Meet Aerial Ambitions | Aerial Silks and Lyra Instruction

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

Hi Aerial, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
We attribute the growth of Aerial Ambitions to meeting our clients where they are at on their fitness/aerial journey and helping them achieve their goals in a fun, safe way. We believe that the aerial arts can be a way for people to grow their fitness, share their emotion through movement and just have a good time. Our goal is to understand our students’ goals and help them achieve them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Khris and Amanda met in 2019 in a vibrant aerial community in Greenville, SC. When the pandemic hit that community shrunk. All of the aerial silks instructors moved out of town or retired. Khris and Amanda felt the loss of the creative outlet and a need to help regrow that community. They found Paper Doll Militia remote teacher training and got certified to teach Aerial Silks. Khris and Amanda started teaching 1 Aerial Silks class on Sunday mornings. They slowly built their cliental by focusing on making aerial silks safe and accessible for all fitness levels and body types. As the demand grew they added an additional Sunday class and then from the request of clients they added a kid’s class. Next they recognized a need for additional Lyra classes in town so Amanda went through the Paper Doll Militia Lyra Teacher Training and added a lyra class. The classes continued to fill to capacity with more demand so the team added a Monday class as well. Khris and Amanda both lead very full lives as a license architect and regional sales director respectively. As the business has grown they have learned to lean on one another to make sure they can maintain their work/life balance while growing the business. Amanda is currently taking her Lyra level 2 teacher training and Khris is deepening her knowledge of Partner Acro. They are constantly assessing what their students need and expanding their knowledge to meet their students where they are at and help them grow.

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.
Greenville is such a great town! We love our hometown. When people come to visit there are so many places to take them. Downtown Greenville has great restaurants, Jianna’s, Trappe Door, Jones Oyster Company, Nose Dive, CAMP, Larkin’s, Kitchen Sync, Pomegranate, Coral, Smoke on the Water, Gather GVL. To balance out all of the great food we would definitely take them to try American Ninja Warrior and Parkour at Motive Movement, potentially a hike at Paris Mountain or a run or bike on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. And that is just a small snapshot of all the things to do in GVL!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would not be where we are without the support, coaching and care of so many people! Our aerial teachers Megan Philips, Samantha Sanders, Allison Davey, Kelly VanLeeuwen and Sabrina Woods have helped us build a foundation and continue to help us to grow our skills. Motive School of Movement that supports us with an amazing space. Paper Doll Militia for offering a comprehensive, inclusive, safe remote training. Our significant others for supporting us chasing this dream. And most importantly our students that inspire us, support us and push us to continue to grow our business.

Website: aerialambitions.com

Instagram: @aerialambitionssc

Facebook: aerial ambitions

Image Credits
Ashley Sutherland