Meet Leah Kyriakis | Personal Trainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leah Kyriakis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leah, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.

I strongly believe in taking risks if you truly believe in what you want and willing to work for it. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. But you can’t loose either way. I say this because of all the risks I’ve taken in my life/career, some succeed and some don’t. But when the risk doesn’t have the outcome you wanted, if you pay attention there is always, always a lesson. For me, I worked in the fashion industry as a designer, stylist and consultant for 13+ years. Throughout those years I worked in many start ups and even started my own brand. I can tell you that most of my attempts failed, but in each failure I payed attention, started to learn what NOT to do. As I kept trying, I was always learning on how to do new things, but knowing what not to do and having that clear, gave me the opportunity to avoid the same mistakes on each new venture, that allowed me to go further each time.

The biggest risk I’ve taken was changing careers at 32, when everything I had worked for in the fashion industry was starting to pan out exactly how I had dreamt. But I realized I wasn’t happy as much as I love to design. I started to realize there was no real purpose to what I was doing, I had accomplished a lot, but everything felt empty at that point and I couldn’t find a strong reason why I should stay in a career that didn’t fulfill me as a person, there was no purpose there.

Throughout my life, I’ve been deeply involved in athletics, starting with ballet, contemporary, and hip hop dancing as a child, alongside gymnastics, track and field, tennis, volleyball, and basketball in school. Even while working in fashion, I maintained my passion for fitness by exploring new workout venues and staying active. Eventually, I realized that exercising was when I felt my happiest and most fulfilled. At 31, I decided to pursue this passion professionally, quietly starting my personal trainer certification at 32 without knowing how I would transition from fashion, close my clothing brand, and leave a stable career.

In March 2020, when the world shut down due to the pandemic, I found myself isolated in my apartment. With workout equipment at hand, I began filming and sharing my workouts online. Soon, people inquired about Zoom classes, but instead, I offered personalized virtual training sessions. Within a week, I had a waiting list and was training clients from morning till night. Despite the uncertain times, I saw this as an opportunity and leveraged social media to grow my business. Within three months, I had established a successful fitness brand, prompting me to leave my job, close my clothing brand, and focus entirely on expanding my fitness venture.

4 years later, I’m immersed in a job that fills me with purpose, joy, and happiness. Guiding people on their wellness journey, earning their trust, and sharing my fitness program brings me a profound sense of fulfillment. What started as virtual training sessions in my living room has evolved into personal sessions at clients’ homes and a home studio, where I also film workouts for my online program, www.leahkyriakis.com,  where people can sign up and access my workouts anytime, anywhere! I seize opportunities to appear on various media platforms to spread my passion for wellness and fitness. Taking the leap to change careers 4 years ago was the scariest risk I’d taken, but it led me to discover my true purpose and align my life with my aspirations. There’s still plenty of room for growth, and I envision merging my passions for fitness and fashion in the future.

In this process my biggest challenge was myself, my fears my doubts. It was a tough journey of self discovery/self love. This journey never ends, we are always learning and evolving. It’s getting to know yourself, learning how to embrace the changes and apply the lessons from failures and/or hard times, that will make the journey a little less bumpy. Never be afraid to take risks, change your mind, change directions or put yourself in a box.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

What I want people to know about LK FITNESS is summed up in my tag line – MAKE IT A LIFESTYLE – What I mean by this is finding a balance in your everyday life with a routine that is sustainable and not going to extremes. Me for example, I do a little bit of everything • I meal prep, workout, meditate, read and sleep 7-8hrs. I take care of my mind and body so I can indulge once in a while without feeling guilty and actually enjoy those moments. Stepping out of the routine is also healthy from time to time. That’s what I mean when I say MAKE IT A LIFESTYLE. A sustainable and balanced way of living while working hard and enjoying life! Nobody is perfect, we are all a work in progress, give yourself grace as you keep growing and evolving in life.

I am a personal trainer, originally from Mexico and have lived in L.A for 13 years now. Based in The Valley doing private personal training, from house calls with amazing clients, to private trainings at my home studio and virtual sessions with clients that are out of state. I respect and admire every trainer in this industry. It takes a lot of hard work physically and mentally, followed by a lot of dedication and discipline. I believe there is no best way or one way of training, there are many methods and what I think it comes down to are the clients, whoever they resonate with and is aligned with their goals, personalty etc.

LK FITNESS is geared towards creating a sustainable way of training, making it a lifestyle. I have clients in their 20s – 70s and the goal is the same, by understanding the importance of mind/body connection, conscious training. From 11+ years practicing yoga I learned many valuable things, but the most important is breath through movement, that connection of mind and body. I realized as I tried many fitness classes or different fitness instructors, that part was missing. I would only see it applied in yoga.

My program is simple, sticking to the basics of different forms of strength training. You don’t need a gym or a lot of equipment, it’s pretty simple.  In my private sessions and online program, I offer a mix of bodyweight exercises, weightlifting, resistance bands, and ankle weights. Each session, I don’t repeat the same type of strength training consecutively. People familiar with yoga and pilates will recognize many movements, as I integrate them with various strength training methods. Each type of strength training is crucial, targeting different areas such as muscles, joints, ligaments, aiding in building and maintaining strength, flexibility, mobility, stability, and cardiovascular health—essential components for sustainable training at any age. I aim to verbally guide clients through each motion, explaining the focus of each exercise to establish a strong mind-body connection. With dedication and practice, clients eventually experience a breakthrough where everything clicks, leading to a newfound love for fitness. If this resonates with you, then LK Fitness is the right choice for your goals!

The goal is to work from the inside out, for clients to reach the point where they become aware, more conscious of their body. When people become more mindful of their body and movements, they discover they have control over their mind and abilities. This realization leads them to achieve things they never thought possible, sparking excitement, motivation, and progress in both their mental and physical state. Witnessing this transformation is incredibly rewarding for me, and it’s the reason I’m passionate about being a guide to help others reach this point.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

When my friends visit they know I’ll encourage them to be active during their trip.  Starting our days training together whether it be in my studio, or my favorite fitness studios like Heated Room, Rumble, Modo Yoga.  Hiking day at Escondido Canyon Park, Runyon Canyon, or Mount Hollywood.

Day activities would be beach day in Malibu, Santa Monica or Paradise Cove.  Then go restaurants in the area like Nobu, Gjelina, Elephante.  Also, walking around at Venice boardwalk or Abbot Kinney, where there are also good restaurants, shopping and bars.

It’s fun to go out and dress up so I’d make sure to take them to some of my faves for dinner and drinks like Madeo, Casa Madera, Blvd Steakhouse, Polo Lounge and other classic LA spots.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

First and foremost is my family. My parents and siblings for their love, support and always being my biggest supporters in all my ventures. My close friends who have become family living in LA. Having them encourage, teach, and guide me each in their own way.

There are a lot trainers that have impacted me every time I stepped foot in their classes into realizing that fitness was my true passion. But the one who impacted me the most was my friend and trainer Kev Kevorkian. Working with Kev is when it clicked, this is what I want to do, I want to be a fitness trainer. When I made the choice, Kev was the first person I told. He encouraged me to just start my personal training certification, so I did. Training with him for years I learned so much from him and every training session I had made me more anymore certain that I not just wanted but needed to make this change for myself.

Truly grateful for all these people!

Website: https://www.leahkyriakis.com

Instagram: @leahkyriakis