About

Hello!

I’m Kelly Wilson, owner of FitFizz. My friends call me Kells and sometimes Wonder Woman. I’m a powerlifting, sparkle-loving, nacho-eating nutrition coach, kitchen dancer and autoimmune disease crusader.

What is FitFizz?

Imagine the feeling you get after accomplishing something tough and you get your hands on a refreshing beverage. It’s like a wink, a nod and smile wrapped up into that satisfying refreshment. The energy of bubbly goodness is pure enjoyment. It’s that fizz! The effervescence reminds you that life is pretty great even though it’s not easy. The fitness-centric products of FitFizz are curated to give you that same feeling and more. FitFizz is here to remind you to treat yo’self and celebrate victory!

Kelly Wilson, Owner of FitFizz

Creativity and Cubicles

Thankfully my parents nurtured my creative tendencies in my tiny hometown of Galva, Illinois because I detested every minute of gym class as a kid. I’m pretty sure that I first began to find some sort of athletic confidence as part of my high school dance team. 

In 1999, I graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BFA in graphic design. I’ve had the honor of doing creative work for many household brand names but design is disposable. It always left me feeling intrinsically unfulfilled. In all of my years as a full-time graphic designer, I additionally stayed immersed in various aspects of fitness. In early 2012, I began making sketches on the last page of my notepad at work. They were sketches for what would eventually become FitFizz.

Fitness Timeline

As with most journeys, it’s been a long and winding road. There have been overlaps and detours with the various aspects of the fitness industry that I’ve worked in over the past 20+ years.

1994–2010

Group Fitness

As soon as I started college, I missed my competitive dance team. I saw an ad that was looking to train and hire aerobics instructors (that’s what we were called then). It sounded like the next best option to dance. I auditioned and so it began. I’ve taught classes ranging from 2 to 150 participants of all ability levels. I loved it! 

Certifications

• AFAA Group Exercise

• AFAA Personal Training

• Nike Athletic Total Conditioning

• Spinning

• Zumba

• SCW Group Step

• SCW Group Strength

• Les Mills

• American Red Cross CPR/AED

 

Classes Taught:

• Step / Double Step / Vertical Step

• Cardio: hip-hop, salsa, hi-lo

• various group strength training

• sports conditioning

• stretching, flexibility, and balance

• Nike Athletic Total Conditioning

• Spinning

• Zumba

• Senior populations

 

2001–2002

Chicago Luvabulls

Dance team of the Chicago Bulls

Back to performing again! Glitz, glam and sweating my heart out in full hair and makeup for the world-famous Chicago Bulls. Rehearsals were unparalleled cardio sessions, three to five hours in length. It was just as much a dream come true as it was demanding. The exhilaration of performing on the court compared to nothing else.

2003–2011

more dance and gym life

I was still teaching a few group fitness classes during most of this time and I was also part of a couple other dance teams. That dance thing must really be in my blood. Then I took a couple years to enjoy the solitude of training regularly in the gym. Not in the group fitness studio. Not for the sake of training others. I was really enjoying the challenges I found for myself in the weight room.

2012

FitFizz was created

With the growth of social media, I found that friends were frequently asking me how I stayed motivated to be in the gym consistently. As a graphic designer, it was fun for me to design and post motivational quotes on Facebook so I decided to make a Facebook page. FitFizz was born! I wanted to encourage people to step outside of their comfort zones. I wanted to shed light on nonsensical myths that are rampant surrounding fitness. When it began, I knew I was miserable in the drudgery of graphic design and desperately wanted a change, but I had not quite figured out how to make FitFizz a business. How to do so while staying financially stable was something I constantly pondered though.

2012

Bodybuilding

I went down this path with full intentions to eventually compete in the fitness category, requires an athletic dance performance in addition to substantial lean muscle mass. I ended up competing in the bikini masters category because I simply wasn’t big enough muscle-wise. I was committed to putting on muscle for the next 15 months. It was so much harder than I’d expected.

I had friends a handful of friends who’d been powerlifters for several years and I’d watch their powerlifting meets sometimes. They would always nudge me and say “you’re next”, in a joking but oh-so-serious tone. One day I decided to join them at training…

2013–

powerlifting

I stepped into Jakked Hardcore Gym in early 2013 and basically never looked back to further pursuing bodybuilding or that style of training. I’ve done several powerlifting meets and thoroughly enjoy pushing my physical limits during training and on the platform.

2014

NASM Personal Training Certification

2015

NASM Behavior Change Specialist Certification

2016

Opening of FitFizz on Etsy

2017

Precision Nutrition,
PN1 Certification

2018

launch of online coaching

NUTRITION FOR METABOLIC HEALTH

2022

Precision Nutrition,
Nutrition for Metabolic Health