2021 was a great year for the fitness industry, showcasing the resilience and adaptability of gym owners, personal trainers, yoga & Pilates instructors, boxing coaches and many others. They rebounded from the pandemic like the underdogs they are to guide us toward more healthy, lean, strong, flexible, mobile, agile, and graceful bodies. They stoked our self-confidence and helped us improve our eating habits. They sharpened our focus and helped us better manage our stress levels. For all of that, we emphatically say, thank you! 

We’d like to give some extra love to five fitness standouts who truly inspired us, each one selected as Vagaro Best of 2021 Award winners for their standout photography.

 

I. Best Fitness: DayBooth Fit | Charlotte, NC, USA 

Personal Trainer Dayron Booth showing off his physique

Dayron Booth, DayBooth Fit’s owner and namesake, teaches several exercise modalities at his studio, most notably the Lagree Fitness Method, which blends core, strength and endurance training with the help of machines called Microformers. A certified Lagree instructor and Master Teacher Trainer, Booth is also a competitive calisthenics athlete and boxing instructor. He was busy in 2021, teaching classes in-house and virtually, making house calls, and preparing future Lagree trainers for their Level-1 teacher certification. That hustle earned DayBooth a Best Fitness Award. 

 

II. Best Fitness, Best Venue Space: Health Hunter Yoga and Natural Therapies | Craignish, QLD, AU 

Woman performing yoga pose at Health Hunter yoga & Natural Therapies

Health Hunter Yoga and Natural Therapies teaches a range of yoga modalities, including vinyasa, hatha, restorative, yin and aerial yoga. However, Health Hunter is much more than an open-air yoga studio, integrating nutrition consulting, Ayurveda, Iridology and other services into its offerings. Yoga instructor, nutritionist and Iridologist Rhian Hunter’s mindfulness sanctuary rests on five scenic acres along Craignish’s Hervey Bay in Queensland, Australia—an ideal location for uniting body, mind and spirit. Perhaps that’s why it took home awards for Best Fitness and Best Venue Space. 

 

III. Best Fitness: Marisa Allen Fitness | Houston, TX, USA 

Client training with Battle Ropes at Marissa Allen Fitness in Houston, TX

Fitness trainer Marisa Allen took a chance and opened Marissa Allen Fitness after the COVID-19 pandemic closed many corporate gyms. The guts she had to pursue her dream are surpassed only by her commitment to helping fellow Houstonians achieve their unique fitness goals. Allen’s a stickler for technique, requiring virtual clients to send her their workouts once a week for a form check. A former rehab technician, Allen finds joy in building clients back up from various injuries, which not all trainers are willing to do. Her enthusiasm for what she does earned her the Best Fitness Award. 

 

IV. Best Portrait: O.N.L.Y. Fitness | Baltimore, MD, USA  

Personal trainer and nutritionist Nigel Fullerton, of O.N.L.Y Fitness in Baltimore, MD smiling with resistance band

Trainer Nigel Fullerton’s O.N.L.Y Fitness is about more than just lifting weights and breaking a mean HIIT-induced sweat. A nutritional coach, Fullerton also brings dietary consulting and meal planning to the table. Choosing the right foods and brands is tough. So is having to scan the nutrition facts on every item in the grocery store. That’s why Fullerton offers to tag along with clients on their food-shopping trips, ensuring that they purchase only the healthiest fuel for their bodies. His enthusiasm comes across everywhere, especially in photos, which earned O.N.L.Y the Best Portrait Award. 

 

V. Best Venue Space: OSJ YOGA & WELL-BEING | San Juan, PR  

Well-lit room with yoga mats at OSJ Yoga, in San Juan, PR.

It’s hard not to feel positive energy in OSJ YOGA & WELL-BEING. Overlooking the bay in the historic city of Old San Juan (from which its name derives), OSJ focuses on the mind-body connection. This connection is definitely achieved through movement, and you’ll find a range of diverse methodologies dedicated to that in OSJ’s Body & Soul room. These include yoga and Pilates variations, cardio salsa, pole dance, barre variations, tai chi and personal training (throw in acupuncture and full-body massage for recovery). This variety helped OSJ win the Best Venue Space Award. 

 

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We tip our hats to these fine business owners and their staff, and hope they continue crushing it in 2022! Click here to view other Vagaro Best of 2021 Award winners.