Kaylin’s Story…

My childhood was rough to say the least. I grew up in foster care. I bounced from home to home. School to school. Life was uncertain. I was a ward of the state of NE until I aged out of the system and was dumped on my own at 19 years old.

Growing up I was always active in sports and activities. It kept me out of trouble and off the streets and gave me a way to meet new people because I did not have many friends because I moved so often. However, I also truly enjoyed athletics and it kept me grounded. It was an outlet for stress and anxiety. It kept me off the streets and away from trouble.

My last year of high school, a few days before graduation, I was fortunate enough to connect with my maternal grandma. I called every Payne in the Lincoln, NE phone book until I found someone that knew her and could connect me. I wanted her to come to see me graduate and to bring my youngest sister that I wanted to get to know. They came and from that point I started to build a relationship with them both. After only two and a half years of having her back in my life, I received a phone call telling me my grandma had passed. Heart attack.

I was a Junior in college at this point. I will never forget it. It was mid-terms and I was sick with the flu laying pathetically on the floor trying to study for my exams. My phone rang. It was my youngest sister telling my grandma Nancy was gone. She had gone home to take a nap between her jobs and never woke up. At first I didn’t believe it. I mean she was young. Not to mention growing up in foster care I did not get to know her, but over the last couple years she was a staple in my life and I was loving the opportunity to know her. It was just a few days before she would have turned 60. I was mortified. More so when I found out that this wasn’t the first heart attack she had. Her first one was when she was in her 30’s.
I was determined to learn more. How could this happen. The more I learned the more I realized that lifestyle could play a huge role in reducing the chances of heart disease. This was 2003, why didn’t people know this? I changed my major in college from Pre-Law to Psychology with a focus on health behaviors. I needed to understand why people make the choices that they do. I wanted to help people learn how to live healthier better lives. I needed to share this information with the world.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to help those closest to you such family. Since then I have lost several other relatives. My favorite person in the world who I claim as family was one of my foster aunts, who knew me my whole life and stayed in touch with me no matter what foster home I was placed in. She even took my brothers in to keep them from bouncing around the system my senior year of high school. However my Aunt Shana (a smoker) died due to stroke in her late 40's. In my mid 20's we found my biological dad and started a relationship. I was so happy to have him back in my life and to get to know him. Not long after he was diagnosed with kidney failure. About 10 years later he passed due to a seizure that closed his airway and basically choked him to death. There is not one day that goes by that I do not miss them.

My WHY is because I believe everyone deserves a chance to live a healthy and fit life. I believe everyone can make positive changes. That just because disease may run in our families we do not have to wait around to die. I believe that with the right education, tools and resources people can prevent some of their aliments or control them through exercise, nutrition and stress management. I believe that I can truly make difference. I also believe that a lot of the information put out there is utter crap and that people deserve authentic honest information and should always look at more than one source.

I aim to be the difference in my clients life that gives them a better quality of life!

I am a Fitness Leader, Fitness Writer, a Certified Fitness Trainer, Certified Group Exercise Instructor, USA Track and Field Coach, Basketball Coach, TRX Certified Trainer with a M.S. in Sport Psychology.

I am authentic, honest, energetic, passionate, funny, and talkative.  I smile a lot, I am motivating. I push my clients to be their best, no excuses. I care a lot about people and I love everything about fitness, health and wellness.