Coach Kimiko is an adventurer with a heart that doesn’t believe in settling. While attending college for an English degree, she took a “filler” class (you know, those easy-A’s to fill out the schedule) that was bootcamp fitness. She discovered she really enjoyed just moving! It was pretty important considering most days involved endless cups of coffee while writing and reading for hours on end.
She soon became an ACE certified personal trainer and started training at a studio in Gulf Shores, Alabama. She was quickly promoted to expand the company’s new branch. But she was craving something more than waking up at 4 AM and spending hours at the gym. After suffering through personal issues (relationships are tough in your 20s!), she decided to take a break from life as she knew it. So, she uprooted to Thailand for a 6-month teaching position.
Though it was only a temporary hiatus, she fell in love with herself again in the balmy heat of Hua Hin, the bustling metropolis of Bangkok, and the secluded countryside of Sakon Nakhon. It was a little Eat, Pray, Love and a lot of khao pad gai.
The next chapter of life began when Kimiko met her future husband Dane, and they welcomed their first child, a girl named Zora. She went from a single woman in Asia to a married mama in Africa in a little over two years.
Huge changes (like moving countries, having babies, and getting married) bring about a weird sense of rediscovering oneself. It can also be surprisingly unsettling and lonely. Though Kimiko’s new family was supportive and loving, she felt isolated. Johannesburg, according to everyone around her, was a mecca of crime and she never felt comfortable just venturing out as she did in Bangkok.
That’s when she went back to what she knew – fitness. And that’s how she came to Nerd Fitness. She was looking for a community that could fit within the walls of her home in South Africa.
Fitness helped her as she battled with postpartum depletion, anxiety, and depression. She studied to become a Prenatal and Postnatal Corrective Exercise Specialist so she could help other moms find their balance between being a parent and being themselves again.
Her coaching style can be summed up as “find what works for you, what’s FUN for you, and do it” because life is too short to continue doing something you aren’t enjoying.
Kimiko and her family relocated to the United States in 2018, and the adventures are only beginning. She encourages her clients to seize opportunities, to have fun on their wellness journeys, and to stay curious and open to new adventures!
You never know what life has in store for you on the next page – keep reading, your adventure awaits.
Achievements and Credentials:
- ACE Certified Personal Trainer
- Pre & Post Natal Corrective Exercise Specialist
- Currently studying with Precision Nutrition, Level 1 – certification pending
And we have to ask…
Star Wars or Lord of the Rings?
The keys to my heart are words and books, so I’m sticking with Tolkien.
Favorite video game of all time?
Diddy Kong Racing on Nintendo 64 is nostalgia! This was one of the first games I could actually play (and win!), so I think I’ll always have a soft spot for it.
What are you passionately nerdy about?
Words and books. I am obsessed with reading and writing. It’s a form of mind-control in a way. For just the briefest moment, the writer completely captivates and directs the reader’s thoughts, and the reader is within another world all going on inside his or her mind. It’s absolutely beautiful.
My favorite books are Their Eyes Were Watching God (which I read once a year) by Zora Neale Hurston, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Beloved and Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
Have a book that can change my life? Let me know!