about
kristen vanfosson
& the bridge emi
My personal journey to build the strongest version of my everyday life has been a years-long education. One that I continue to show up and fight for every day. My home is with my husband, two daughters and one yellow lab in Overland Park, Kansas. However, the place that brings me peace and inspires me the most is Rocky Mountain National Park / Estes Park, Colorado. You’ll see that we use mountain images to inspire our growth and stay grounded in our goals while always reaching for the tallest peaks!
In my early 20’s I discovered that I suffer from food sensitives. I spent years monitoring everything I ate to figure out why I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and why certain foods had harmful effects on me. Once I understood what was happening to me, I chose the hard path, the one less traveled. I took control of my diet and began to see food as energy for my body and not a source of emotional comfort. By doing so, food could no longer run my life. And in time, I came to know that my story is a blessing because of my challenges.
Additionally, I grew up with a dad who has an undeniable love for sports and whose definition for success is to win, at everything. I was the opposite - unmotivated, non-athletic and not competitive. As my softball coach, he used the same tactics to encourage me to run faster that motivates him to win. Because we do not share the same abilities and motivations, I became the recipient of the nickname “lightning” and not because I was fast. Therefore, with every failed attempt I internalized the belief that I can’t run. A belief I held onto for 20 something years. Until I met a fellow Kindergarten mom who spoke the words, “you pick a 5k and I will train you”.
Training for that 5k was my introduction into a social circle of like-minded persons in which all support healthy behaviors and where reaching your goals feels like a victory lap. Furthermore, achieving small attainable goals day after day had become habit-forming and I began to understood the power of consistency. With each passing day I started craving movement while my ability to run longer stretches increased until I became a runner.
Now, I am crazy passionate about nutrition and movement. And love to talk about it. I drink 3 of my 4 servings of vegetables a day because they taste better that way – you read that right, I said “drink”! My faith, family, friends and the bridge community are my support systems. And despite not sharing the same motivations for success with my dad, he taught me the art of having a conversation with anyone, the powerful impact of never missing a commitment and the indispensable trait of being on time. While my mom has shown me the necessary characteristic of being an attentive listener and the sense of composure when you consistently practice patience. These attributes combined make me the ideal success partner.
our mission
although we come together with individual pursuits, it is through our common successes and missteps that we can cultivate a cohesive group, a “we”. And through these relationships we develop the unique strength vital to believing we can accomplish the unimaginable. furthermore, giving us the courage to tackle our limiting beliefs.
additionally, it is with the shared mission to consistently show up for each other we create the kind of assurance necessary that keeps us engaged and gets us through everyday trials so we can live the strongest version of our lives.
here’s to the "fanatic" bridgers…
the dreamers with AMBITIOUS GOALS.
the INSPIRATION dealers.
the one’s that push past their limiting beliefs to ACCOMPLISH the wildly unimaginable.
we are NOT fond of mediocre.
we see life as one BIG adventure and with each failure we are one step closer to our DREAMS.
nothing less than believing we CAN is accepted.
TOGETHER, we are a force of nature with the strength to PUSH beyond any fear.
you can be ENCOURAGED by us, or you can judge us.
but the one thing you CANNOT do is ignore us.
because we MOTIVATE you to do it WITH us by putting the work in and NEVER giving up.
while some may see us as "fanatics",
we see EXTRAORDINARY individuals living the STRONGEST version of our everyday lives.
knowing the ones crazy enough to think we CAN INSPIRE others to do the same… are the ones who DO!
