Hidden Gems: Meet Viktoria Kayrevich of VKfitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Viktoria Kayrevich.

Hi Viktoria, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
When I was 14 my dad took me to the gym with him. From there, I fell in love with the place and it truly became my second home. My parents always encouraged us to be active so I grew up playing sports from a young age. Aside from all that I was also a foodie and was on the heavier side when compared to my friends and girls my age. I struggled with weight my whole life as I would gain and lose it quickly and often. This caused lots of insecurity but it kept me going to the gym.

Being Russian, the gym wasn’t a place you would find females. So I’m pretty proud of being a personal trainer because it’s very rare in our community. I became a personal trainer 5 years ago, to help people fall in love with fitness just as much as I did. I worked at F45 for three years as a studio manager, and now I mainly do personal training. Every day I wake up excited to go to work because it brings me so much fulfillment to help people get healthier, stronger, and feel better about themselves.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For most of my life, I struggled with insecurity and self-doubt, but the gym was always a place where I could be myself. My fitness journey has been a roller coaster of ups and downs as I’ve experienced every eating disorder, overtraining, and caused a lot of harm to my body just because I was trying to meet society’s standards of beauty.

Growing up in the Russian community the standards were a bit more extreme and met by unhealthy measures like dieting, undereating, or cleanses. The cuisine was also not the healthiest, and because we were immigrants, fast food was popular because it was new and exciting. Because of this, I had lots of healing to do, physically and mentally. Thankfully, over the years I was finally able to heal my relationship with myself, which shifted my perspective on fitness and health.

Now, I work out because I love myself, I eat to fuel my body, and health and fitness are now my lifestyle and passion. I became a personal trainer because I wanted to show others that fitness is so much more than looks. I wanted to empower people to be confident in the gym and life. Health can seem challenging and complicated, but I teach my clients that making one small change at a time it’s attainable for anyone.

We’ve been impressed with VKfitness, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I provide personal training services for both males and females. Each workout is tailored specifically to the person’s needs and goals, but I always make sure the majority of each workout includes weight training. Lifting weights has so many benefits for both genders and I especially love to empower women to feel confident using weights. I make sure each workout is fun, but also educational.

I also love learning about longevity, biohacking, and wellness and teach my clients everything I’ve learned about living a healthy life. I teach my clients that fitness isn’t about just lifting weights, it’s about making choices that serve you outside of the gym as well. I understand that males and females are different so I train them differently as well, When training females, I’m very mindful of how our hormones are affected and educate them on how to train beneficially.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Taking risks is what makes life more interesting, it can help us grow as humans, teach us lessons, and help build confidence, and I’m all about it. I never envisioned myself as a personal trainer, I always thought I had to look a certain way to do the job. But, I decided to leap anyways and I’m so happy I did. Before I started this path I was working a comfortable 9-5, then I decided to finally chase my dreams and applied to work at a gym called F45. I was persistent so they hired me.

For some time, I worked my 9-5 and taught workout classes. When I finally decided to leave my main job, the transition was scary because most gym jobs are part-time and you have to earn your hours. I was patient and worked my way up to the manager role. Group training was the perfect first job and taught me so much. Now, I transitioned to personal training and am looking to grow my business and name in the fitness world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @vkayfit