision Fitness’ world class group programming and founder of Run Strong and Swim Strong performance strength training programs.

As for myself, my strengths in our partnership beyond business operations are my attention to detail, my ability to anticipate and plan for the needs of clients and staff, and my gift of compassionate coaching. I pride myself on being able to really understand someone’s perspective, really put myself in their shoes and see their challenges as if they were my own. I can simplify and break down movement, exercise, (or business processes and outcomes) systematically in a way that anyone can learn. I excel at helping people get 'unstuck' and move through mental and physical barriers to improvement. I enjoy studying Steve’s advanced programming creations and adapting coaching techniques and building exercise progressions to help clients bridge the gap from where they are to Steve’s vision for them. I am driven to perform at the highest level, and when I know I can make a difference with the work I do, you have me at my best.

On an international stage, Steve and I have spent countless years combining our creative intellect to coach and mentor fitness business professionals from across the globe. Steve and I are the coaches’ coaches. The whole is greater than the individual sum of our talents. We’re here, in Pitt Meadows, eager to put our knowledge and experience to the test. If you’ve been looking for a reason to get started or get back into exercise - this is your sign. Whatever your goal or ability - our skill set has you covered.

Since I was a toddler until I 13 years old, I was a competitive gymnast! I quit before entering high school due to severe plantar fasciitis. I was also finding it hard to train 6/7 days per week for 6 hours per day. I was a preteen after all! I felt lost for a long time after that activity wise. When I was 16, I started riding horses. I did that for about 3 years and when I stopped that I found myself feeling lost again. Enter the gym! I started going to the gym at 19 years old after realizing that running and doing some pushups and abs at home wasn’t getting me the results I wanted. It was a messy transition of course, but the gym became my favourite place.

Like many people who start going to the gym, I was working towards a smaller version of myself. It was a long journey, but somewhere along the way I learned how amazing it was to feel strong! Now I exercise to feel like the strongest version of myself and I cannot recommend it enough!!

I chose to become a coach because it absolutely lights me up to help people find their own strength. I think the fitness industry is filled with so much negative information and uses people’s insecurities to be constantly selling them new things. I feel like this ends up making people feel like it’s their fault that they aren’t seeing the results they want or that they aren’t capable- I want to show them that they ARE. I love to share the feeling of strength. There are so many benefits to exercising that have nothing to do with the way that we look. This can be a hard transition for people, but I want them to know what it’s like to actually feel good and to build confidence not only in the gym, but outside of it.

People like to think that because I am a fitness coach, I only eat salad and protein shakes and have a super easy time getting my workouts in. Even though I’ve gotten better at it over the years, I still sometimes struggle to get my own workouts in. I’m far from motivated everyday. I believe that a balanced diet is the healthiest- and this includes “junk” food! My favourite foods are cookies and cinnamon buns and I have a sweet tooth. I’m all for getting my vegetables in and I think it’s VERY important, but my soul also needs cookies and I eat them often. I want to teach my clients to have this balance too!

I do not believe in harsh coaching. It’s not easy to change your fitness and nutrition habits and it’s never smooth sailing. Life happens constantly and I think the most important thing to work on is our mindset around it. There is no perfect and as long as we are slowly moving in the right direction- that’s progress! I never want a client to feel bad that they ate cake at their child’s birthday party or missed a workout. I help clients achieve their goals by fitting fitness and nutrition into their life, not by trying to fit them into a specific protocol.

My favourite thing is the great outdoors! You can find me in my spare time scaling the side of a mountain, or running in the forest. It’s where I feel most like myself. My current fitness goals are to deadlift 300lbs and run a 100km trail race! I hope to achieve these in 2024 and I absolutely love working towards them.

I've always made it my goal to become involved with every sport available to me. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play all sports at a recreational level growing up. However, hockey is my passion and was the sport I pursued and played at a high level. I began to lift and train part-way through high school and found a love for fitness that has continued for the past fifteen years. It was my athletic background and personal experience in the gym that led me into human kinetics and coaching professionally. This experience and passion has continued to drive my understanding and expertise in movement and sport since.

I wanted to take my own experience with training and being an athlete and use it to benefit others in the world of fitness and sport, and becoming a coach was the only logical step. I believe in leading by example and I understand that everyone has unique goals that drive them. My goal is for people to become the best version of themselves. This is the reason why being a coach is intriguing, challenging, and rewarding for me.

I never stop asking questions. I'm always a student honing my craft, and working to understand who I am as a person. It is my belief that the human condition is to learn, understand, and progress. There's never an end point, just the goal to be 1% better every day.

I treat my clients exactly how I would want to be treated. I know what the fitness journey is like; I have been there and continue to travel the road. It is not fun to do it alone. It is scary to push outside your comfort zone. It is not motivating to celebrate on your own once you have succeeded. I care for my clients and want to be there for them and celebrate with them. I have completed events with clients (runs, obstacle courses, hikes, etc.), coached and cheered along from the sidelines (powerlifting meets, races, competitions), and rewarded and celebrated achievements with them. I'm here to support you in your journey.

Let me tell you about me. I’m a nerd. Scientist. Latina. Mom. Personal Trainer. Nutritionist. Explorer. Romantic. Globe Trotter. Dance-a-holic. Health Freak. Cook. I'm Human.

When you work with me you’ll notice that I’m also very, very Venezuelan. No amount of living abroad in England and Canada seems to be able to diminish that!

I graduated with a BSc with Honours in Human Nutrition from university in London, England and got a job with the Medical Research Council (MRC). MRC is attached to Cambridge University in England, and working here was a privilege that’s heavily impacted my approach to health. This is the institution which discovered the genome, DNA and antibiotics; MRC has won 32 Nobel Prizes - so I worked hard and learned what I could in the company of giants.

As an internationally certified Personal Trainer and a scientific Nutritionist, I see the world slightly differently than most people. Life is just as confusing to me as it is to everyone else, but fitness and nutrition aren't. Fitness and nutrition are subjects that I see through the eyes of science – not testimony.

The good news is that being healthy doesn't require you to go to university for four years. The principles that make scientists see their subject matter more clearly than non-scientists can be learned as habits, not lab-references. This concept is at the heart and soul of my How2Live System, which I invite you to join me in living your life by!

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Credentials

• BSc Degree Human Nutrition, 1st with Honours – London Metropolitan University

• Flexibility & Mobility Certification – NashFit

• Personal Trainer License – Certified through the American Council on Exercise (ACE)

• Tri-Lingual – English, Spanish and Portuguese

• First Aid Certified

• Strength & Speed Specialist Certification

• Spin, Bootcamp, Battle-Ropes, Kettle-Bell, TRX Certified – through various respected

agencies

Thanks again for your continued support, Kari and Steve.